1990 Pontiac LeMans review from North America

The brakes and front tire rods need to be replaced soon (normal wear and tear).

Currently, the gas and temperature readings do not work.

I actually have a Passport Optima (formerly Geo), but it is the same as the Pontiac LeMans, so I decided to put it under this category.

We have bought this car for about $1200 (in CDN-Canadian dollars). The previous owner has actually put a 1993 engine onto the 1990 body. I am not completely sure why, but all we wanted was basic cheap transportation. The engine has about 120,000 km, while the car itself has about 150,000 km.

I would have to say, you do get what you paid for. Not only it is quite cheap on gas and a fast-runner for what we previously expected, it is also an attractive looking vehicle. Designed by Germany, it resembles the discontinued Opel Kadett that you will find in Europe. Therefore, there is definitely a European style to it. However, many of the components are built by Daewoo (Korean), therefore, the performance is different from the Opel Kadett, which I heard, is a lot better than than the North American LeMans/Optima.

The drawbacks to this vehicle that I know about, are its plastic interior... VERY plastic, and its hard-to-find parts. First off, anyone who gets into this car, or gets an opportunity to drive it, will soon find how CHEAPLY made this car is. But then again, if all you want is a cheap vehicle that gets you from point A to point B, who would really care that much?? I personally have got used to the plastic interior, and surprisingly fell in love with the vehicle. It also runs quite smooth, even though the seats aren't at the top of the line.

Parts are hard to find, so I heard from many people and as well as mechanics.

Here in Canada, I can see that this car did not sell nearly as good as it did in the US. Therefore, repairs may cost a little. But with a car that worths about $800-$1000 CDN, there's not much to complain about, is there?

Overall, this car is a cheap and reliable transportation, yet with a stylish European look. So far, nothing big has gone wrong with the vehicle for I haven't owned it for long. I guess I will just have to wait and see in the future how long this will last.