VX for sale, though has problems...take the chance?

[rowhard]

welcome to the addiction. What you describe is as you say, nickel dime stuff. You came to the right place to get the info you need for most of these items/problems. IF your really taken with this VX and don't want to wait for another, I would spend the 100 bucks or less and have a mechanic you trust check it out, and the high cost items he might find can be bargaining points to bring the asking price down. AT 70k, your coming up (5k) on the cam timing belt change and most do the water pump at the same time. Unless your mechanically inclined, you will have to pay that and it ain't cheap.

Things to think about

[MeowMix]

Wow...I'm almost overwhelmed by all the info everyone has given me, lol. I appreciate all the feedback and advice! There's a very good chance that despite it's obvious flaws, I may continue to pursue this VX rather than waiting even longer than I already have for another to come along...to find one in the middle of the inland northwest with this low of mileage and in the color that I want and everything is a sheer stroke of luck. I just need to find a mechanic to check it out for me now, then the price bargaining can begin. Both of the Pontiacs I've had have never broken down, so I've never gotten a chance to know any mechanics in town...only tire shop people and of course, 12 volt people (my specialty)

Mile High - yes, ABS is important to me; braking and traction systems are the main reason I'm selling my Pontiac for an SUV. If the winters in Spokane keep up the way they have this year, and especially in 2008-09, I need something I can get through the thick snow and compact ice in...my car simply isn't cutting it. Thanks for the numbers and all, I have been to Whitey's before, though was there looking for Civic parts with a friend...never saw the VX.

VXJunky - I've seen the cladding painted before, not my thing either, though at least the one I saw was ebony, so it almost kinda looked "right", lol. I'm sure I can scour various product lines and find something to help with sunfading...I don't expect perfection though.

Kat - thank you for providing all those links, as well as that list; I didn't know it was here on the forums...though I haven't had the time to sit down and really check things out here yet. Perhaps the time I have off between the end of Jan term and the beginning of spring semester classes would be a good time to really check things out...and perhaps by then I'll have a VX in my garage, lol. I know I can run fine without ABS; my current car has no ABS system at all, and in going from one that had it to one that doesn't...I despise not having it, so I'd definitely like to fix it. Of course my El Camino didn't have it either, but she would only come out of the garage when the sun was shining and roads were dry Also, thanks for the thought, but Miami is a bit for for me to go for a vehicle...FL is probably the farthest from WA I can possibly get.

PK - thanks for the advice, the brake light being on is something I'll indeed have assessed when I take it to a mechanic, and hopefully it will be determined to only be the brake pads afterall. And I have no doubts that I will fall deeply in love if I'm able to obtain a VX; I fell in love with my first Sunfire as well as my El Camino...my girls meant everything to me. Though my current Sunfire was a compromise. I could take him or leave him, lol.

Rowhard - so nice to see another Washingtonian! Thanks for reminding me about 75K mi maintenance...yet another bargaining chip I can potentially use to drive price down! So long as I can get the woman selling it down to $6000, I'm golden...because I'm sure I can sell my current toy for 5 or 6 grand...

Nice meeting everyone, and y'all can call me MeowMix! I don't want to show up out of the blue and steal VX Kat's name. That would be awfully rude, lol.

[mdwyer]

Mile High - yes, ABS is important to me; braking and traction systems are the main reason I'm selling my Pontiac for an SUV. If the winters in Spokane keep up the way they have this year, and especially in 2008-09, I need something I can get through the thick snow and compact ice in...my car simply isn't cutting it.

Just my $.02, here. I can't actually recommend an SUV -- any SUV -- as being safer than your Pontiac in snow and ice. My VX will go through some seriously big snow, true. The problem is getting it to stop and keeping the rubber side down.

For what it is worth, I do my blizzards in my AWD Subaru (or before that, a FWD sedan), which I feel much more confident in. It is nimble enough and has a low enough center of gravity to keep me out of accidents. Once the snow gets so deep that I'm plowing with the bumper, well, that's another story. But until then, I'd rather be high-centered in the Subaru than upside-down in the VX.

Anyway, welcome to the group. I hope you do get a Proton

PS: I loved Spokane when I visited there in the 80s! Stayed at the Davenport... creepy old hotel!