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Pontiac Grand Prix - 2000-2005
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Comments
I have as SE so can't really give advice on the GT - completely different engines. And I've only had the car for 3 months.
evandro - I didn't get to Barnes and Noble to look through R&T again--too cheap to buy the magazine when I just want to look at that one picture!
What's happening to me? Is there a crossover in my future???
;^)
My wife and I are looking at a 2000 GT sedan (specifically, one with the 75th Anniversary package in black) as her daily driver.
My reliability concerns aren't so much with the car (I know the 3800 engine is pretty solid), but with the interior. The quality of the materials (including the switchgear and the leather on the seats) does not inspire much confidence.
We're also looking around at Regal LS, Intrigue GLS, and even the Monte Carlo SS (we both agree that the Impala is just too ugly :-). We normally wouldn't buy new cars, but the "GM employee family discount", plus the current cash-back and financing offers, are just too good to pass up...
--Robert
I had a '91 Grand Am before this car and everything in that car rattled. I hope the Grand Prix doesn't do that when it gets some years on it.
The Regal does better on the safety issue but it was (slightly) pricier than the GP-GT (for the same level of equipment) and it had just a tad too much body roll in cornering for my tastes. Very nice car though.
The Monte Carlo has easily the best NHTSA results of the cars you're considering and has the same powerful, economical and reliable 3.8 powertrain as the Regal and GP-GT. If a 2 door suits you and the styling appeals....
Good luck
I was concerned about the 2 star side impact rating but wound up buying the GP anyway. I seldom have a passenger in the car so only had to concern myself with crash test results pertaining to the driver.
Car rattling - A lot of people criticize GM's for cheap plastic but I didn't think it was all that cheap looking. Guess it's what you're comparing it too. Compared to the Grand Am, it doesn't look cheap but compared to the Buick, I imagine the Buick would have a nicer interior. (I bought cloth seats so didn't have to worry about the quality of the leather seats.)
Hope you find a car you like!
Please forward all you suggestions. The dealership of course said there is nothing wrong. I dont believe them.
The 3.8 is a marvelously fuel-efficient engine but it is also very powerful. Do you accelerate quickly? anticipate stopping to ease off the accelerator? combine short trips? use gasoline from a clean and reputable source?
BTW, our '00 Bonneville (same 3.8 engine as the GP GT) has 11k miles on it and has averaged 24.1 mpg since new. I'm not a red-light racer though. Well, not often anyway.
I have heard so much hype about BMWs, I had to go test some. I tested the Z3 3.0 automatic. The Z3 is the highest performance car with the 3.0 inline 6 (330, 330ci, 530). The Z3 is the lightest, and lowest/widest of these cars, with the same HP/Torque and 5 speed automatic or manual drive train. BMW claims a 6.0 0-60 with the automatic. The car is no where near as fast off the line as my bone stock GTP, or Previous Regal GS.
I didn't think the car corned better on the roads driven during the test drive, at 8/10ths driving. What is the deal with these cars ?
You mention this to any Beemer owner and they will call you all sorts of names, and quote an bunch of third party 0-60 and skidpad numbers. I know there are differences between the real world and test track. However, 0-60 with automatics should at least be pretty close.
Loose the bra. Nothing worse than a nice new car with an ugly black rubber/vinyl hunk of fabric hung on the front of it, chaffing the paint with water and grit getting under it.
Ugh...
(Unless you live in the Gulf Coast area with the 'lovebugs'. These nasty little black bugs with their 'Alien-like' acidic insides would make me re-think a bra.)
marshmellow - Hope you enjoy your new car. I see the green Grand Prix's out on the road and it's a pretty color.
My husband is THE MOST ANAL person you have ever met regarding HIS cars. He owns a 1988 Camaro IROC-Z convertible with 17K miles on it. Does that tell you something about how he takes care of vehicles? We are aware of the chaffing possibility and the need to take the bra off at the first hint of moisture. However, I suspect the Grand Prix will rarely see a wet pavement (except for traveling, which can't be avoided). The Camaro has yet to catch it's first drop of rain. He does have a bra on it but uses it only for traveling to shows and then promptly takes it off.
