Alright I am tired of my Grand Prix. I broke a spark plug in the engine last weekend and it almost cost me $1200 to fix (Have to take the engine apart) and it finally dawned on me I just need to get rid of it. Too many problems, sick of it, etc.

Well I found this really beautiful 3.8L 2000 Grand Prix GTP. The greatest engine to come out of the US (not saying much) by many is considered this. Amazing engine, easy to work on, heck you can do alot of repairs in the driveway. And since I know some Grand Prix buffs they can help.

Now my engine is the evil 3.4, the one they never should have made. As my brother who works at Car Max puts it, "One of the worst ideas that GM should have left in the closet."

Anyway, I asked my mom to cosign the loan and she refuses to cosign. Even though I have some credit, I wanna get the low 5.05% APR my bank has for used car loans. It's about $200 a month to pay back though, which is less than my current note. And repairs would be way, way easier.

Anyway, my mom wants me to TAKE her mom's car. See, my grandmother has alzheimer's, and owns a 1990 Mazda 626. The car has only like 50K on it, it really is a grocery getter. It only goes out on Saturday (for the past 3 years) driven by my uncle to get the groceries. The reason they keep it is cause she feels "Secure" having a car even though she has not driven in 3 years and no longer can legally drive.

My mom wants to ask my uncle for it cause my mom and uncle don't get along that well. I mean come on, it's my mom. Well, I personally think its kind of mean to be taking advantage of my grandmother. She might have alzheimer's but still. What did my mom say?

"Oh, it's not like she'll remember after a few weeks anyway. Just have Todd tell her he needs to borrow it for a few weeks while his car is in the shop and she'll forget she ever owned it."

That's right, rather than cosign a loan, my mom wants to trick her mom into letting me have the car. See, my mom and uncle own all her posessions now by law. They have control over her car, her home, her bank account, everything. Just in case something happens. So we don't even need her permission for me to get the car. My grandmother had a dog for TEN YEARS, and they had to put it to sleep last year. TEN YEARS. She has only had altimerz for the past 5 or so. Within a week and a half of that dog being put to sleep, she has NO recollection of the dog. None. Ten years. She has lived in the same home for over 20 years, and she doesn't even recognize it when driving down the street.

All I gotta do is talk to my uncle, toss in my $0.02 that I personally think it is wrong for my mom to even suggest tricking their mother into giving me her car, and that I am gonna "ask" him for the sole purpose of him denying it to me. See, my uncle has more leverage and ability to backslap my mom in the face. If he says no, she won't be a ***** to him and make stupid pointless threats. He knows though she would to me, and I just don't want to put up with it. So I'm gonna tell him everything later tonight so he can "say no" even though I could care less if he said yes. I just don't want to take advantage of her.

Now here is the kicker. My grandma (my dad's mom) hates and despises[/i] my mom. I guarantee if she could, she'd remove my mother's genes from me. There is nothing but pure hate towards her, and my grandma at any chance she gets likes to prove my mom wrong in our eyes (my 4 brothers). She use to take us on vacation to Disney World, etc. cause my mom never would. Why? Cause, aside from loving us (That's what grandparents do) she wanted to remind us that my mom never would. Hell, she has a point.

Now, my grandma has purchased some kind of motor vehicle for every one of my brothers. Not me though, never asked. Not gonna ask either. My grandma has scary good perfect credit. Basically I'm gonna ask her to cosign the loan and let me get the other car. Remember what I said above? Yeah, she most likely will cosign. Note, I am paying for the car, I just need her to cosign so I can get lower interest. So in no way am I using her to get money and exploit her beyond just using her for a lower interest.

Now, and this is a far stretch but it might happen, my grandma might even just give me the $$ for the car, and I just pay her back monthly. She might give me half the $ for the car and get the loan for the other half, pay off the loan then begin paying her back. I dunno, I'm gonna take her to lunch tomorrow and talk it over. Worst is she'll refuse to cosign, which I doubt.

All I gotta do though is find someone to pick up payments for my current car. It really runs great, it is just repairs can be a *****.

BTW here is a photo of the car I want.

Hey, go for it. And if you got the car from your old grandma who forgets, then every time you step into it it will be a reminder of what you did... I must say, that grand prix is nice, but unfortunately, I hate most GM cars. Including grand prixs. Just because. I have no reasoning.

The GTP is a very good buy if you want a cheap, well performing car. The supercharged 3800 V6 is cheap to repair, and is tried and true (sorry to hear that you have the 3.4 boat anchor of an engine in your current car - I've heard the horror stories). Go for the loan.

