New here, no Monte yet.
 

My name is Nina and I live close to Pittsburgh, PA. I am a 17 year old high school student looking to buy a car sometime this year, which will hopefully be a newer Monte (year 2000 and up). The first car I bought was a disaster, 1995 chevy beretta and I got it cheap, I guess you get what you pay for, because everything that could go wrong with it happened. Here is a picture of it on the tow truck when it broke down yesterday. Going to sell it for parts and start saving up for my Monte :)

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...s/IMG00978.jpg

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

welcome, you will find absolutly tons of good info here, good luck with the monte search.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Hi Nina. Glad you joined us. :)

Ya'll be nice to Nina now, I know her from another forum and she's a GREAT person.

Don'tknow if Nina can draw cars but she does some AWESOME custom art of wildlife and pets. I know there are some pet lovers here so if you want a custom drawing of your pet, get in touch with Nina and help herearn the money so she can get her very own Monte. ;)

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Welcome, Future Monte Owner Nina! I've owned 2 so far, and will not drive anything else. Good luck on your search, there are still plenty of good ones out there.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Welcome Nina!

You have a really good friend in Becky. She's one of the nicest people I've met.

The Beretta's were a good car in their day, but now really show the era they were made in. A kind of low point in GM's history. When they were living on their past reputation, rather than their current quality. But in the past few years, GM has started to turn things around quality wise.

There are a lot of good Montes out there available as the original owners are now trading them in for something new. As a student, you'll want something reliable that won't give you the problems and expenses your Beretta did. In your case, I would suggest getting one with the 3.8 litre engine. It's been proven to be a very reliable engine with very few issues. If you look at a Monte with the supercharged 3.8 (2004 & 2005 years only), you should know that the supercharged engine calls for premium gas. Information I didn't find out until I went to fill up my car for the first time. I think I did the Homer Simpson "DOH!" right there in the gas station. LOL.

Good luck in your search!

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

welcome!

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Welcome Nina to the MCF Family. I hope you find the Monte Carlo that suits your needs and fills your dreams, also.
You have a great friend in Becky. She is a great part of our MCF family here.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

thanks for all the welcomes everyone!
I'm already looking in the autotrader's and on craigslist and have found some really nice low mileage Montes. I am set on getting a 2000 SS. But I'll have to start saving.....lol

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

You should be able to get a good deal on a 2000 SS. One thing I didn't mention is you may want to avoid the 3.4 litre 3400 engine from 1999 to 2004. There is a well known issue with those engines. The lower intake manifold gasket has a tendency to leak. This causes the antifreeze and engine oil to leak into each other. A very expensive repair. I (and many others) know this from personal experience on my previous car. They are used on many different GM models. Mostly the 1999 and up Pontiac Grand Am and Oldsmobile Alero.

Good luck in your search. :)

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Taz, would an SS have a 3400? Also when did they start putting those POS clunk-thunk ISS's in them? That was 2000 wasn't it? BTW, they STILL don't have that figured out, even the '08s with their new design are having issues.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

The SS's have the 3.8L engines, which, IMHO is/was THE best engine GM has made. PERIOD! They made MILLIONS of them, and if properly maintained, can log hundreds of thousands of miles, and get great mpg, unlike the small block V8s. Wish the mating 4t60e trannys were as bulletproof. Thats one of the reasons I got this Intimidator SS, was the tranny is the beefier 4t65e-hd. I was told the Buick Rivieras that had the L67 3.8 S/C engines had the even heavier 4t80e transmissions. Of course, Buick is the inventor of this 3.8L motor.
Anyway, good luck Dreamer on finding your "dream" Monte Carlo. What is your "dream" color?

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Thanks Wayne, that's what I thought. I know mine has the 3800 but wasn't sure if all SS's do. My stepfather is a *ord man, but even he says the 3800s are bulletproof.

I have no idea what tranny I have. Is there a way, er, easy way, LOL,to find out?

I'll second that question.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

I think all L36, 3.8L N/A cars have the 4t60e base tranny. ONLY the supercharged '04-05 Montes and police Impalas have the 4t65e-hd trannys, but I may be wrong here. Someone will correct me if I am wrong. The 06-07 5.3s have it also, I believe.
They are basically the same tranny, just a handful of items are beefier. The big thing to me is to SERVICE YOUR TRANNY EVERY 50,000 MILES! Don't get it flushed, but drop the pan, change the filter, and re-fill with new fluid.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Rockn, my dream color on the Monte is red or black.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

I was aware that the SS models never had the 3.4 in them. I was just mentioning that little bit of info, because I know how easy it is to get talked into a different model or trim line for the sake of a "better deal". That's the reason I bought a 99 Grand Am GT instead of the 99 Grand Prix GTP I really wanted at the time. Wish I had waited a little longer and got the GP. Would've saved me the thousands of dollars I spent in major repairs on the Grand Am.

BTW... I bought the GA brand new. It was never in an accident or raced the entire time I owned the car. But still cost me almost 10 grand in major engine and mechanical repairs in the 8 years I owned it.

