SL2 Rotted out & fails NYS Inspection...*Sigh*

My '93 SC2 is going to pasture (literally) by year's end. It can't pass the NY state smogger, period. High HC's. We've replaced everything but the motor already.

I'm looking at the Impaler or a Charger. The former's got the reliability, size, mpg, features, but it's booooooorrrrriiiiiinnnnnnggggg. The chargeer? If it drives as well and it doesn't look like it'll fall apart like a Chrysler....

Nearly 12 years and 180k?...yeah you got your use out of it.

HHR? Stay away from that ugly beast and look at a 2.2L Vue.

Phil unless you were looking at a 06 Impala with a 5.3 dont bother with EITHER! I'm supprised you of all people even considered those choises. The only car in that price and class range that comes close to what you're looking for is a 06 Grand Prix. It looks aggressive and is superior in many ways. Especially since you seem to do most of the servicing yourself.

Everyone's got their opinions, but my wife & I for once agree with each other (regarding cars anyway) and actually find the Vue very *ugly*...(My parents have one)..But like they say, opinions are like ---holes, everyone's got one...I actually like the HHR's styling. The thing was, I was looking for a cheap commuter car to replace the SL2, but with a 2nd kid on the way and $ being tight, the HHR falls right into what we need, and in the price range needed (mid to upper teens)....the thing is just a Chevy Cobalt anyway....

BTW - Yea yea, I know I got the use out of the SL2, but it's not a good time for me personally to have to go through the BS of looking for another car....But when is it ever, right? :) heh...What's even better is that 12 years and 180K, and Chevy's going to give me $586 in trade in value!! A lot better than I thought, considering that my dad was going to trade in this SL2 for his Vue 3 years ago and they were only going to give him $800 for it, so he gave it to me with 100K on it instead....

Oh and Phil - If you can find a station to *work* with, they got mine to get through the "smogger" with a little trick...They disconnected the fan, thereby getting the engine hot (almost red-line) by the end of the dyno test....The hotter she ran, the better she did on the emissions. (Guess burns off the gasses?) Not sure this works with all cars, but it he says it does with the Saturns....Where in NY are you? If you want to give my guy a shot before you give up on your car, let me know and I'll tell you via e-mail (not here)...

Scott

Long Island, Nassau region.

I dunno, I kinda liked the Impaler. It's got a good amount of features (on the 3LT trim level at least) and it's behaves when you drive it.

*sigh* I was thinking of a Caddy, but too much $$$. I'm not happy with the choices out there but I've got a deadline unless the car 'magically' passes...

I might look at it. I've been too drowned with Pontiac horror stories, though mechanicaly it's pretty much the same car anyway...

The Impaler with the 6 didn't look to bad under the hood. Mostly plastic covers to keep the curious curious. When will the auto makers finally ditch this dead weight on cars? Didn't drive too bad either. I'd look at a GTO but the interior SUCKS and the price does too. The mpg is a touch low for a 2 times a week 75 mile each way field call, too :(

Seriously, if the Impaler didn't look so Booooooooooring, and was RWD, I'd probbably go for it, hands down. I don't hate FWD *that* much, if it's done right it's ok a lot of the time, but I'd like to own at least one RWD car before I'm dead. The Mr Reliable car won't be it...

A friend suggested a Crown Vic. I'm not into land barges that ride like a ferry in rough seas...

Actualy, none of Ford's stuff excites me, though the Mustang would have but it's 1 liter and 100hp too small...

The new Impala is rwd? I Havent been paying attention. No wonder they managed to shoe-horn that 5.3 in. Being an Impala, insurance shouldnt be anymore for the 5.3l...Yet. Nothing justifies buying that 3.5/3.9 though.

Yeah who are those people? Those are people who havent owned a Pontiac that was newer than 1992.

Its called an injector sight sheild and its easy to remove (twist off oil fill neck) and doesnt weigh anything though I put mine away. I like seeing and monitoring the condition of my plug wires. Also be sure to let me know how hard it is to touch every fuel injector on the beautiful series III 3800 and how hard it is to touch every fuel injector on the

3.5/3.9...

A better car in that class is a Bonneville SLE. Air ride suspension, corners like a cat. Plus it gets wayyyyyy better gas mileage. Oh wait... some overpaid ignorant GM bean counters killed that model this year...

