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Pontiac Grand Am

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Comments

  • bmarkbmark Member Posts: 52
    I also have a 2000 Gt. I have had it for almost a year, and now have 17,000 miles. Car is great, had no problems with it at all. I would go with the 93 gas. Any gas is ok, but the car runs better on the 93.
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    Y'all, I want to buy that Neon which was hit by that Grand Am going 40 miles per hour. The poster said the Neon "had only a scuff on the bumper."

    Gosh...
  • lsaukalsauka Member Posts: 8
    I just got rid of my 2000 Dodge Neon SE. What a huge nightmare!!!!!!!! I should have stayed with a GM car like my daddy always told me. But I didn't and I have the battle scars to prove it.

    Anyway, I bought my 2nd GA GT at the end of July and I love it. Oh yeah, my nephew drives my 94 GA now with well over 100,000 miles. Up until recently there had been no problems. But he is like most teenagers and when the check engine light came on he ignored it. Big mistake, he let the oil run dry and now has to buy a new engine. Live and learn as they say!!
  • napcornapcor Member Posts: 1
    Hi all,

    My wife has decided to purchase a GA SE1. With the current 0% financing, it fits perfectly into our budget. My question to everyone is this: What kind of profit does the dealership as well as the salesman make in selling a car to someone purchasing the vehicle with a GM employee discount? (My dad works on the assembly line at another GM division - so I can honestly say that he makes the cars.) They gave us a copy of the invoice which matches all of the figures posted on Edmunds. According to all the information they gave us and the research I've done, they will be selling it to us at the invoice price.

    I know there is a holdback of 3% on Pontiacs, but the car has been on the lot since late June so I figure they won't make much from that. I can't find any other rebates out there. If anyone could answer my question or has some insight on why they're so eager to sell it (it is brand new and they even let us keep it for the weekend to decide if we wanted it) while "making no money", please let me know. I figure there has to be some built in profit whenever they have a customer with a GM employee discount.
  • hengheng Member Posts: 411
    When you find out are you going to try and get some of that profit back? Invoice was good enough for me. I let the dealer make whatever. They were happy and I am happy.
  • lsaukalsauka Member Posts: 8
    If I am not mistaken, don't you get a GM Supplier Discount? You said your father works for GM and I think that all immediate family members of a GM employee are eligible for this. I took advantage of it and yes you will pay less than invoice and you are still able to keep the rebate or the special financing!
  • lsaukalsauka Member Posts: 8
    I didn't catch the last part of your comment NAPCOR. Good luck trying to haggle them down anymore then the GM employee discount. I went in on the last day of the month after bickering back and forth all week. The only thing I got was a additional $200.00 off what I had bickered with all week.
  • alhoutexalhoutex Member Posts: 14
    Has anyone had problems with the 2000 model brake rotors yet? Mine has progressively gotten worse, I bought it in february 2000, love the car, but when im driving, especially at higher speeds, and hit the brakes, the steering wheel shakes so bad, it jars my hands. ive got over 18000 miles on the car already, and suspect the rotors are shot. Ive just seen the 2001 add about the monsoon system in the GA (!@#$%!!!) I should have waited! Any word on the supercharged upcoming model? I will trade mine if the new one has hood scoops.
  • hengheng Member Posts: 411
    defective brakes syndrome. See previous posts here and in the Alero section. The TSB # is floating around here somewhere.
  • nerssnerss Member Posts: 43
    My dealer put in bigger rotors when I had them changed and I haven't had a problem since. The new braking design has much of the braking done by the front brakes so the rotors need to be bigger and the pads need to be beefier. I beleive that it was just one size up.
  • donm7donm7 Member Posts: 1
    I have recently purchased a 2000 Grand Am SE1 and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if I got a fair deal or not? The car had a MSRP of $20015 including destination charges. I bought it for $18515+tax, plus I got 2.9% financing for 60 months (instead of taking $1500 rebate). I went out the door without putting 1 penny down with a payment of $354.01. Was this a fair deal?
  • copperhead1copperhead1 Member Posts: 157
    Hey guys, I need a really big favor, if all those of you how have recently bought 2000 and 2001 cars could give me your VIN it would be a great help.

