| Model year | 2002 |
| Year of manufacture | 2001 |
| First year of ownership | 2007 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2007 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.4 Semi-Automatic |
| Performance marks | 10 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 10 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 8 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 8 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) |
9.2 / 10
|
| Distance when acquired | 52500 miles |
| Most recent distance | 67740 miles |
| Previous car | Nissan Altima |
Summary:
I love my car!!
Faults:
Nothing; I'm very pleased with my GT.
The only thing I have noticed is when first started cold, it rattles a little at the top end. The dealer has looked at it, and said it was normal for Pontiac's to rattle a little.
Does not burn oil.
It's very fast and nice looking. Runs excellent.
Raced an Acura RSX and I won.
General Comments:
My car is very quick and beautiful to look at.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 16th August, 2007
| Model year | 2002 |
| Year of manufacture | 2002 |
| First year of ownership | 2006 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2007 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.2L 4 cylinder Ecotec Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 9 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) |
9.0 / 10
|
| Distance when acquired | 88000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 103000 kilometres |
Summary:
Sporty and economical, excellent value!
Faults:
Nothing so far (fingers crossed!), just the usual maintenance items for a car at 100,000 kms.
General Comments:
Purchased for CDN $8700 plus taxes in May of 2006 in south eastern Ontario, Canada.
My main criteria for a vehicle was a compact or mid-size that had lots of leg room for the driver (I'm 6'4"), wouldn't cost me a fortune in gas and maintenance, and still looked nice and was fun to drive. This has tons of leg room and is very comfortable to drive even on long trips. My gas mileage has been excellent (about 25mpg, with a large part being city driving). Other than the normal maintenance items for a car at 100,000 kms (and with an unknown service history, unfortunately), like coolant and transmission fluid flushes, engine tune-up, etc, it's had absolutely nothing go wrong with it.
Pros:
- Starts great on really cold mornings (without the use of a block heater), and heats up and defrosts fairly quickly. Air conditioning is ice cold too.
- Really cool looking, even though the styling is somewhat dated (2002 was the last year of the side molding ridges on the Grand Am). Rear spoiler and alloy wheels make a big difference in the appearance.
- Great acceleration and overall performance from a four cylinder engine. I test drove the V6 option before purchasing this one and it was hard to notice much difference under most driving conditions.
- Tons of cool features and options on most of the trim levels. SE1 has air, cruise, power windows/locks/mirrors, spoiler, alloys, CD, keyless, pretty much everything you could ask for!
- The first time I drove it at night I was blown away by how cool all the switches and instrument cluster look! Everything glows red and makes you feel like you're in an airplane cockpit.
- Tons of unexpected extras, like automatic headlights, lots of wiper speed options, and even song name display on the radio screen.
- Fairly sporty, lots of fun to drive on short and long trips.
Cons:
- Braking power could be better. It really should have the four wheel discs that are available on the GT trims.
- Seats could be more supportive on the sides, and the manual adjustment isn't terribly precise.
- Doesn't have much in the way of towing capacity compared to other similar mid-size sedans.
- Extremely minor, but annoying every time, the washer fluid reservoir holds ALMOST a full 4L jug, leaving just enough that you don’t know what to do with it!
This is the first vehicle I've owned, and so far it's been excellent for me. It's no Porsche, but I never expected it to be. It's a fun and reliable car that didn't break the bank, and I've enjoyed it greatly so far.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 29th May, 2007
Hi people. I too own a Pontiac Grand Am SE1. It is a 2002 model 5 Speed..
I just love it, great mileage, very low maintenance, and I keep her well maintained.
But I also have a bad problem with the security system in her... It has cost me over $2000.00 so far in trying to repair this mess.. I have changed the ignition 6 times now, and it still does not help. I have been driving a far distance from my home like up to 8 hours away and ended up parked on the sides of highways.. (NOT FUN AT ALL).
Can anyone please suggest to me what the heck to do to fix this... I have contacted GM quite a few times on this matter, and they continuously tell me that they have never had any complaints about the security systems in these Grand Ams before... Well I for 1 will NEVER purchase another one of any GM products again... I paid over $20.000.00 dollars for this car and it is a pain in my Butt...
This is the only trouble I have with this car; other than that I love it...
Somebody please give me some really good advice on how to fix it...
I bought my '02 Grand Am in 2003 with 30,000 miles on it. This car has been great. I bought it used for $11,500. Currently it has 158,000 miles on it.
The car isn't perfect. I've had to change the brake pads 6 or 7 times, and I've replaced the rotors at least twice, if not 3 times. This to me though is routine maintenance, although the brakes appear to be a weakness of this vehicle.
The only major repair that I've had was the fuel pump, which cost me $600, but that was my fault as I didn't replace the fuel filter, and the build up caused the pump to fail.
The only other problem has been the window regulators in both rear windows have gone out, and instead of paying the $300 or more to have them fixed, I decided to just put window locks on the bracket that it slides on to keep the window up, since I hardly have any passengers anyway.
The engine right now uses about 1 quart of oil every 3000 miles, which isn't bad. I've used nothing but synthetic in this car, and probably averaged changing the oil about 8,000 miles.
The A/C is one of the best A/C's you can buy in a car. I live in the Coachella Valley in So. Cal and we average 108 in the summer and this A/C works great, although age is starting to set in somewhat with the A/C, I've never owned a car that the A/C was this cold.
Overall how could I complain about this vehicle, I've spent very little money on the purchase, and very little on maintenance. What more can anyone ask??