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Pontiac Grand Am: Meet the Owners

Karen_SKaren_S Member Posts: 5,092
in Pontiac
Introduce yourself and tell us about your Grand Am here. Talk and share your driving experiences with other owners.
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  • yankee_tomyankee_tom Member Posts: 4
    Purchased a 2000 Grand Am SE and it came with only one ignition key.. How can I determine if the car has keyless/remote door locks??
  • nuttycarguynuttycarguy Member Posts: 1
    Hi, I am new to this forum and I wish I would have found it sooner. My name is Warren and my car is a 2002 Grand Am GT Sedan in Galaxy Silver.
    First with the good. :)
    I am a non smoker and a major clean freak so at 4 years old she looks like it just rolled off the assembly line. To put it more bluntly I am a freak when it comes to maintaining my cars and this being my First Brand New Car with only 4 miles on her was no exception in fact I became worse, let me give you an example.
    Wash by hand only, using specialty products by Meguire (not dish soap) then dress all rubber, vacuume, shampoo carpet and seats, clean engine compartment, buff/wax paint and wheels :shades: .
    For maintenance I also go above and beyond the normal.
    Starting at 4 miles old I had all fluids drained and replaced with synthetic. The only oil I use is Mobile 1 Synthetic with a Synthetic Mobile 1 filter. I spend all the extra money for the Top Shelf replacement items.
    At every 15,000 miles I put fuel cleaner, motor flush, air filter and a PCV valve in.
    I also keep my tires new (currently has 75% tread left)and rigorously follow the schedule of rotate and balance at every 5,000 miles. At 85,000 I replaced all 4 rotors and brake pads.
    Now the bad. :sick:
    I had a major issue this past November, it started to bog (hesitate) I had to replace the Catylitic and 02 sensors. Then after that I noticed that my Low Coolant Light came on and things went downhill real fast from there. I looked at my oil and saw antifreeze froth on the bottom of the cap so I took it to a automotive repair facility (Goodyear/Gemini Auto service) and they said that I need to replace the Intake Manifold Gasket. This I did immediately and they charged me 600.00. Then less than a week later the engine started (barely) :cry: then it smoked like crazy. So I took it back to the repair place and they said, well it appears that I blew the head gasket so I had to tow it some place else because they don't work on major items. That place charged me 70.00 to tell me the same thing and also to inform that replacing the gasket would cost around 1300.00 but my engine could blow due to all the antifreeze that went into my engine. Perplexed, I asked what would replacing the engine cost and he said 3300 with a 12mo/12,000 warranty. So I took it home and thought about what to do, all that quality maintenance and I got shafted by GM's bad engineering. I decided to get it replaced but I went to Michigan Motor Exchange and for 3000,00 they gave a 24mo/50,000 mile warranty for a remanufactured engine that they build themselves with quality products and quality gaskets then spec it out correctly which gives the engine a zero mile begining. This price included taxes, all fluids a new water pump, temp sensing unit and a PCV valve.
    Long story short I have a new car again but what a hassle for a car that is only 4 years old that was maintained so meticulously and you wonder why the foreign cars have an edge.
    Like I said I might have known this was coming if I knew about this post earlier. Oh well it is good to be here now for the future. :)
  • terriloubobterriloubob Member Posts: 1
    Did you ever find your answer???..I'm in the same situation ..I bought a 97 used....one set of keys..no remote...it's loaded with everything, so I would ASSUME that it has keyless entry...but I don't know how to find out for sure. Let me know if you know the trick to find out :)
  • sticman4sticman4 Member Posts: 3
    I have a silver grand am 1999... my wife bought it for me as an "A-B" car but now I really like the car and want to do more to it.
    It's REAL basic (roll up windows and everything) I've started by putting in a new radio now I'm trying to get better head lamps,tint, and seats. Do any one have any suggestions?
  • roxp55roxp55 Member Posts: 3
    My name is Roxanne, I have a 2000 ocean blue Grand Am SE. I have been very lucky with this car. It has 127,000 miles on it, runs great, and has needed no repairs. I keep the oil changed every 4000, and stick with the same "brand" of gas, and so far am very happy with it. Today although, is my first repair, :( the altinater and new serpentine belt. Started hearing a "whirring" sound when accelerating, took it in and it is being replaced at this very moment. When the time comes for a new car, I will probably stick with Grand Am
  • enigmajcenigmajc Member Posts: 11
    Hi everyone! I'm Julie and I have a 2004 Grand Am GT in victory red. It has just over 47,000 mi on it. I just love this car! It's peppy and fun to drive and so far no major problems other than the speed sensor/wheel sensor hub needing to be replaced. Oh and for some reason the vent selector knob breaks off once a year. I'm now on my third one. :shades:
  • meljj3meljj3 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2000 Grand Am Se as well and I was told that they do not come with the keyless remote. However, for around $100 you could get one installed through Best Buy.
  • jamesd3jamesd3 Member Posts: 1
    Hello,

    I'm an owner of a 1987/88 Pontiac Grand Am. This car was Bought in 1990 and has been in the same family since then. I am now the car's daily driver. This car has the heavy but very reliable 2.5L 4cyl and the THM 125 3 speed transmission.