    Thanks in advance!
  • bmarkbmark Member Posts: 52
    Why would we want to give our vin #'s? That sounds pretty strange to me.
  • republicanrepublican Member Posts: 11
    These little ole Grand Ams are one of the better economy cars out there. They will last you forever (100,000 miles) if you take care of them.
  • koolguy123koolguy123 Member Posts: 37
    Has anyone seen, (in spy photos,) the new 2002 Grand Am? I swear it looks like the Pontiac Pirhanna or however you spell it. :) It looks even better now though.
  • nerssnerss Member Posts: 43
    Koolguy Where did you find the spy photos? I have been hoping for a glance at the new GA since my finacee bought a 99. We are going to be interested in a new one it a couple of years.
  • koolguy123koolguy123 Member Posts: 37
    ....The spy photos in Popular Mechanics new november issue. The one with the U.S. Air force's flying saucer on the front cover. :)
  • heavenboundheavenbound Member Posts: 39
    I agree! I have a 87 Grand Am that did not have any problems until it passed 135,000 miles since then I've replaced the motor and misc. parts and now have 175,000 on it. I plan on keeping it until it drops.
  • kpearsall22kpearsall22 Member Posts: 1
    Here is my story. I purchased my 2000 Grand Am GT in Sept. 1999. Since January 2000 I have had nothing but trouble. This car needs to go to the junk yard. I am definatly calling my lawyer and the dealership owes me my money back according to the lemon law. I don't even want another Grand Am or even another Pontiac for that matter. It has been in the shop 8 times now. I have had 4 rentals since June. Including the one I am driving now because my car is at a dealership in another city about 2 hours away. It left me stranded this past weekend and had to be towed to the nearest dealer. I have had problems with the fuel injectors, they have replaced a gasket, it was leaking oil, my service engine soon light is on 24/7, the security light keeps coming on, the cd player was replaced because of skipping, and now for the past month I have been dealing with it not even starting. It will turn over and sounds like it is going to start, but then it stalls out right away. ANYONE ELSE HAVING A PROBLEM LIKE THIS ONE? The dealer even claims to not know what the problem is. Well, this is the third time it is in the shop for not starting. Lemon? I think so. If anyone can give some input about this "not starting" problem, please e-mail me at Katiette22@mediaone.net I appreciate it.
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    We had a 1998 Honda Accord that almost mirrors the same problems: security light, fuel throttle body unit being replaced several times, not starting, service light (solved by a loose-fitting gasoline cap).

    Anyway, it was the Honda's computer. Other than the CD unit and gasket, that almost sounds like the same problem with this 1999 Grand AM GT.

    I have a 1999 Grand AM SE with a V-6 with 46k miles and still no problems other than what I mentioned in earlier messages here in this forum. No brake shutter, no power steering pump issues, nice gasoline mileage, no window scratches. In short, I just had some minor warranty problems. Oh yeah, I replaced those awful Goodrich tires.

