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◀ prev ▲ next ▶1995 Pontiac Bonneville SE - $3200 (Muskego)
school dr
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condition: excellent
1995 Pontiac odometer: 153619 paint color : red size : full-size type : sedan drive : fwd fuel : gas transmission : automatic title status : clean cylinders : 6 cylinders
This car was produced during Pontiac's hay day. It was a luxury ride then and it is still a luxury ride even by today's standards (for reasons I will explain). Sadly Pontiac did not maintain this level of quality through the early and late 2000's and as a result they disappeared during tough economic times.
Due to rising fuel prices and increasingly stringent government regulations, modern auto makers have a very strong focus on making their cars more fuel efficient. This is great, I love the environment too, but it comes at a price.
Gone are the days of the sofa-like seats. They are just too bulky and heavy by today's standards. Ole Bonnie has em and it literally feels like you are sitting in a Laz-e-boy as you relax through every passing mile.
Bonnie has a curb weight of 3446 lbs. This means she has tons of inertia which translates into a buttery smooth ride. Sure her thicker body panels are heavier but they resist rust better. She's got a little bit of rust but I've seen plenty of newer cars with a lot more. She's doing surprisingly well for being almost 20 years old.
As a side benefit of her age, she will likely qualify for collector's plates soon which means she can be registered for life with a one time payment. If you do this you technically can't drive her in January but you could save bundles on registration and insurance over the long haul.
She's also got a 205HP 3.8L V6 engine with 230 ft-lbs of torque. This is plenty of gitty-up to accelerate you out of trouble or to get you up to free-way speed in no time.
Leg room is great front and back so you can haul all of your friends around in comfort.
Tires have lots of tread.
She's got a classy maroon red color fit for Ron Burgundy!
Bonnie is also loaded with tons of high tech features: Cruise control, power mirrors, power driver side seat, ABS brakes, power windows, power locks, and driver side and passenger side air bags. Every time I take her for a spin she makes me say "Wow, they had that feature in 1995?".
I've never seen a cigarette lit within her interior but if you're a smoker she's got ash trays up the wazoo! Modern cars seem to skimp on these things probably due to surgeon general warnings. We used these containers for loose change but smokers will be hard pressed to find a more accommodating ride. Again, a product of the 90's for better or for worse.
EPA mileage is 17cty/26 hwy which isn't too shabby but doesn't come close to a modern car in her class.
She's clean and runs great. Over the past 3 years she has had a power steering leak repaired, starter motor replaced, new battery, new spark plugs and wires, and serpentine belt and belt tensioner replaced (belt tensioner failure is one of the most common failure modes of serpentine belts) so you should be good for quite some time.
She's got A/C but it doesn't currently work due to a low refrigerant charge (I know for a fact that the charge is low). I'm not sure whether or not the system sprung a leak or if the low charge is a result of normal leakage over a 20 year span through atmospheric interfaces at the fill valve and compressor. I am a mechanical engineer who specializes in large HVAC equipment so I know that it is virtually impossible to create a system that does not leak. The good news is that she was originally charged with 134a which is much better for the environment than some of the earlier refrigerants. 134a is also available for purchase to the general public in Wisconsin. Rather than filling up the system so that I could say "See, it works!" during a test drive, I decided that the most ethical action to take was to disclose the current state of the system. A leak test should be performed prior to recharging.
She might also have a slight coolant leak. I'm not exactly sure where it is coming from but I have had to occasionally add antifreeze. The leak rate appears to increase and decrease possibly due to thermal expansion reasons. I'm not really sure where the leak is but I don't think it is at the head gasket (worst place to have a leak) because the engine/exhaust seem fine. The leak rate has been low enough that I have not decided to take action yet but a bottle of coolant leak sealer or the ole pepper trick might do wonders.
I'm sure you can tell that that our family has a genuine emotional attachment to this car. This is because she has provided us with years and years worth of reliable, comfortable transportation. Bonnie has been functionally replaced with a newer more fuel efficient vehicle with lower miles. We will be sad to see her go but we will be more sad to see her sit. I tried to rationalize keeping her with the engineering principles of N+1 redundancy (keep 1 spare so you can carry on seamlessly in the event of a failure) but due to the depreciating nature of vehicles with respect to both condition and financial value it was determined that she needs to be sold. Above all we want her to be enjoyed. We occasionally rotate her into our daily driving routine so that she stays up to date on her maintenance and so that she doesn't develop sitting related problems such as seized brakes, over-discharged battery, flat tires, and bad gas.
What a car! Teardrop.
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