In the NW the competition is very good and a Pontiac could easily be had for ~ invoice plus fees, maybe a mandatory ad fee (required by GM of some dealers). And then you can subtract the rebates. I don't know how it is in Florida, but if you are able to shop around or use the internet (GM Buypower) to get some competitive quotes before you have to do any dealing. I tried the dealer quote thing off of Edmunds a few years ago and got some very competitive quotes - ended up paying invoice + title & license (only ~$140 in OR) and got a $2000 rebate plus 1.99% financing at that time. {I'm not a GM employee or relative, just an ordinary working stiff)
"The April issue of Consumer Reports rates the Grand Prix as very reliable."
CR reccomends the GP's with the base engines in them for Excellent reliability. However CR gives the GP's with the supercharged engine a much worse than average reliability rating.
"My company car is a 2004 Grand Prix GT1, and I have only changed fluids, filters, and rotated the tires regularly for 53,500 miles. The car has not been back to the dealer yet."
"CR is a bunch of guys with pocket protectors that don't love cars but love practicality. They aren't interested in 0-60, handling or fun, they want good crash tests, lots of space and dull design. That's why they recommend Camrys and Impalas."
I like their reliability ratings but the road tests are kinda spotty.
I'm glad GM is offering Remote start factory installed for $150. Where I live near New York City, Remote Start comes in handy, esp these past few months. esp. since I don't garage it. Antique '58 Chevy gets the garage. I had an aftermarket place screw it up on my 1995 Aurora.. had to FORCE them pay for damage to my wiring harness, Aurora, battery is under backseat, more complicated to wire remote start. That said, I had dealer put remote start in my 2002 GTP that way it was covered under warranty.
I had ridden in the backseat of my 1997 and now 2002 GTP COUPE, it's not bad. You do sit very low. 2004 I sat in felt much worse to me. I have no problem getting my 2 year old out of backseat, front right seat slides forward easily and big wide opening from longer door is perfect. I can get him out just as easily or easier then my 4 door I30t. Only negative of coupe is In parking lots I park further away to allow the door more room to swing open, 10 to 12 inches longer door. Luggage wise, GTP has 16 cu foot trunk. Enough for us. Most coupes like Accord are only 13 or less cu ft !! At least Pontiac made the GP coupe SAME size as sedan. With Honda, accord Coupe is MUCH smaller then sedan. Too small for me. Compared to GP coupe.
GTO is smaller and would be tighter, but would still fit us ok as a family. With 400hp engine nice. Fuel economy is defnitely worse then GTP, thats another consideration, but we don't drive a lot of miles.
First off, CR has long talked out of both sides of its mouth. The portion of what they do that comes back from readers of the mag is ok, but the "facts" they offer up about foreign vs domestic are like asking a Democrat about a Republican or vice versa.
I'm a Buick Regal GS owner, 98 model. Our car has been sent to the sheet metal heaven in the sky and replaced by the French-Canadian term for pleasuring oneself :-) Since the Regal and Grand Prix are as close as they are, I was wondering what you folks recommended for a tire/strut change or upgrade?
The car has about 115,000 miles on it and has the factory original struts. It currently has Bridgestone B420 tires that are getting towards the end of their life also. Due to two cracked vertebra in my back I'm not looking to stiffen the ride/suspension seriously.
I own a 2004 gt1 with the standard 3 button DIC, i am wondering if there is a way to upgrade the DIC to the Uplevel DIC with Trip Computer. What is needed to do this upgrade? Does the car already have some of the electronics to support these options? ( i am mainly trying to get the gas mileage. directional and tempreture options)
Also i would like to add reading lights to the front. right now all i have is a dome light that is controlled by my display light nob.
