On the Hunt for my 1st Monte!
 

Greetings from Toronto, Canada..


Let me start off by saying that discovering this site a couple months ago has been quite a find for me. Alot of hours has been spent looking over the gallery section, reading different stories and further educating myself on this one of a kind car.


I've been a fan of the Monte Carlo family ever since I first laid eyes on a beautiful gold 1977 Monte, that a neighbor of mine growing up used to own.


Love definately struck again when the 6th generation Monte came out!


I am currently in the process of buying a 2003 SS that would be a project/dream car for me, since I have a Cadillac as my everyday car.


The 03 SS is from a private seller(1st owner) it has 216000km which is about 134000 miles(mostly highway supposedly). The test drive went well, handling was very smooth, brakes were good and the transmission seemed fine.


The cons, which explain low price(asking 2500$ cdn):
- paint chipping all over the car
- few rust spots, both sides rear wheel well, around gas cap and below the doors
- sunroof retracting slow
- a/c not blowing cold air
- water behind passenger seat..car was parked near his sprinklers, claims never had that problem before
- front seats wearing and slight tear behing driver seat


I don't mind spending a lil and getting my hands dirty..but im still debating if its worth it or should I keep hunting. Options are limited in my area, ive already seen a few worst ones previously and there is an '02 that doesn't need anything but asking 6500$..but wheres the fun in that lol ;).


Next step is taking it to a GM dealer for full inspection, hopefully by friday.. Its unfortunately in a different city so I have to deal with ridiculous dealer labour rates since I don't know/trust his mechanic!

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated..

I honestly think that one is TOO much work. Unless you do body work on the side, that will be a very expensive fixer upper.

It's not like it's an 04SS which could have the Supercharged Engine. The 2003SS is not different than any other year SS. I would honestly just keep looking :)

I agree sunroofs are not cheap to fix. A new paint job fine but sounds loike you need body work too (ot so good) I agree keep looking

It sounds like alot of work with paint chips and rust that alone sounds costly not to mention the sunroof, unless you dont mind just not using it

I appreciate the love.. Ya you guys are right, the paint job would be the most expensive expense. I do know someone that's has done some work on my old '78 Deville. It had minor rust, got it painted sky blue with silver flakes and that cost me 2200$. For this Monte I would be just looking to restore the beautiful original black paint so maybe wouldn't cost more than 1500$.. Hopefully lol

My uncle has an upholstery shop so getting seats re-wrapped would just cost me the price of the material. Also he knows somebody that has mint condition '03 seats asking 500$.

The sunroof does open it just takes awhile lol.. I'm hearing that can cost roughly 800$ to replace. I'm not too concerned about it I guess I can always get it done eventually.

After reading some info on this site I'm assuming the water behind passenger seat is due to weather stripping, so my real concern would be the A/C.

I still wanna bring it in in the next few days to see if theres any other major mechanical issues and I will be taking lots of pics so you guys can get a visual of what I'm talking about. The price is very negotiable so all in all it could cost me less than any certified car out there.. Depending on what's wrong with A/C and anything else.

I do love a challenge lol. To be continued..

sounds like alot of work to have to do after spending 2500 just my opinion

The sunroof could be an easy fix. my was gummed up with old grease and dirt when i got it, after a clean up and some new silicone spray it was good as new. The ac may just need a recharge. So it may not be all that bad but you are the one who has to decide. good luck!

Oh trust me Punk Life I will not be paying asking price..I definately have upper hand in the negotiation since he lives in the middle of nowhere, far from te city, and he recently bought a pretty nice ford truck so moving this car is a must for him. Plus he's not budging when it comes to his "as is" stance so about 1500-1700$ is what I will be looking at! Hopefully he' s not a member of this site and use Lougreen03's trick to fix the sunroof and bring price up lol

Oh one last thing..the Monte Carlo gods have sent me two new cars to look at today so I will be taking Chibiblacksheep and Tadcaster's advice and keeping my options open!

Im still gonna take '03 to get inspected but I will also be looking at two other cars tomorrow, I will keep you all posted..

http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/kj/...03458l_19.jpeg
First new option: asking 3000$ cdn, 2000 ss, 122000 miles, supposedly everything works fine just slight bumper damage.

http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/kj/...691gm2_19.jpeg
2nd new option: asking 2000$ cdn, 2001 SS, 143000 miles, supposedly in good condition, claims just few scratches on body

2000 Black SS is the best ;)