1996 Chevrolet Caprice

-

8 Cylinder

Automatic

1G1BL52P1TR149971

Gasoline

Power Windows

1996 Black Cherry Impala. It has 95,000 original miles. The car was used by my wife to drive back and forth to work. A lot of the miles are highway miles. We made several trips to Denver Colorado to visit relatives and several trips to New Orleans and Florida for vacations. The car still has all the original paint and runs and drives great. Exterior condition: Overall it is in pretty good condition. We always parked the car far back in parking lots when going to the grocery store & malls. Both sides are laser straight. It only has one small door ding on the passenger front door and that was there when we bought the car. To find a car that is 15 years old with only one door ding and as straight as this one is pretty rare. The paint is 15 years old and could use a paint job but it is in good condition for its age and is still very presentable. The rims are in typical shape for the age, some of the clear coat has worn off but the tires have less than 1000 miles since new. The front bumper cover has a small hole in it from a jerk off backing into it with a trailer ball and then left the scene and the rear cover is faded. The car comes with a bra for the front that is in like new condition. It is also equipped with a trailer hitch & light hook up in the rear. On one of the road trips we had a rock bounce off the windshield and crack it. The crack runs across the bottom of the windshield and is not in your view. The car was garage kept for many years but also set under a car port for about 5 years. We bought an extra house two years ago so it went back in the garage under a car cover. Interior condition: All of the leather seats are in perfect condition. The driver seat has slight wear from getting in & out, but you have to look for it to notice it. The headliner is in perfect condition. The console, dash panel & door panel are in great shape. The top of the dash has some sun damage on the outer edge and in the middle. My wife always put up sun screens when she got out of the car but they only covered about 95% of the dash. The carpet needs a cleaning and should clean up with no problem. I was going to clean it but I have too many other toys and projects to work on. The carpet in the rear won’t even need to be cleaned. The light grey floor mats are a little dingy. I planned on buying a new floor mats from NAISSO but never got around to it. My wife and I are both non-smokers and this car has never been smoked in. Overall the interior is in great shape. Under the hood condition. It has 95K miles, which is not too bad for a 1996 model car. The opti-spark was changed at about 30K miles and again at about 75K miles. The water pump was changed at about 50K miles and I had the radiator replaced last year. I just put in a new Battery last week. The only thing that is bad under the hood is the AC compressor. The AC clutch came apart but the system still has pressure. I do not have any intentions of fixing the AC. We no longer drive the car so I am not going through the expense. The overall appearance of the engine compartment is really good. Usually about once a month or so I would take it to the car wash and spray it down with some Gunk Engine Bright and blast it off. Issues that need to be addressed. I like to be 100% up front & honest about the condition of the car because I know it is difficult to buy a car you are not physically looking at. So here are all the things that need to be fixed. First off, the tags and inspection have been out since 2009. All the kids are grown and gone so the wife got a new Corvette two years ago, so the Impala has been in the garage under a car cover since then. I pull it out and drive it around the neighborhood 2 or 3 times a month to keep everything working & loose. Next, the check engine light is on. But it has been on for about 7 or 8 years. The guy who did my inspections would run it as a 95 which did not have the plug in for the emissions test; it just required the sniff test. When it first came on I had it checked and they gave me a list of about ten things it could possibly be, such a BS light. I do not think getting it inspected will be an issue. The car runs & drives perfectly and does not smoke in the least. Next, when you turn the wipers off, they do not go off. Once you shut the car off they go back to the park position. I am sure that is just the wiper relay switch. Next, the idler pulley makes a little noise. It has been making the same noise for several years. You can’t hear it inside the car so it never bothered me. If you want it perfectly quit under the hood when you pull into car shows, you could replace it. Next, anyone who knows anything about these cars knows the rear door windows fall when you roll them down. They make a repair kit to fix the problem. The rear windows have never been rolled down in the 13 years that I have owned the car. Like I said the AC compressor needs to be replaced. The last problem I believe is related to the AC system. There is a large fuse under the hood that has to be pulled or you will drain the battery. Once the AC is fixed I believe that problem will go away. That problem occurred when the AC clutch shot craps. So Tags, inspection, wiper switch, idler pulley??, AC compressor are the 5 problems that need to be addressed to make this car mechanically sound. Which in the scope of a 15 year old car is not much at all? The rest of the car just needs minor cosmetics. If you are looking for an unmolested, un-modified 96 SS to restore, this is a prime candidate. Overall this is a very good car. The major aspects of this car needed for a minor restoration are in really great shape. If I had the garage space for this car I would not sell it. I have my garage devoted to my other toys and could use the space. I think the price has bottomed out on these cars and will only increase in value. These cars are going to be the 70 Chevelle of their day. I'm sure I'm going to look back 20 years from now and kick myself for selling Big Red. But I just can't let it sit and go bad. I'm sure there is somebody out there who will bring her back to her former glory and give her a nice garage to stay in. I reserve the right to end the auction as it is for sale locally. You will have a week to come pick up the car. I’ve been a car guy my whole life. I assure you that this is a good one and it has been taken care of as such. It has never missed an oil change in its life. If you are looking for an SS and you have the mechanical skills to do the work listed above yourself, don’t let this one get by. The good ones are starting to get harder to come by and only getting more expensive. The car is located in Texas City, Texas 77590. My contact number is 409-771-4455. I am a shift worker so if I do not answer please leave a message and a number and I will return your call.