Pontiac Motor Division Warren, MI March 16, 2005 Dear Pontiac Brand Manager: My wife and I are trying to decide which 2006 GM car to buy to replace my 2005 Grand Prix which will have 70,000 miles on it in a few months. The crash tests on TV last week convinced us to look for a car with side curtain airbags. I see that the side curtain airbags will be standard on the 2006 Impala. They are not available on the 2005 Grand Prix Base. They are available on the 2005 Grand Prix GT, but that probably will be more expensive than the base Impala. Are there any plans to make the side airbags available on the 2006 Grand Prix Base? Best regards,
Not sure where you got the 2006 info, print book won't be out until mid-April. You can get side air bags/curtains on the 2005 base Fleet GP now and it is optional on the GT,GTP. I expect they'll make it available on all GP's for 2006 with GM's recent announcements on safety upgrades.
I got my info from the Edmund's new car site as I do not have access to the print book. Do you know if the 2005 base Fleet GP has the dual zone heating/ac available?
Thanks bigdaddy for link - the base doesn't, but quite frankly, I had the dual zone in my GTP & GT and wasn't all that impressed. I enjoyed the fully automatic system our 96 Bonne had much more.
My dad test drove the Grand Prix GT, and GTP with comp group and Pontiac G6 Gt. The G6 was much better then both. The Grand Prix still felt floaty and was uncomfortable. The backseat feels like a gas tank and the front headrests are uncomfortable. The only strengths were, nice driver cockpit, and The 260 horsepower engine is fast. All in all, The grand prix is a poor car, and I question how long the engine will last since it revs when u turn it on and its loud during driving.
I am installing aftermarket speakers and was hoping someone could tell me how to remove the stock speaker grills so that I can remove the speakers. Thank You.
GTP comp is not floaty, unless you got a bad one to test drive. It will outperform the current G6 GT in all areas, 0-60, 1/4 mile, handling etc. GTP is 6.5 seconds, the G6 is about 8 seconds. Not even close. As for questioning the durability of the GTP engine , it was named to Wards top 10 engine list a few times including their top 10 engine list of the past 100 yrs. The 3.5 from the G6 NEVER made that list. Nuff said. Yeah, no car is perfect and yes the backseat is hard in the GTP.
No REAR Drive Grand Prix for 2008, here is the link for GM. DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. has killed plans for a new line of rear-wheel drive passenger cars slated to reach North American showrooms in 2008, in large part to free up resources to bring its next generation of large pickups and sport utility vehicles to market quicker. Oh well. here is the link....
I do not know which year GP you have ,but my 2004 GTP has been alot of trouble. It is definitely not a $30,000 car. I wished I had listened to CR and bought A Camry. The Pontiac has a cheap interior that cracks and pops with changes in temperature. I have had trouble with the steering making metallic noises when it is turned. Powersteering pump had to be replaced along with the steering rack. Had trouble with noises from the engine and the belt tensioner had to be replaced
With gas prices going up, thankgod I never bought a truck or SUV. After my BAD experiences with my 2001 Infiniti I30t I don't think I would EVER buy another Japanese sedan again.
Trucks suck! And now, with gas prices high, they crawl like turtles on the highway, nothing but hurdles between me in my peppy Intrigue or road-hugging Bonneville and my destination. :-D
The G35, the TL and the Maxima (but its nose) look like attractive options to me. None of the new domestic offerings are as attractive, unfortunately...
Then again, I won't be in the market for at least 3 years.
By me in upper NJ, near NY, SUV's and trucks are still driving at 75-80mph on highway. Faster then me, LOL! I guess they don't care.
I have to be carefull in my Supercharged modified GTP, much too fast, 300+HP with the mods.
The G35X is very nice car, I drive one many times as a loaner car, but too STIFF of a ride and SMALL of a trunk for my likings and I don't like the way the controls are laid out, esp compared to I35. Also the G35 interior is CHEAP compared to my I30t. Maxima has Horrendous torque steer. TL is nice. Also NOTE, the G35x has BAD highway gas mileage, only EPA rated at 24, that is same or lower then 300C hemi.
With my experience with Infiniti, not sure if I would ever buy another, that will be a hard/tough decision down the road. I think I may go domestic and save $$. Many choices.
My impressions from the 20 mile trip home from the dealer:
This car rocks! Steering is tight and refined. the steering wheel is leather wrapped and feels fantastic in your hands. Going around turns at speed you just wanna go faster. This thing feels like its on rails...No it feels like your on velcro!
