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13,500 Miles: 1982 Pontiac 6000LE

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Lately, those rusty Porsche 911s that can be wheeled around in a shopping cart are becoming less memorable. There’s just too many of them out there to consider an old air-cooled P-Car worth blowing your last few paychecks on. More impressive to me is the volume of 80s GM vehicles that keep coming out of the woodwork with incredibly low mileage like this 1982 Pontiac 6000LE here on eBay, which wears a scant 13,500 miles. 

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The 6000LE is essentially another example of GM’s propensity for sharing models with different badges between its brands. While Pontiac’s marketing would have you believe their cars were more exciting to own and drive, the 6000LE shared its platform with the Chevy Celebrity, Buick Century and Oldsmobile Cutlass. This example here fortunately has the optional 2.8L V6 engine, as opposed to the standard-issue Tech IV.

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These were fine cruisers in their day, representing a shift away from GM’s bread and butter rear-wheel drive sedans. Hard to believe now, but the 6000 was at one time GM’s best seller. I can’t credit any one feature for being the reason why you’d choose the Pontiac variant over the others, especially since the more desirable models would come later. This includes the Safari wagon and all-wheel drive 6000STE, which featured a range of driver-oriented upgrades.

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A few weeks ago, we featured a pair of low mileage Chevy Cavalier wagons. I thought those were unrepeatable, but given how rarely you see the 6000s any more, I’m going to give this car top honors as our most unusual GM survivor. The Pontiac is located in Kentucky with several bids already logged but the reserve still unmet. I’m sure the seller is thinking he’s sitting on a payday with a car this clean and rare, but unfortunately, a 6000 is still a 6000. What would you pay?

Comments

  1. Avatar Busyditch

    I have a 93 Buick Century with only 13,000 miles. Estate car from original owner. I will keep an eye on this to get an idea what mine is worth.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Poppy

      By 1993 they had port fuel injection and the 3300 variant of the 3800 and were darn good cars by then only to be discontinued in 1996. Hopefully yours is the 6-cylinder model rather than the 2.5L 4 cyl. Great basic transportation with impressive mileage for a car that carries 6. On the other hand, my wife had an ’84 Century before we were married and that one was a turd with the computerized carburetor.

      Like 0
  2. Avatar grant

    Ok, this is all my personal opinion, but this was a crap car when it was built. Now, it’s a 35 year old crap car with low miles on it. The cheap plastics GM used will be getting brittle, the headliner will be falling down, the electronics will be showing age, as will all the consumable componentry. It’s at $2200 now. The seller ought to take it.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Dave Wright

      You are spot on………. Boring

      Like 0
    • Avatar Mark S

      These came out when I was early on in my mechanics currier and yes they were crap and turds, one of their week points was power assist failure on the steering rack. This would be ok for a winter beater to keep your real classic car high and dry. This car doesn’t even get a spot in the garage.

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Rich Truesdell

    These cars were turds when new, now as some else mentioned, it’s a 35-year-old turd that is noteworthy because of the low mileage.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Friar Tuck

    I like old, clean crap cars like any car nut but my last “dude named Ben” check says 1700 cash. I’ll sell it to a hipster after a clean hidden stereo upgrade for 2500… After about 10,000 more highway miles.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar glenn

    tail lights look odd

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    • Avatar Blueprint

      Taillight area was planned for the mid-cycle styling revisions that brought full tail lights. I always thought that the grey filler looked awful.

      Like 0
  6. Avatar MGAman

    Yeah, you don’t see a lot of 6000s around for the same reason you don’t see a lot of Chevy Celebrities- they had the mechanical integrity, fit and finish of a Yugo. I owned an ’86 and it was the worst vehicle I ever put in my driveway.

    Like 1
  7. Avatar Gerald

    I had an 84 STE in the late 90’s with over 100,000 miles and wish I still had it.

    Like 2
    • Avatar SnuffySmiff

      My father bought one of the Oldsmobile versions and drove the wheels off it. Mom loved it so much that he bought another and they proceeded to drive the wheels off it. Both were off-lease cars.

      Like 1
  8. Avatar jim s

    if the reserve is low this is a daily driver, loaded and everything including the a/c works. nice find.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar DaveT

    I think the HOA specifically prohibits these things in the driveway…

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Mopar madness

    Mom had the celebrity version. It wasn’t much fun in the snow until you drove backwards. Good times!

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Roselandpete

    Nice but I think the price is already there at $2k.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar wmotis

    in KY with ILLINOIS plates. what’s up?? hmmmm

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Brad

    My brother used to run a service dept at a large Chevy dealer. Told me an old gentleman came in asking him to fix his Pontiac Gooole. After some initial confusion he realized he was referring to his 6000 le

    Like 2
    • Avatar Mike H.

      And the sister vehicle, the “GOOOSTE”.

      Like 0
  14. Avatar Bill O Member

    My wife and I had a 1985 Pontiac 6000 4 cylinder base model. It was a pretty good car except it’s awful paint job. It was dark grey. The hood was painted a couple of times and still looked awful with crack lines. In 1987, I lost a wheel cover and went to the dealer to get a new one. He said it was $60. I said this is the plain wheel cover, not the wire one, he said $60. Went to a junk yard and got one for about $15. And yes these 6000’s must have sold well. We lived in a small town of about 10,000 and they were all over town. About 5 people at our church had one.

    Like 1
  15. Avatar Chebby
  16. Avatar Daren

    Had one of these in high school. Had the 4 cyl with mine. Very comfy, smooth driving, and I got passed by a three year old on a tricycle all day long! Only got about 20 mpg’s too. Same as my 2013 5.0 F150… Nice car tho, good memories. Thanks for posting!

    Like 0
  17. Avatar slimwhitman

    When I was a car-loving teen in 1983, my Pontiac loyal parents needed a new sedan. The obvious choice for them was the 6000. They test drove it and was not impressed. They checked out the Ciera and LeBaron (K-car) and were equally unimpressed. Then a friend mentioned the Accord. They test drove it and were blown away. They had to wait a few months for delivery which meant keeping the ’75 Astre GT sputtering a bit longer. My parents never bought american cars again (to this day).

    Like 0
    • Avatar Roselandpete

      I’ve heard similar stories from others who bought their first Japanese car. I’m not surprised about the k-car but I thought the Ciera was pretty nice.

      Like 0
  18. Avatar Dennis Kyle

    I had one in 1993 it was an 87 loved that car but it was a piece of junk tech 4 engine was crap i paid 3200 for it back then lots of memories

    Like 0

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