Pontiac Bonneville

intense01

Well, I have to be honest. Three different people I trust that have offered the following unsolicited comments this week:

1) "Is there something wrong with your car?"

2) "It sounds like a huge moped."

3) "Your car really sounds silly."

One guy just laughed. He was speechless.

Truth be told, I think it sounds very good at idle. As soon as I give it any gas at all, it gets very Honda-ish.

Of course I do have a potential solution in mind. I planned a four foot straight pipe right where the old converter and resonator used to be. The plan was that if I ever needed to add a converter or resonator it would only take a few minutes.

In talking to DynoMax today, they told me to add a small bullet 'race muffler' (resonator) right after the headers. I ordered it today ($36), and plan to install it this weekend, along with the new modified shift kit.

I'll keep you posted. We can all learn from my mistakes, since I make enough of them for the entire list...

dmckeown

Last week the deer took their revenge on me for hunting season. I scrapped two of them but went off road and into an embankment trying to avoid the rest of them. Bottom line, 5 star crash rating is a "for sure" cause I'm OK but just got word car is totalled. Next year I will leave the Smith and Wesson at home and use my AR15 on them .How much is a L67 and tranny worth?

vocus

Sorry to hear that your SSEi was totalled in the accident. Just look at it this way: You cared for your Bonneville alot. But it cared enough for you to give its life to save yours.

tpken

dmckeown - will you go for another Bonneville as replacement or are you considering others?

Ken

dmckeown

Its been a bad week here at Xerox for supercharged cars! My buddy with the modified 99 GTP told me his girl friend was driving it when she got hit at an intersection by some one who then drove off, hit and run. Crushed the front end and damaged drive train. BUT, low and behold, across the intersection waiting for green light was another 99 GTP who not only witnessed the accident but chased the other driver and got plate number for cops, who ticketed said escapee. Don't think the pursuit GTP had much trouble catching runner cause his GTP is also modified, don't know what level..
Damn, I'm going through SC withdrawal! Looked at 2001 SSEi but don't know if I can absorb the diff. between payout on my 2000 and what a 2001 cost. May have to get a used 2000 SSEi but they will be very hard to find till late this year when some 2 year leases come up

refiner

Doug glad to hear your alright. The deer around here are getting bad. They need to extend the season. Like the Stephen King novel Christine you got to get another Bonneville. It saved you once.
Matt

vocus

That movie was weird. I had almost forgotten about it until it was mentioned.

DMckeown: There are several SSEis out there on the used car circuit with low mileage. I saw a couple, and they go for like $25K or so used. I am probably going to get a used SSEi because a new one would make my depreciation level too high (I also drive like 25K a year). But you should have no trouble finding a used SSEi at all.

dmckeown

Pual, you've seen 2000 SSEi's ? Gee, any black ones ? Were they demos or what, around here demeos have about 6k miles on them but they were gone months ago. I will most likely wait till spring but it is hard not having Bon out in the garage , least I have my 93 SLE, wonder what that would be like with my 2000 L67 in it?

vocus

I have seen one black SSEi with like 15K on it at Carmax (http://www.carmax.com) in Georgia I believe. It's going for $25K. Check into it. Also, go to http://www.usedcars.com and http://www.getauto.com. They both let you search within your area/state for the car you want. Good luck!

intense01

Doug:

Sorry to hear about your car. Glad you're OK though!

If the engine is for sale, I am very interested.

Scott

smfran

Glad to hear you are O.K. Too bad you would have to absorb a difference to replace your Bonnie with a new one. Depending on your relationship, maybe your dealer could cut you some slack and give up any profit including the "holdback". You could also consider a GTP. I realize it would be a step down, but you could have some fun with one!
Keep us posted.
Stephen

snickle

Doug,

Sorry to hear about your car. Hope you figure out how to get a new Bonnie.

zzahh

So, you broadsided Bambi with the Bonnie. Busted bumpers, broken ball joints, the ol' brain bounced off the bag, bad break. But behold, buying Bonnies cab be beautiful. And tell those that [non-permissible content removed] 'bout biffing the butt of Bambi.... "Bite me"!

eddyv

Sorry to hear about your car. Glad you are fine and not injured though.