Ford once and awhile really hits the mark on styling but when it comes to everything under that skin...very ugly and poorly thought out. How those ford engines run is beyond me. I've seen GM vehicles with less clutter in the 1980's with smog control crap.

I'm in Suffolk - You willing to go out to around the Sayville area? If so and are interested I'll send you the info....

Scott

Sure why not? It's not *that* far :) i do a 75 mile each way field call once a week anyway heh.

Well blah blah,

Not that you talked me into it or anything, but more because that when I went to the Chevy dealer to sign for the HHR, they rescinded their offer on my trade-in down to $150!! Plus, after arraigning on Sat. to have the actual car in question there last night for us to look at, they forgot to bring it over from another lot making us wait for 1 hour with a 3 year old. In addition, after arguing with the sales guy over the trade in value and what he promised, I can overhear the manager calling my car "a piece of sh*t and if the you want to give him $586 for it, it can out of your f---in' salary". The whole experience and the way we were treated last night turned my stomach, so I'm stopping tonight to get my deposit back. Anyway on a whim, we stopped by the Saturn dealer on the way home, mostly to see what they had. I really didn't like anything they had except the new Vue. I didn't realize how much they changed since my parents Vue. (Theirs is the first year Vue V6 AWD) My wife like the way that they changed some things and rounded off the front end as well as more importantly for her, changed the interior, so she's hooked on it. It's got a lot more room in it than the HHR and more features for our money. The best thing was in addition to a decent price we worked out, they then went out and checked my Saturn. They're giving me $1K for trade in plus $500 for being a previous Saturn owner. Yea, I know that the no haggle thing prevents them from playing with the MSRP number, so this is where they can play with the numbers, but there is the psychological impact of making me feel better about my car. :) Anyway, payments work out to be $10 cheaper a month than the HHR, so I get more car for my money. Is it my dream car? No, but I really had started out looking for a cheap commuter car anyway, so....I guess it looks like I'll be hanging around here after all, so welcome me back! :)

Oh, and my wife likes the special promo around here of "Buy a Saturn, get a $500 shopping spree at Target"....Me personally? Give me another $500 off the friggin' car, but Christmas is coming anyway, right?

Wish me luck!!

Scott

"blah blah" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news-server.woh.rr.com...

Welcome back? You going through with the buy already or soon? You're looking at a 4 banger vue right? 6 cyl uses a timing belt and is a bit of a pain and pricey to service anything on. I had a feeling the HHR wasnt so great. It looked like it wasa rush job to target the PT cruiser / H2 market. (The kind of market that didnt really care if it was a good or pratical vehicle, just that it looked different.) I never even knew the HHR was coming out. There wasnt any hype that I read about and I only learned of it months after it came out I think. Lots of hype about a lot of other GM concepts that never make it, how the HHR made it, I'll never know... At least the Solstice made it.

As far as small suv's go the Ecotec equiped Vue seems to be the most pratical and by far the better looking. It wont tow much of a load but who tows these days to justify these big gas sucking suv's? (I'm not an environmentalist but living beyond ones needs in that manner is stupid.) The ecotec with "traction control" should get you where ever you're going. Not sure what the weather and roads are like where you're at but AWD is often over kill so pass on that. (think they dropped the awd opt for 4cyl. though) I dont know if GM's doing their 24hr test drive thing still but be sure to take one simular to what you want for a test drive if you havent already so if you have any issues with something you wont be disappointed later.

Good luck.

Pretty much looks like we're going through....Yes, looking at the 4 banger, but a 5 speed...Gets better mileage than the auto (sticker states

24city/30hwy which is identical to the HHR - Not that you get what it says anyway, but it's a comparative guide)...Don't need the AWD anyway.....Long Island is as flat as a pancake, and the snow we get here is not a big deal.....Not worried about towing. I have a '99 F150 Lariat that is my real baby. :) My wife went with my Dad to look at it during the day and drive it again, and she's even more hooked....We'll see what happens...

Thanks again,

Scott

Phil,

Tried to e-mail you at the attached address, but it was kicked back. If your still interested in the place, send me a e-mail addy to reply to...

Scott

Oh, it's usermail.com, not usermale.com. It confuses skimmers, and sometimes usenet posters ;)