Grand Am / Grand Prix

[SkunkedAgain]

What do you guys think of these cars? I have a chance to buy my grandmother's old one (probably a 2004 or 2005). It's the typical granny car that never got drove much and just has the typical old-person cosmetic problems cause they run into everything a 2mph.

I don't even know if it's a Grand Am or Prix, but I do remember her complaining about a minor tranny issue a few years ago. The dealer never found the issue and I need to find out what her complaint was to follow up.

In any case, are these generally good cars? If I remember they used to describe the Pontiac engine as bullet proof, like the Ford 300 straight-six's.

[tsande00]

I own two Grand Prixs, a 2002 and a 2007.

My opinion is that the motor and trannys are pretty solid on Pontiacs - including the Grand Am. It seems to be the little things that go wrong.

My 2002 had problems with U joints, transaxles, tie rods, fuel gauge doesn't work, ABS doesn't work... Granted it had 185K miles on her when I finally parked it due to a coolant leak causing the car to overheat.

My 2007 I bought with 30K miles on it and it drove like a BMW. Beautiful higher quality leather seats, comfortable steering wheel, loaded with options, lots of power with the super charged 3.8 V6. It now has 70K miles on it and I can feel a little shimmy in the front end, rotors are warped, etc. It's starting to show it's age.

What GM did with the Pontiac line (at lest in recent years) is try to give the consumer the most bang for the buck. The Pontiac version of the Chevy cars is going to be a little flashier, a little sportier and a little more fun to drive.

In summary, they are good cars but I wouldn't say they are built to last any more than a similar domestic car. They are typical in that around 100K you'll probably start to notice little problems cropping up. ALl and all though I have never had a problem with a Pontiac transmission or engine...where the real repair costs hide.

[CJH]

I always thought the 3800 engine on the Grand Prix's were pretty reliable. Not sure on the tranny. If its a Grand Am it might have the 3400 engine which I believe had some problems. I had one for two years that had some type of small leak, but the car was totalled before anything major developed.

[Jeremy airjer W]

It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to find out what car it is, what year, and what engine it has. It can make a big difference in what you get and/or have to deal with in the future.

For instance there is no way you'll make it to 100k in a grand am without spending thousands to keep it going.

The grand prix may get you there for under a thousand.

[Jack Peterson]

Grand Prix's are awesome cars, with the 3800 engine. In my opinion it is the best engine on the market. If it's a Grand Prix with a 3.8L, you can't go wrong, IMO.

Grand Am's, not so much. They come with the ecotec 2.2L engine, 3.1L, or the 3.4L. None of them are fantastic, and I would never drive one personally. I like a little bit of snort and a lot of reliability. Like airjer stated, you'll be spending money to make it past 100k miles.

[SkunkedAgain]

The preliminary information from my aunt is that it's a 2004 Grand Prix. I still don't know the engine or the mileage, but I would assume that it's in the 50,000-60,000 range.

Based on the responses above, I'm feeling a little better.