I want to buy a new car.

I was looking through the local paper and found that there was a 96 Monte Carlo going for 3500. Everything is looks great it was well cared for. The girl that owned it's father is a mechanic so I figure it is well maintained. When I went to look at the car the dad was working on the A/C, so I didnt get to drive the car. I am waiting for him to finish the AC. I will then test drive it and make my decision. I was wondering, Is this a good deal? Should I try to get the price down, and is this a good car. I need a car that will be able to drive through a big city without failing me. Should I look into getting another car? I need some advice and will be awaiting a response.
Thanks all,
Chris

There are some questions you should probably ask yourself before buying that monte. What trim (Base, LS, Z34, etc)? How many miles?? How old was the girl? Just because her dad is a mechanic doesn't necessarily mean anything...she still could've drove the balls off it. If she is a teenager, you might worry, but if she is older (more responsible) it'd probably be okay.

Well he says his daughter is in college. She's becoming a nurse, and already has a child, so I figure she has some hint of maturity. The car has quite a few miles on it I know because she drove it back and forth from austin so I know it is in the 100000 plus mark. He says that there is now a check engine light on it, and that he is going to work on it until it is gone. I feel like it is a good deal but... I dont want to get something I am going to regret also. I see that you have a Monte Carlo. Do you like it? Have you had any major problems with it? Does it have some muscle to it? I really dont like that body style too terribly much because of it's likeness to the Lumina, but I love the Monte Carlo. I dont reallyh know where I was going with that but..... yeah. So if anyone knows of a reason I should stay away from this car or if I should jump at the opprutunity tell me. I am looking for some good advice. I know I haven't been too terribly descriptive on the car but I havent been able to see too much. Thanks for all of the help.

Chris.

I actually have a '99 Lumina LTZ. It's got the 3.8L which does have some getty up. I love it. It gets good gas mileage and it's a sleeper ("that's some grandma car"....yeah ok!) I know some people with monte carlos, they have their fair share of problems. I think $3500 seems like a good price. You could probably talk him down a bit. I personally don't think 100,000 is A LOT of miles. now 150K yeah, that's a lot of miles. I think my Lumina LTZ easily compares to a late 90's monte carlo. The only exception might be the engine. Don't most montes come with the 3.1?

Yeah I believe most of them come with a 3.1 which is significantly bigger than what I am in now. And my little 2.0 Sentra is quick. I do plan on trying to talk him down a bit. Well whenever he finishes his work on it I will tell you how everything goes.

Is it a Z34 Monte? If not, it probably has the 3.1 or maybe a 3.4. I guess the 3.1 is okay. I've got 186K on my '93 lumina (3.1L). They are fairly reliable. I've also got a lumina LTZ (3.8L), it's got more power, but still has decent gas mileage. I've heard bad things about the 3.4L: they are harder to work on, poor gas mileage, etc.
I'm suprised there haven't been more responses to your post. You might try posting a poll or posting a new thread asking what people think of their 3.1L monte carlos. I'm sure you'll get more responses that way.

If you can get the last 8 digits of the vin from him, I can run it in the GM computer where I work and tell you what trim level it is and what options it has. Also, go to www.nada.com and see what it's worth.