common problems with 96?

I want to buy a 96 pontiac firebird for my first or second car and have 1500 saved for it and it costs 3000-3500 in my area. (provided its not leather, T-Top, V8, CD, and premium sound) I have been talking to as many people as i could about it, and i would say that half are discouraging and half are incouraging, not to say that i expect any different here. But i wonder how many people have electrical difficulties, in particular with starter/ignition and flip top lights? whats the point of having a car, if i cant start it, and i work nights, so whats the point of having it if i cant drive it home.

to my friends and i alike they and i believe that this car fits my personality and would suit me good, but i dont want it to be in the shop more than on the road. any help is appreciated.

well the flip lights usually do go but i have a 94 and they work great they are cheap and easy to fix though the 96 v6 is a 3.8 and not very upgradable if it aint a v8 it aint really worth it mine is a 3.4 the only v6 i own and it was expensive to get alot of horses, as for repairs epect maybe a water pump if its not already new$55, electrical if it has the little button in between the seats to start in 2nd gear for automatics expect to always start in 2nd gear because they are always messed up, catalytic converter $50-100. as for the poll(and every 18 year old should have a bad ass fast car and everything is wrong with imports)

the headlights will stop working but you can manually raise them to drive home and to work if you needed to. the part that goes is a little cheap plastic gear. you can tell when they are about to go when you turn the lights on and off and it makes a grinding sound for about 20 seconds after the lights go down.

the 3.8's are a great motor they are very reliable and have decent power to begin with. thier is a growing aftermarket for them so as soon as you begin modifying it thier will be more and more parts availible.

thier aren't many things that go wrong with the cars. your power window motor is a popular thing that breaks and they are a pain to fix but you can do it in your driveway in about 2 hours if you have no idea what to do. thier are a few writeups with detailed pictures online i can send to you if you need them. thats about it really.

these cars handle very well and you can make them handle perfectly with a little time and money, the v6's are great for autocross and road racing, the best thing to do would be to buy it and have fun

i have a 96 trans am, and my lights still work but they make a noise when i open or close them, but you can buy a brass gear for likr 40 bucks to fix that. my driver window went out, and i fixed that in about an hour. i just put in a new tranny and im in the process of putting in a new cooling system (radiator, water pump, etc.). its a great car, and sure it has some problems but its worth it.