I would not recommend a 99+ Grand Am to ANYONE. Except maybe a mopar or furd fan. LOL. :D(j/k)

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

GREAT choices, LOL, but I'm biased, any vehicle I own has to be red or black :);)


Taz, you're mean, LOL, well maybe the *ord part is ok, hehe. I wasn't positive about the SS and 3800, that's the only reason I asked about it.
Stick to your dream Nina, don'tsettle forsomething that you don't REALLY want, you'll regret it in the end if you do because you'll always want what you didn't get.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

welcome dreamer! best of luck with the monte...as everyone said go with the ss model that has the 3.8, fewer issues and also better gas mileage. i wouldnt mind seein some of this art that becky was talkin about...and becky we r always nice, when have we ever been mean?

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Red and black. GREAT colors! Here are our red and black cars at the Lane Automotive show Memorial day weekend.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...rSS_n_Lucy.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...ale_n_Lucy.jpg

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

I know know, was just giving Taz a hard time about the Moparord comment ;)Y'all have always been nice to me :)

Nina drew a pic of a horse we lost to colic about a year and a half ago. I have the orginal photo but I gave the drawing to my mom for her b-day. If I can remeber I'll try to get a pic of the drawing. Nina may still have a copy. Nina has an AWESOME kudu drawing (I still think it's my favorite). She drew her avatar too.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Thanks Becky. Yep, definitely has to be red or black, or it's not sleek enough for me. I also wouldn't mind owning one in white, and I wouldn't mind having to keep it clean all the time either. I am picky about driving dirty cars, I used to wash my Beretta every other day. lol

I am definitely going with an SS.
I have my heart set on a Monte and this time I'm not settling for anything less, like I did when I bought the first car.

I will post some art work later, getting ready for school now.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Nina, black is a PITA tokeep clean (especially if you live on a gravel road like I do) but when it's clean, it shines like no other.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Here's a page from my website that displays a gallery of my art work. I'll also post a few samples here. I do lots of pet portraits and people portraits, and I would love to draw or paint someone's Monte so if any of you are interested just email me.

http://www.outdoor-dreams.com/art.html

Here is the drawing I did for Becky. It measures about 5" x 7" (I think) and is displayed in a glass frame.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...site/horse.jpg

Some pet portraits

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...te/mclagan.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...ite/sammie.jpg

People

http://i35.tinypic.com/302thxt.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...site/tracy.jpg

Tiger face tattoo design. It was drawn to resemble the shape of a butterfly.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i.../tiger-fly.jpg

And some wildlife. (my favorite)

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...e/deercopy.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i.../fox-steve.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...-taflinger.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...ite/coyote.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...bsite/deer.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/i...im-marsico.jpg

That's it for now. Enjoy :)

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

holy crap ur really really good! and u even posted on here at 5:45 a.m. wow the last time i think i posted at that time was when i was drinkin all night and hadnt gone to sleep yet...

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Thanks. lol it definitely wasn't posted at 5:45 am though, My time zone setting must be messed up.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

i c...any luck findin a monte yet?

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

I don't have enough money saved up yet to actually start shopping for one. My goal is to save up enough so I can pay with cash and not have to worry about a loan or payments.
I've been looking at craigslist and autotrader, and have found some nice Montes, to get an idea.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Here's one of the nice Monte's I've found that are currently for sale. It is a 2000 SS, with 87,700 miles, clean and well maintained. This car is loaded, it even has leather seats which would really be nice.
Maybe I should ask my Dad if he would help me buy this, as a graduation present? lol

[IMG]http://i34.tinypic.com/fekuvb.jpg[/IMG]

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

well best of luck to you

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

That would be an awesome graduation present ;)

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Nina girl......OMG you are so talented! Your artwork is amazing. Do you do vector art as well? Do you illustrate cars? I'm an artist too, so for me to be impressed, it takes A LOT.
BTW the red one, hope you get it. My dad helped me out with my 1st car too. [sm=Awwww.gif]

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

I told y'all she was really good [8D]:)
Y'all didn't believe me did ya? [&o]:D
LOL

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

That it would...I want this Monte sooo bad...But you know what they say about buying the first car you see. Gotta shop around lol
But anyways..My original graduation present was supposed to be for my dad and I to go on a trip out west to hunt mule deer, antelope and elk. But I'd much rather have help in buying a car. That's saying a LOT, because I have always wanted to hunt out west...

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Oh, Nina, you've got the Monte Fever baaad to be willing to give up that trip. Well, you're in the right place for that disease, we all have it and support each other here. LOL

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

I just talked to my dad and he said he would help me buy a Monte. But I have to save up a little first...Whoo hooo!!! lol

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

GOOD DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

now u jsut have to convince him that u actually graduate in november lol

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

WOW! Those drawings are UNBELIEVEABLE! You have SO much talent for a youngster. I SINCERELY hope that you are pursuing a career in art and design. And not just by mail, but in a REAL university. Look for scholarships.

Hope the Monte thing works out for you, but honestly, these are just cars! YOU ahave TALENT! Put it to good use. Don't waste it like SO many of has. I used to draw a lot when I was a kid. Dont think I was ever quite that talented, but good. Never pursude it. I kick myself all the time for not taking more art and design classes. Good luck to you in whatever you pursue.

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

JUST cars???


LOL

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

Her talent will lead her to getting the things in life to help her to get thru life. Things like cars. Her talent needs to be refined and expanded upon. Turn it into a career. INCOME.

What other talents do you have Dreamer? What do you WANT to do after high school. College? Art school?

RE: New here, no Monte yet.
 

I completely understand what you're saying Wayne ;)