    Good car... no real problems.
  • pontiacjunkpontiacjunk Member Posts: 1
    Let me tell you about my experience with the 1999 Grand Am. I purchased a brand new 99 Grand Am SE2 in 1/99. By 9/99, Pontiac agreed to purchase the car back because of the many mechanical problems that I had with the car: 1)three times the rotors warped; 2) the seal around the back window warped off; 3) the fuel sensor gauge failed; 4) the power steering motor pulley pump failed; it took the Dealership three separate service repair dates on this issue to finally discover what the problem was. 5) the door panels peeled off three of the doors. The driver's seat was replaced because it creaked so as to drive me nuts. So, after Pontiac bought the car back, like a DOOFUS I bought another one (thinking I just had a bad car. You know that can happen!) I should interject here that the reason that I decided on the 1999 Grand Am, in the first place, was because I have a 1992 Grand Am that gave me years of faithful service and, while still running, she is on her last breath at close to 280000 miles. Anyway, to continue, I bought the second 1999 Grand Am. Well, the rotors have warped twice, the fuel sensor gauge has failed, the power steering motor pulley pump has failed, the door panels have peeled off two of the doors the speed sensor has failed. The first week of ownership, I noticed that the dashboard was pulling away from the windshield. It took the Dealership a week of days to get that new dashboard on straight and get everything else put back right!. Do you notice that most of the things that failed on the "old" 99 failed on the "new" 99? I have 38K miles on this car from 09/99 to 11/00. It wasn't just a bad car, it is a bad line. All of it has been repaired by the dealer and all under warranty. So anyone thinking about the Grand Am, think twice. The only thing positive that I will say about the Grand Am is that WHEN it is running, it is a fun car to drive.
  • bmarkbmark Member Posts: 52
    It looks like you just had bad luck with your cars. My family has bought a new pontiac every 2-3 years since 1989. My mom had a 1989 Grand Am SE,no problems with it. My dad had a 94 se and a 97 se again no problems. My mom has had a 93, 97, and a 2000 Grand Prix and the cars had been flawless. I have a 2000 Grand am GT. with 20,000 miles on it. I have had this car for over a year, and have had no problems, I would recommend this car to anyone. I know several people with 99's and their's run fine also. I would say many positive things about this car, and if anyone asked I would tell them to buy one.
  • spectre3spectre3 Member Posts: 67
    i feel your pain.

    after experiencing many of your problems, and the ones many others here and elsewhere have posted, i opted to get rid of the junk. (at a big loss)

    i too have had good pontiac experiences, a 97 sunfire for starters.

    the 99 ga is bad, real bad.

    perhaps the 2000+ models have been improved?
  • synergy247synergy247 Member Posts: 1
    I've had my '99 Pontiac Grand Am GT1 for over a year and have put 21K on it since I bought it new. With the exception of the leather on the steering wheel peeling, I've had no problems.
    The performance and handling are the absolute best in this price range. I love this car.
    I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't wear panties.
    Reminiscent of the true American muscle machines with safety and reliability added.
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    > I love this car. I would recommend it
    > to anyone

    I have the same feel for my '99 GrandAm with 47k on it (ugh, the mileage keeps rolling upwards! -- What's with THAT???!)

    Makes me wonder what the common denominator is for the "lemon" GrandAms as opposed to the "rose" GrandAms. My GrandAm is treated rather hard with terrible rural East Texas roads and salty Gulf Coastal air. And, driving down in Houston's work hour traffic, complete with pot holes, and 1 1/2 hour stop-and-go traffic doesn't help either. So, I get a smattering of pot hole freeways, and East Texas mud.

    This is a good car. Even the crummy seats (Didn't like them even when they were new) regretfully are holding together. I was sort of hoping they would fall apart after the warranty so I could find something better to put in there. Ah well...
  • nerssnerss Member Posts: 43
    I have purchased a 6-Disc CD Changer for my finacees 99 GA SE1. It is an Alpine that will go in the trunk, and she still has the stock radio. The question that I have is where to put the remote display with the controls on the dash board. I have the option of mounting it with velcro or it comes with a bracket for in dash installation if they cut a hole. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas where a good spot would be? I know that there aren't too many big, open and flat spots on the dashboard. Any help would be appreciated.
  • midlifecrisismidlifecrisis Member Posts: 391
    Thanks for all the recent positive posts. I was beginning to wonder whether my car was the exception to the rule. My 1999 Grand Am GT has 21K on it. Except for some minor warranty stuff, my car has been great. I am still in love with this car, which says quite a bit. I usually get bored with cars after a year of so, and then start looking for something else. Needless to say I don't keep cars for more than 3 years.