Ed

phildo75

I just got my computer back. I'm really sorry to hear about your accident. I will keep my eye open for a 2000 here in RI If we see you this summer I hope it will be in a SSEi.I'm glad you're ok.
Phil

dmckeown

As much as I like my wifes 99 Grand Prix it just seems such a step down to get a GTP. My buddy at work keeps telling me about all the great stuff he can get for his GTP, but some of the fun I was having modifying Bon was that it took a little extra effort. I got so used to the great lines of my SSEi that a GTP looks tame or something. But boy, on the used market you can pick up a late model GTP reasonable.
The day before I bounced bambi Bon was all shiny black and chrome, clean and waxed and I was putting some 94 in it at a Sunoco station. Some well dressed guy at the next pump was fueling his Volvo, and as much as he tried to hide it he kept checking my car out. Then his lady comes out of the store and she just keeps her eyes on Bon all the time she is walking over to their euro box, actually kinda over shooting the passenger door. I would love to believe she had those eyes for me, but that stuff happened all the time when I had the SSEi out, never if I'm in the S10 blazer, least not a hottie like her. So I guess someone asked me if I was considering anything else besides a 2000 Bonneville, yes I am, if I can't get a black 2000 SSEi by end of spring I'll get a 2001

ezrapon

OK, I was going to whine about the fact a salesman hit my Bonnie at the dealership last week... put a scuff mark on the bumper... I guess Doug's story beats the hell out of mine. I have a new Ultra black/chrome wheels all the toys for a loaner. I like it alot. Feels faster than my bonnie (before the pulley) must be the 3:05 axle. I'll give you my black bonnie for somewhere between 26 and 27 K... that's the deal they are throwing at me for a trade in. Let me know if you're interested at all.

tpken

Here's a pic of my 2000 Bonneville SE. I just posted it in the Town Hall News and Views "Showcase your car" forum and I'll post it here too.

Have a great day

Ken

pat

In order to post a picture, you have to have it uploaded to a website and then reference that website in your link. AOL, yahoo and lots of places have free site hosting where you could load your picture.

Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Automotive Message Boards

tpken

Think this will work now

target=_blank

snickle

Did you get a chance to add the bullet muffler? I left my resonator in for the same reason. Flowmaster recommended keeping a resonator.

What are you planning on doing with your old exhaust manifolds?

vocus

I looked at a 1999 Bonneville SSE in white with all standard equipment and 26,500 miles the other day. The price they wanted was $17,688 for it. Do you all think that's a good deal or not?

Also, I have a 1993 dark-red Bonneville SSE with the gold trim on it I am going to sell pretty soon. I have all the service records for the car since new, and it has 76,500 mostly highway miles on it, along with 2 new tires and brakes. The price would be around $6000 if anyone's interested. E-mail me if you are. Thanks!

teo

I think you should stick to a 'used' 2000 Boneville...a much better car than the pre-2000 model year models in almost everyway.

To me $17K for a '99 is a bit steep when you can get a low miles Y2K Bonneville for almost the same money.

tpken

I paid $15,995 for my 2000 Bonneville SE 2 weeks ago. It has 18K miles on it and 1SB pkg, no sunroof or leather.

Ken

vocus

But this one is an SSE model, and the Edmund's TMV on it's over $18,000, so I think it's a good deal.

I have seen a few used 2000 Bonnevilles too, but their front seats are not comfortable to me. The integrated seatbelt pulls down on my shoulder and isn't adjustable (I am 6'3). I think I would rather stick to a used 1999 model, and definitely the SSE model. But I wanna look around some more before deciding. I thought the price was a little high as well.

teo

Good point about the seat mounted seat belts. While I have no doubt of the effectiveness of the 'Catcher's Mitt' system designed for rear end collisions, the biggest drawback I see with those seat belts is that they can't be adjusted for height as in cars with B-pillar mounted belts. My wife is 5' 3", so I don't know if she will be comfortable wearing the front seat belts...

