A few questions on the 03/04 Silhouette/Montana....

[pontiac735]

Hi there....I'm interested in purchasing a 03/04 Silhouette.I plan to stay away from the older models due to the problems I read about.I'm leaning more toward the Olds because of the more options available.What should I look for when I go to buy one?I'm gonna try and get a fully loaded model,I currently have a 97 Grand Prix,so I'm used to fixing GM's little gremlins that constantly pop-up.Any help you guys could pass along would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Blair

['97ventureowner]

I would think you should start seeing more of these on used car dealer lots and in the classifieds as private sales because many people tend to sell their vehicles after the loan has been paid off. Many 3 and 4 year loans will be coming due this year and next so the supply should be somewhat adequate. I'd look for one owner vehicles that are clean and have good service records as to the maintenance performed on the van. A lot of the problems that plagued the earlier models seemed to have subsided in these later models. If you have time, you might want to scan through this Silhouette forum, and the Montana forum to see if any particular problem appears quite a bit for the '03/'04 models. There are sites on the web such as epinions.com and edmunds.com among others that have owners ratings of these vehicles along with comments both good and bad about their experiences.

[GregA]

Even if you do your own work, take a close look under the hood so that you know what you are getting into. There is NOT a lot of room to work in there.

Also check out the Chevy Venture forum.

Take Care,

[pontiac735]

Thanks for the comments guys.I decided to look for an 03-04 Silhouette GLS or Premiere.I'm goona take my time to find one,don't want to rush things,hopefully find one with some powertrain warranty remaining.I checked out the Montana/Silhouette forums,gives me a good idea on what some or the issues are.I always like to get other opinions through here.

Thanks

Blair

['97ventureowner]

I wonder, with GM discontinuing the Oldsmobile line a few years back, if that would help you get a better deal or lower price on a Silhouette? Even though parts will be available for many years to come, and many parts are interchangeable from the Venture and Montana, some people still get the idea that they might have some problems "down the road" either getting parts or service on their vehicles because of that.They would tend to sell the vehicle now rather than deal with any "perceived problems" later.That could keep prices on the Silhouette lower, thus making for a better deal for the buyer,( who knows that parts and service will still be available.)Reminds me of the time back in the '90s when Ford dropped the Merkur line, and many people started selling their Merkurs right away because they didn't want to deal with any issues related to the discontinuance. Just a thought.

[redly1]

I've had both an 03 Silhouette and an 03 Montana. I agree, the Silo is better optioned, and when I bought it new, I actually got a better deal on it vs the Montana because it was an Olds. I doubt the same holds true now. Both are fine vans at half the price of a similarly equipped Honda or Toyota.

[pontiac735]

Thanks for the info....I like the styling on the Montana,but I'll probably wind up getting the Olds instead,one other feature that I'd like to have would be the AWD,I wasn't sure if I should or not,seeing that it could get very expensive if it needed work.....anyone here have trouble with the Versatrac system?

Blair

[cdru]

Originally Posted by redly1

I've had both an 03 Silhouette and an 03 Montana. I agree, the Silo is better optioned, and when I bought it new, I actually got a better deal on it vs the Montana because it was an Olds. I doubt the same holds true now. Both are fine vans at half the price of a similarly equipped Honda or Toyota.

My model year (98) the Montana had the better options such as the sports suspension including the rear leveling shocks. I also liked the trim options for the Montana that we got although to tell you the truth the interior trim package wasn't a real high priority in our decision.

Do the more recent Silhouette and Ventures also have the sports suspension and rear leveling?