    If this car holds up the way it has, I can see me keeping it for a long time. The car fits me like a glove, and I'm not a small person (6', 200 lbs). It is just plain fun to drive. I still park the car, get out, and stare at the bright red muscle. And with all the options on the car, I'm far from bored. I love the CD stereo and the sun roof. The car tells me when to change the oil and when a tire pressure is low. It has traction control, anti-lock brakes, power everything, and I can out accelerate most cars around town. What else could I ask for?
  • inkwelzinkwelz Member Posts: 1
    Picked up my new 2001 GT sedan last night. It's a Black beauty. Put about 37 easy miles on it. No sample defects noted. Can't wait to get some miles on it so can really put it through it's paces. Will keep you posted.
    Ink
  • jpinto2jpinto2 Member Posts: 1
    purchased a 2000 ga se. have 14,245 miles and love the car. have had no problems. handles beautifully and gets great gas mileage. only wish the steering was a little more responsive, would recommend this car to anyone.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    The GA/Alero/Malibu share the same basic platform and are well-known for the rotor warping problem. At least with older cars; it looks as GM made some improvements with the rotors last year or so.

    On the other hand, what you told about Buick Regal looks strange for me. I did not see many complaints concerning its rotors. This car have different design, build on the same W-platform as other bigger mid-size GM cars, like Pontiac GP or Chevy Impala.
  • jjcskyjjcsky Member Posts: 7
    Thanks,

    My point is to give everyone who has been asking for the TSB# some relief...as for the Regal, if you go to the discussion notes over the last two years you will see there are complaints...apparently these people are correct bc (much to my surprise) the rotor problem was not specific to the 3 cars you mention...In fact, the same TSB # applies to the Regal as well...

    Again, I have not experienced these problems on my GSE, but have taken the liberty of putting this up on the Regal chat as well.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    Thank you!
  • midlifecrisismidlifecrisis Member Posts: 391
    I just had the front rotors and pads replaced under warranty. My 1999 Grand Am GT has 21,300 miles on it. I gave the dealer the TSB # and they asked no questions. I only wish I knew you could request the type of rotor. I guess I'll be going back to the dealer in another 20K miles!
  • debra7debra7 Member Posts: 1
    I HAVE A PONTIAC GRAND AM SEDAN 1998.I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANYBODY OUT THERE WOULD GIVE ME ADVICE ON WHAT BRAND OF BRAKES SHOULD I BUY.I AM HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE BRAKES. THANK YOU, DEB.
  • danvancedanvance Member Posts: 13
    I am having two problems with my SE2 that has 16k miles on it. One is the rotors being warped. And the other is I can hear the engine pinging. I have tried all types of gases to see if it was a lower octane gas causing the problem, but it doesn't help. I have taken the car in before because the tires were not balanced and I could hear the pinging noise. Now it has gotten so bad any of my passengers can hear it.

    I took the TSB# for the rotors into my dealer to have them replaced. They weren't aware of the bulletin, but they did check their computer which showed the same TSB#. I mentioned the durastop line to them, which they said were no better than the replacement rotors that GM wants the shop to replace them with. They also said that the rotors they are putting on the car are an upgrade from the rotors that came stock. They even said they think the durastop is a lesser quality GM line.

    The pinging probably happens usually between speeds of 25 to 70 MPH. It happens more when I am accelerating slowly. It started happening very early on. A tech at the GM shop said that it could be the EGR vavle ( or something like that ). But unless they could hear it, or it set an alarm in the computer, they could do anything about it. Now it has gotten worse, so hopefully they can hear it.

    I also hear lots of road noise when I'm driving on the freeway.
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    My 1999 SE had terrible road noise which I solved by getting rid of the BF Goodrich tires and replacing them with Goodyear RS-A tires of the same szie. These are a premium tire but they gave me a much quieter ride, much smoother ride, and a "GT" cornering feel.

