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THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I"LL EVER OWN A PONTIAC!
I UNDERSTAND PONTIACS STILL HAVE ONE OF THE WORST SIDE IMPACT RATINGS AS WELL. GLAD IT WAS JUST A RENTAL!
I own a 2000 Grand Am GT that is 7 months old. Ever since I first saw this car it was the one I wanted. Two disappointments: 1) front brakes warped at 9,000 miles (replaced under warranty) and 2)a sun visor that doesn't stay all the way up when blocking the sun. However, I love the style and power. Test drive other vehicles first because some people have different tastes. In my opinion the GT is a practical as well as a performance car. It gets my recommendation.
Thank you
Other than that, I'm very happy. The car has all kinds of power, gets pretty good gas millage.
It is a car I would recommend to others. Recently, I have rented a 2000 Intrepid and a 2000 Taurus. They are not too bad, but prefer the grand am. I found that the Grand Am has the best of both worlds. If you want a smooth car, and want to drive it like grand-dad, no problem. If you want to drive it hard and accelerate hard, no problem. The other 2 cars I mettionned was either one of the 2 hard driving cars or grand-dad cars. The Grand Am, is both if you want it to be.
You are probably going to say that the Intrepid is not a hard driving car. Try it, press the gas a little, it feels like you floored it. With the Grand Am, you press it a little, it goes a little, you press it hard, it goes hard. The Intrepid, you press it a little, press it hard, no matter, it goes hard. No the Taurus, its not too bad, smooth running car, at the top end, doesn't have as much power as the Grand Am. But nice smooth car.
With the Grand Am, I can take the turns hard with no problem, with the other 2 cars, they would squeel a lot, and I would not puch them at all.
Anyways, just my 2 cents worth.
Some days I have some pickup, minivan or other sedan annoyingly riding up my rear end on the local road. I wait until I get on the ramp and then I make my 1999 GA GT do some dancing. The cornering ability is incredible! I carve the turns on the ramp at 50 mph, leaving everybody in the dust. They're lucky if they can negotiate the turns at 30 mph, which is fine by me.
That's just a little fun I have on my daily 60 mile round trip to work everyday. I love this car!
I'm trying to decide on which of these cars to lease and would appreciate any input. I've started a separate board entitled 2000 Grand Am GT1 vs 2000 Saturn LS2 to weigh the pros and cons of each. If any of you have time and are inclined to contribute, please stop by for a visit. Thanks.
The car I drove had 16,000 miles on it and the shocks need replacement. Also, the rental had a bad blind spot, - my parent's 97 has no blind spot.
I have owned a toyota and presently own an Accord and my 10 year old Honda with 169,000 miles handles curves better than the 2000 Grand Am I rented.
It was a decent rental, except for the curves - I was VERY disappointed, as this is the worst rental car I've ever driven for curves. Because of that, I won't rent another one where I know I will be in traffic with it.
Also, as far as renting rental cars for the first time, I actually had one with 5 miles on it - the car rental had to take the stickers off - and I have been fortunate to rent cars with as little as 200 miles.
For leadfootnot: Your question could be debated for ever. It depends what you want in the car. I decided to get the GT because I wanted a V6, sunroof, custom cloth seats, 4 wheel disc brakes, a power seat and other stuff. It made the most sense for me to buy the GT. Besides, I liked the styling and wheels better. But that's only for me. Can you get by with a 4 cylinder? Do you need all these options? Do you need a RamAir engine with extra HP and torque? Make a list of all the options you want and price out the GT versus an SE with the added options. That's a good place to start your comparison decision making process. Good luck.
I have both cars. I like the GP better.
After you look both over, you should have an idea which you like better. If not, go with the one you can get a better deal on.
As far as what to expect for a deal, you need to balance the timing of your deal. The later you get your car, the better deal you can get on the 2000 models. However, the longer you wait, the fewer cars you'll have to choose from.
Has anyone driven an Alero and Grand Am? Any preferences? What aer your reactions to each.
I have begun to notice little noises where interior parts seem to be rubbing together. But it doesn't seem to happen all the time. Nothing real major - just hope it isn't an indication of things to come. Anybody else notice this?
GM requires "to hit brakes" hard at least every 1000 miles. Otherwise they can't self-adjust. Look at the car's manual.
Majority of people who have the warped rotor problem (GrandAm-Alero and Malibu-Cutlass) claim they never brake hard. Is it one of the reasons?
PROS:
- Great power and low end torque.
- Good handling (although my '87 G/A could pull more G's on a skid pad).
- Excellent interior and seating (leather). The driver's seat can be adjusted way down and back for larger people (I'm 6').
- Sunroof maintains headroom by opening on top of the roof, unlike the Grand Prix/ Regal which are larger but have less headroom.
