2000 PA Presidential

[Bassasasin]

FUNNY you should mention that.
My best friend is just that " a buy here and pay here dealer" ..

So often people just need dependable wheels.. to survive.
His business runs on his reputation and is booming.

I watched him grow his business while working with me at a non associatative job to owning a million dollar business..
He is still working with me on a totally different venue and his wife runs the store and collects the checks. He goes to the auctions. Suprisingly there are very few defaults.

Car knowledge skill is worth $$ .. get it here for free..

[Mad9C1]

I think just like many rent to own businesses, it may have started as a scam, but today, it's a much bigger business, and much more defined. I'm sure today, since we all have so many buy here-pay here choices, it's not going to be easy for a dealer to scam everyone, like it would have been 20 years ago. In the old days, if you had a buy here-pay here dealer in your area, it was the only one you'd ever seen, and it was easy to take advantage of those with high needs, and low income. I'm sure today, the average car in the lot is worth more than the down payment. I hope my previous post didn't sound like buy here - pay here shops were all cons. I never meant that at all. The con was the individual person I mentioned only.

I'm "between careers" and wouldn't mind selling cars for a living. My health doesn't allow me to hang out under the hood all day though, so I'd have to hire a mechanic. I'm planning to sell my 97 PA at a loss, so, I guess selling cars for a living might not be my thing..

Sam B.

Originally Posted by Bassasasin

FUNNY you should mention that.
My best friend is just that " a buy here and pay here dealer" ..

So often people just need dependable wheels.. to survive.
His business runs on his reputation and is booming.

I watched him grow his business while working with me at a non associatative job to owning a million dollar business..
He is still working with me on a totally different venue and his wife runs the store and collects the checks. He goes to the auctions. Suprisingly there are very few defaults.

Car knowledge skill is worth $$ .. get it here for free..

[bigsky]

Just to interject a minute...here is another example of a PA deal. An Ultra with only 54K for 9.5K. Looks like a custom job...similar to Presidential top but different. Also, chrome wheel wells and pillars. Seems like there are lots of deals in Florida. I wonder if they make good money on the shipping so they can sell them at a lower price?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Buick...02293612QQrdZ1

[Bassasasin]

My shipping/ delivery fee was $500.
Plane ticket to where I was going was $200 or if I wait $100.
Plus hotel after I got there..
Gas getting back. Meals..
Figure I could save $200.
Take 2 days off work. $200

NAH>>> I just said bring it to me!

It all depends on where and when. I suppose.

[Mad9C1]

Makes sense, but, a weekend with no wife and kids? Road trip with my brother? That's got to be worth something. I wondered if I'd save money by having it deliveered, but I wanted to see the car before I take it. The online pics didn't let me hear the engine.

My brother and I planned to make this a fun trip, so, it's a sort of excuse to get together...


Sam B.

Originally Posted by Bassasasin

My shipping/ delivery fee was $500.
Plane ticket to where I was going was $200 or if I wait $100.
Plus hotel after I got there..
Gas getting back. Meals..
Figure I could save $200.
Take 2 days off work. $200

NAH>>> I just said bring it to me!

It all depends on where and when. I suppose.

[Mad9C1]

May I ask where you had the car shipped from, and to? I was going to buy a Bonne SSEi from a guy in Nevada, and it was going to cost me around 1000 bucks to have it shipped from Nevada, to New York state.

Also, were you having the car driven to the shipper, or was this a door to door service? I know when I checked, it was a couple hundred more to have the car picked up from the sellers home, and delivered to my door.

I would also like to know what shipping service you used, because some have better rates than others.

This car is 537 miles away, so, I'm not sure what the shipping costs would be, but, I do know the estimate I got for the Nevada car was for a 2000+ mile trip.

Thanks again for your input.




Sam B.
Tonawanda, New York.

Originally Posted by Bassasasin

My shipping/ delivery fee was $500.
Plane ticket to where I was going was $200 or if I wait $100.
Plus hotel after I got there..
Gas getting back. Meals..
Figure I could save $200.
Take 2 days off work. $200

NAH>>> I just said bring it to me!

It all depends on where and when. I suppose.

[Mad9C1]

I wanted to chime in and let you guys know where I stand with this car.

Last time I posted, we were planning a trip to Maine to get the car. We have the car now, and the trip was brutal because it was a snowstorm that weekend.... Just my luck, I guess. I grew up in Blizzard Zone, so of course, I made no effort to cancel or postpone the trip.

I finally got the car officially on the road a few weeks ago, and it is a wondeful car, indeed. I have noticed a couple possible issues I will need advice on, but for now, let me just tell you what my basic observations are.

The ragtop is one of the nicer looking ones, luckily, and it has grown on me. It seems the car gets looks, and compliments, so that helps me adjust to the ragtop I thought I wouldn't like. The engine and transmission, most of the time, are a good example of GM's "Buttery Smooth" reputation. The milage seems great, and the acceleration feels brisk and strong. The brakes will need attending to, but will only need pads. Brakes feel smooth and responsive at the present time. My wife absolutely loves the heated seats, and even though this wasn't a big deal to me, I really love it too. It feels like a heated massage, ...well, without the massage.... The suspension is kinda soft, which is great for comfort, but leans a little more than I prefer. The suspension is in great shape, and is nice and high, which is a big plus for me. The steering and alignment parts are all tight, and no play at all. I will mention the power steering pump whines at times, although the fluid level is up to par. I'm not sure if I'll need to do something to cure this whinning.