    There might be even better tires but I haven't isolated those yet, probably Michelin. There have been some posts on tires in the IMPALA list and the messages there might be of help on the tires.
  • torodavetorodave Member Posts: 27
    I bought a GA new in '96, and it was such a piece of crap I traded it on a new '97 after only 8 months. Like others, I thought I'd just had a lemon, but the '97 has been just as bad. It has needed repairs or parts replaced every 3 months since I've owned it, and I've had to get a rental on 3 occassions. This year alone I've spent $1,000 on repairs. It has about 50K on it. I give up on trying to fix everything that goes wrong, and will trade it on a Ford as soon as I can afford to. The problem is that they depreciate so badly that I can't afford to buy a new car yet. In a little over 3 years it's depreciated about 60%. My brother has a 96 Sable with 60K on it, and has yet to do ANY repairs.
  • isellpontiacsisellpontiacs Member Posts: 2
    Sorry to hear about your recurring problems. I have a 2001 with 5 KMI and nothing wrong so far.
    Unfortunately, whoever sold you the car never:
    1) Mentioned getting it through the SMART BUY program. You wouldn't have had to worry about the negative equity or the %60 devaluation. Furthermore, you would have a super low payment.
    2) Never offered you an extended warranty so that you wouldn't have had to spend $1,000 out of your pocket.

    I hope that your next auto (whichever company) won't have problems.

    Matthew J Drake I.S.M.
  • gabadgabad Member Posts: 1
    I bought a '99 Grand Am SE in October from Enterprise Rent a Car. One week after I bought the car it began to stall. It did not do it all of the time, but on the time it did I would repeatedly stall until you let it sit for at least an hour. I have now had it into the Pontiac dealer twice and another garage once. They still do not have any answers on why it is doing this, but the replaced the fuel pump because they thought that might have been bad. My friend had the same problem and she kept the car for two years before they bought it back off of her. Has anyone else had this problem and did they ever find out what was wrong?
  • beccav1beccav1 Member Posts: 2
    I own a 94 GA with 182,000 miles on it. I bought
    it new and it was a great car for years. Around
    130,000 miles, she started falling apart. I have
    gone through many problems, the worst being a
    cracked head. Ever since I had the head replaced in
    June 1998, I have been experiencing another
    problem that umpteen mechanics and computers can't
    pinpoint. While driving down the road, the car just
    seems to bog down and lose power for a few
    seconds. It jerks and chugs and carries on at this
    point. It spews black puffs of smoke while doing
    this. It appears to be running rich and my gas
    mileage has decreased. It does this at any speed,
    but seems to be better when going 65-70 mph plus.
    Has anybody else had this experience? I am on the
    road alot, as my miles will tell you. I don't want
    it to just leave me sitting some day far away from
    home.
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    On Friday, 01 December '00, beccav1 wrote:

    >..It appears to be running rich and
    > my gas mileage has decreased. It does
    > this at any speed, but seems to be
    > better when going 65-70 mph plus.

    Had this to happen with an Olds '85 Calais. Drove the mechanics nuts. It would start doing this about 30 minutes into driving and the computer diagnostics couldn't find anything. One mechanic drove it home, determined to figure it out. About 30 minutes into driving, it started to shut down on him, lots of black smoke.

    He did a quick diagnostic on the computer and found it was ok. Amazingly, he found a distributor cap was going bad. It would begin arcing internally after it heated up. Replacing the cap solved the problem.

    Not sure if this is the problem, but if your mechanics would drive the car, and take with them some key ignition parts to isolate the problem, they might find the problem.
  • rgrisafirgrisafi Member Posts: 1
    In June of 99, I leased a beautiful red 99 GA GT1 4-door. Here is what I've experienced so far:

    1. The day I brought it home, it stalled like 5 times. I turned around and went back to the dealer and they said it might have been the gas. Well, after they took the car and put 200miles on it, they figured out it was a kinked air induction hose.

