FAQ: New Riviera Buyer Questions

The main thing to look for is the previous owner's service records.

Albertj

albertj wrote:

The main thing to look for is the previous owner's service records.

or lack thereof....

I'm new here, but not new to cars. Been turning (or throwing) my own wrench since '76. Already on several forums that I check on a daily basis. My 1st Buick was a '68 LeSabre & loved that ride with all the chrome. That was back in the mid 70's & just may be taking the pludge again on a '96 NA Riv. I'm going to check it out on Saturday & want to know the primary things to check along with problem areas too. Have always loved the look of these cars (when clean) & ready to have one in the drive way. And I'm a coupe guy as well.

Already spent hours searching the forum & want to be informed on Sat.. Is the '96 a good model, have read the '95 could have issues & hope those don't carry on to the '96. About all I know now about the car I'll be looking at is it's Maroon on tan, has dual AC, 158K miles & that's about it. Owner is not a car guy. Wish it came Super Charged. Had quite a few turbo cars, but no SC.

I don't need to know every issue, just the basic's while I keep searching the forum. If I decide to purchase this car, & let the wife drive it it will do a minimum 124 mile daily commute,not including frequent 80 mile round trips to Louisville. I'm out in the country finally & anywhere is a drive. If I like it it will be my new ride. My other coupe is an '87 635CSi, but it's not a daily, Interiors have the same wrap around interiors.

Give me the good & bad. Been a Riviera lover since the 60's. I'll be trading my '96 Grand Cherokee Laredo 2WD if this Riviera checks out. Don't tell me just to hit search like they love to do on other forums, I'm doing that already. Found this forum after checking a few. I chose this one & would like to be a part of it. Give me the 455 tire smoking fun baby.

Thanks Dave

Best to look for an SC, IMHO:
It's part of what makes the 8th Gen Riv unique. There are other GM cars around that sport the SC, but they don't share the great sheet metal and advanced chassis. At the time, the Riv was the flagship of GM's fleet.
There are a lot more 95s around, but 96-99 are OBD2, and with the Series II engine.
I have a '95 and a '98. Nothing wrong with the elder... it's a fine car, but I'm focusing on the latter.
Just my opinion

I have a '96 with the supercharged engine. Bought it with 48,000 original miles late last year. She is my daily driver and now has 60,000 on the odometer. No complaints with the car.

As with anything this age, be prepared to spend some money for fixing things (in my case, it was an oil pan gasket leak, a transmission pan gasket leak, new tires, brakes, battery, rack & pinion, radiator and hoses). Also had the AC charged and then started on the upgrades and tweaks... But even with all of this, the Riv will end up costing a fraction of something new and has great style.

I know the 1997 and newer had the beefier transmission, but I have not had issue with mine (knock-on-wood). I don't abuse the car so I don't expect to have any durability issues (although there is a track about 45 minutes away that let's you "Run What Ya' Brung" and I am very tempted).

The car is wonderfully comfortable and it gives back great mileage on the highway (averaged 26 mpg on a recent highway trip).

I'd caution on rust, especially under the battery. Look for obvious signs of neglect and abuse. Get it on a lift to inspect the under side if you can. Check front end for alignment & play. Check for uneven tread wear and also to see if the car sits nice & straigh & even.

Good luck!

Just called the guy I'm going check out his '96 Riv & asked about rust. I've had it with rust & he says it's clean. No rust.

Well, now you have his word. Now you need a look-see to confirm, eh?
If confirmed, you can take stock in his other answers.
My first Riv purchase, I wasn't exactly a smart shopper... I needed a car straight away.
The second was completely known.
Good luck

Welcome to our group, Dave.

I would have no problem with the non/SC 3.8 "IF" the price is right.

Like you, I HATE RUST and that's the first thing I would look for. If it's rusty take a pass if you want a car for show and shine. If you just want a beater, I wouldn't consider a Riv.

All the best to you in your search.

By the way, I was born and raised in Kentucky and I still love them Cats.

Related Question about purchasing used 3800 engines...
Which used engine would you go for?
A. 1997, 94K GTP 3800SC
B. 2001, 120K GTP 3800SC
Same price, same travel distance

Also;
Is there a way to tell from the markings on an engine that it's from a car with a certain VIN?
That is, If I have the VIN, can I tell that the engine in front of me comes from that car?

denim wrote:

Related Question about purchasing used 3800 engines...
Which used engine would you go for?
A. 1997, 94K GTP 3800SC
B. 2001, 120K GTP 3800SC
Same price, same travel distance

Whichever engine passed a leakdown test best. And maybe neither, I heard that Pontiac owners thrash their cars.