At speed this car is smooth and quiet. No vibrations, rattles or funny wind noises or the like(well I was playing the radio but I'll get to that in a minute). I think going in I had a much lower expectation for this car in terms of quietness and smoothness. On both accounts I'm really pleasantly suprised.
Series III 3.8 has some go-power. Nice torque from this engine. Accelleration is effortless and steady. Feels like a small V8 instead of a Six. How do they get so much power yet such good gas mileage ratings?
Comfort is really great. The front seats feel fantastic. I like seats that hold you in place and are supportive. These kind of cup you and it feels great. I havent sat in the back but it doesnt look like I'd wanna stay back there all day. I find the windshield seems to angle in a way that I do feel more enclosed and tight than in my last company car(PT Cruiser). The stylish rooflines and rear pillars kind creat more blindspots than in my past vehicles but I suspect I'll get used to it.
XM equiped Monsoon sound system is awesome. The sound quality from this system is spectacular. Probably the nicest car audio system I've ever had. I think I'm gonna dig this XM thing. Never got a chance to really listen for wind noise and creakes since I was enjoying XN for the first time.
Overall GM put together a really nice package. If I was to criticise anything on the car I'd point to some body panels dont line up tight on some parts of the car. GM cant be accused of having Lexus Lines thats for sure. The Blue Green at night under the street lights looks stunning as do the Aluminum wheels. I love the exhaust tips. Instead of the factory dual tips mine has the accessory round quad tips...Nice look!
Better car than I expected.....I suspect I'm gonna get alot of speeding tickets with this baby!
"How do they get so much power yet such good gas mileage ratings? "
Partly, this is due to the final drive gearing and the wide ratio spread in the 4-speed automatic.
My understanding is that the new GXP V8 GP will have the same EPA rating as the CompG (18 / 27) but with 43 more HP an increase in TQ also by 43, and essentially the same vehicle weight . . .
Hope you continue to enjoy the GP! - Ray Waiting for the GXP to be available for test drives . . .
Ok, this is going to be alitte off from what you guys have been posting but do any of you know if you can swap a 92 grand prix LE coupe bumper for a bumper off a 94 coupe? do they mount in the same spots? the 94 just looks better.
In years past my company cars were mid-level with no optional equipment. This is the first one that I was given a choice of cars and a budget to stay within and got to negotiate my own deal providing I stayed at or below the budget. I ended up with a really nice car. Although I dont think this GP is near Honda and Toyota quality, its the best GM product I've driven. While at the dealer I took a look at the G6 and it appears to me GM is moving forward with better quality. The fit and finish on the G6 is actually pretty good. Havent driven it but from what I saw I was impressed. I got a feeling the American car companies are starting to fear for their collective lives and trying their best.
If you define reliability as a part of quality, the April auto issue of Consumer Reports magazine states that the 2004 Grand Prix GT is very reliable. I hope you enjoy the car. My 2004 GT has been very reliable.
Has anyone had this done to their car before? As I understand it, it's done as part of an oil change and they force a cleaning solution through between the old oil/new oil to supposedly get the sludge that remains in an engine.
My shop has begun offering it as a $100 "thing" to have done, just curious if anyone is familiar with it or not.
If you've used regular oil for 114,000 miles, how do you go about switching at that point? Is it as easy as just one oil change and poof, you're there? Should you consider synthetic after this many miles?
I have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix SE. The clock and radio frequency are on the same LCD. Everytime, when the car key is turned on positon, the clock will be on. Two days ago, the display is off but when I started the engine, it came back. However, the next day, the clock was off forever and the radio frequency was also off. Because the radio is still working I assume that there must be something wrong with the LCD. Does anyone know how to fix this? Thanks very much for your advice.
Sometimes synthetics will leak because it is so slippery it can get past worn gaskets and seals that conventional motor oils cannot. I, would not switch at 114,000 miles. I would use the best conventional oil available. Just my thoughts.
Synthetic will clean deposit. However, sometimes only the deposit blocks a leak through old gasket. After removing the deposit, oil leaks. It happens with synthetic and old cars.