    2. At 7k miles, the rotors warped. The dealer (a different dealer) deamed there was no problem. They gave the car back to me without fixing it. I blew a hissy and had to make another appointment to have them cut them for me. When it happens again(and it will), I will refer to the TSB.

    3. Also at 7k, the cd radio had to be replaced due to a bad volume control.

    4. At 11k, the car developed an oil leak. The oil pan was dropped and the gasket replaced.

    I had my last new car for 10yrs. It doesn't seem like this one will last that long.
  • midlifecrisismidlifecrisis Member Posts: 391
    What year lease did you get? If the car is still giving you problems at the end of the lease, give it back to them and go on to another car.

    I've heard of the radio and rotor problems, but not oil leaks.

    I don't know too many people that keep cars 10 years anymore. If you look around on the highway, how many 1990 models do you see? Very few indeed. That's because everybody wants the newest SUV's, trucks and minivans. We'll see how long that lasts if the economy hits a downturn!
  • sun_sonsun_son Member Posts: 3
    I have a question :
    I just buy a GT1 three months ago, the manual say that I have to change the oil, when the change oil sensor turn on (5500miles), and I went to change the oil they told me that I have to change the oil at 3,000 miles or every 3 months. Who is right ?


    Best regards
  • bmarkbmark Member Posts: 52
    I have a 2000 Gt also, and I change the oil about every 5000 miles. According to a friend of mine who is a Pontiac mechanic you don't need to change it every 3000, unless you do a lot of city driving. Some of the 2001 cars say you don't need one for every 7,500 miles. So unless you do a lot of stop and go driving I would change it every 5000.
  • rpm9rpm9 Member Posts: 73
    Through Edmunds, I've repeatedly read about the 99 Grand Am rotor pulsation problems after I purchased my 2000 GA. With less than 1500 miles, I took my GA into a Pontiac dealer and asked them about the rotor problem. After their inspection, they notified me that I did not have the updated rotors and so they replaced them with no questions asked. And you know what? I told them they weren't even pulsating but they replaced the rotors anyway. Now I know what they mean by Pontiac excitement! By the way, I absolutely love my GA/SE coupe with the V6. Sometimes, when I'm just cruisin' around, I feel like I'm the coolest MF in town in my red-hot GM car...until of course, a classic GTO pulls up beside me.
  • rpm9rpm9 Member Posts: 73
    I bought a 2000 Cavalier coupe and two months later, I decided that the little 4-banger just wasn't cutting it. So to make a long story short, I ended-up trading it in on a 2000 Pontiac GA/SE-1 coupe V6. So check this out: After careful and reliable research on the trade-in value of my Cavalier, it was disappointing to find out that I was $5500 upside-down on my trade. But even though I had $5500 negative equity, I was still able to finance the GA at $1000 under MSRP with NO MONEY DOWN! Of course the $2K end-of-year rebate sure helped. So in other words, my deal was equivalent to getting $6500 off of MSRP had I not involved my trade-in. I guess it just goes to show that you just never know how desperate a dealer is to move their cars.
  • rpm9rpm9 Member Posts: 73
    Why did I buy a Pontiac Grand Am? Because Korean cars look cheap, Japanese cars look boring, and European cars look too sophisticated. Besides, I'm insecure, timid, and butt-ugly. Therefore, I needed a car that was loud, in-your-face, bold, and aggressive-looking; and the wide-track GA fit the bill. So now, whenever I'm in my car, I can atleast say: "I may be ugly, but atleast I drive a bad-[non-permissible content removed] looking Grand Am!" And for some sick and twisted reason, being in my car makes my world a better place to live. Thank you Pontiac. You bring excitement to my life!
  • spectre3spectre3 Member Posts: 67
    or a mustang gt...
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