Albertj

Thanks, Albert.

denim wrote:

Also;
Is there a way to tell from the markings on an engine that it's from a car with a certain VIN?
That is, If I have the VIN, can I tell that the engine in front of me comes from that car?

Yes, all cars are that way. Some part of the VIN will be stamped into the engine block, and transaxle. Look carefully at the front of the engine. The exact location is in the FSM.

I've been all over here, countless hours already.

Well, dude flaked out. Wouldn't answer, wouldn't return messages, just plain didn't call. He's the one who couldn't wait to get here. Probably better, come to think of it. If he can't call or keep a commitment his ride probably wasn't worth an inspection. Saved me a disappointment.

I tell you what though, all the reading I've done here I will certainly keep my eye out for one. A drive will finalize that thought. I'm sold on the things I've learned. Anyone in the Louisville area?

This whole thing started over finding something with better gas mileage. I put my '96 2WD Grand Cherokee Laredo on CL for sale or trade. It gets 20 mpg which is darn good for a Jeep. But the 'ol lady's commute is a daily 124 mile round trip.

Also have a 4cyl NA 740 Volvo & it only gets around 22/23 thanks to the 4:10 diff. And then there's the 635 and fortunately for me she refuses to drive a stick. If I kept my foot out it I might be able to get over 20 mpg. Doing a 5 sp swap & dropping in a 3:73 didn't help.

The Jeep's gotta go, just don't need it having the wagon. It will become my new Riviera when it sells. Gotta have one now. I'll keep reading to get familiar with it. I hate learning a new car & feel the Riv is worth learning. I'll be around.

That 4cyl volvo - is it the b230 or the b230F (fuel injection) - Your highway mileage oughta be around 30 highway, 23 around city/suburban I'd believe (used to own one). have you tried anything to improve mileage? You can send me a PM if you want, about that Volvo.

I have a line on what appears to be a nearly pristine 1995 Riviera with 45,000 miles for $2000. That's the good news.

The bad news is that it has sat for 4 years not being driven and not running for much of that time.

The owner's elderly father in law owned the car, and about 5 years went into a nursing home. The car sat mostly undriven under their carport for the next 5 years, and then they believe the fuel pump quit and it hasn't run for 4ish years.

Cosmetically the car looks great as far as I can tell from the photos I have, but I'd like to know what things will likely need to be done with this model after sitting for 4 years.

He believes the fuel pump is the culprit as he and a mechanic friend were "able to dump fuel into the fuel line in the engine bay" and get it to run briefly. But it won't run by itself with the line hooked up and when the fuel is exhausted. That sounds odd as I would think it would need the fuel pump to pressurize the manifold/rail for the injectors to work, but maybe gravity was enough to just get it to briefly run or is there a secondary pump outside of the tank?? Thoughts?

I plan to take a new battery to the car and check what I can of the electronics. Is there any way to pull the OBD codes from the HVAC controls (like I can with my Roadmaster) or similar without an OBD reader?


Any other suggestions on what to check before I trailer it out?

I think for $2000 this is a pretty good deal, even if I can't get it running and would have to cut my losses and resell it, but thought I'd ask those that have maintained and repaired these cars what to look for and what I may be able to successfully check.


So again, succinctly:

1) Assuming all is well and only the fuel pump is the problem, what other things should I need to repair/replace after sitting for 4 years?

2) Based on my admittedly sparse description of the problem, does it indeed sound like a fuel pump issue?

3) What else can and should I effectively check with it not running such as OBD, etc ?


Oh and finally, how is the reliability of this version of the 3.8L supercharged engine? Gas mileage? I'd like to use this as a daily driver for my 100 mile round-trip to work every day.

Thanks!
Al

Al, first of all, welcome!

I don't know what climate you live in (hopefully dry) but a car that has sat for 4 years could develop serious underbody rust. These cars are prone to rust problems on the unibody at the points that the front engine cradle mounts. Also rear suspension crossmember. Check fuel and brake lines. If you live in a place that rust is not an issue, then you should be good to go.

