1st and 2nd gear shifting hard
 

I don't know anything about cars and I bought a GT two days ago. My first two gears shift a little harder then others. Somebody told me it means the torque converter works good, but I thought I'd ask you guys.

So is my tranny going out? :/

has the car been modified with a converter or tuner (or chip)??

Don't know..just bought it from a dealership...although there are a few custom things on the car so I suppose it's possible.

how many miles on it?

98,000. Super clean car, looks brand new on inside and outside.

It's an automatic btw. Not sure if it matters but 0-60 time was 9.something seconds. Is that reg stalk times?

http://i54.tinypic.com/mct8vq.jpg

yea, i knew it was an auto or i wouldnt have asked if the converter was swapped or if there was a tune (wouldnt make a difference transmission wise on a manual, and manuals dont come with converters) :p

not really sure what a 96 with an auto should do 0-60 in, but i'd guess it'd be closer to the 6 second mark stock... there's alot of factors that could affect this however. have you checked the trans fluid? check level, and give a sniff check. if it smells burnt you got problems.

i'd give the car a whole tuneup honestly. i wouldnt trust a dealership to have done anything. for all you know the car could have sat on the lot for a year with the same oil that the previous owner left in it(which was probably cheap crap if he/she was planning on selling it).

maybe even see if you can find a shop you can trust and see what they say about it. i'm no expert on auto's, and internet diagnosing is a long and tedious process that leads to alot of extra parts being replaced for no reason...

Thank you for your help.

My 0-60 time was probably bad because I've never raced a car probably haha.

But my car sat at a dealership for 4 months because of winter...does that throw out any red flags?

With what you said I think I'll change the oil even though the oil looks brand new.. I'll smell the tranny fluid and get back to you on that.

Also, I bought this car for $4,150. I thought that was a pretty good steal :D

thats all based on opinion :p IMO valuing a car is solely the responsibility of the owner/buyer. auctions are perfect examples of this.

back OT -- was there any info on the car such as scheduled maint or a carfax? number of owners? was it a recent trade in (maybe they can contact the previous owner to see if he/she swapped or did something)? any warranty offered(probably a longshot but ya never know)?

3 including 2 dealerships that traded it between themselves.. no carfax...no warranty