Any insight from very short or very tall Y2K Bonneville front driver and passengers?

refiner

Just got done talking to superchip. The guy I talked to didn't know anything about a programmer for the 2000 SSEi. He said he would have to email engineering to find out about it. Give me a break. I'm having some serious doubts about this place. Has anyone heard anything different?

vocus

I think I am going to hold on to the two vehicles I have now (1993 SSE and 1999 Protege) until the end of 2001 or so. That way, there will be 2000 models coming off their leases and stuff, and I might be able to snag one really cheap. Plus, I have negative equity on the Protege that I have. I am going to wait a bit to pay that down some. I was going for the 1999 mentioned above, but why pay so much for a car with almost 30K on it and lose money on my trade at the same time? Makes no sense to me.

teo

Good idea. Pay down some of your debt in the Protege and while at it, you'll have a better pool of 'returned and offlease' Y2K Bonnevilles for you to choose from...who know you might even be able to get a nice SSE-i for much less than you can possibly think.

Good luck...its just a few months wait.

vocus

I called the guy from the dealership today to tell him of my decision, and he was not very happy. He wants me to bring in the car and said he might be able to give me a couple hundred more on the Mazda than its worth to close the deal. In order to make me happy, he's gonna have to up the trade-in value on both cars and drop the price about $500 or so on the one he has. He just doesn't know it yet.

But I will probably end up waiting for the end of the 2001 model year. Who knows, then I might be able to find an almost-new 2000 or 2001 at a good price.

teo

I think it is still better to wait.

intense01

Steve:

Haven't added the resonator yet. My girlfriend made me work on her Grand Prix all weekend. Plan to do it soon...

I don't have any plans for the old manifolds. Wanna buy 'em cheap, and get 'em ported?

Scott

intense01

I sent an email to these guys over the weekend.

Back in September, they said it would be November. Then in November, they said it would be January. Today they responded by saying they haven't started on the Bonneville yet.

I wish we could find someone else to do this for us. It seems to me like someone who knew how to access the code could do this very easily.

smfran

When I first got my 2000 SSEi, I thought I'd never be as comfortable in it as I was in my '97. Although the seats seem to be the same, they do not adjust in the same manner. After some time and adjusting, I became comfortable. I have felt this way with every new Bonneville I have had. I'm now on my 5th. I never think I'll be as comfortable as I was in the one previous, but I always am.

As far as the new seat belt mounting position is concerned, grabbing on to it to secure it took some getting used to as it comes from the seat rather than the pillar. It is now second nature. I am 6' tall and my wife is 5' tall. Although she has not liked any of my Bonnevilles for comfort, she has no problem with the seat belt location and neither do I.

One thing I can say is that she would not even want to be in the front passenger seat without the add on headrest pillow I got from AAA Marketplace (thanks again snickle). She likes to rest her head back and the location of the front headrests is useless.

refiner

The Grand Prix store has a reprogrammed PCM. I think RAT does to. I wonder if they would work on our cars? I seem to remember calling one of them a couple months ago and they said it wouldn't. Maybe they could tell us who does their programming.

intense01

The general consensus is that one guy (who works for G.M. by day) secretly wrote the modified GTP PCM code. All the folks who are offering it just have copies of this one set of code. To further confuse the issue, no one will tell you who it was that actually wrote the code.

Apparently, this code is vehicle and year specific, and will not work in our Bonnevilles, etc.

I believe I may have access to a copy of this code on disk. Would anyone out there have any idea what language it might be in, and/or how to write to our existing PCM?

Somehow, we have to figure this out! I have an EPROM-burner, and an AutoTap. These may turn out to be useful tools (?)...

h101

Hi everyone,

Looking at TPKEN's post (nice car) I became curious how many of us carry our front tags. I (so far) have refused to put 'em on, think the car looks soooo much better with the "Pontiac" filler. Have got a way with it for a year (and three years on my other beast) so far.

Bill in snowy Wisconsin

scotts93sse

target=_blank

refiner

Your right the Grand Prix store
emailed me back and said it wouldn't
work in our car and they didn't know
anybody who could program it for us.
Like you Scott last week I sent for
the stage II MAF and the fuel
pressure riser.

snickle

My understanding is the code on the PCM is encrypted. That is the big problem.

tpken

Great car Scott - looks very well taken care of - Why no license plate?

h101 - I have to register mine soon and will have to use front and rear plates here in Maine. BTW - we got dumped on last night - 12-18 inches most places!