I would expect, however, the same leak development after flushing engine by aggressive solvents.
I noticed on my 05' the sunroof at highway speed even moderate, is real noisy. There is no flap that pops up so I end up closing it except on back roads or city streets. It also lifts and goes over the roof which may addmore noise. My last car was quiter with the sunroof open than the windows.
I had that problem on my Bonneville, but I was fortunate that it happened a couple of months before the warranty expired, because it a new one was needed.
What happens is that the fluorescent panel which lights the LCD from the back burns.
Perhaps you can find another radio in a junk yard...
Had the same problem several weeks ago on my 2002 Grand Prix. The parts manager at the dealer told me I would have to buy a new radio....well guess what, that's not true I purchased a small bulb for the radio from CorvetteRadio.Com. the cost was $16 plus $2. shipping. Beats the life out of buying a new radio. The web site also shows how to replace the bulb. Good Luck!
I have a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP Comp G. I need to know what mods I can make to get 300+hp without jeporadizing the reliability of the car. I have not found any performance parts for my car except K&N oil and air filters. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks
own a 2003 Grand Prix GT1 and just had my brakes done after 38K and had the same problem with the front brakes on my car. Fortunately the dealer replaced the rotors at their cost and in turn passed it onto GM as the rotors should not need replacing for at 45K - 50K. The dealer considered them to be faulty and replaced at no cost to me. All I had to pay for was the pads and labor.
I love my 2004 GT, it's been perfectly reliable for over a year. Great cars for the money, much more fun and nicer to look at than the Camcords of the world.
I am currently leasing an 05' Grand Prix and I wanted to know if I could install an audio system in it without the cutting the car up. Theres also a anti-theft device on my radio, so I really dont want to take that apart only to find that it wont work when I turn the car back in. Thanks for the help.
“I have a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP Comp G. I need to know what mods I can make to get 300+hp without jeporadizing the reliability of the car.”
Trade it in on a 2005 (or, some time soon, apparently) a 2006 Grand Prix GXP. 303 HP / 323 TQ V8 – and a significantly beefed up automatic trans. to handle the additional stress.
But seriously, I have heard of many, many people replacing the S/C pulley and perhaps messing with the exhaust a bit and generating over 300 HP. The biggest longer term reliability issue is the automatic trans. Aux. cooling kits for the automatic are available. (I had a ’97 GTP with a S/C 3800 and did both a smaller pulley and custom MagnaFlow exhaust. The trans. lasted over 30,000 miles with no apparent ill effects.)
PFYC.com has 2004 items, including pulleys and trans. cooling kits.
Good luck! - Ray Still waiting to see and drive the GXP . . .
I bought my GP in 2001 with 60,000 km on it . I have 335,000 km on it now. 90% of my driving is highway and I am very happy with it. I do all my own regular maintanance on it. At 200,000 I switched to Synthetic oil every 10.000 km. At 100.000 km I pulled the plugs (copper core plugs) and put in Platnum plugs. I had to pull them back out after 6 months and put copper core plugs back in. The 3.8 was hard starting in cold weather and fuel economy was not as good. It ran much better with the copper. I just replaced the front right wheel bearing yesterday( A very easy job) . Now My heater fan is starting to squeal and I need to know if it is an easy job to replace. I am hoping to get 500,000 before I get rid of it.
2001 GP-GT 3.8L lost power on hills eventually died! Towed to shop, after a while they found a hole in the “plastic” intake manifold. Looks like it melted through, hole is on the engine side of the throttle body flange. I’m pissed, mechanic called the dealer for new part, dealer said this is not an uncommon problem, Well it should be! Anyone ever hear of this, also want to bring this to someone’s attention “saved old manifold” would like some advise.
Does the '05 Grand Prix have the new 3800 Series III V-6 with full electronic throttle control, just like the Buick LaCrosse?
I heard a new one on the road today...no offense to you GP owners but when accelerating from a standstill the base GP sounds just like an '80s Chevy Celebrity.
