Rear bumper sag...

[PCGUY112887]

Is it common for a rear bumper to sag over time, due to a clip or something letting go?

 

Or is this a def sign of some bad body work from a wreck?

 

(look on the left, the bumper sags a bit, and if you look hard enough the left tip is bent over to the side)

 

[attachment deleted by admin] Removed to free up storage space.

[GtipGary]

more likely than not bad body work... not so much the body work but maybe your frame is swayed from a previous accident in which the frame didnt get pulled right... was it like that when you first got the car? Check for signs of previous paint work... look at the bumper really good and see if you can see little dots or dirt like under the clear coat... or look for runs or sand scratches

[PCGUY112887]

This is a car I am considering buying... it's a bit of a drive from me... no nice white 96 GP's near me! :-(

 

Notice the after market spoiler too. I can't decide what (if anything) happened to it. I requested a carfax from the place, maybe that will tell me something. I haven't seen this car in person but being a 3 hour drive I need to be fairly sure that I'm going to buy something before I drive that far to get it.

[Dirty Rockstar]

If that bent LH Exhaust tip is any indication of a wreck, then I'd say so..

[Q-Ball]

I like the spoiler. Open the trunk and look under the tail lights to see if they are rusting out. I'm sure you can make it look better, it happened to me when I swapped the B4U on to my car.

[PCGUY112887]

How is the B4U rear bumper held on anyways? I've never done body work so I don't know if it's clips or what... what I wonder is if someone may have tried to sit on it and a clip or something broke and now it sags.

 

The exhaust tip... well I dunno what to think about that however I see GP's all of the time with tips coming lose/bent and I know they weren't all in wrecks. Plus if you were repairing a wreck, wouldn't you at least try to get the tip straight again?

 

I did an Autocheck on it, it said everything was clean however I noticed that it had 21k miles on it when it was registered in 6/17/96. I mean wtf it could have only been a few months old, how did 21k get racked up? The rest of the millage seems fine, it hasn't ever left it's home state, however a duplicate title was apparently issued then the state had to issue a title fix. How does a duplicate title get issued?

[GtipGary]

the bumper is held on by a shit load of screws, bolts, and clips... all in all pretty tough. I say if the price is right and the car looks good other than that get it. There are sooo many ways of adjusting bolts or reaming holes if need be to make things fit right, if its a problem with a previous accident. Also keep in mind 90 percent of accidents dont make it to carfax. Also keep in mind 90 percent of statistics are made up on the spot.

[PCGUY112887]

Their asking $3600, I planned on offering $3000/$3200 with it's issues (MIA power lock on drivers side, bumper/exhaust bent).

[kuwaitliberation]

The exhaust tip... well I dunno what to think about that however I see GP's all of the time with tips coming lose/bent and I know they weren't all in wrecks. Plus if you were repairing a wreck, wouldn't you at least try to get the tip straight again?

If one of the hangers rusted, broke or bent and it wasn't the last hanger before the rear it will cause it to shift left and right. If it is the last hanger, it will cause it to drop down. Guy or gal who owned it before could have easily backed into a tall curb and hit the exhaust there. Just make sure it isn't hung by bailing wire by taking a quick glance. Even if it is, it's just a matter of repacing the hangers. That would be the least of my worries. To really find out if it was wrecked harder than a fender bender is to look at the trunk lid where it meets around the back window. I think I see that the trunk lid is shifted on the left side a bit. Take a look in the trunk and see if the counter-weight system, hinges and stuff are all straight. If they aren't start tracing forward from there and see where the door meets the body, etc. It shouldn't take but 10 minutes to figure out if it was wrecked or not. The extent of the wreck would be apparant once you started looking under things and pulling that liner in the trunk away to see.

[Addicted2bass]

That looks fine to me... I see cars all the time with the bumper sagging down a few inches in he middle. Luminas seem to be notorious for this. As for the exaust tips, almost every GP ive seen they are either missing or at a angle. One of mine fell off. How many miles are on that car? $3600 seems a little high! The only way i could tell that my car had been in a wreck, well besides the salvage title, was inside of the trunk by the weatherstriping along the top some sort of putty stuff was used. I dont know what it is, but its somewhat flexible, i can push it a little with my finger.

[PCGUY112887]

106k miles, it's what it kbb's for. They probably consider the crappy CD player it has as "extra" and don't even know about the rear spoiler being aftermarket, and the seat head rests that say GRAND PRIX as being unique.

[Addicted2bass]

I only paid $1800 for my 96 GP and it had 110k on it. Is that kbb for excellent? I personally wouldnt pay even 3k for that car, if you keep lookin a better deal will come along.

[PCGUY112887]

I can find plenty of GP's for cheaper, it's the white 94-96 ones that are hard to find. In fact there are a bunch of them around, but people keep them.

 

Plus It doesn't help when I want one with a near mint body , AND it has to be a 96 for tuning (since I don't really wanna try to convert).

 

I got the guy down to $3300, lunch and a tank of gas. If all checks out real good then I'll be coming home with it tomorrow. I would wait around to see if I could find a better deal, but I need to have a reliable car built within the next few months before school starts in the Fall since I'll be doing a lot of driving then. Since each class is only once per week, I couldn't afford to miss classes due to my current car breaking (which is going to happen soon).

[Q-Ball]

The car I'm loooking at (white 96 gtp) I went up to the guy and asked if he was selling it. Cars dont need signs in them to be for sale. Doesnt hurt to ask.

[Addicted2bass]

Yea the white one are nice, does it have the white 5 spoke rims? I know what you mean by no one selling nice w-bodys. I rarely ever see any GPs like mine for sale. Good luck with the buy!

 

The car I'm loooking at (white 96 gtp) I went up to the guy and asked if he was selling it. Cars dont need signs in them to be for sale. Doesnt hurt to ask.

 

Hahaha i cant even count the number of times ive done this!! Me and my friends are always lookin for shit cars that run to use as field cars. Ive probably knocked on 50+ doors asking about cars lol.

[Q-Ball]

hahaha. Any luck? This was actually the first time I ever asked somone if they were selling the car. And infact, the guy was trying to get rid of it.

 

And I would pull off the bumper to see if any clips or bolts are busted on it. That would be my guess to find out whats wrong.

[Addicted2bass]

I got my first car, 91 cavalier that way. The guy only wanted $100 to!! Best bang for the buck car ive owned. I also bought one of my crown vics that way. And me and my buddy have gotten several field cars just by asking, most people were happy to sell us the POS that had been sitting in their driveway for who knows how long for next to nothing. Hell weve even gotten a few for free!!