I'm in a bit of a twist...and I'd be interested in what you guys think.

Well I've been wanting a truck for a while now, and decided that it would be a Chevy, Silverado on which I am willing to spend about $12000 to acquire. So my plan was to save until I had a substantial amout as downpayment, and then make my move. This I have been doing. Now the issue is pressing because my daily driver is out of commission as of Monday and would continue to be for sometime to come. So now I need transport. It gets tricky for me because, there is this 96 Bonneville with 200k miles that's up for sale, they're asking $1500 but I'm sure $1200-$1300 could get it done. Now this Bonneville is on par with DD which is an Olds delta 88, which has 220k so I think I know what to expect.

And to top it all off, now I have to drop the wife off at her job on the way to mine. She reports at 8am, I report at 7.30 and I have a 50 min drive to get there. So she is left to sit in a dark building on a college campus, for about 1.5 hrs before her coworkers get there.


What would be the wiser choice:

1. Buy the Bonneville outright. That will deplete my savings and put off the truck for even longer. (start over more or less)

2. Buy the truck and not the car even though the downpayment is not as I'd like it to be.

Choice one is appealing because right now it is most convenient.

It seems to me you should get some kind of dependable transportion .......truck or car makes no difference, just something you can be reasonably sure will get the income producing job done! A 1996 Bonneville with 200,000 miles on it doesn't seem to me to be very reliable transportation. But the truck wouldn't be getting the best gas mileage for the kind of distances you are driving. Seems to me that someting more reliable that gets good gas mileage would be the wiser choice than those you've given yourself.

Yeah, he's right. Find something else for cheap. A 4.9L Cadillac or SBC powered Brougham would do the trick. :thumbsup:

why not lease for 2 years then buy it? It gives you the opportunity to have a lower payment now, but also time to save the money for the residual at the end? My 2000 GMC Jimmy was costing me big repair dollars so I just leased a 2008 F-150 FX4 package for 310/mo and a buy price of about 20K in 2 years. Keep in mind this is just a winter driver and I drive my STS-V in the summer, but the price is right nowadays...you can get good deals out there.


F

Run away as fast as you can from the Bonneville! The one I had was the same age as that one...but fewer miles on it..and one day the brakes literally fell off. Brake fluid all over the street. Before that it had constantly been in for one repair or another. Believe me, I have been in your shoes. Don't panic buy..it only leads to regrets

I think you should go all out and by a Corvette or an XLR. Cut that 50 minutes in half. :thumbsup:

thx for your input guys...This is exactly why I posted, because I don't want to buy something in a panic like minnesotamom said. I think I can get over not having a truck. I only wanted a truck because I live in the country and from time to time having a truck would have paid off. So now I'd scout around for something else.

Thx guys.......those were wise words orconn
@ Florian leasing has never appealed to me and furthermore I do not have the resources, credit nor the driving record to get something new.

Get a used tundra or tacoma, it will go forever. Any used car, especially one with over 100K is going to need money put into it. Spend the extra cash now, and buy something newer with lower mileage, you will end up saving money in the long run.

Run away as fast as you can from the Bonneville! The one I had was the same age as that one...but fewer miles on it..and one day the brakes literally fell off. Brake fluid all over the street. Before that it had constantly been in for one repair or another. Believe me, I have been in your shoes. Don't panic buy..it only leads to regrets
Now I am not saying to buy a 200K car, but my wifes '96 Bonneville has about 150K on it so far and has been very reliable. It has more miles on it than any car I have ever owned. Probably will let her drive it till it dies and see what the record will be.

two new options:

93 FWP...~89000 mi...$6000
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii31/noilion/P1000922.jpg


or
97 Conti...~100k mi....$4900
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii31/noilion/P1000916.jpg

The Fleetwood Brougham :bouncy:
Nonetheless I must tell ya it's not '93 either '95 or '96 to the door mirrors unless those weren't swapped

@CADILLACBOY...what can you tell me about it?... It's got a 5.7L IIRC, you're right wrt the model year, the guy said 93, but there was a VHS in the glove box that said 1995 something or other. I have not driven it yet though....I've never driven anything that big b4...looks like fun.

I'm going to the bank tommorow....I have also seen a 2001 deville that I could be interested in, I'm going to the bank tommorrow...the guy said that he will only accept cash for it(FWB). So I'd try get a loan for the 01 deville but probably go with the FWB, and use the extra $ to clean it up.

I'm pretty sure you will like and enjoy the LT1 engine .I have some good news for you too .If you want you can modify Fleetwood easily and even a PCM tune up makes a difference and makes you happy .
It's a big car as you said but not sluggish by any means :bouncy: :yup:

Check whether the seller of the FWB has the maintence and repair records and receipts; if well maintained could be interesting. I see you live in VA. I have 1993 Seville STS white pearl over neutral (beige) leather with 94,000 miles that is in excellent shape with all records for the last five years ( we got the car with 48,000 miles on it) it has had all it's scheduled maintenance at the Cad dealer and Firestone. It has all the SEville STS goodies plus a moonroof and 12 CD changer, the front tires are brand new the rears should be good for another 25,000 miles. The car was my wife's daily business (real estate) driver until just before Christmas when she got a 2002 SLS. I haven't put it up for sale yet but if you would be interested I'm asking $4995/OBO. Let me know and I'll give you my phone #. The car is located in Midlothian, VA just outside Richmond.

@ORCONN...sounds interesting but no thanks... I already own a 94 sls.