Comments
I don't know how it is in Florida, but if you are able to shop around or use the internet (GM Buypower) to get some competitive quotes before you have to do any dealing. I tried the dealer quote thing off of Edmunds a few years ago and got some very competitive quotes - ended up paying invoice + title & license (only ~$140 in OR) and got a $2000 rebate plus 1.99% financing at that time. {I'm not a GM employee or relative, just an ordinary working stiff)
I agree the front end of the 04 looks better than the front of the 03 model.
CR reccomends the GP's with the base engines in them for Excellent reliability. However CR gives the GP's with the supercharged engine a much worse than average reliability rating.
"My company car is a 2004 Grand Prix GT1, and I have only changed fluids, filters, and rotated the tires regularly for 53,500 miles. The car has not been back to the dealer yet."
You have 53K on it already. Dang!
I like their reliability ratings but the road tests are kinda spotty.
Hey, wait a minute...*I* own one!
And used to own a Chevy Impala and before that a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP.
Strange...
GTO is smaller and would be tighter, but would still fit us ok as a family. With 400hp engine nice. Fuel economy is defnitely worse then GTP, thats another consideration, but we don't drive a lot of miles.
2002 GTP only has 17k miles. In 2007 I will look.
First off, CR has long talked out of both sides of its mouth. The portion of what they do that comes back from readers of the mag is ok, but the "facts" they offer up about foreign vs domestic are like asking a Democrat about a Republican or vice versa.
I'm a Buick Regal GS owner, 98 model. Our car has been sent to the sheet metal heaven in the sky and replaced by the French-Canadian term for pleasuring oneself :-) Since the Regal and Grand Prix are as close as they are, I was wondering what you folks recommended for a tire/strut change or upgrade?
The car has about 115,000 miles on it and has the factory original struts. It currently has Bridgestone B420 tires that are getting towards the end of their life also. Due to two cracked vertebra in my back I'm not looking to stiffen the ride/suspension seriously.
Thanks to anyone willing to offer up some advice.
Also i would like to add reading lights to the front. right now all i have is a dome light that is controlled by my display light nob.
ANY information or leads would be great
Thanks
Scott Campbell
Round Lake, IL
Warren, MI
March 16, 2005
Dear Pontiac Brand Manager:
My wife and I are trying to decide which 2006 GM car to buy to replace my 2005 Grand Prix which will have 70,000 miles on it in a few months. The crash tests on TV last week convinced us to look for a car with side curtain airbags. I see that the side curtain airbags will be standard on the 2006 Impala. They are not available on the 2005 Grand Prix Base. They are available on the 2005 Grand Prix GT, but that probably will be more expensive than the base Impala. Are there any plans to make the side airbags available on the 2006 Grand Prix Base?
Best regards,
Mr. Rogers
I expect they'll make it available on all GP's for 2006 with GM's recent announcements on safety upgrades.
Though the Pontiac (US) site still shows it under 'coming attractions' . . .
KBB site seems to have some 'issues'.
My understanding is that production of units for customer sale began earlier this week.
- Ray
Ready for a test drive. Now.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosin.../A01-123402.htm
The Pontiac has a cheap interior that cracks and pops with changes in temperature. I have had trouble with the steering making metallic noises when it is turned. Powersteering pump had to be replaced along with the steering rack. Had trouble with noises from the engine and the belt tensioner had to be replaced
:-DThe G35, the TL and the Maxima (but its nose) look like attractive options to me. None of the new domestic offerings are as attractive, unfortunately...
Then again, I won't be in the market for at least 3 years.
I have to be carefull in my Supercharged modified GTP, much too fast, 300+HP with the mods.
The G35X is very nice car, I drive one many times as a loaner car, but too STIFF of a ride and SMALL of a trunk for my likings and I don't like the way the controls are laid out, esp compared to I35. Also the G35 interior is CHEAP compared to my I30t. Maxima has Horrendous torque steer. TL is nice. Also NOTE, the G35x has BAD highway gas mileage, only EPA rated at 24, that is same or lower then 300C hemi.
