Are GN's pretty reliable?

[Sylcone#1992]

I currently own a 1991 GMC Syclone and have a 2000 Xtreme for a daily driver. I have always liked GN's and have been pondering about getting one this summer as my summer ride and sell the Xtreme. I am looking for one with 40-50K miles and little to no mods. Are these pretty reliable? What are the weak points? How many of you daily drive yours?

I looked at a GN before I bought the Clone, but it needed tires, brakes, paint and other miscellaneous stuff. It only had 27,000 miles, but the lady wanted 15K, I would like to pick one up for around 10K, but wanna know how reliable they are as daily drivers.


Thanks,
Timothy Hoppenworth
Syclone#1992

 

[zam70]

IF the spring cleaning is done, they a very reliable.

 

[GeneralB44]

I wouldn't buy one for a daily driver. Been there, done that. 2 years it was my only transportation, and it got difficult. Not because it wasnt' reliable, but because it was hard to keep it nice, and i was constantly worried about it getting stolen.

 

[blackshoebox]

Originally posted by GeneralB44
I wouldn't buy one for a daily driver. Been there, done that. 2 years it was my only transportation, and it got difficult. Not because it wasnt' reliable, but because it was hard to keep it nice, and i was constantly worried about it getting stolen.

Ditto. I was always worried about people hitting me, door dings, etc...

 

[BarnesGN]

Daily driving any 15 year old car might not be a great idea.

Especially one that has rare parts and is difficult to tune at times.

I do have one friend that drives their GN on a nearly daily basis, but I would not recommend it.

Sam

 

[zam70]

Originally posted by BarnesGN
Especially one that has rare parts and is difficult to tune at times.
I do have one friend that drives their GN on a nearly daily basis, but I would not recommend it.

Sam

WOW - I never considered parts for our car rare or difficult to tune. It's been one of the easiest cars I've ever worked on...

I say daily drive it - daily drove mine for 2 years...other than the worry part (theft), I'd definity do it again...

 

[Boston GN]

Drove mine daily for a while. No probs ever.
She is retired to street cruiser/show now, but when she was driven a lot, she performed beautifully

 

[machinegun]

daily driven since I bought one just for that. I love it and it has had no issues. Neither of them have had any real issues.

 

[Sylcone#1992]

Are the drivetrains pretty durable ie: transmission, motor? I have talked with some GN guys and the powermaster brakes have been an issue with them. I am not gonna worry to much about theft.

Am I out of my mind looking for one for about 10K with 40-50K miles that is pretty close to stock?

Thanks,

Tim Hoppenworth
Syclone1992

 

[jastrckl]

If I were you, I'd worry about theft. Mine was once stolen from a lit parking lot in the early evening w/ security guards present in a lit, fenced parking lot. Recovered quickly, but of course in shoddier condition. As far as reliability goes, I'd consider them quite reliable. At the most maybe just some extra ignition parts like coilpack/ignition module and a cam sensor or cam sensor spoofer doohicky are all you need I would say. As far as the transmission and motor are concerned, on a stock or mild buildup you have nothing to worry about. The BRF code 200 4r in these cars is upgraded all over the place vs a standard 200 and the motor is well known for being the bomb-diggity.

 

[Grant National]

I don't think you can find a really nice 40-50k GN for 10,000. It may read 40-50k but unless it is a distress sale or needs some work it won't really have that low miles. Think about how old these cars are. There are not that many with that low miles and the people that have them know what they are worth. Everyone may ring in with some story of how they bought a 30k mile GN for 5k or something but they are lying. You probably can find a low mile T for that price however. Good luck.

 

[turbofrank]

Bought my car in 87 it now has 300k guess what everytime i turn the key it's test-n-tune. Just my 2ctns

 

[87gninpa]

bought mine last summer with 49k on it and drove it 24k since then and havent had any major problems yet. little stuff goes wrong, but it hasnt been off the road for even a day yet. i love it and i do recommend it as a daily driver. its just like any older car, if you keep up on the proper maintenence and dont absolutely beat it to death, then it will be just fine.

 

[87GN_ponykillr]

I bought mine in October of last year with 127K bone stock. Found her in Auto Trader and have modded it a little, Nothing crazy and maybe only drive it 5 times a month and knock on wood she is very durable and strong for a high mile car. Good luck with the hunt!

 

[kshef]

its got a 3.8...hell yeah its reliable

 

[Roc87]

Owned mine for 4 years this month, replaced alternator twice, crank sensor twice, one starter, rebuilt tranny. Other than that it was basic maintence stuff like oil changes, brakes and of course tires! Put over 43k miles on it. Still drive it 4 of 5 days of the week. Has 150k miles on stock engine (except valve springs and timing chain) Still reliable, gets 24mpg on the freeway and ran a 11.8 last night (5320 feet above sea level). Best daily driver possible! But yeah, I worry about door dings, and it being stolen and never leave it in a parking lot such as a mall or movie theater.

 

[denn454]

mine is driven every day, rain, snow, ice; you name it. personally i'd like to have a little $200 beater to drive ever day that you don't have to care about.

i'd say the only problem with driveing my car every day is just the inconvience of driving it. I always park as far out as i can so no one parks next to me, i clean it 3-4 times a week, i'm constantly tinkering with it, and burning lots of gas. Aside from that i have no problems with driving it ever day, its a great car thats pretty reliable, not like a new car is, but for its age i don't think you can find a more reliable car. i'd get a t-type insted of a grand national, it looks like a normal regal and is much less of a target for theives. on top of that there cheaper to buy.

If its an option i'd keep the s-10 and syclone and also get a buick. For a good driver (performance aside) i think your better off keeping the xtreme, unless your looking for the killer performance whenever you want it.

It really comes down to what do you want.