As far as the no start goes, it may very well be the fuel pump, but we don't have enough info yet. Throw a battery in the car and check for fuel pressure and spark. Find out what you are missing and we can be of more assistance. Good luck to you and I am sure you will love this car when iy is up and running. Dave

Thanks Dave,

Is there a way to check the fuel pressure from any on board diagnostics such as my HVAC control center on my Roadmaster, or am I going to have to tee off of some fuel line, or? The HVAC center on the Roadmaster will display all sorts of system info, including OBD codes. Does the Riviera have a similar function without a dedicated OBD reader?

Sorry for starting from scratch here, but I haven't even looked under the hood of this last gen Riviera before.

If there are some existing docs, FAQs, etc here to point me to read, please feel free. I'm happy to research it myself.

BTW, the car is from northern NC, so it is 50/50 on the cold and wet. But it shouldn't have seen much inclement weather or salt given the low miles and being under a shelter most of its life I would think. We'll have to see, and thanks for the tips on where to look.

....if the lower resolution mobile phone photos are any indicator, the interior looks like it has practically never been sat in.

Thanks,
Al

Well NC is generally a good climate for cars. I don't think rust will be much of an issue, but it wouldn't hurt to look. As far as checking fuel pressure goes, there is a Schrader valve (looks like a tire valve) on the fuel rail that you need to attach a fuel pressure gauge to. If you don't have one, Harbour Freight will have one for not much money. Is this car supercharged? If you are not at the car but know the vin, the 8th digit will be a 1 if sc or a K if naturally aspirated.

I would try to negotiate a bit on the price if you think you can. Especially if its not supercharged. But that is entirely up to you. As great of a car as a Riv is, they just don't bring strong money.

So, another question regarding testing the electrics: Since the battery is under the back seat, I assume there is a remote jump connector/point under the hood I could temporarily connect another good battery to or link to my truck or some quick testing of the electrical system?

Is there a "jump" point under the hood so that I don't have to pop the back seat and run super-long jumper cables?

I'm not going to buy a brand new battery specific to the Riviera for this test in case I decide not to buy the car, so if its battery is dead I'll just use another battery I have on hand to power it up briefly and am looking for the easiest way to do so.

Thanks
Al

Yes you can jump the car under the hood. Left side under red plastic cover. Get some pics up!

Apologies if this is posted elsewhere, but I searched and checked the FAQs but didn't see it....

So I'm about to go look at a 95 tomorrow afternoon and one of things I'll need to check is the fuel pump. It's been told to me that I can check the fuel injection pressure via a schrader valve on fuel injection rail. So I have two questions:

1) Does anyone have a photo they can post of where the valve is? I suspect I can find it, but a photo can be really helpful.

2) What type of gauge and hose can I get at my local auto parts store to test the fuel pressure? Is it specific to this application?

Thanks
Al

Pull engine cover, 2 inches above oil fill cap toward the firewall.
Nothing special needed, just a hose and gauge that will activate valve.

You really don't need a photo to find that Schroeder valve on the fuel rail. Take the sight shield off and follow the rail. It will be darn near in your face, you'll probably ROFL and wonder why you got churned about it.

Any full line parts store will have the needed gauge but if I were you I would phone the local consumer parts stores (pep boys, Autozone, and what have you) and see if they have one for **rent or free loan** after all unless you are a mechanic it's not a frequent item. You may have to call a few stores, different ones have different tools in the "crib."

Greetings Al, You may have found a gem. FYI the fuel pump is an easy access change through the trunk under the mat. I have purchased older cars in the past with low miles and overall have been quite pleased with my purchases. Re: your specific question about other considerations of sitting. What I have found is that the rubber components tend to age with time and not use. In fact some rubber components such as seals, gaskets, etc can shrink, harden or crack as a result of disuse. this can be somewhat of an ongoing problem as they experience new hot cold cycles after years of disuse. As they tend to dry out if not frequently exposed to the fluids that they were designed to seal in or out, they do not expand or contract as well as when supple. This can lead to cracking and leaks. Other things to check for would be effects of condensation corrosion and seal hardening in areas such as the brake actuators and valves and steering components. Any fluid filled system that has check valves. (Transmission) Any condensation will find its way to a low point and sit there and work it's evil in one small spot for the years that the car sits. This is not such a problem if it is periodically moved around with normal use. Some of these things simply work themselves out as you use the car. Others can be a bit of a headache. I wish you the best with your new Riv. The Adriatic Light blue is a beautiful color on the Riviera.