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Joined: Jun 2022
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From: Arcadia, CA
New here
Hi,
I’m new here, mainly because I’m in the market for an ‘00 to ‘05 3.8 L Monte Carlo. I never owned one but my story goes back to October 2001. At the time I was living in Colorado and driving a 1983 Volvo 240 sedan. I had just gotten a new job and was about to move to Southern California, and my parents (who lived in Montana) convinced me that I really needed to buy a new car, one with air conditioning (that the old Volvo didn’t have). My first choice was the new W body Monte Carlo. I had a car salesman friend who I got in trouble for letting me take a really long test drive in a black SS. My friends manager was a condescending jerk and had no interest in dealing on price. So I went to my home town in MT and my Dad’s friend at the local Chevy dealer unfortunately had no Monte Carlo in stock. He called all over the state for me and came up empty. 9/11 had just happened and car dealers were offering stupidly low interest rates, so inventory was low. Nobody in the state of Montana had one! What he did find was a Pontiac dealer in Missoula that had two Grand Prix on their lot, a 2-door and a 4-door. I was willing to consider a two-door Grand Prix as a substitute. We got there and the 2-door was a gawd awful bright blue color. I didn’t even sit in it. The 4-door was a nice metallic sand GTP, with Bose sound, leather seats, and that Supercharged 3.8L engine! So I bought it.
Unfortunately, I stupidly sold that GTP, which I really liked, in 2012. I still have that bug about the 00 to 05 Monte Carlos. Now that I’m 50, and in full mid-life crisis mode, I want one again! That’s why I’m here. (It doesn’t need to be a Supercharger version, but it’s gotta be a 3.8!)
sorry for the long boring story.
Eric
I’m new here, mainly because I’m in the market for an ‘00 to ‘05 3.8 L Monte Carlo. I never owned one but my story goes back to October 2001. At the time I was living in Colorado and driving a 1983 Volvo 240 sedan. I had just gotten a new job and was about to move to Southern California, and my parents (who lived in Montana) convinced me that I really needed to buy a new car, one with air conditioning (that the old Volvo didn’t have). My first choice was the new W body Monte Carlo. I had a car salesman friend who I got in trouble for letting me take a really long test drive in a black SS. My friends manager was a condescending jerk and had no interest in dealing on price. So I went to my home town in MT and my Dad’s friend at the local Chevy dealer unfortunately had no Monte Carlo in stock. He called all over the state for me and came up empty. 9/11 had just happened and car dealers were offering stupidly low interest rates, so inventory was low. Nobody in the state of Montana had one! What he did find was a Pontiac dealer in Missoula that had two Grand Prix on their lot, a 2-door and a 4-door. I was willing to consider a two-door Grand Prix as a substitute. We got there and the 2-door was a gawd awful bright blue color. I didn’t even sit in it. The 4-door was a nice metallic sand GTP, with Bose sound, leather seats, and that Supercharged 3.8L engine! So I bought it.
Unfortunately, I stupidly sold that GTP, which I really liked, in 2012. I still have that bug about the 00 to 05 Monte Carlos. Now that I’m 50, and in full mid-life crisis mode, I want one again! That’s why I’m here. (It doesn’t need to be a Supercharger version, but it’s gotta be a 3.8!)
sorry for the long boring story.
Eric
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jun 2022
Posts: 2
From: Arcadia, CA
Yes, the GTP was my second choice back in the day. I sold it in 2012 because it had developed several annoying characteristics (that I'm much more educated about now, but at the time caused me a lot of grief until I gave in to pressure from the wife to just get rid of the car). The speed sensor in the front hubs kept shorting out every time I hit a mild pothole or went over a parking lot speed bump, which caused the antilock brakes to flutter. I replaced the hubs (my knees would never be the same after that) with new aftermarket Timken units. That fixed the issue for about a year, and it started doing it again. Then the well-known transmission slipping issue started cropping up way too much. When my wife saw the estimate for a tranny rebuild, I finally gave in to the pressure.
I first need to find the car. Right now, apart from not having any major engine/trans issues, the most important features are that it not be worn out on the interior, and little to no body/paint damage. Suspension and other mechanical issues can be dealt with. As for performance upgrades, I'll leave that until I know what I'm dealing with on the car that I find. I really would love to have an L67 supercharged series II 3.8 again.
Eric
I first need to find the car. Right now, apart from not having any major engine/trans issues, the most important features are that it not be worn out on the interior, and little to no body/paint damage. Suspension and other mechanical issues can be dealt with. As for performance upgrades, I'll leave that until I know what I'm dealing with on the car that I find. I really would love to have an L67 supercharged series II 3.8 again.
Eric
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Jun 16, 2012 11:31 AM