The Pontiac Bonneville nameplate was produced between 1958 and 2005, with an impressive ten generations coming and going over the years. Following a downsize for the seventh generation, the eighth-generation Bonneville returned with bigger dimensions befitting of the name, switching over to the front-wheel-drive H-body platform. Finding one of these comfortable, luxurious four-doors in decent condition isn’t always easy, but now, we’ve unearthed an exceptional 1988 Pontiac Bonneville SE on craigslist.
“This car is an insane 32-year-old time capsule with only 53,000 miles,” writes the seller. “Every options [sic] work perfectly as a brand new car does. There is absolutely no evidence of wear on this car whatsoever.”
Craigslist boasting aside, this 1988 Pontiac Bonneville does look remarkably clean and well-kept. The exterior is covered in deep red paint, which looks glossy and smooth, judging by the photos. The trim fits neatly and looks spotless, while the wheels look to be free of any curb rash.
Moving inside, we find the upholstery matching the exterior with a crimson hue covering the seats, carpets, dash, and doors. Wood trim in the middle of the dash, in the doors panels, and along the center console offset the red coloring, while the seats show no obvious signs of wear.
Providing motivation is the naturally aspirated 3.8L V6 LN3 gas engine, which arrived as a replacement for the naturally aspirated 3.8L V6 LG3 equipped for the 1987 Pontiac Bonneville. The LN3 produces 165 horsepower and 210 pound-feet of torque, an increase of 10 horsepower and 10 pound-feet compared to the LG3. Output is routed to the front wheels by way of a four-speed automatic transmission.
All told, this 1988 Pontiac Bonneville SE is impressive for its age, and even comes with a trunk full of original documentation and the original window sticker to boot. Now, interested buyers can find this machine on craigslist, where it’s listed for sale in Upton, Massachusetts for $5,295. The odometer reads around 53,000 miles.
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Source: craigslist
Comments
Pretty cool. Although I’ve never been much of a Pontiac fan, this is a car that would be fun to own. But in my own quirky way, I still want to find a nice and clean 1982 to 1988 Cadillac Cimarron. Yes, you read that right!! I want a Cimarron. Don’t ask, but it’s one of those cars that I’d just love to own.
Make sure you get 2.8 v6 baby Cadillac the 4 banger were horrible I had sunbird burned oil like crazy with only 100 thousand miles like a quart every 500 miles
@Chris. Thanks. But with my lack of luck in finding any Ciimarron, I’d be happy to get one with 4 or 6 cyl engine. I know of a guy with two of them, both 1986 models and both with the 2.8L. But this guy doesn’t respond or seem to really want to sell them even though he has them advertised for years now.
At one time people actually desired GM cars. When this car was introduced GM was 40% percent larger than it is today.
Amazing. I agree with Dan a Cimarron would be fun to find like this.
Brings back memories. My second car was an 87 Bonneville I drove from 110,000 to 242,000 miles when I decided it wasn’t worth it to replace the transmission again in 1998. Great ride, great fuel mileage, great in the snow and best analog dashboard ever. Transmission had serious durability issues.
Yes that is worth it
I currently have a 1991 Bonneville LE with 116k miles. Which it’s my daily driver. Got from original owner which was my grandma. Still have all documents from when purchased new. Great cars in my opinion.
Want to sale it
I have a 2003 Pontiac Bonneville SE with 372,676 miles on it. everything work best air condition &
heat I love this car no rush.
Not many of those cars left on the road; I’ll give it that much.
Loved my ’89 SE. Mine had the climate and radio controls on the steering wheel. It was a great, reliable and fun car. Very comfortable for long (10hr) trips.
+1, Kevin. The H-bodies were good cars, and the ’88-’91 Bonneville SE’s are my favorite for several reasons:
– Although its successors would gain power over the next 20 years, the LN3’s were the best of the Buick 3.8’s in terms of reliability and durability. 165 hp and 210 lb-ft was very respectable for 1988, and the engine was a big leap forward from its predecessors in terms of refinement.
– The delayed release (’87 vs ’86) allowed Pontiac to add just a smidgen of Ford/Audi roundness to the ’80s GM wedge design that the Olds 88 and Buick LeSabre got. Conversely, the ’92-’99 Bonnevilles got a little bloated on the exterior while not gaining any room on the inside.
– The Bonneville SSE’s were just too boy racer. I know some people like them, but the SE is a more adult-looking car.
– When my family bought our ’88 SE, we also test drove an LE. The suspension tuning was indeed different, and the SE was much more rewarding to drive. (Contemporary reviews and brochures posted online confirm that this was not just my imagination.)
Disagree pretty strongly with the comment below that “[r]ust ate up most of these in the areas with salt.” Not a spec of body rust on ours after seven winters on heavily salted roads. Yes, the underside had surface rust. Rust protection was light-years better on late ’80s cars versus cars of the ’60s and ’70s, and these Bonnevilles were in keeping with that improvement.
“Rare sight in Ohio these days.” News flash, C8.R: 32-year-old are a rare sight anywhere. SMH.
3800 and 440 hydro run for ever………
I have a 1981 pontiac bonneville from Alabama. No rust and it has 85000 miles on it. I am the second owner of this car.this car is nice.
Rust ate up most of these in the areas with salt.
Rare sight in Ohio these days.
I saw the one 2 door built. It was shown at the POCI show in Cleveland. It was never seen again. It was based on the Lesabre Coupe.
We used to see H-body LeSabres, Bonneville’s and Olds 88’s with this engine and as high as 500K miles and they were still running quite well on the original engine. It was the earlier 440 trans axles that were the weak point and religious fluid/filter changes were critical. These cars had an independent rear suspension like the C-body cars (98/Park Ave and Deville-Fleetwood), rode really well and were roomy relative to their exterior size. 30 plus highway MPG was common and 1988 on up versions of these cars stepped up the reliability quite a bit so those are the better years for these.
My company car was a red ’87 SE. In those days, 55 mph speed limits were fiercely enforced, so my 43,000 first-year mileage translated into a whole lot of windshield time.
One day, on a stretch of I-69 out of Lansing, MI, I decided to see what it could do. The faster I went, the faster it wanted to go. That 3.8 by served me well.
I didn’t get busted that day, but, sadly, I got t-boned at 50 mph about 3 months later. It was a great ride over it’s short life cycle.