2002 oldsmobile Intrigue

[harijas]

hey guys....

i need your help....i am planning to buy used car...

I have seen a 2002 oldsmobile Intrigue with 122997 miles. The person who is selling this car is a salesman..so thats the reason he drove so many miles...
He is selling this for 3.5K. The KBB value is $5200-$6500...

We did the test derive yesterday..the car is well maintained..it runs smooth..V6 engine

so what do you guys suggest...shd we go for this...we are looking for a car which wud run good for 3-4 yrs...

please suggest. Thanks.

[panzer dragoon]

I think $3,500 for a 2002 Intrigue is a steal. Make sure there is nothing wrong with the tranny = make sure it shifts smoothly and holds all the gears when backing off. Look for engine noise also, a sort of tapping sound that won't go away. Water damage on the front passenger side under the carpet. Air conditioner/heater check. Watch the engine heat meter and make sure it doesn't go over the 1/2 mark.

If there are no engine or tranny problems I think it's a good deal. I would then take off the tranny pan and change the tranny fluid and filter. Change the engine oil to Mobile 1 5W-30, change the oil filter also. Think about changing the coolant out.

I wouldn't trust a car salesman, and the price seems low. = You would think there was something wrong with this car. $3,500 is a steal for a good car with the 3.5L and the Intrigue is a performer. You wouldn't find a 2002 Nissan Maxima, Accord V6 for $3,500 ~similiar performance.

[LittleHoov]

for that price, if nothing is wrong with it i say go for it.

If you have a trusted mechanic, make sure you have him check it over really good for you. If the dealer wont allow this, I would be a little leary of the car.

I also dont know that I would switch to a synthetic engine oil with 123,000 miles on the engine already...there could be trouble, but then again, there might not be, its just a risk you take.

[harijas]

Originally Posted by LittleHoov

for that price, if nothing is wrong with it i say go for it.

If you have a trusted mechanic, make sure you have him check it over really good for you. If the dealer wont allow this, I would be a little leary of the car.

I also dont know that I would switch to a synthetic engine oil with 123,000 miles on the engine already...there could be trouble, but then again, there might not be, its just a risk you take.

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I am worried about the miles droven. How far the engine goes after 100,000 miles ?.
Do you think, the engine will start giving trouble after couple of miles?

[LittleHoov]

Originally Posted by harijas

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I am worried about the miles droven. How far the engine goes after 100,000 miles ?.
Do you think, the engine will start giving trouble after couple of miles?

Id actually be more worried about the transmission than the engine, same deal with the 3800 powered cars.

Both engines will usually run longer than the transmission will hold up, in fact any sort of catastrophic failure of the engine is very rare as far as im concerned.

In fact I dont know of any engine failure problems with the 3.5 that are considered common at all.

With those miles being highway, the transmission hasnt been abused too badly, and that fluid change couldnt hurt it a bit.

I wouldnt worry about it though, I have 120,000 miles on mine and it still runs great, just got 26.5mpg on a little road trip the other day, and that was with several WOT runs and some city driving mixed in.

[burijon]

The 3.5 motor is very thirsty for oil. Other people should be able to verify this as well. As long as you don't mind adding oil several times a week I say get it. It is a very nice car that loves oil like a milkshake! My 2000 Intrigue goes through about a quart a week on average. Doesn't matter if it's synthetic or not. Check the tail pipes and see how dirty they are. If its dirty chances are its a thirsty motor. Some people will tell you to change the PCV and check this and that blah, blah, blah. Bottom line is that the car drinks oil just so you are aware. I have 92k on mine and the struts are long gone and very tired. You will get beat to death on worn out struts. I hope to be able to replace them around the 100k mark. These are just my opinions FWIW.

[kay4414]

what causes the 3.5 motor to burn oil?

i have a 3.5 L 1999 Intrigue and i rarely have to add oil between oil changes which are done every 5000 km. my car has 175,000km and i drive hard.

i am not arguing with you, but doesn't a quart a week imply that something is wrong?

[kmohr3]

My 2002 Intrigue w/ the 3.5 liter doesn't use any oil between oil changes. I do, however change it religiously every 3000 miles or less. I want to give the all aluminum engine every chance I can.

According to TSB 01-06-01-011B (8/8/2005) GM says that 1 quart of oil per 2000 miles is acceptable, and within guidelines. However 1 quart per week I would think indicates some kind of a problem. Maybe some of these things have a problem with valve guide seals? Usually, if you can see a puff of oil smoke when first starting it could mean valve guides/seals. (Especially true with some of the German cars I've worked on).

burijon, how many miles do you get before having to add 1 quart of oil - just curious?

[LittleHoov]

yeah a quart a week is too much, ill agree the 3.5 does use a little oil, mine does, although somewhat inconsistently, sometimes around 3,000 miles after changing it, the low oil light will come on, sometimes it wont, i think it depends on how hard i drive it during that time.

[burijon]

Wife drives the car about 600+ miles a week. I'm very anal about checking the oil level so I never let it get low so I probably could let it go longer. I tried a test of 20-50 weight for one oil change. Well certainly the oil level didn't move but the car was lethargic. So after about 1500 miles of that I dumped it and put 5-30 back in it and the motor was much happier and revving better. I guess it could be the valve guides but I don't notice any smoke upon start up no matter what the season. I do notice the smoke screen(minimal) on WOT but that is the only time I see it. Perhaps the oil rings are bad on the pistons? I bought the car with 13,500 on it and only a year old. It seemed to always love the oil.

My 94 Q45 is flawless with 99k on the motor. I never have to add any oil to that.

Sorry to be a thread jacker harijas.