We are looking forward to a better experience with the Grand Prix than with the Chrysler products we have had. Chrysler has design over anyone else, in my opinion, but their dependability and service isn't worth a fart in a whirlwind.
szwick...
Good luck in your car hunting!
Thanks,
kdstan
We pick it up Friday...
--Robert
(former owner of a '91 GP SE, who loved that car and put 150,000 miles on it)
BTW, I'm an Aurora admirer too - came darned close to buying a '99 and even considered a '01 before settling on our '00 Bonneville. I don't think I could have gone wrong with any of them.
I just started spotting the love bugs today so they'll be around for 6 weeks or so and I need to find a bra soon. I'm looking for something that will keep the bugs out of the radiator as well as protect the paint.
I called Auto Zone and they have one I can order for $64 and there is no obligation to buy if it's not what I'm looking for. I don't want to buy online because if it's not what I want, I don't want to bother shipping it back.
Does anyone know if any one car parts store would have a better car bra than the others? And if the mesh used to protect the radiator would scratch the paint.
These bugs come out in massive numbers so I imagine the radiator would be the main concern.
Any help would be appreciated!
Stacy
Good luck and let us know which one you choose.
www.carbras.com
This is the Car Bra that I bought for my 2001 Impala LS. This is the best front end mask available on the market. The 'Perfect Fit' car bra is also sold as original OEM equipment for almost every car brand in the market. The quality of materials, construction and the way the bra fits is simply perfect.
I haven't had any problems with mine and it indeed goes a long way to protect the hood and bumper paint finish on your vehicle from road stones, debri, bug splatter, etc.
It may not look very pretty, but I prefer to have a Car Bra installed over the aggravation of accumulating stone paint chips in the hood and bumper.
Car Bras do demand special care, you should remove them every time you clean the car and they also need to be cleaned accordingly (They do dry very, very fast). Cleaning under the bra should occur at least every one to two weeks.
The Perfect Fit car bra has excellent materials to prevent accidental moisture entrapment under the paint finish or mold formation (This was a problem in car bras back in the '80's). The paint finish 'Breathes' thru the car bra so even if it rains on it, it will not be a problem.
I highly recommend it. It costs $84.00 plus $10.00 for UPS delivery to your door. The Company is located up in Canada but US residents can order directly from their website (Link above).
This is how your GP would look with the Car Bra on:
http://www.carbras.com/perfectfit/bigcars/pontiac_1997-2000%20prix.htm
Notice the bug screen over the radiator openings.
Hope this helps.
How's the GP doing?
PS: Stay away from the cheap imitation called 'Le Bra' (or otherwise known as 'Le Crap') sold of most discount auto parts stores. That bra is the worst junk you can buy.
I kept my '91 Grand Am so the smart thing to do would be to drive that for the next six weeks. The Grand Am is a 4 cylinder (110 hp) car and I'm used to the 6 cylinder GP. I hate the thought of driving a 10 year old car when I've got a brand new one to drive.
I love the Grand Prix. How's your car? I see a gold Impala around town that was probably the color of your 2000. I think the 2001 gold is a little darker. Both are nice looking colors.
$84 for a quality car bra is not a very high price to pay IMO. Go to your Pontiac dealer and ask how much they'll charge you for the GM OEM Car Bra ??(Which is the same exact Perfect Fit car bra you can get in the website) Around $120+ for the same exact thing. They charge you almost $40 bucks extra for the car bra packaging that says "GM" and the dealer parts profit.
You can't go wrong with the perfect fit car bra.
My 2001 Impala LS is doing great. I have put 3500 miles and ZERO problems. Still rock solid and a blast to drive!.
I have a 1997 Grand Prix SE with the 3.8L engine. It's been running great with some minor warranty work done to it. My question for you all is has anyone experienced any type of transmission problems? I used to think that this was the smoothest shifting car I ever had but recently I have been able to notice when the transmission shifts especially at 45mph. It seems to make an extra sound. I'm concerned because this is a change. I never noticed the gear changes before and now I can tell you every time when it does. The dealer didn't seem too concerned about it last time we had it in but also didn't drive it to check for it either since we were having other work done. Any comments would be helpful. Thanks.
