Who says you can't find a good, reasonably priced used cars these days? They're out there, you just have to know how to find them, be patient, you may have to travel a bit and be comfortable with compromise. For instance, take this 53,000-mile, $5,000 1987 Pontiac Bonneville I found recently on Facebook Marketplace for sale down near Columbus, a good two-hours south of me. It's not everyone's cup of antifreeze but for the money, you could do worse, and I'd be hard pressed for you to find something for the money that's better. If I was in the need of a beater, I'd be all over this.
You also need to be comfortable with explaining to your family, friends and neighbors how and why you dropped five-grand on a thirty-six-year-old, four-door, Pontiac. For many people, that's the toughest putt but what kind of world are we living in that it's perfectly ok to blow fifty, sixty, seventy-grand and more on a new car these days and it's questionable to drop five thousand on something like this?
Granted, as a "daily" for myself, I'd also have to contend with my family thinking I've lost my mind but as a first car for my sons years ago? This might have fit the bill quite perfectly. Especially for my younger son who tends to lean towards the avant-garde. Yes, this Blue Bonnie just might fit the bill for someone who likes to yang when the rest of the world yings.
There's always been a sliding scale of sorts when it comes to used car shopping. Primarily, the less you spend the more mental gymnastics you'll probably end up doing so you're able to sleep at night. The big issue with this car is its age, despite relatively no miles on it and it's, save for a sagging headliner, apparent superb condition. Doesn't mean she's perfect, though. The all but no miles on it obviously means it's sat for a while. Belts, wires and hoses may be dry rotted, the tires too. Brake and fuel lines may have corroded, fuel injectors clogged, etcetera, etcetera, yada, yada. Be prepared to drop another $1,500 on top of the 5G you put down to sort it all out. Maybe less, probably more but still, at the end of the day you're ahead of the game. Especially if you can do the bulk of the work yourself.
Spending more money on a used car doesn't necessarily mean you'll get a "better car" too. Same with dealerships - I've actually had more luck buying private party than buying an oldie from a dealership. Be leery with those "AS IS" deals on used car lots that are really fronts for high interest used car loans. Not only does the lot have zero skin in the car, aside from the money in it, they haven't got a clue about what they're selling you. At least buying an oldie private party, like this, you stand a fighting chance of at least getting a story or two behind it.
And a car this old with this little mileage and in the shape it's in definitely has a story behind it. Probably nothing more than it was "grand pappy's" last car and when he passed away the family couldn't part with it so they stored it in his massive shed on his three-and-half acre lot. All these years later they may be moving and it's time to give the Old Man's last ride the old heave-hoe.
These are actually pretty good cars and driving dynamics wise, are far more contemporary feeling than the hoary old boats they replaced. Hoary old boats that would have asking prices two-, three- if not four-times as much as this. Why? That's a good question, All I know is that some things are what they are. While this car didn't replace a GM "B-body" that many car pundits of my vintage go bonkers for, the H-body platform it shares with the Buick LeSabre and Oldsmobile 88 did.
Historically, as Pontiac's first full-size, front-wheel-drive sedan, it was a game changer as was its Buick, Oldsmobile and even Cadillac corporate brethren were. Buick and Oldsmobile came with their versions, the LeSabre and 88, respectively, for 1986. Why Pontiac was a year late to the H-body party is anyone's guess as was why Chevrolet never not got one was too. GM introduced their C-body chassis under the all-new Cadillac deVille\Fleetwood, Buick Electra and Oldsmobile 98 for 1985. The C- and H-bodies were essentially the same save for a somewhat different body. All of the original H and C's came in two-door guise except the Bonneville; they were four-door only. As domestic four-door sedans went, I thought these were particularly handsome.
These cars featured front-wheel-drive, transverse mounted V-6 engines with port-fuel injection, rack-and-pinion steering, independent rear suspensions and unit body construction. They were also more than foot-shorter than what they replaced and were some 600-pounds lighter. Although smaller, they had as much genuinely usable interior space and trunk capacity. I've always been ambivalent towards GM's "Class-of-1977" downsized full-size cars because they didn't advance the state-of-the-art of the then current automobile, but these things certainly did. Yes, there were some teething issues, and the competitive landscape was not kind to these cars, GM actually came to market with them several years too late, but again, these cars were the paradigm shifters the 1977 cars most certainly were not. Your opinon may vary, see dealer for details.
Actually, this Bonneville replaced an intermediate sized car, not a full-size model like the other H- and C-bodies did. The "Pontiac Bonneville" moniker dated back to 1958 and on and off for the next thirty years or so, was Pontiac's top-of-the-line model. While still Pontiac's range-topper, that sort of changed for 1982 when Pontiac axed full-sized cars and moved the nameplate to GM's intermediate, G-body chassis. As generic a 1980's, domestic four-door sedan as it got, it remained a mid-size car through 1986 even though Pontiac reintroduced a full-size model for 1983 after dealers complained they didn't have one. That car was a rebadged GM of Canada built Pontiac Parisienne, essentially a fancified Chevrolet Caprice.
This popped up on Marketplace Friday night and by Saturday afternoon, no surprise, it was gone. I hope who ever got it appreciates it for what it is historically. That's the history wonk in me saying that as much as the car geek is. Probably not, though, as it more than likely went to someone just looking for a solid, good riding and handling cheap car.
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