[cg2014]

Hey guys,

Next year I will be able to buy a car at my college, I go to a service academy. I was looking to buy a '96 as my first car and have found some in great condition, a few with less then 75000 miles and around $12,000. Is this good? I am wondering how reliable these cars are, especially one as a first car. I can literally not find anything wrong with them on any website. word is they run forever. It will be almost 20 years old when I get it, are they pretty maintenance free and is this a good car to get as a first car? I am almost 6'5'' and I love everything about them and always have, nothing beats that big car with the monster V8! Thank you for all your help!

 

[Crime Scene 96]

Honestly dude, reliablility wise. Flawless. From time to time maintenance can be a pain in the rear end. But because the room under the hood resembles that of ones living room. Its worldly easy to work on. Not to mention but with the help of this site. You are always a click away from getting the answers you may need. GL...

 

[cg2014]

Thanks! I really look forward to owning one! And this website is great, I've already downloaded the ss handbook.

 

[Crime Scene 96]

That SS book is awesome. Some info is slightly off only because of the endless creativity with the guys here. But very usefull info.

 

[angelo]

You won't regret it.... I think

Hey guys,

Next year I will be able to buy a car at my college, I go to a service academy. I was looking to buy a '96 as my first car and have found some in great condition, a few with less then 75000 miles and around $12,000. Is this good? I am wondering how reliable these cars are, especially one as a first car. I can literally not find anything wrong with them on any website. word is they run forever. It will be almost 20 years old when I get it, are they pretty maintenance free and is this a good car to get as a first car? I am almost 6'5'' and I love everything about them and always have, nothing beats that big car with the monster V8! Thank you for all your help!

You picked an awesome first car !!!
'96 W/75K i would pay $10K no more
only cuz of the age you need to be prepared for things to need replacement.
the odometer will fade, the window rollers will come off the tracks, the fuel pump will dye, the oil and tranny cooler lines will leak and need replacing, and the water pump will give up the ghost.

This is besides tires,brakes,oil changes, etc.....

I am not trying to discourage you, this stuff can go on ANY car, so it might as well be a COOL Car The odds are all that stuff won't go at once anyway as it took 199K on mine to go through all that and i'm still on original tranny....

What color you getting ?

-ALF out....

 

[cg2014]

I havent decided, I really like the Dark Gray Green and black is obviously sick. I would probably prefer the green, and dark cherry red is nice to, but I dont think its as cool. They are all nice in their own way though, how is parts cost on these cars? I'm doing other internet research on them, but hearing it from the horse's mouth is the best. I really can not find a flaw in this car haha.

 

[Crime Scene 96]

Honestly, parts can be really expensive depending on what they are. Its a few cheap ones out there but you get what you pay for in the end. So be mindful of that. Maintenance parts are not too bad, but modifying for performance can get a expensive rather quickly. You come to a neutral ground here with guys selling stuff they dont need so that helps a great deal.

 

[angelo]

My fav is DCM but could only find a DGGM near me, but it is the Rarest color.
I will never own a BLACK or White car....too damn hard to keep clean.


You didn't say what part of the country you are in.... FILL out your user profile a little bit...cwm4
AS that WILL affect the price these cars are going for....

GL
-ALF out...

 

[cg2014]

Yea I agree on the black, they just look cool, I would go with the green or red fo sho. I currently live in the Northeast, but I am military so that is subject to change. My parents live in North Carolina, so I would more then likely buy it down there. I am also not against shipping one from out west because I can get a good deal through the military on shipping a car. I havent thought as far as performance, that will probably come later, but I am getting college for free, as well as a paycheck and will be making officer pay so money isnt to big a deal for now. And this website is great. My knowledge as far as cars mechanical wise is pretty noob, I can only do the basic maintenance stuff, but I want to learn. Overall, I am really looking forward to owning one, and I just want to get an overall idea of how easy and care-free these cars are to own because I count on it being my daily driver and highway cruiser for years to come. Thanks for the help!

 

[Lil Chad]

Good luck on your find


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

 

[mikeestreets]

Great choice for a first car. I got a 95 DGGM SS for my second car when I was 17 and thought I was the man. I'm on my 3rd SS now and plan on keeping this one. They aren't too bad to work on, you're going to have maintenance on any car. The LT1 is a great motor, cabs in NY have ran 300k miles on the motors, so they're definitely reliable if you take care of them. One thing to consider is that the car is rear wheel drive so it may not be best ride in the winter depending on where you're going to college. I loved my DGGM 95 SS, you definitely don't see as many. But there's just something about a black car when it's clean.

 

[ziaaziz]

1996 Impala SS Side View Mirrors & LED Lights

Hey Guys I recently purchased a 96 impala ss. Both the driver and passenger side mirrors need to be replaced. I've been seeing lots of different ones on eBay but want a second opinion on where to recommend to buy them and making sure i buy the right ones. Also i want to replace the interior and license plate lights with LED which ones are the good ones and where to go to get it. Thank you and can't wait to see the different reply's.

 

[Ftbird0909]

Hey guys,

Next year I will be able to buy a car at my college, I go to a service academy. I was looking to buy a '96 as my first car and have found some in great condition, a few with less then 75000 miles and around $12,000. Is this good? I am wondering how reliable these cars are, especially one as a first car. I can literally not find anything wrong with them on any website. word is they run forever. It will be almost 20 years old when I get it, are they pretty maintenance free and is this a good car to get as a first car? I am almost 6'5'' and I love everything about them and always have, nothing beats that big car with the monster V8! Thank you for all your help!

 

[Ftbird0909]

You will LOVE the 96 Impala SS. Bought mine last year, black and as new with 18, 400 miles. Owner said it had never seen rain or snow and after looking at the underside, I believe that. I am telling you this because there was a huge difference between all the Impalas I looked at that had over 50,000 miles and those around 25,000. You will get the higher mileage ones cheaper, but in the long run, after spending to bring up to par, maybe not. Rust was the biggest problem I encountered when looking at northern cars. Low mileage southern cars without rust were bringing anywhere from $18,000 to $25,000 bucks, and the really clean, low mileage Impalas were going for over that. I considered myself very lucky to grab mine at $21,000 because it had the rear control arms and longer driveshaft that centered the axle in the wheel well opening, coated headers, cold air intake, custom Impala SS engine and valve covers, chrome body to radiator cross brace, 3.73 gears, pmc reprogram, all service records performed from new, paint and interior good as new, and a CLEAR TITLE. I have put over one thousand trouble free miles, no oil or antifreeze leaks, and draws a crowd every where I go. Keep all that in mind when considering price over quality because it will cost big money to repair any body, paint, or undercarriage rust, any upholstery damage, especially leather (not easy to match 24 year old leather color), or wear and tear on higher mileage components. Best of luck on your search and Happy Holidays!

 

[96 Black]

FWIW, the OP stopped being active on this forum 6 months after starting this thread, which in turn was 9 years ago.

 

[Ftbird0909]

FWIW, the OP stopped being active on this forum 6 months after starting this thread, which in turn was 9 years ago.

 

[Ftbird0909]

Thanks 96 Black. Didn't pay attention to date. Hope what I posted will help someone looking to latch onto an Impala SS. Merry Christmas to all !!