I couldn't resist telling you about my experience with a 2000 GT four door sedan that I bought new in March of 2000.
It was simply the BEST car I ever owned! I only kept it for about 8.5 months, because I wanted a Jeep Wrangler so bad that I couldn't sleep at night. I wish I could have kept the GP and still bought the Jeep, but no way.
I put just under 20K miles on that GP GT, and it NEVER ONCE WENT BACK TO THE DEALER for even the tiniest adjustment or anything. That car was perfect from day one!
I don't know where you could come close to getting the combination of great looks, good acceleration, good gas mileage, roominess, etc. that you get with a Grand Prix GT (unless it would be with a GTP).
I hope whoever bought mine is taking good care of it.
Hope this helps.
tsjay (tom)
The Pontiac dealers in my area are only ordering the GT wtih 1SB option package. As this has more equipment than I need, I do not want to pay extra to buy the vehicle, though I would gladly buy a 1SA.
My question is, for a guy who uses a car primarily to go to work (28 miles each way on mostly local roads, drives about 19,000 miles per year, is not a "leadfoot", takes good care of the vehicle, and wants to keep it 5-7 years, is the SE a good choice?
It seems like a nice car, but I keep hearing raves about the 3800 V6. Your opinion is welcomed as I need to make a "best buy" decision. Also, are there other differences between the two models that I should be aware of? I am not a person who needs all the "bells and whistles"
I simply haven't had the car long enough to have any problems. I think, though, that the 3.8 L has a cast iron engine while the 3.1 has aluminum cylinder heads. I would have preferred the 3.8 for that reason alone but it was out of my price range. (How important that actually is, I don't really know.)
:^)
). The 90° V6s are also among the best engines ever made in the motive industry.I plan to keep this car literally until I die. I know that I want the GTP. I also THINK that I prefer the looks of the "Special Edition," e.g., heat extractors, roof rails, etc., with the possible exception of the two-tone interior, which I would just as soon do without. (I'm especially leery of the Special Edition interior color for 2002. Has anyone seen it?)
Anyway, I know that the general consensus of experts is that the Special Edition appearance package is not worth the money, but I wanted to hear what you all have to say. As I said, I plan to buy one quite soon. I'll let you know how it goes.
We chose the GT despite the fact that the SE would have been adequate enough power for its use as a second car. What sold us was the 3.8L engine - virtually identical to the one in our '00 Bonneville SLE - and, as has been said here already, one of the better powerplants out there today. Once I looked into the difference in monthly payments between an SE and a reasonably well-equipped GT, there were no further questions.
All that said, you still can't go wrong with the SE - with or without the 3.8 Series II.
I do agree with you about the ISB though.
My wife and I just purchased a white GTP sedan (as her daily driver) with the Pontiac 75th Anniversary Special Edition option package... use GMBuyPower and see if you can find one in stock in your area (the two-tone interior for 2001 is light grey and graphite).
We purchased it because it looked just a heck of a lot more sporty/sharp than the "plain" GTP. I don't know that the Special Edition will carry any more value, but it adds $2k to the price and includes the sunroof, leather seats, and chrome wheels, along with the 2-tone interior, the hood heat extractors, and the roof fencing (which, on her white GTP, is black, and looks exceptionally sharp).
Of course, we got GMS (employee) pricing, and, coupled with the 0.9%, 60-month financing, it was a no-brainer (we originally were just looking for a GT). That also might sway your decision to look at a 2001...
--Robert
I would love to see the new 5 speed auto trans, AWD, and at least 300HP ?
Your comments are more than appreciated!
The downside of self-insurance is that a big bill COULD hit you at a time when you'd rather not have to deal with it. So, if that would be a problem for you, buy the insurance. If not, minimize your risk and buy a car with a good reliability record (like the GT) and take care of the three most expensive-to-repair components of your car (transmission, air conditioner and engine).
My $.02
I have seen the posts about extended warranties, and I won't go into whether one should buy one or not, but everyone who is considering one should know that the price is very much negotiable.
You probably have much more leverage if you make it part of your deal when you are buying the car, but even after the sale, you can negotiate the price of these policies.
You might easily get one third or more of the asking price knocked off the top!
tsjay