3800 series II dependability

I am interested in buying a 1996-2002 camaro with the 3.8 liter V6. I would like to know how dependable they are and how many miles they will run for if properly taken car of? Any responses will be appreciated.

hi i own a pontiac firebird, 2000, V-6 3.8, well the car runs great .. cheap to maintain.... i normally run about 80mph.....

How many miles are on it?

We have 130,000 miles on the 3800 Series II in our 2000 Bonneville. We don't baby it at all. It runs like it's new!

i've got 140,000 on mine and runs great. even take it to the track every once in awhile for fun.

ive heard about people with up to 250.xxx+ miles on their v6's. these things are great!
i only have 36,000 on mine, but i havent had any problems (that werent caused by me, haha)

During my apprenticeship at a GM dealership, I came across countless 3.8L Series II motors with well over 150K, some even over 200K and they were running like mint. I have a supercharged 3.8 in my Grand Prix and it has almost a 100K on it and you would never be able to tell. I am definitely not easy on that car either.

Over 170k on my '96 3.8L daily driver.

Oil analysis shows that the engine is wearing just fine with no problems at all. Just the usual wear & tear items but thankfully she has been near bullet-proof.

my is in 50,000 m

it's a great engine. runs well! i haven't had any serious problems, just the usual maintenance. I acutally have to replace my spark wires tomorrow. Overall, great gas mileage on the freeway.

3800 series II dependability = god like :)
everything else will most likely break on the car before the motor.

Mine has 110K on it and leaks oil like a madman.

Not that it has anything whatsoever to do with the car's dependability, though. I blame every oil leak on the dealerships that performed shoddy work on it. Live and learn.

Otherwise, the motor is near bulletproof. Lifters make some noise and the plug wires don't last very long due to the design of the motor, but otherwise it runs like a top.

I sold my '96 V6 Camaro last year with 165k miles on it. Engine still ran perfect, but had some oil leaks and coolant seeping out at the intake manifold interface. I beat the crap out of it for 7 years so I'd say it held up well.

3800 series II dependability = god like :)
everything else will most likely break on the car before the motor.
So very true. I was hard as all hell on mine before I had to put her in storage :cry: Only thing I had to do was replace the plug wires and catalytic converter (was still under warranty thank god.)

What problems should I look for when looking at V6 models, and what is most prone to fail other that the plug wires and oil leaks?

My father's 97 GP has 230,xxx on it and still keeps on chugging. Original motor and trans. :)

What problems should I look for when looking at V6 models, and what is most prone to fail other that the plug wires and oil leaks?

I think the 3.8 is one of the best, if not the best V6 out there in a sports car (go figure a buick motor in a sports car). Generally they'll easily give between 150K - 200K ( if babied probably will last as long as the honda civics do)...

the only bad think I can say about them is that the 3.8's do have a tendency to blow the head gasket late in life, but that is usually close to 200K and unfortunatley that is not something you can detect when looking into buying the car.. so I'd say do the usual when looking into buying it: take it for a long test drive with the radio of and windows down (so you can hear or small anything odd).. rev it hard a little make sure it performs..look at all of the usual suspects
if dealer lets you take it for a drive on the freway a stock 3.8 should have no problem getting upto 70mph on an average onramp (of course if you can fidn an on ramp with no cars on it) and should only runs upto about 3-4K rmp to do that.. then the car should hold cruising spped (say 60 or 70 mph) at well below 2(1/2) rmp at least that was about what my 97 3.8 would get and just of topic my 97 3.8 was getting well over 30mpg on the highway cursing

p.s. did you check out the appraise a used car on Edmunds.com as that has tons of usefull info

3.8's do have a tendency to blow the head gasket late in life, but that is usually close to 200K and unfortunatley that is not something you can detect when looking into buying the car

You can't guarantee it, but there are ways to tell. For instance, you can check the oil for bubbles. You can look for coolant seepage at the bottoms of the heads.

yeah good point; unfortunaltey most of those things can easily be cleaned up by the person seeling the car if they are evil... thats the main reason why I always buy used cars from bigger GM dealrships as they tend not to do evil stuff like as they have a rep to keep up. Also, in some cases they'll even give you something like a 5000 miles warnanty for free... sure your probbaly going to pay a little bit more net for the car at a bigger dealrship but that pcie of mind is worth it to me

I got a 89 Bonivelle with 281,xxx and running strong. I beat on it from time to time.

I may only have 75k on my 3.8L, but trust me its been a long hard life and it still runs strong...


My only complaints, the CATs put on newer ones seem to suck, have heard from others as well, My 2nd Cat went out at 75k, since I have hptuners I said **** it and tuned it out, and gutted it.

Then the 5-speed, its an ok transmission if treated normal, but under heavy abuse it breaks. But then again, its under heavy abuse. Doubt they designed the car to go to the track as often as I have taken it, and run as hard.

they do have a problem with them damn intake manifolds... my cousins bonneville locked up cause so much water ran into the cylinders... pulled the plugs and put a new intake on it and its still fine

they do have a problem with them damn intake manifolds... my cousins bonneville locked up cause so much water ran into the cylinders... pulled the plugs and put a new intake on it and its still fine

Yep, I lost count on how many of those I have seen go bad.

80,000 miles on a 98 and no problems yet

3800 series engine were rated as one of the top ten engines of all times.

80,000 miles on a 98 and no problems yet

80,000? Thats still a baby! ;)

WOW! mine has 184,250 miles and i just put on 1250 miles the past three weeks, and preveious owner never took care of the camaro so i have been restoring it...next is plugs and wires :)

I have a 99 Camaro with 30k on the odo......:D
runs perfect, but last year I had a great misfire problem...

my 99 had 153,000 kms (about 95,000) miles and runs great.

What problems should I look for when looking at V6 models, and what is most prone to fail other that the plug wires and oil leaks?

Missfires, front mail leaks, ICM, coilpacks, Intale leaks.


IMO I would take a 3.4 over a 3.8 neday, had 1 3.8 nightmare, never but 1 again!


Don

IMO I would take a 3.4 over a 3.8 neday, had 1 3.8 nightmare, never but 1 again!

One nightmare among millions of 3800-powered cars shouldn't be enough to turn you away. The 3.4's longevity is just as good, but the 3800 is a much more powerful motor. You're welcome to avoid them, but you're not helping yourself by doing so. :)

this post makes me feel good. I have a 3800 SC out of a 2003 Bonneville with only about 6000 miles on it in my fiero.

yeah, the 3.8 series ll is a great engine. not only the most supercharged engine in automotive history, but very reliable. i have 142,000 on my 2000 camaro, run it in 3rd gear most of my travels through orange park, fl, where the speed limit is 45. its great, a small oil leak, but toher than that, its more than what i can ask for in a 6. that's for sure. dependability issues, just take care of your car, and it will take care of you.

Hello just got me a 1998 camaro with 242,000 miles. with the 3.8.
Drive very good, do have a oil leak that i have to take care of other than that it drive great.