All of the features and gauges work properly, and appear to be accurate...with the exception of the fuel gauge mentioned earlier. The exterior of the car looks great. Upon closer inspection, I noted a couple small dings, and a few minor scratches that were touched up, and some fine scratches on the trunk lid, which should hand buff nicely. I added rain guards because the rain drips in without them. This is the first time I ever used rain gurards. I like them, but I don't care for the looks, although they aren't an eye sore.

I also have the typical slow front wondows , like many others have had, and I would like to know if it's the rubber I need, or the internal parts. On my old car, I thought it was the internal parts, but this one seems like maybe it's the rubber that causes the issue.

The radio has difficulty playing cd's that are less than perfect, especially on a bumpy roadway. Half the lights are dead on the radio as well. I'll most likely replace it in time, with something that plays MP3's .

The fuel gauge is quirky , as I suspected. I haven't fixed it yet, but I had difficulty finding info online for the sending unit.

I also noticed the transmission occasionally starts to shift hard. I'll pull over, shut it off, wait a minute or 3, and start it up again, and it shifts like butter again. I have noticed an odd noise after I shut the car off at times,and I suspect that is related to the transmission shift issue. I have noticed on some days, when the transmission starts to shift hard, I hear a howl, or squeel during acceleration. Any opinions on this would be very welcome.

I'll try to get some decent pics of the car this week, so you can all see what she looks like. Any comments or advice is very appreciated.

Sorry I took so long to get back to you all.


Sam B.
Tonawanda, New York.

[bigsky]

Mad9C1...Concerning the transmission, sounds like the PCS (pressure control solenoid). Try a search with "PCS," there have been a couple of recent threads. I know someone with a 97 who just had a third one put in ($450) at a dealer. My own 97 is on its second one (was replaced at around 55k), and may be due for another (the car has the same symptoms as yours). I added a bottle of "Lubegard Red" (suggested by bnaylor on this forum), and it has helped.

[Mad9C1]

Bigsky,
Thanks for the reply. 450 bucks...? ouch.. I'll read some recent threads and try the additive you used. I remember the same problem, on my '97 PA which I recently sold. It would come and go on that car, so I never gave it much thought. I'm going to try to find the number for the guy who bought it to share this info with him. What will happen if this issues doesn't get fixed? I assume major transmission trouble in the future.

I thought I'd mention, when I was buying bonnevilles, with the same drivetrain as our Buicks, there was several threads mentioning fluid levels on our transmissions. This was on Bonneville club forums, btw.. The general idea stated that at times, when taking a turn too fast...(i think it was a left turn..not positive though..).. the fluid would swoosh to one side, and air would get in the line, causing different momentary issues, including the transmission acting like it was in neutral, and then slamming into gear, if you were trying to accelerate. The cure, oddly, was to overfill the transmission by a half pint, or less. Most of us were shocked to hear this, as it is a lengthly process to properly check our fluid level, and one would imagine the level should be on par, and not over. It was also said that most transmissions should not be overfilled, and this "fix" pertains to our transmissions only.

I don't suggest anyone overfills their transmission on purpose without fully researching the subject. I personally did not overfill mine at the time.

It is obvious to me now, that the bonneville issue wasn't the same as the PA problem we're talking about, but, I thought I'd share this weird transmission discussion with you anyways..

Sam B.

Originally Posted by bigsky

Mad9C1...Concerning the transmission, sounds like the PCS (pressure control solenoid). Try a search with "PCS," there have been a couple of recent threads. I know someone with a 97 who just had a third one put in ($450) at a dealer. My own 97 is on its second one (was replaced at around 55k), and may be due for another (the car has the same symptoms as yours). I added a bottle of "Lubegard Red" (suggested by bnaylor on this forum), and it has helped.

[TopherS]

Glad the car works out for you.

When I got mine a couple years ago, the fuel gage was wierd. It would be on full (although the tank was not full), then would swing down to empty, causing the bell to chime and the "check guages" message in the Head Up Display to go on. Then it would go back to full and the lights/messages would turn off. As you would drive, it would do this incessantly...back and forth. Turned out to be the fuel sending unit. It was replaced and no problems since.

Mine only had the AM/FM/Cassette, so I wanted CD and got a AM/FM/CD/Cassette from a salvage yard (came from a Regal...most Buicks used the same radios...plug and play). I paid about $75 for it and it was surprisingly easy to replace.

Good luck with the car.

[bigsky]

Also had that fuel guage problem, but then it fixed itself (gotta love it when that happens). Good to know though on the sending unit...

I too remember reading some of that Bonnie thread...one of the reasons I poured 10 oz. of Lubegard red in the Park trannie and drove on. Aren't those Bonnie guys something...not many gnats are left unstrained...