Quote:
Originally Posted by brcidd
If it is the six cylinder engine- go for it... The four cylinder is a POS. I've known six Malibus with 4 cylinders- 4 of them crunched the engine-- mostly to do with that bicycle chain driven oil pump..Those 4 cylinder engines did not like below zero weather- thick oil would shear keyway on oil pump and destroy the engine.
Also, rust just below gas cap is an issue on most all of those bodies--just annoying cosmetic issue. Look under it- if it was garaged, you're probably good- but most outdoor sleepers are full of brake line and gas line corrosion- a terrible mess to fix/replace.
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Thanks for that info! That's good to know about the brake line and gas line corrosion. This is the V6. I don't know how long the current owner has had it, but I believe it is not garaged currently, going to look at it tonight. It will be an outdoor sleeper for us however, so if it did look good currently, is there anything I could do to prevent that stuff since ours will not be garaged? Edit: I would assume that corroding gas/brake lines would be more due to the local weather right? We have salt on the roads in winter here, so I would assume that would do it, but why would having it garaged help?
I've been watching the local classifieds for a couple weeks, and this car and one other have stuck out to me among them all. The other one is a 2003 Mercury Sable, also a V6, with 95k miles on it. Seller is asking $3000. I drove that one and it did great. Also new tires. (haven't done an in-depth inspection). Only thing I really liked better about that one has the bench front seat allowing for a 6th seat. (I happen to have 4 kids so it would come in handy occasionally.) Although I don't like the 6th seat for $1000 more lol. If he came down to $2500 it would be a tougher decision. I know this is a Malibu forum, but if you have an opinion on that versus the Sable/Taurus feel free to share! :-)
Edit: Got a reply from the Mercury owner, they will go to $2500. So that makes the prices a bit more comparable. I posted another thread in the Mercury forum to see if there are any pitfalls on that specific car to watch out for.