    I can Honestly say the life of this car is about up and this year grand AM is not desirable. The engine and Transmission are original. And the red burgundy paint is slowly but surly fading away. In saying all of this that car is really not worth anything to no one but Me.

    My question is should I even try to fix her up? I was thinking of a 3.0L V6 swap new paint and redoing the interior. This car is the last of My childhood family car and would like to keep it!. Any comments or reply are welcomed.

    Thanks James
  • 89dam89dam Member Posts: 4
    my story is a lil different then every one elses. i didnt buy a newer grand am. infact i didnt buy one at all. im newly 18 (so im still a youngin) but wen i turned 16 my dzia dzia (polish for grandpa if any one was confused?) gave me his 1989 grand am. it was the best car cuz its older then i am but hey it was free. but recently after that he passed away. and now not to long ago the car broke down. now i was very close to my dzia dzia and that is the last thing i have left of him so i would like to keep it and fix it up and make it look and run like new again. im looking to put a brand new "bigger" engine in it but im not exactly how big i can go so if any one knows that or knows a site that i can find that please let me know asap. i dont want to have to get rid of this car. and time is runing out fast. but on the same note as every one else. i had some minor problems with the car, the dash got really shaky and there was alot of rust. but bein how old it was it was a good ride and pretty good on gas too.
  • 89dam89dam Member Posts: 4
    and james i didnt read your message before i wrote mine. they all looked the same so i just skipped to the bottom. lol. but after reading i no how you feel. every one wants me to get rid of it but it has value to me as does yours. its goin to cost a good amount but in my eyes its def worth every penny of it. its apart of me as it sounds like it is for u too. so if ure willing to spend the money then i go for fix it up but if u dont want to spend it then dont bother keepin it cuz i no it wont be cheap lol
  • shano64shano64 Member Posts: 1
    I just bought the car from this guy that really took great care of the car. It's hard to believe it's 7 years old because it looks like it just came off of the dealer lot.

    Maybe somebody can help me here. My door locks worked great but now when I shut off the car and press the door locks to lock it won't do it. It worked before I reprogrammed the locks. When the car is running the locks work either way, and when it's shut down I can unlock the locks but it won't lock.

    Any suggestions?
  • twentytttwentytt Member Posts: 1
    Hello all, I own a 2000 grand am se. I love the car. It's white With a custom exhust, But i'm looking to do an engine swap on it. The car has only been in the shop twice. I bought it new. I want more power . I would like to know what engines will fit in my car. I anyone could help please reply.
  • quikstrquikstr Member Posts: 1
    Hello Pontiac owners, My name is Ray and i own a 87 GRAND AM Coupe with a Turbocharged OHC 2.0 L. I've had the car now for nine years and i love this car, not only because it looks good because it's a real rocket. If you have a car like this i would like to hear from you.
  • wackeybearwackeybear Member Posts: 1
    Hello I know that your post was made a long time ago, but I also had the vent control knob break off on my 04 grand am. Can you give me some info on the best way to replace it. Do I have to take that part of the dash apart or does the knob just pop back on. I have ordered a new one from ebay and I would like to know the easiest way to replace it.
  • kyraceguy00kyraceguy00 Member Posts: 2
    @nuttycarguy. I have a 2001 Grand Am SE with the 3.4L/6 engine and just had the head gasket, among other things, repaired and replaced last month. Buy I got 163,000 miles out of the engine so sounds like I am one of the lucky ones. My mechanic said the gaskets, including manifold gasket, are an engineering flaw on the GM 3.4 L engine and he has replaced a few of them, including one of his own vehicles. I had him use the gasket "kit" and change head and manifold gaskets. While he was into it, also had him replace plugs, serpentine belt, thermostat and fluids of course. Cost me a little over $1,000. Hope she holds out at least another year so these repairs will at least have been worth it.
  • kyraceguy00kyraceguy00 Member Posts: 2
    New member to this forum. I own a 2001 Grand Am with around 162,000 miles. Purchased it in early 2012 from my Mom who bought it used but had it 3 or 4 years. Other than routine maintenance, my Dad had a fuel pump replaced a couple years ago. A couple months ago, I had a major gasket malfunction and had head and intake gaskets replaced. Cost me about $1,000 for the repairs, new oil, plugs, new serpentine belt, thermostat, etc. So far running good, but running a bit hot so probably need to add anti-freeze. Plan on getting oil change after running it about 500 miles since gasket repairs to remove any remaining water/coolant in the oil system. Greetings to other Grand Am owners!
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