With my experience with Infiniti, not sure if I would ever buy another, that will be a hard/tough decision down the road. I think I may go domestic and save $$. Many choices.
Tonight I picked up my new 2005 Grand Prix GT in Blue-Green Crystal with parchment and charcoal interior. Only options are as follows:
Monsoon 9 speaker/In-dash 6 cd changer 245 Watt
XM radio
Remote start
Optional round dual exhaust polished tips
chrome grill inserts
My impressions from the 20 mile trip home from the dealer:
This car rocks! Steering is tight and refined. the steering wheel is leather wrapped and feels fantastic in your hands. Going around turns at speed you just wanna go faster. This thing feels like its on rails...No it feels like your on velcro!
At speed this car is smooth and quiet. No vibrations, rattles or funny wind noises or the like(well I was playing the radio but I'll get to that in a minute). I think going in I had a much lower expectation for this car in terms of quietness and smoothness. On both accounts I'm really pleasantly suprised.
Series III 3.8 has some go-power. Nice torque from this engine. Accelleration is effortless and steady. Feels like a small V8 instead of a Six. How do they get so much power yet such good gas mileage ratings?
Comfort is really great. The front seats feel fantastic. I like seats that hold you in place and are supportive. These kind of cup you and it feels great. I havent sat in the back but it doesnt look like I'd wanna stay back there all day. I find the windshield seems to angle in a way that I do feel more enclosed and tight than in my last company car(PT Cruiser). The stylish rooflines and rear pillars kind creat more blindspots than in my past vehicles but I suspect I'll get used to it.
XM equiped Monsoon sound system is awesome. The sound quality from this system is spectacular. Probably the nicest car audio system I've ever had. I think I'm gonna dig this XM thing. Never got a chance to really listen for wind noise and creakes since I was enjoying XN for the first time.
Overall GM put together a really nice package. If I was to criticise anything on the car I'd point to some body panels dont line up tight on some parts of the car. GM cant be accused of having Lexus Lines thats for sure. The Blue Green at night under the street lights looks stunning as do the Aluminum wheels. I love the exhaust tips. Instead of the factory dual tips mine has the accessory round quad tips...Nice look!
Better car than I expected.....I suspect I'm gonna get alot of speeding tickets with this baby!
Craig
'05 Grand Prix GT
Partly, this is due to the final drive gearing and the wide ratio spread in the 4-speed automatic.
My understanding is that the new GXP V8 GP will have the same EPA rating as the CompG (18 / 27) but with 43 more HP an increase in TQ also by 43, and essentially the same vehicle weight . . .
Hope you continue to enjoy the GP!
- Ray
Waiting for the GXP to be available for test drives . . .
Craig
'05 Grand Prix GT
My shop has begun offering it as a $100 "thing" to have done, just curious if anyone is familiar with it or not.
I promise not to ask why the sky is blue :-)
I would expect, however, the same leak development after flushing engine by aggressive solvents.
What happens is that the fluorescent panel which lights the LCD from the back burns.
Perhaps you can find another radio in a junk yard...
I love my 2004 GT, it's been perfectly reliable for over a year. Great cars for the money, much more fun and nicer to look at than the Camcords of the world.
Thanks for the help.
Trade it in on a 2005 (or, some time soon, apparently) a 2006 Grand Prix GXP.
303 HP / 323 TQ V8 – and a significantly beefed up automatic trans. to handle the additional stress.
But seriously, I have heard of many, many people replacing the S/C pulley and perhaps messing with the exhaust a bit and generating over 300 HP. The biggest longer term reliability issue is the automatic trans. Aux. cooling kits for the automatic are available. (I had a ’97 GTP with a S/C 3800 and did both a smaller pulley and custom MagnaFlow exhaust. The trans. lasted over 30,000 miles with no apparent ill effects.)
PFYC.com has 2004 items, including pulleys and trans. cooling kits.
Good luck!
- Ray
Still waiting to see and drive the GXP . . .
I heard a new one on the road today...no offense to you GP owners but when accelerating from a standstill the base GP sounds just like an '80s Chevy Celebrity.