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Well Im buying a new used car.....its a 96 Pontiac Grand Am with 144,XXX miles on the clock.....

and im getting for cheap from my aunt at 800 bucks.....and since i need a daily driver, im buying it.

I have already drove this car and check the engine and its pretty healthy but the car has been sitting around for about 6 months, my aunt rarely uses it and she doesnt want it anymore since she has a newer car.

My question is this........

What should I replace in a car with 144k miles that has been sitting around most of its time?

I already know that an oil change is necessary but i know theres a list of other things i should replace like spark plugs and wires air filter etc....

but i guess someone should do a list of things anyone should do and replace when buying a used car.....of course it will vary depending if the car has been having problems way before but doing maintance on a car would probobly reduce headaches and prolong the life of engines.

and i specially think it should be done to cars with more than 140k miles...

so help out guys
thanks

How well did your aunt maintain the car?

It's hard to just say what to do unless you have a decent idea of what services had been done and when.

I wouldn't necessarily replace anything that doesn't need replacement. I'd get one of your most mechanically able friends and spend a weekend going over everything. Check fluid levels and colors, make sure none of them are black when they should be green. It might be worthwhile to flush the radiator. Check all the belts. If the car has a timing belt, figure out when the last time that was replaced. If it's a timing chain, forget about it, those last forever. Pull the plugs, and gap them. Chances are this car has had plugs replaced already. Air/Oil filters should be obvious. You should probably pull the wheels off and grease the wheel-bearings. Nobody ever remembers to do that. And while you have the wheels off, you can check the brake pads too.

Tires. If they're in crappy condition, just get new ones. If they're ok, get new ones anyway. If they look like they were bought within a year or 2, rotate them and keep them.

Enjoy your car.

Grand Am's got a timing chain, which is supposed to be changed at 100k. I'd be willing to bet $50 that it hasn't been done. Ignore Cactus' comment about not worrying and just do it. Plus, I don't remember if the engines are interference or not. Better to be safe than sorry.

Don't worry about checking the oil filter, just change the oil and replace it.

Tires after sitting for that long are going to have major flat spots. If they have 50% tread or less, just replace them, regardless of how they look.

And greasing wheels bearings? Um... Most bearings these days are sealed. I know mine are. All greasing the outside is going to do is... well... make the outside greasy...

Plugs, worry about them if it's missing, ignore them otherwise. It's not necessary to spend time regapping them if the current gap works fine.

But do check brake pads, and replace if necessary. I'd consider any one pad less than 30% to be necessary.

I would go as far as a flush of the coolant and tranny too.

Huh, I guess I'm just used to timing chains lasting longer than that. And I guess I'm used to old wheel bearings, too. Still I'd pry open the seal, clean them and re-grease them. It takes 5-10 minutes per wheel. 140k miles can do a lot to a car.

Don't forget that your driving habits could also dictate what wear and tear a car encounters.

Not to mention the weather, terrain, and if you take care of the car or not.

Plus. With the 3800 Series being able to hit 200k+ on the odometer easily with proper care, it looks like you have a good car to work with here.

This post has been edited by brian mayhem on May 9 2009, 07:42 PM

There are cases where flushing the tranny breaks it. The new fluid flushes out crap that was already built up. Rule of thumb is to do 2 drain and fills before doing a full flush, if the full history of the car is not known.

Isnt this also the case with engine flushes?
It removes the build up that could be preventing things such as seals from leaking.

I know when i bought my older Mazda's the best thing you could do is drain and renew all fluids (water, oil, and brake fluids) and if everything else isn't squeeking your generally good for a while.

I would do a full service.

All fluids.
Check brakes (replace probably)
Timing belt (if applicable)
New battery
Drive belt
Plugs
Check tires

Then go from there.

This post has been edited by BmwNeoType on Jun 5 2009, 10:13 PM

All of the service-related stuff has been mentioned, but I had something to add.

I don't know what they say about your car, but I know that the timing chain on my Saturn is generally supposed to last the service life of the car, unless it was overly abused or run low on oil. Unless you can hear an unusual rattle in the engine, I wouldn't worry about it.

Coolant
Power Steering
Clutch fluid(if it has a clutch)
Tranny Fluid
Differential Fluid
Brake Fluid

New fluid looks bright...if it looks any bit unlike that, Id flush it.

Wow, first post after almost exactly 2 years ( only 3 days shy ).

Welcome back!

The chain let go on my fury @ 156k the seller said it had been replaced but a 5krpm incident said otherwise. if it's a non interference engine you're okay either way, if not you better replace it just to make sure.

This post has been edited by eighty_D on Aug 24 2009, 11:45 PM

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This post has been edited by Midnight Drifter on Feb 4 2010, 12:50 AM

Pontiac still uses dexcool in their shit, a buddy of mine has an '06 G6 and the reservoir says dexcool only on it. You'd think they'd have figured their shit out by now.

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