Pontiac Grand Am

[howardj]

Anyone have/had one? Friend or family member have/had one?
I'm looking into getting one, but I have read that they have had many problems. One of my friends recently got one, and she hasn't had any problems with hers.
The car has 170k miles on the engine, 48k on the new transmission, but the car is in Great shape.
I test drove it and I like it, a Lot. It has a Lot more get up and go than I expected, it drives smooth, and everything works..
Good Car? Bad Car? Mediocre? Lemon?
Please share any wisdom!
Thank yah much

 

[blownz281]

Well i will put it this way. i like how they look,but i hated owning two of them and will never again. first one was a 86 which was a quad 4. 150 miles and never had any engine problems. could never get the car to heat up though. changed all the heating and still never heated up well. just sold a 1995 acouple months ago. 119,000 miles never had any engine problems and i was the second owner. front seat floor boards were always wet and could never find the problem and kept getting worse. the suspension on those cars all sucked and road rough. 93-97 always has water leak problems,windshield leaks,door seal issues,firewall rusting issues and water coming in. it was a 4 cyclinder 16 valve. i would hammer it pretty good all the time and ran great and never leaked any fluid. i think it was a factory freak as it would move way to quick when you guned

oh also passengerside door lock relays go bad all the time. parents had a 1994 brand new when i was a kid. 0-60,000miles my dad put two door lock relays in it. if you just want a work beater then just make sure it doesn't have water problems

 

[renogaw]

i owned 3 of them in a row, a 87, a 93, and a 95. loved everyone of them. my 95 got up to 125k miles.
only problems i had with them were the brakes went fast.

 

[howardj]

Oh, I forgot to mention it is a 2002.
The heater works good, (tried it in 75 degree weather for 5 whole seconds

)
And the feet thing works!! I have NEVER been in a car where the feet air option worked..
I got the VIN number on the car just a little bit ago, and I am planning on getting a carfax report on it ($24.99, Sheesh! I thought they were $10!?) Is a carfax report worth it? I looked it up, and it said that it has '5 reports' on it..

 

[travis89]

I have a 2001 and replaced the head gaskets among other things (most of the cooling & steering) at 100k, I don't know if thats normal but thats my experience...I would have a hard time buying another, although I do like the look and how it feels. I would definately get a carfax report because you never know what will show up.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by renogaw
http:///forum/post/2584927
i owned 3 of them in a row, a 87, a 93, and a 95. loved everyone of them. my 95 got up to 125k miles.
only problems i had with them were the brakes went fast.
Well yeah, when you do 90 in a residential area

J/K, kind of...

 

[bronco300]

didn't have a grand am, but had a 99' grand prix and had to replace my head gaskets at 125k i think it was..I then had transmission troubles at 127k give or take again....had air bag problems...was a pretty nice car otherwise though.

 

[howardj]

I'm getting it!

Took it for a test drive and snapped a few pics:

I didn't edit these pictures, but the paint looks funny..

 

[gman08016]

Head gaskets are a known issue with those cars.My 2002 went around 80,000 miles.I had the v-6 model loaded like the one in the pic.Also hadproblems with the factory radio stupid thing would always lock me out.Would have to got to the dealer and have them reset it.The only reason i gotrid of mine was when i found out how much it would cost to repair the gaskets good luck with it

 

[bronco300]

woohoo, good looking car---yea, tell them to replace the gasket before getting it...then if not, call up someone you know to replace it, MUCH cheaper..my friend and I changed ours for a lot less.

 

[howardj]

Hah thaanks..
That one ^ is a V4. When we took it for the test drive, it started to rattle in the back right, so the guy we are getting it from is going to look at that, too.
Anyone else have a rattling problem?

 

[capschamp]

actually i owned 2. had an 87 four cyl ran it to 124k, guy i sold it too put minimal work into it (less than 1k) ran it to 155k. Bought a 96, had 23k on it when i got it ran it to 134k, now my sister drives it. only problems i ever had was breaking the manual window crank and the window. tried rolling the window down and the window just started going crooked down the door. Last april i got a 03 sunfire that had 23k on it, and i plan on running that well past 100k. cars are terrible investments in my opinion, so do your oil changes and tune ups and never have a problem.

 

[ice4ice]

Pontiac Grand Am ? A POS. Think : rolling coffin ... My bro-in-law owned 2 then he got smart to get rid of it after his second one.

 

[aquaknight]

Great year! It was the first year to debut the new 2.2 I-4 EcoTec, that Grand Am has. And it has none of those forementioned problems (there also aren't any V4's so to speak). It's a great little motor. Most say the 2.2 is just as fast as the 3.4l V6. Only thing I would have said is to look for an Olds Alero instead (just a tad better, looks/********), but that's just a preference. Looks good!

 

[agent-x]

Good luck

 

[slpcamaro]

Originally Posted by blownz281
http:///forum/post/2584703
Well i will put it this way. i like how they look,but i hated owning two of them and will never again. first one was a 86 which was a quad 4. 150 miles and never had any engine problems. could never get the car to heat up though. changed all the heating and still never heated up well. just sold a 1995 acouple months ago. 119,000 miles never had any engine problems and i was the second owner. front seat floor boards were always wet and could never find the problem and kept getting worse. the suspension on those cars all sucked and road rough. 93-97 always has water leak problems,windshield leaks,door seal issues,firewall rusting issues and water coming in. it was a 4 cyclinder 16 valve. i would hammer it pretty good all the time and ran great and never leaked any fluid. i think it was a factory freak as it would move way to quick when you guned

oh also passengerside door lock relays go bad all the time. parents had a 1994 brand new when i was a kid. 0-60,000miles my dad put two door lock relays in it. if you just want a work beater then just make sure it doesn't have water problems

water in front seats and no rain = heater core leaking only thing that runs water through the inside of your car.

 

[slpcamaro]

Originally Posted by Travis89
http:///forum/post/2585098
I have a 2001 and replaced the head gaskets among other things (most of the cooling & steering) at 100k, I don't know if thats normal but thats my experience...I would have a hard time buying another, although I do like the look and how it feels. I would definately get a carfax report because you never know what will show up.
cooling problem caused your head gasket car gets to hot engine block heats up and warps causeing head gaskets to go also keep you cooling system happy your engines like your tank don't cook it.

 

[slpcamaro]

Originally Posted by Ice4Ice
http:///forum/post/2590180
Pontiac Grand Am ? A POS. Think : rolling coffin ... My bro-in-law owned 2 then he got smart to get rid of it after his second one.
Cars are generally good it's how you take car of them you can run honda to the ground if you don't treat it right maintain your car it'll be good to you. I have a 98 camaro ss I race this car every chance I get and i mean every. I take it on long 6 hour drives, I put over 50k on it in 1yr and 2months and it runs like a champ no leaks not problems except for a few little things like the alternator went out at 120k no big deal. I change the oil every 3k and keep the cooling system clean and mixted. Car has 135k on it run great so it's all how you treat your cars. As far as tranmissions go don't be that idiot that punches it at the light and then lets off at 35 no point to this it waste your gas and stresses the tranny these are the people that have the issues with the tranny(also people that check the tranny fluid with the car off fyi when checking the tranny fluid on and automatic car the car must be running if not it will always say full and you will end up blowing your tranny). I'm actually trying to beat it up enough that I have to open the motor up, I promised myself that I wouldn't open the motor to mod's in untill I have to due to failure I have a huge parts list and money waiting but the damn thing just keeps going. But nice car let me know if you have any problems or issues with it.

 

[howardj]

Thanks for the info everyone!
Anyone else have stories about this type of car?('02)
Good? Bad?