- Split fold-down rear seat is VERY useful. You don't get that in a BMW 323i for 35K!
- Solid overall construction and feel.
CONS:
- The engine produces a ticking noise for about 2 minutes after first start. I quiets when the oil warms up. I believe it to be a bad lifter, or a clogged oil journal to that lifter. (The dealer bailed by saying I was 1/2 quart low - no way).
- Heavy oil smell enters the passenger compartment through the vents for the first 1K miles after an oil change. This may be related to a PCV valve problem, since I pulled the PCV and cleaned it and the smell went away.
- The brakes are good so far, no paint chips, or radio problems except rarely the volume doesn't respond to the knob being turned down. No leaks.
- Have any of you seen or fixed similar problems?
I always smell burning oil after an oil change. Usually because the mechanic spills oil when removing the filter. It gets on the engine block and when it heats up - yuck! That usually lasts for a few weeks, no matter who much Simple Green I attempt to spray to clean it.
The noisy lifters on start up seem to be a characteristic of the engine and aren't a problem as far as I'm concerned.
Hitting the trunk seals with high pressure spray can allow a little water in the trunk, but normally it's not a problem.
I really like the car and it's a world apart from our 95 GA. I have 33,000 miles (about 2 years old now)
The looks of the car is one thing, you need to drive it, drive both with similar options and see for your self. You sit in the car more than standing outside. What do you prefer, something that drive like you want, or something that looks nice, but drive like cr@#$p.
So, take both out and see for yourself...
my 2 cents
REPORT HIS ACTIVITY TO THE ROOM MODERATOR!!!!!!!!!!!
While the Camry may be a fine automobile, your frequent and highly dubious "personal experiences" do nothing to support your position. In fact, they serve to show that you are merely one of the mindless chattle being lead around by the Toyota marketing staff.
If you want to be taken seriously, I would try a few things. First, be honest about what vehicles you really own and have owned in the past. You jump from forum to forum listing so many GM cars as having been in your stable. That leads us to the obvious conclusion that you aren't being honest with us. Second, take a few minutes to proofread your posts. Your spelling and grammar are atrocious and further the image that you are nothing more than a raving simpleton with no more than an 8th grade education at best.
If you have something to say about GM or Toyota, try engaging in an honest and intelligent discussion. You will win more converts to your ideas that way.
I believe I've found the solution. I change my own oil (every 2K-2500 miles). The oil pan is cast aluminum with "drip guides" directly below where the oil filter mounts to the block. These drip guides direct any excess oil spilled during an oil change straight down to the oil pan. They look like a small lip cast into the oil pan.
There's a small drip guide about 1" below the filter. This is obvious and easy to clean. There's another way down new the bottom of the pan behind the front frame cross member that's nearly impossible to see. Oil collects on this one and it's not tilted down well (more flat) so it doesn't drain.
The trick is to thoroughly clean both the top and bottom drip guides with a rag after the new filter is attached. GM should delete the guides, make them more shallow or increase the angle on them to help them drain.
For those of you who go to Jiffy Lube, you'll have to deal with the smell, 'cause they'll never clean it... For the rest, try it!
I give the car an 9 out of 10 for ease of oil change, and an 8 of 10 for overall maintainability.
Note: you must jack the engine up a few inches (under the cast aluminum oil pan using a block of wood) to change the accessory belt.
I agree that it's very easy to do regular oil changes on the V6. Ditto for our 95 4cyl.
There is a plastic cover that is removed with two wing bolts to get easy access to the filter
Here is my 2 cents
GAsucks
Have had my '99 GA for over two years and 40 thousand miles, on rough Houston freeways, and dusty dirt roads in the rural areas. Haven't had any difficulties in having technical issues solved with my dealer.
My engine light came on a few months back. Took it to my dealer and the light wouldn't return on. He didn't reject me at all. He placed the computer on it and said it showed I was burning rich. He got on the phone and hung up. Told me to follow him to the back of the car. He opened the gas filler door and we saw a loose gas cap. The cap clearly states that the light may come on if it is loose. d'uh!
Personally, I think you should stop knocking the car and knock the dealer instead.
There have been some Grand Ams that suffered from poor build quality. It looks like your's is one of those. However, a competent dealer should be able to fix the problems. Take your car to a different dealer.
Oh, and Kim, before you go looking for that Honda, make sure you're not suckered in to believing the hype that they are somehow dramatically better than any other car. Check out this website. It has links to all sorts of information on the problems people have with Honda.
http://members.tripod.com/~juan_espero/hype.html
Disclaimer: By posting this link, I'm not trying to say that Grand Ams are better than Hondas. I'm just trying to say that Hondas are just like any other car on the road. Far from perfect.
http://www.pontiac.com/contactus/contactus.html