As a point A to point B to work and occasional cruise around car, I'm thinking about buying a "friend of a friend's" 1987 Sunbird. My friend says the car runs really well, (quiet, not smoking, no pings, some new parts) has only 60,000 miles on it, cold AC, and all the gadgets work. I haven't seen it yet, but going to look at it tomm, and drive it, etc. My friend and the guy selling the car, work at a Nissan dealership, and "my" friend says the car seems mechanically "sound:" (he has looked all through it, cranked it, etc) and the body is in very good shape.. As I said, it's a "2nd car" and the guy's only asking $1,200 for it. Anyone think this is an okay deal? I realize it's an '87, and a 1,000 car, and things will go wrong, but is there anything "mechanically disastrous" about an '87 Sunbird I'm unaware of? Any expensive notorious short comings an '87 Sunbird may be famous for?
1987 Sunbird comments?
Jul 16, 2005
3 Replies
If it's a v-6 engine, not a bad little car. If it has the 4 cyl engine, I'd stay away from it. Pontiac Sunbirds used the OHC 4 cyl engine, and while it's not a bad engine, it's very expensive to repair compared to the OHV 4 cylinder engine that the Chev Cavalier's used. Head gaskets are a problem and it's pricey to fix.
Ian
I agree with ian.I bought an 88 sunbird a few years back,with 51K miles on it .Had a blown head gasket.I fixed it myself in the back yard.Spent about $400 in parts getting it back in running cond.Took me about 3 or 4 days to fix and replace everything.It now has 62K it runs good on 93 octane and pings on hills with 87octane,gets 35mpg on hiway.Hope this info was usefull.Bobby
Thank you for all your comments. My brother (who is a mechanic for Honda) and I, looked at it Sunday, drove it, etc.. and after reading in here saturday, had him look for signs of head gasket problems, etc. Everything seems "sound". My brother thought it was in excellent shape engine wise, considering it's an '87, and all the other things (brakes, rotors, trans) all seem in good shape. It only appears to need an alignment, and some minor repairs on the interior. So, for just a little over a grand, and to be a "2nd" car, think I'll go ahead and get it. Thanks for your input.
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