I'm currently thinking about buying a 6th Gen Monte Carlo SS, but most in my area are in between 150k-200k miles. All of them are from used car dealerships, and all of them are in perfect running condition. I was just wondering if there are any common issues i need to worry about if i buy one.

 

2004 & 2005 have a more robust (better) transmission than the '00 and '01, as I am discovering.
My '04 at 150 K was still running beautifully, but the body was shot due to salt here in winters. Check for rocker panel rot.

Stepper motors in dash may need replacement -- not a big job.
I had to have shocks/struts replaced quite often, but I was going down some pretty bad roads.
I did start to get some leakage around the sunroof.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Im at 207k and still beat on it daily. Only been thru 4 transmissions I think...

Other than that ive never had much of a problem. A couple sensors here and there, valve cover gaskets, upper/lower intake manifold gaskets, shocks, and I have a bad wheel hub that made me lose TC, like I want that anyway.

I dont think my experience is typical and ive been quite lucky but these cars will be good to you if youre good to them.

Some parts are getting pretty hard to find tho. Mechanical parts seem pretty easy to get but things like body and interior pieces can be impossible to find.


The thing im always thinking about with the 150-200k mile range is, are they selling it because they have the first signs of trans failure and want to get rid of it before its obvious and un-sellable?


EDIT: Another thought I had is, check the trans fluid. With that many miles, if its not a fresh rebuild, the fluid should NOT be perfectly pink. If it IS, I would worry they swapped it out to get rid of the ugly brown stuff. (Going back to my trans failure comment, you know what I mean?) It should be a darker red and possibly even leaning towards redish brown.

EDIT again: Duh, forgot about the heater core I JUST had to change. What a horrible job that was having just had a tooth pulled the day before! They like to clog up because of the dexcool, same thing that eats the intake gaskets.

EDIT again, again. Just FYI, the pic you posted is an LS unless they changed the trunk lid or Chevy badge. For the SS, it should have the hollow, outlined red bowtie.

 

That actually is an LS, should have noticed that . What are the differences between these though, never fully understood that. there are some actual SS's for sale in my area as well.

 

I think the only differences are the engines and some optional things like sunroof, leather, seat warmers.. Im not 100% on that tho. I only know for sure that the LS' have the 3400 engine and the SS' have the 3800. From what Ive seen here with people asking for help, the 3400s are more problematic. I had one years back and never had any issues with it.

 

As you said, you have owned a 3400 and no issues. I have been in the 3100/3400/3800 game across w and n body platforms, I feel they are equally matched in reliability and share the same issues with the lower intake gaskets. I daily drive a 2004 Grand Am with a 3400 pushing 200k miles.

 

So, there really is no magic "this is what happens at 200k". But you are at what most people consider "end of life" for the car. In my parts, it is more due to body rot then mechanical issues. But, 200k miles is a lot for anything mechanical. First, make sure it is a good deal for the cost. Second, learn as much as you can about it's history (how many owners, service data, and what not). And lastly, I would review the link below for 100k service, as it is all applicable at 200k.
https://montecarloforum.com/forum/fw...0-miles-46078/

 

I'd also second what Maniac said; there's a reason you see so few cars on the road over 200k. The cost of repairs quickly outstrips the vehicles value. Certainly you can keep any car on the road indefinitely if you don't mind continuing to throw money at it but many people draw the line when a single repair is more than the car is worth, especially when you're at the mileage that there could be another major item lurking around the corner.

One thing to keep in mind is that values right now are very inflated (for factors outside of just inflation- some of which could reverse in time). Any 200k mile w body (pre covid) would've been scrap value (few hundred bucks) for one non running and $1-1.5k running and driving. A 150k car would've brought more as it still likely had some life left, but even still would've only been a few grand. All it takes is one blown transmission (for someone that can't do any of the work themselves) or a minor fender bender and they're past the point I mentioned above. Id also be very cautious if you have to buy one at these inflated rates as to how much money you put into it as every dime will be thrown into an unrecoverable black hole - especially if values start to slide down as they seem to be starting to do.

IMO unless you don't need to rely on the car for your sole mode of transport, you can do advanced auto repair, and don't mind spending the money to fix whatever comes up-I wouldnt consider any 200k car, especially a completely unknown one off a random used car lot.

If you buy anything from one of these lots, I'd be extremely cautious of their claim that they're "perfectly running". Generally they're getting these cars from auctions, and generally the people that offloaded them to a major dealer (who then offloaded them at an auction because they wanted nothing to do with it despite the used car crunch these days) did so for a reason. You may get lucky and that reason is that their 20 year old car wasn't cool enough anymore so they wanted something new. Or, you could get unlucky and their reason was that they'd just sunk $5k into repairs the last few years and couldn't afford to continue to keep the car on the road.


As for things to look for, I'll just echo the comments above:
-Rust is a major killer up north. Rockers, fuel door area, strut towers, brake/ fuel lines, etc.
-Transmissions are the other big one. If its got this kind of mileage and it doesn't come with a receipt for a trans rebuild in recent history, I'd fully expect you'll have to do it sooner or later. No doubt, some make it well over 200k - but life is a bell curve and there are plenty of examples at the opposite end of the spectrum.

 

I paid $1400 for my Monte 2 weeks after Covid restrictions occurred as a second vehicle and as a project car. I currently daily it and I'm at the 290k mark on miles. Since owning it I've replaced the following:

- Radiator
- Water Pump
- Thermostat
- Driver window Regulator
- Driver window switch
- Passenger window switch
- Front wheel bearings
- Cluster bulbs
- Headlight bulbs
- Engine oil & filter x2
- Battery
- Fuel Filter
- Front brake pads

The following were performed upgrades:

- LED bulb upgrade (interior)
- Taillight LED bulb upgrade
- K&N air filter

Aside from that, I still have a lot more parts to replace and upgrade as the years go by. With all old cars, parts will wear out and fail, so be prepared to spend some money to repair/replace them. That being said, the 3800s in these cars are very reliable and will take on a significant amount of abuse and will outlast the body if properly maintained, and I stand by them as I own a second 3800 powered car.