The seller of this 1989 Pontiac 6000 sounds like he’s at the end of this rope, and we can’t say we blame him. This is a $500 car that looks pretty clean, aside from the fact it was running when parked less than a year ago and now won’t fire up. The 6000 was never going to be a collector’s item, but the seller has at least identified a car that appears to have survived in remarkably sound condition despite being used as someone’s everyday driver. He’s going to take it to the scrapyard on Monday out of frustration, so check it out here on craigslist ASAP if you want to save it.
“Save” a Pontiac 6000? I agree, it’s odd to say but disposable cars that have somehow emerged in survivor-grade condition are always worth paying attention to. The 6000 rides on GM’s A-platform, a front-wheel drive design used across many of the company’s bread-and-butter mid-range vehicles. The 6000 came of age in an era when GM was trying to figure out how to appeal to shoppers looking for a European sports sedan, and while the styling and engineering were still definitively 80s-GM quality, some later variants gave the 6000 a sporting chance against the Germans.
Like most of its attempts to go head-to-head with the Europeans, GM had high hopes but poor execution. This was a front-wheel drive car that came equipped with the Iron Duke 4-cylinder in base model form, which fell well short of the entry-level engines found in the likes of the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz 190E. However, when Pontiac unveiled the STE worked hard to change that, offering flashy styling, seriously upgraded suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, and all-wheel drive in its final form. It also came with an upgraded version of the 2.8L V6 shown here. In LE trim, the engine produced 125 b.h.p.
The seller notes the 6000 shows under 65,000 original miles, and the cosmetic condition seems to support this. The interior appears clean and stain-free, the bodywork doesn’t appear to be crusty, and the lenses are still clean with good color in the taillights, and the alloy wheels even retain some of their original sheen. Yes, this car isn’t worth much, but if you’re a fan of 1980s FWD GM products and need a cheap daily, this looks like a car worth saving. What do you think it will take to get it to run once more? Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the find.
Always nice to hear, “well, it’s just going to the junkyard anyway”, and a good place for it. The guy I lived with on the farm had a car like this. It was horribly worn, and every electrical problem you could think of. Just a miserable car, and I remember stacks of cars on top of these at junkyards. THIS,,is why the Asians kicked our rears, because of cars like this.
I understand the seller’s frustration. We keep hearing “affordability” is a problem, and you can’t give anything away. How can people afford grossly overpriced new cars and trucks, and stores and restaurants are full, but “affordability” is a big problem?
Guaranteed an easy fix. These cars were easy to diagnose and fix. And parts are cheap. Air,fuel or spark and go from there. 2.8 was a decent motor a little gutless but fairly reliable. Wirth the money ant time at 5-600 bucks. Be prepared to fix some leaks at this age but way better than 25k for a used car.
Hope someone grabs it and fixes it.