The Story
(This is a really long, pointless story, but if you are looking for a TGP, you may find it useful)

I wanted an extra car because sometimes I like to work on my Olds and find myself needing to make a trip to the auto parts store or something, but have no other transportation handy. Also, who can't use an extra car? It's nice to have one in case the daily driver breaks down and you just have to go somewhere. Besides, I'm a car guy, I love cars. Nothing wrong with one person having more than one car, despite the looks some people give me. "If you have to ask why, you wouldn't understand the answer anyway."

At first, I looked at cheap crappy cars that I don't really like. I thought it might be nice to have an old beater Celebrity or Cutlass Ciera that I really wouldn't care about, so I could park it on a lot and not worry about door dings, drive down dirt and gravel roads without worrying about rock chips... that sort of thing. However, I decided that if I were to get an extra car, I'd want to get something I really like.

So I set about looking for W-body cars because thanks to my Olds, I really like them. However, I like a little variety too, so I was looking more for Grand Prix's and Regals rather than another Cutlass Supreme. I had also decided that if I was going to have to pay money for it, I'm going to get one I'm going to really like, so it would have to be fully loaded with lots of gadgets and toys.

Then I discovered the McLaren Turbo Grand Prix. No Grand Prix has ever been more fully-loaded right out of the factory than the Turbo GP. TGP's in perfect health are kind of expensive, but due to the fact that they were unreliable and extremely expensive to repair, they sometimes go real cheap because the owner can't afford to repair them. Sounds bad at first, but earlier in the year while discussing performance parts for my Olds with an owner of a TGP, he mentioned a Turbo Grand Prix Message Board. I read the posts on the board and learned a lot about the TGP.

Here are a few of the reasons I decided to track down a TGP:

• They are unique and rare. I like to own things that not too many people own. I've only seen one other TGP in my life, and that was 6 years ago! That car got traded in and I never saw it again... never saw another TGP locally ever again for that matter.
• The turbo engine is a modified 3.1L V6 which is very similar to the 2.8L V6 in my Olds, and these engines are quite easy to work on (although some people may disagree. I've gotten to the point where I can change an alternator in 20-minutes and rotate the engine for changing plugs very easily).
• The TGP enthusiasts on the message board know of sources to get turbo parts cheap. We're talking $300-400 vs. the $1100+ that most repair shops would charge. One of the guys even sells an improved replacement crossover pipe (common problem area) for just $400 while GM charged $1800.
• With just a few simple and inexpensive mods (primarily a new chip to increase boost pressure), TGP's have been able to run 14's and even 13's in the 1/4-mile! That's really incredible performance, especially for an FWD car.
• The TGP is a very good looking car. Period. I like the flush composite headlamps on the TGP better than the countersunk mini-quads on the newer first-gen W-body GP's anyway.
• I saw one person on the message board claim he bought his TGP for $750 in need of work, someone else found one for $2300 needing some work. So now I knew TGP's in need of work can be found CHEAP. Cheap is good.
• TGP is packed full of toys and gadgets. I love those things!

So for maybe 6-9 months, I checked the newspaper classifieds every day, Thrifty Nickel and PennyPower every week, and Traderonline 2 or 3 times a week. I never found TGP's for sale locally, but found a few nationally. Most had asking prices in the range of $4500-7000. Some of them were in pristine condition for $10,500-17,000! Once I saw a TGP in need of work for $2600. Another time, I saw one for $2900, also in need of work. I didn't bother calling for more info because they were red, and also both were from the northern states, so probably rusty. I have a red Olds, my girlfriend had a red Olds, and the last thing we needed was yet another red car. So I was waiting for a deal on a black TGP.

After countless months of looking, on Monday 8/9/99, I stumbled upon a new ad for a black TGP for only $2400 with only 81k miles, but "needs turbo". It was being sold at a dealership in Pasadena, TX called Gates Used Cars. They have an email address, so I emailed them. The next day (Tuesday) I received a reply from the sales manager (Clint Oliphant) with answers to all my questions about the car. Clint said he could take some pictures of the car with his digital camera and email them to me. When I didn't get any pictures on Wednesday, I gave him a call to let him know I was serious about the car. That night, I thought about it a lot, and on Thursday afternoon, I decided it was worth driving 671 miles from Springfield, MO to Pasadena, TX to take a look at it. I love bargains, and I feel like an idiot if I let one slip away. So, I called the Clint on Thursday afternoon, and he sent me quite a few pictures of the car. He said he'd hold it for me, so that evening around 6pm, my girlfriend and I started our journey to TX. We drove 8-hours, stayed that night at a crummy motel, and then started out around 10:30am. We managed to make it all the way to the Gates Used Car lot at 1:30pm. They were closed (for lunch I guess) so that gave me some time to really look over the car, underneath it, etc. to make absolutely sure it had never been wrecked. It looked good, so I came back at 2:30pm and talked to Clint. The car looked like it had lived a hard life of neglect, so I offered $2000. He accepted my offer, so now I was the proud owner of a black TGP in need of work (8/13/99)! (By the way, for what it's worth, Clint seems like a very honest car dealer, very easy to deal with, and a very nice guy. I wouldn't hesitate to deal with him again.)

I figured if I got it running, it would be a bargain because with only 81,266 miles on the odometer, the car was worth $4,805 Trade-In and $6,770 Retail (according to Edmunds, 8/99). Even if I have to put several hundred dollars into fixing it, I'd still be ahead (however, I do not plan to sell it anyway, so its book price is really of no concern). Anyhow, that's pretty much it. Then we hung out in Texas for the rest of the afternoon, took a trip to the beach in Galveston, etc. That night we had a scary experience at an apartment/motel near Galveston that was apparently cheap housing for ghetto folks, but ended up enjoying more luxurious accommodations at a Travelodge in Pasadena. The next day (Saturday), we both agreed that we were homesick, so we left Texas a day earlier than planned. , the car made the 671-mile journey back home without a single problem. We were back in Springfield by 2am Sunday morning (or Saturday night, whichever you prefer). So the whole deal for the TGP went down pretty quick, less than a week. I discovered the car Monday night (8/9/99), had it by the following Friday (8/13/99). Turns out they put the ad in Traderonline on the same day the car was officially repossessed (8/9/99).

That's pretty much the end of the story. The following Monday I washed and waxed the car real good, and WOW what an improvement! My friends were totally impressed by it. My girlfriend loves it (though the old women at her work think we're crazy and wonder why I wanted another car in the first place, heheh). I hope to get the car in great shape mechanically and cosmetically as finances allow.