Nightwind... You have way too much time on your hands... how do you know everything!!!! EVERYTHING!!! ABOUT CARS!!! EVERYTHING!!! Honestly it is slightly disturbing... I know for a fact that you did not look that info up. That was off the top of your head, wasn't it? to the rest of Massassi: I know that is just a small amount of info, but really... he knows everything.

But...he is right. The 3.4 engine, while somewhat beautiful to look at, is a boat anchor. The thing is a pain in the you know what to fix. The 3.8 is an amazing engine, performs well, gets decent gas mileage, good horse power, and LOTS of potential.

Edit:
Just got off the phone with my uncle. He said he agrees partially. While he doesn't feel it is exploitation, my grandmother tends to have memory lapses of certain things from before the alzheimer's and she got the car before she was diagnosed with it. My uncle says she likes to look out the window and see the car parked in her drive way cause it gives her a sense of "home" and that she isn't restricted, despite not driving it. So yeah, he said go for the other car.

God, this forum is full of drama queens. Finance the car on your own and be done with it. And if your mom and uncle have full rights to your grandma's property and she owns a car that she can't drive anymore there's really not too much wrong with someone who can use the car using it. A polite cover story to your confused grandmother is really more of a comfort than a deception. Again, I base this on the facts that you say your uncle and mother have clear rights to control her assets and that, presumably, your grandmother can no longer operate this vehicle. So long as your grandmother's interests are being taken care of I don't really see a problem.

Not a big deal really. If someone is a frequent reader of car magazines and stuff. When I was a kid I could tell you practically anything about any car. Hell, I could identify cars by the shape of their headlights at night. Can't really do that anymore but I have thought about getting back into car magazines to educate myself for possibly selling cars for awhile after I retire from the Army.

If it comes down to it, yeah I'm gonna do that. But I'd rather get a lower interest rate.

Shop around (for financing). Banks compete for business just like car dealers do. Tell the dealer you'll buy the car if they can get you financing at a certain rate. Then if they can't, make them come down in price so that your payment ends up being the same. Play hardball and don't fall in love with the car. There are other's just like it or better sitting on a lot somewhere else.

I wrecked this car in February:

I was crushed. I bought it in April '04. It's a 2000 and only had about 25,000 miles on it. I paid $17,250 (I think) plus all the weird little fees and stuff. What were the chances that I could find something else so cherry and at such a good value (the insurance valued it at over $19,000 when they paid off the loan and sent me the difference).

Well, a month after I wrecked my car I happen to see this when I drove by a Pontiac dealer:


A higher performance version of the same car. A 2000 with only 20,000 miles on it and for about $18,000.

The moral of the story? You'll find another GTP that's as good or better somewhere else. Just be patient.

Oh, and that's a nice looking car btw.

DAYUM you got a WS6? Holy crap.

I've been checking out the lots though as well, and really this *is* the best deal I can find so far.

How much do they want for it?

Yeah, I love my car. I'm head to California soon to pick up my other TA. You can see what it looked like several years ago in this picture:


I haven't seen it for about two years. It stayed in Cali when I left. It's been in a bodyshop ever since. I just wasn't in a huge hurry to get it back before.

Actually, that was about six years ago. It's a WS6 too. I still own all those vehicles too, btw.

I'll take the white Trans Am if you don't want it.

I want your WS6. Seriously, one of the best things that Pontiac has made in recent years (with the exception of the '87 Turbo T/A). You are very, very, fortunate.

89 Turbo T/A son

I'd still take the WS6.

So would I. Oh, wait. I did. Anyway, since I'm hijacking your thread and turning it into my TA thread, here's another of my favorite TAs.



And you didn't say how much they wanted for the GTP.

They want too much, so Im gonna talk them down.

*smacks head* I knew that. I really did.

THRAWN--just so you know, she's technically not in a good enough state of mind to sign a contract (your grandma) so if it ever comes down to it, said contract would be nullified by this. Just so you know.

Buy my Corolla...30+mpg..you know you want it..

My grandma (dad's half) is in the proper state of mind. She frequently purchases vehicles and houses, and sells them. My grandmother (mom's half) is not in the right state of mind.

Specify which grandma next time :p. Got confusing.

Funny thing is, every Trans Am I've posted, with the exception of the very first one, is a WS6. Just different years. WS6 used to be really just a suspension and brake package. By the end of the run it was an induction, exhaust, and suspension package.

Well good news and bad news. My grandma said she'd cosign a loan. Bad news, they sold the car before I got back to the dealer.