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Pontiac Montana

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What is this discussion about? Pontiac Trans Sport, Pontiac Montana, Van

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#119 of 1454 VentureMan by VentureMan Sep 30, 1998 (4:32 pm)
I found it in two places. First I should mention that Pontiac has dropped the name Transsport for 1999 and replaced it with Montana. I found information on Kelly Blue Book, carprices, and CarWizard. Venture is not on KBB. href="http://www.kbb.com/cgi-bin/cgi.exe?kbb+zip:94518+nc+van" href="http://www.carprices.com/scripts/foxweb.exe/list_classesauto\cars?YEAR=All&MAKE=ALL&MODEL=ALL&CARID=ALL&CLASS=:Minivan&" href="http://motortrend.carwizard.com/new/1999" Best of Luck. VentureMan
#120 of 1454 gator by gator Sep 30, 1998 (7:39 pm)
Ventureman Well, I picked the Montana on looks. I know its not a SUV but I like the gingerbread they stuck on it to resemble one anyway. I like the aluminum wheels, the standard self-sealing tires (raised white letters) and the two-tone paint scheme a lot. I also knew that the 99s would offer the 98 Montana "look" as a no-cost option, so I got the look I wanted without having to pay for it. Chevy wasn't in the hunt (nice van just kind of a cipher), the 99 Windstar was for a bit until I found out the picture I saw was of the top of the line trim (too expensive),didn't like the other version. Dodge almost squeaked in a winner but ultimately I'm too wary of the reliability issues, real or not, and the experience of family members with a Sebring conv. and a Grand Cherokee (both always in the shop). The automatic door (my kids refer to it as the magic door) is called by Pontiac "Generation II", meaning GM figured out how to fix the bugs associated with the first version (I hope). I think they beefed up the electric motor and improved the design of the connectors. Started looking at the Transport in 97, thought that by the third year GM would have improved the van to where its probably as good as they're going to get with this version. Used the 98 numbers from Edmunds and Carpoint and told the dealer that I was sticking to those, period. Got $750 back and leased it (I also said they could shove their $190 processing fee). I have a hunch that GM is giving the dealers extra incentives to move product to help reclaim some of the lost market share caused by the strike because I think I did pretty good on price, could be wrong though. I forget if the horsepower is up, I think it is, but I am amazed at the get up and go regardless. Other changes are relatively minor, mostly package changes (they'll stick a ceiling mounted TV in it now) and new paint choices (3). Bottom-line is if I have to get a minivan I wanted the best looking one I could get cause I'm a superficial kind of guy . I would bet that reliability will be about average for vans, and I don't expect major problems. The long wheelbase sure drives nice and the bells and whistles inside are neat. The price fit my budget and I don't feel too much like a minivan sellout when Im behind the wheel. Just my thoughts, hope it helps.
#121 of 1454 VentureMan by VentureMan Sep 30, 1998 (7:53 pm)
Gator, Thanks for the response. I heard that the Power door has a delay feature on it. What is this? I started a '99 Montana' topic on this board, as you know, the Transsport will cease to exist beginning in the 1999 model year. Keep in touch on the new topic list and give me your impressions over the next couple of month. Again, thanks. VentureMan
#122 of 1454 gator by gator Oct 01, 1998 (1:12 pm)
Ventureman, Not sure about a delay feature, how so? You can disable the power feature from the front seat, and it kicks back quicker should it hit an obstruction but I don't know of a delay feature. I'll have to read the manual to see.
#123 of 1454 bperoutka by bperoutka Oct 05, 1998 (4:45 pm)
Purchased a 98 Montana 1 1/2 weeks ago. After about 6 months of research online and reading all I could get my hands on - I was ready to go. Paid $600 over invoice. They tried to sell me the farm but I stuck to my guns - the trick is to read all the information you can on the internet - remember dealer holdback, advertising, etc - I brought all the information out up front and there was no BS right from the start. We love the vehicle. It has all the bells and whistles - power door, leather, tow package, dual AC, etc, etc, etc. 3.4L engine was the largest 98 van I was able to find to pull my boat. I needed something big enough to pull the boat, but at the same time also wanted something that looked good. There are too many Dodge and Plymouth's out there, and the biggest engine offered was a 3.0L. We wanted the 7 passenger captain chair seating and that seemed to be the difficult part - finding one with that seating arrangement. I did notice however that the mounting of the seats on the vehicle looks like it could accommodate all the different seating arrangements. So - if the dealer wanted to bad enough - they could order the buckets and pull the modular bench out to satisfy my bucket requirement - if they really wanted to sell me the vehicle that I wanted. Now, for my list of defects: 1. Left rear bucket seat - one of the locking clips which locks the seat to the floor was not put together correctly at the factory - which did not allow the seat to fully lock into place. 2. Left rear modular bench seat locking pin was broken off which did not allow the seat to fully lock into place in the floor. 3. Several scuffs and scratches on the running boards - apparently when the vehicle was built or the dealer did the prep - they dropped the seat and scratched the plastic. 4. The big rubber weather strip on the passenger side door - is only glued to the inside of the door - mine was not properly aligned on the door and was pulled off half way, upon delivery. Don't know if this will become a problem down the road if the stickum looses it's stick. Took the vehicle back to the dealer today - they said they would fix everything - we'll see how that goes. As far as anything else about the vehicle goes: Changing the oil is going to be a blast - I can see the oil filter from up above - but have no idea how I am going to get it out from below. Hopefully I won't have to change the battery - it looks like you have to pull half the engine compartment apart just to get at it. Spark plugs - don't even know where the 3 in the back are located - I'll let Pontiac figure that one out when the time comes. They say they are 100,000 mile plugs. Other than those minor issues - we love the van. I pulled all the seats out and did my own scotch guard - 2 cans from WalMart at $5.49/can - much cheaper than the $100 they wanted at the dealer - probably for the same stuff. Planning our first trip this week - I let everyone know how it handles during our 16 hour drive back home. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
#124 of 1454 VentureMan by VentureMan Oct 05, 1998 (5:26 pm)
The scoop in the spark plugs is that you have the remove the rear motor mount bolts and use a jack underneath to swivil the engine to get at the plugs. Let me know your opinion of the noise level and if you hear any rattling from the cladding on the outside of the van. I'm considering the Pontiac or the Chevy. Best of luck, VentureMAn
#125 of 1454 bperoutka by bperoutka Oct 05, 1998 (9:29 pm)
Haven't heard any rattling from the cladding on the outside of the van - guess I'll be listening for it now and let you know.
#126 of 1454 VentureMan by VentureMan Oct 05, 1998 (11:02 pm)
Total Transsports sold for the 1998 model year is 58,155. Total U.S. GM minivan sales for 1998 model year is 193,522. VentureMan
#127 of 1454 VentureMan by scanner Oct 06, 1998 (12:48 am)
VentureMan, Where did you find your sales figure data? Thanks
#128 of 1454 VentureMan by VentureMan Oct 06, 1998 (9:12 pm)
GM 1998 Model Year Sales Figures: href="http://www.gm.com/mo_pr/mo_pr_dt.htm?id=478" Hope this helps. VentureMan

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