The price goes up when the top goes down, is usually the mantra for folks selling convertibles. That isn’t the case with this 1987 Pontiac Sunbird SE Convertible, which is priced at just $2,500. You can hardly get a four-wheel brake job for that amount anymore in 2025, if you take your vehicle in for service rather than doing it yourself. The seller has it posted here on craigslist in Aurora, Colorado. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Rocco B. for the tip!
Despite some cosmetic issues, mostly related to the paint, this inexpensive convertible looks like it’s in nice shape. The driver’s door appears to be a shade lighter and on the same level as providing vertical photos; the seller doesn’t show one tiny glimpse of the passenger side at all. That’s always a bummer. The ’87 SE Convertible came with revised, partially hidden headlights on a new front fascia.
The second-generation Sunbird was made from 1981 for the 1982 model year until the end of 1987, and they came in so many body styles that I can’t even think of one to make in Photoshop, so I’ll have to skip that this time. We don’t get underside photos or photos of the trunk compartment, but hopefully this is a solid car.
In the only front interior photos in the listing, you can (barely) see the floor shifter, or selector, on the console for the Turbo-Hydramatic THM-125 three-speed automatic. A 4 or 5-speed manual would have been ideal in this small car with fewer than 100 horsepower on tap. We don’t get to see the front seats really, other than a tiny snippet, but the back seat looks perfect.
With only 56,000 miles, the engine looks as clean as any that I’ve seen in a long time. This is Pontiac’s 2.0-liter fuel-injected SOHC inline-four with 96 horsepower and 118 lb-ft of torque. It’s sent through the automatic to the front wheels, and the seller says it’s in pristine mechanical condition. They mention a new battery, new ignition, new tires, and for $2,500, it would be hard to get cheaper, reliable top-down fun than this Sunbird Convertible.
Seems worth a flier at $2500 SG. šāāļø
A friend of the family bought one of these new, and had it until about 6 years ago. It was red, but otherwise pretty similar if not identical. It had 187,000 Colorado miles on it, and still ran pretty well. It shouldn’t have much if any rust if it’s a native Colorado car since we don’t sue salt on the roads here. For the price, I don’t see how you can go wrong. And the best part is the ‘obvious’ upgrade when you sell this is a Mini Cooper S convertible!!
I have a special tool that adjusts the water pump when you install the timing belt on these engines.
We had one years ago. Lemon law, motor kept breaking down. Got all money back.
56k miles. For 2.5k its a good pick as a daily driver, or a cheap collector.
Youāll get more attention with this than a 30k Malibu at a show
5 speed would have made this a bargain
Not a bad deal at all, what is the story? Someone trying to be nice, or naive on the price?
I worked for a car stereo/auto accessories business part time while in college. One day, a woman showed up in one of these cars that we had installed an aftermarket cruise control in. She was unhappy and complained that it didnāt work. We ran diagnostic tests, visually inspected our work and road tested the car- no problems noted (it was, as in most cases, operator error, or as we called it, āa short between the seat and the steering wheelā). After explaining the situation and offering unlimited future support, I gently closed the driverās door, as it was starting to rain. At that point, the driverās door glass exploded into tiny pieces throughout the interior of her car. As she was also about to explode, I reached into my pocket, pulled out my keys and said, āMy car is out front- Iāll call you when your car is ready.ā Amazingly, we were able to get it back to her the next day. I have hated these cars since. As an aside, my installer used the aft side of the driverās door opening to help get out of the car I winced when I saw the entire body section flex under a relatively light load. I canāt imagine what a side impact would look likeā¦
good price shame its has o no motor in it instead of the 2.8v6. still a good buy
Things like this convertible and the Fiero – Inexpensive sporty cars via parts-bin engineering, and inexpensive convertibles – are what we miss today. Not every sports car and convertible needs to cost $50k.
Scotty, in this case, I feel like the mantra is “If the top goes down, it survives”. We have seen several of the Sunbird / Cavalier convertibles that somehow survive while their coupe / hatchback / sedan brothers are long gone now.
This one is sporting the “Brazilian Family Two” engine that I wish had been used as the base engine on the Fiero instead of the boat anchor that was the 2.5L “Iron Duke” that the Fiero originally came with! GLWTS!
In a Curbside Classic article about the Fiero that never was, the 1990 Fiero, the Fiero would have been fitted with the engines it should have had from the start, the Olds Quad 4 as the base engine and the V6 as the optional upgrade engine (see link below).
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/forgotten-future/forgotten-future-1990-pontiac-fiero-prototype/
I loved that design hen I saw a picture of it. I’m sad that they never made it, but glad that a lot of the design aspects made it onto the next gen Firebird.
Here is the pic that I have of the Fiero prototype. Probably the same car as in the article.
I wish GM would bring back something like a Fiero or Solstice again, as an entry level sports car for those of us who want an American sports car, but our income level keeps us away from a new Corvette, LOL! With Corvette prices starting at $68k for a base Corvette and upmarket trim levels starting at $184k, before options, that’s close to supercar pricing! The market desparately needs an entry-level sports car, if for no other reason than to keep the boys in Hiroshima on their toes! Right now, the Miata has this particular playing field largely to itself, as the Suberota twins, the GR86 and BRZ don’t even offer a sunroof, let alone a drop top! Honda and Nissan have abandoned the sports car market completely, and VW’s concept car, the Bluesport, was stillborn, never to see production.
https://www.carthrottle.com/features/trio-vw-concepts-could-have-been-affordable-mid-engined-heroes
I had the same color but was aā86 with Turbo 4 cyl. Pretty peppy until I found a Mustang Convertible to take its place.
Had one. Every 10k the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced.
That wasn’t uncommon at the time, as many cars used cheap, stamped steel valve covers with cork gaskets that leaked more often than not, especially if the valve cover bolts were overtightened, as the sheet metal valve covers would bend and leak if the bolts were over-torqued. Modern cars, where the valve covers are now cast aluminum and use rubber gaskets, seal much better.
As an aside, I always thought that this 2.0L engine should have been the base engine for the Fiero instead of the 2.5L Iron Duke the Fiero was born with. Virtually the same power output, but much lighter and smaller that the Iron Duke, the resulting weight reduction would have done wonders for the Fiero’s handling, but I digress.