1997 Pontiac Bonneville SE review from North America

5000-Check engine light.

7500-Check engine light.

10000-Check engine light. Finally dealer replaced O2 sensor. No check engine since then.

14000-New Alternator.

50000-Slipping Transmission.

54000-Intake Manifold Leaking Coolant.

The 92-99 Bonnevilles are fairly reliable cars. However be advised they do have the potential for one ugly problem in particular. On the L36 (non-supercharged) engine the intake manifold is made out of composite. Over time, the <intake manifold> will probably start leaking externally or internally. Research this problem at other sites on the internet.

Right now our 97 has 54,000 miles on it and runs pretty good besides the leak (and probable eventual manifold failure) and a transmission slipping problem.

The car is paid off so it's a debate right now as to what to do; wait until these problems occur or trade the car in. I really don't want to trade the car in as I would hate to have someone else get the vehicle and have these pending issues. Will probably run it into the ground.

Would I buy another Bonneville? NO. It is a nice car for trips and "fairly" reliable. However, I'd probably go one way or the other and either (A) get a much less expensive car (Honda Civic) or (B) spend another $10,000 and get an import.