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1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white


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brokenmercy
Novice

Jun 23, 2010, 8:22 PM

Post #1 of 12 (1532 views)
1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

1995 Pontiac Grand Prix SE 3.1 v6 148k miles

I am looking at this car I found on Craigslist on a dealership. I went to look at it and the guy said that the Intake Manifold Gasket was bad. However, there is moisture i the oil since it is white and I believe that the Head Gasket is bad. Is it possible for a bad Intake Manifold Gasket to cause moisture access to the oil? I nee to know 100% what is wrong with this car before I buy it that way I know how much money I have to put into it. Any Advice Helps.

Thanks, Lacy


re-tired
Veteran / Moderator
re-tired profile image

Jun 23, 2010, 8:44 PM

Post #2 of 12 (1524 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

Yes it is possible for the intake gasket to allow water into crankcase. I would be asking> why are they not fixing a relatively straight forward repair for a mechanic, and sell a working problem free car . I smell a rat. I would look for another car. IMO


LIFE'S SHORT GO FISH


brokenmercy
Novice

Jun 23, 2010, 9:02 PM

Post #3 of 12 (1523 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

well I actually am quite happy that they are not fixing it. Because I don't have very much money to buy a car. and they are selling it for $475. soooo.... it is cheap and easy to get. and I need a car before August.


Sidom
Veteran / Moderator
Sidom profile image

Jun 23, 2010, 11:04 PM

Post #4 of 12 (1521 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

You might want to take RTs advise here......For an old man, he got a pretty good nose...........Sly

I see you said this was a "dealership".... Just so you know how it works....

Highend dealers won't sell marginal cars off their "Pre-owned" lot...They have a good rep and want to keep it that way......They wholesale them to low end lots......(and NO they won't deal with the public on these ones........it's DEALERS only)

Low end lots usually know what they have and what it will take to make a profit. If this car just took a $60 set of gaskets & paying their guy a few hours, to be able to sell it for a few grand...........They would do it... They make mistakes just like everyone else. Once they find out it was a mistake, they are just looking to get their money back and move on to something else they can make money on.......

If this was a private party sale, you would have a slight chance at gettting "lucky". If this lot if "offing" this car, you don't want any part of it unless you have the same year & model you need parts for.....

This car is trash & not worth the money to fix & make usable or the car lot would do it...........Thats what they do for a living..........


brokenmercy
Novice

Jun 23, 2010, 11:29 PM

Post #5 of 12 (1519 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

well it isn't like a brand new car lot. its a used car lot. does that make a differnce
and yoiu can't buy just the head gaskets, you have to buy the entire kit which comes with an intake manifold gasket as well.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Jun 24, 2010, 2:52 AM

Post #6 of 12 (1511 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

Although it is possible for the intake gasket to give you that result, there is no way to distinguish between that and a cracked head or blown head gasket without taking it apart so they can't know which it is. Their diagnosis could be just wishful thinking or they may be right. The point RT is making is that they may have doubts about the diagnosis and chose to sell it "as is" instead of taking it apart and finding something worse. It would make more sense for them to repair it first if it was only an intake gasket because they would get a lot more for the car so it's leaves us very suspicious as to why they chose that route.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Jun 24, 2010, 5:39 AM

Post #7 of 12 (1507 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

I smell that rat too LOL. However, if you can negotiate down even more AND the cost to put it in your name isn't too high. Here it means a $75 Title, plus full value sales tax no matter what for private sales.

If cheap enough to give it a shot and it doesn't work out just cut losses quick. Here any car the salvage yards are paying $200 bucks no matter the condition but you have to have proper documentation that you own it too,

T



Sidom
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Sidom profile image

Jun 24, 2010, 9:21 AM

Post #8 of 12 (1497 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

Actually I was pretty sure this was a used car lot we were talking about and my post was based on that. This kind of a deal you wouldn't get from a dealership unless you knew someone there....

You seemed determined to get this car. I know it sounds like a good deal and maybe it is, none of us are there to check it out.

You've mentioned the car and the problem. If you do get this car, what is the plan? What is the budget to get it back on the road? What is too much? Who is going to be doing the work?

With any used car purchase I always push for a prepurchase inspection..... This one with the problem it has that inspecton could wind up being a 1/4 of the value of the car.

If there is any way you could get an experience tech to look at this would be good, especially if you could get it in the air to look underneath...

The last question you need to answer and it's been asked a few times all ready....

Why is this car lot selling this car "as is" and not fixing it and selling it????????

It my area this car books out at around $3500.


brokenmercy
Novice

Jun 24, 2010, 1:32 PM

Post #9 of 12 (1487 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

I went again to look at it today. The motor runs and sounds good. and I apologize the oil is not white is like chocolate milk. I had not seen it in about a month so my memory was a bit hazy. I took a friend out to look at it with me and he said everything checked out fine. Well except for the oil. The tranny fluid looked good. There was no visible leaks. Like I said clean car. And pretty cheap. I took a bargain and put 300 down on it. After taxes and title the total cost will be 550. If all else fails, I will get it running by replacing the Head Gasket and then sell it.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Jun 24, 2010, 1:47 PM

Post #10 of 12 (1485 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

Remember, no one can tell you what is wrong with that engine without taking it apart. That particular engine is prone to cracking the head when overheated and the symptoms are exactly the same as a bad intake gasket. You'd be looking at a lot more that $600 then.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



(This post was edited by Hammer Time on Jun 24, 2010, 1:48 PM)


Sidom
Veteran / Moderator
Sidom profile image

Jun 24, 2010, 2:09 PM

Post #11 of 12 (1480 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

Good luck with your new car.......Hopefully things work out good for you...


brokenmercy
Novice

Jun 24, 2010, 2:25 PM

Post #12 of 12 (1476 views)
Re: 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix oil is white Sign In

completely understood since it is aluminum. However any other cheap car needs a motor, a tranny or both. and I would end up paying 3 grand for a car that is not worth the trouble. This car is cheao, so if I do end up needing to replace the motore, it will not be killer. And thank you. I am really excited about it :)






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