Seats - For those with comparisons to older Bonnies (smfran) do the older models allow the seat to raise higher than these new ones? I find my power seat does not go as high as I would prefer based on my accustomed driving position from other cars. I'm getting used to it but it is definitely lower -particularly at the rear of the bottom cushion - a real 'bucket' feeling.

Ken

tpken

The Aurora forum suggests that the Bonneville is being canned in a few years - possibly to be replaced with the Aurora. Any others heard this?

Ken

skyhawk3

In Rhode Island it's a $55.00 fine if they feel like pulling you over for not displaying the front plate. we run with the plate.
My wife loves the seat and the seat belt in her 2001 SLE. We have power passenger also. This car is a big improvement over her last vehicle (station wagon)she had to have. I am still trying to find the right adjustment for myself. I don't drive it that often.

djohn81641

My car has never been in an accident. In Set. 99, the steering column, loosen and the wheel felt like it was going to fall off. The dealer said he could not get a new or used column, so he tried to rebuild the existing column. The repair lasted for 4 months. The dealer states I really need another column, and my model( I have the radio controls on the wheel) was only made for 1 year. I thought my model was made from 89-91. Has anyone ever had this problem? Does anyone know where I can get another steering column?

ymandj

I own '96 Bonneville SE and for the last half a year I'm having a problem trying to start my car.
It happens once in 2-3 months. When I turn the key to start the car, lights on dashboard start blinking, I hear a clicking sound but car doesn't start. When I try again, voltmeter points to the middle of the red zone and then the battery is dead. I can start from the booster but as soon as I turn the engine off I cannot start again.
When it happened the first time, mechanic replaced battery, saying that it is dead and doesn't charge and starter because , he said, it had short circuit. Next time (in 3 months) he just replaced the battery under warranty. Last time (in 1.5 month) he was able to re-charge the battery but still cannot find what discharges it every time. Starter seems fine. Alternator gives 14V, I don't leave lights on but the same thing keeps happening. I have an aftermarket alarm system but I doubt it can kill the battery so that it wouldn't even charge.
As a side problem (maybe it is related?) dimmer that highlights gadgets on dashboard sometimes turns off by itself after 15-20 minutes drive and I have to pull the knob to turn it on again.
Any ideas?
My wife is scared of this car already. We never know when it doesn't start again.

vocus

That usually means the alternator is bad. Also, usually when the battery goes so does the alternator. I used to have a 1994 SE and it went through 7 of them. Have them replace the alternator and your problems should be over.

phildo75

Hey, I have a 2000 SSEi any other RI ers out there

tpken

I'd like to know who ever designed these cup holders in the console of my '00 Bonneville. There is no conceivable way to place two normal coffee car mugs side by side because the holes are too close together.

Do others have the same set-up or better?

I know the Impalas I looked at were very good - lots versatility for different types of cups. I bet the Aurora, Intrigue and Regal don't use these.

Ken

dmckeown

I never put the front plate on my 2000 SSEi cause it ruined the looks of the car. No cop seemed interested in stopping me for that, and I figured if I got stopped for speeding(gee,imagine that) it would be a bargaining chip. I have been more or less let go on lesser charges before, out of date inspection, loud exhaust(are you listening intense?) and 2 years ago a state trooper let me off for no seat belt even though as he handed me the ticket I had it on! You do have to be pleasant when talking to them, and some times nothing works. I also refused to put plate on my wifes 99 Grand Prix but if she gets a ticket for it I'll be sleeping in the garage again. Hint, carry plate and bracket in trunk and if a cop hassels you for it tell him you didn't know it was against the law cause motercycles don't have them on the front, but you'll put it right on now while he watches and thanks for informing me of the law. Cup holders' now that is a situation I believe was designed for Highball glasses, something about attitude.

smfran

As much as I love my 2000 SSEi, I must admit that the front cupholders are of poor design. The unreachable glove compartment comes in a close second.