New Member In North Carolina

Greetings from North Carolina...

  My name is Bill and I have the opportunity to purchase a 1995 Riviera. This car is advertised as having a little under 85,000 original miles and from the pictures, looks to be a very nice car. The paint is glossy and shiny, trim is excellent, and the car just "sits right".  It does not have the look of a abused and used-up car. It is advertised as an original NC car and the original owner kept it til around 2012.  Interior is almost perfect, the leather shows minimal creasing on the driver's seat and the rest of the seats looks like they were never sat on with the leather smooth and no wrinkling or creasing. Interesting, car does not have a sunroof which is a plus to me. Now, here are my concerns.

  In fairness to the dealer, these items have been disclosed. The second owner never could get the car to run right and got rid of it. Subsequently, the trouble was indicated to be the ECU unit and crankshaft sensor. According the dealer, the car runs perfectly now and about 100 miles have been logged since the repairs. Furthermore, two sensor lights are on - one being the low coolant light and the other is the service traction control. The dealer admits he doesn't know about the traction control and the low coolant is probably a "float" in the radiator or coolant reservoir that has  "gummed up and become stuck".

  Does this car sound like it has problems that I need to avoid?  As far as the traction control, would it hurt to drive the car with this light on? Does the coolant level "float" issue sounds legitimate. I would have these issues addressed but in the overall scheme of things, is this something to be really concerned about?  Finally, what do you think about the ECU issue and crankshaft sensor?

 My local GM dealer says to stay away from it as parts are hard to get for this model. I am thinking it shares the same parts with a lot other GM cars and unless Riviera specific, wouldn't be that big of an issue.

 Is this a 3800 Series I or II?  It does not have the black cover on top like the Series II that I am familiar with. Is this model Riviera afflicted with the manifold issue like later 3800's? I had an 02 Impala LS that has a recall for a manifold issue.

 Most Rivs I see around here for sale are well-used and dogged with upwards of 200,000 plus miles.  Lastly, the dealer is asking $4,500.00. I think that is high considering what has been said about the car. What is a fair price?

Thank you for your time.

Bill

Welcome to the site Bill

'95 came with the Series I engine and the smaller M62 blower unless it's non-S/C, then I believe it has an NA Series II. It also has a different transmission and different suspension/brakes than that of '96-on. The Series I was not as prone to LIM gasket failure as the Series II

As for the Coolant Light, the Level Sensor on the Radiator is probably bad. It's an electronic sensor, not a float. It's cheap and pretty easy to replace.

As for the TC light, I'd have it scanned for codes if you can. The TC light on by itself could be a few different things. Usually, it's an issue with the EBTCM not supplying or getting the proper info that it needs to operate. Sometimes it boils down to needing a new Module and/or BPMV. Only a code(s) will point you in the right direction. Even if you weren't to have it fixed, and the ABS is still functional, you just won't have Traction Control....

Thanks for the welcome Abbadon (Scott)

I will try and see if I can get the car scanned for the codes.

If I read you right, if the traction control turns out to be a complicated or costly repair, it won't hurt or affect regular driving.

Is the radiator level sensor an easy fix? Is this a common part among GM cars with the 3800 or a Riviera specific? I'm a little bothered that the dealer said a lot of parts for it are no longer available. If I got it, I think I'd go after a couple of junked ones I've seen advertised for a few hundred dollars just to have a chance at some parts.

They are asking $4,500.00.  What would you offer?  I am trying to attach a couple of pictures but I can't get the board to cooperate.

Mr. Bill wrote:

If I read you right, if the traction control turns out to be a complicated or costly repair, it won't hurt or affect regular driving.

Right. The only plus (if there is one) to having part of the ABS/Traction Control system fail, is that you can still drive the car.  

Mr. Bill wrote:

Is the radiator level sensor an easy fix? Is this a common part among GM cars with the 3800 or a Riviera specific? I'm a little bothered that the dealer said a lot of parts for it are no longer available. If I got it, I think I'd go after a couple of junked ones I've seen advertised for a few hundred dollars just to have a chance at some parts.

Well, the '95 was the first year of the 8th Gen Riviera. Many, many parts of it are '95 specific. Although they all look alike, GM made changes to each year following until '98-'99.
Yes, parts are becoming rare. Everybody with a Riviera has a hard time finding certain things. Most non-maintenance patrs are discontinued, and cannot be found. Junkyards are our friends.

The Coolant Sensor is an easy fix.

Mr. Bill wrote:

They are asking $4,500.00.  What would you offer?  I am trying to attach a couple of pictures but I can't get the board to cooperate.

I'm not a good reference for price on a '95. Personally, I think $4500 is a bit steep considering the history of the car (apparent problems).
I will say this much though....If it's even been slightly taken care of, I'm sure you could patch it up and get years more out of it.

welcome Bill

Greetings Bill.  I am not a gear head but hopefully you will find all the info you need on this site.

My Dad was born in Hamlet NC in 1919 and grew up in Hamlet until his late teens when he went to University, first in his family to attend Univiersity.  His family started poor around 1910, family developed a successful produce company in the 1920s which lasted into the late 1940s when the produce business was sold and all family members moved away from Hamlet.

A few months before Dad died in the mid 1990s he wanted me to drive him to Hamlet, just to look around.  He had not revisited Hamlet for about 55 years and it was my first trip to Hamlet to revisit where Dad grew up.  It was a wonderful road trip experience for the both of us and my last road trip with Dad.

Welcome Aboard   
Offer $3k, give them a few days to stew on it and see what happens.
I wouldn't go over $4k, but that's just me.
Good luck !!!

Thank you for the welcomes and the suggestions - they are greatly appreciated.

To Al Baucom: Thank you taking the time to respond about your father's connection to Hamlet. My parents didn't come to Hamlet until 1953 when daddy was transferred here with the Railroad.

I was going to let the Riviera go but instead, am going to throw out a figure that I'm comfortable with. All they can say is no, and I'm going to leave some room for a little leverage. I checked again with my dealer this weekend as I was able to get the parts manager (a friend of mine) off to the side and talk with him. He did some parts searching as he knew what I was talking about with the coolant sensor and said there were like 700 + showing in the warehouses so I would be ok with that. He also said that they are starting to see problems with parts for GM products as recent as 2007. According to him, the bankruptcy restructuring eliminated a lot of contracts for service parts. I'll update with what takes place.

Mr. Bill