1989 Pontiac Bonneville SSE review from North America

Not running when purchased due to electrical drain caused by electric door locks. I diagnosed & repaired, zero problems since then.

Water pump was frozen when I got it due to sitting for 4 years. Easy fix.

2 of 4 door handles not working. Anyone who owns one of these knows of the horrible design of the door buttons. Inferior/weak metals in production that should have never been used, even plastic would be more durable. Anything to cut production costs I suppose! The good thing is that the handle assembly is relatively easy to replace & the same type of handles are used on many GM vehicles of this era. Taking a trip to the junkyard & finding 4 good ones should be mandatory if you own one of these!

Windshield leaks horrible when raining. I purchased the car from the original owner, she said shes had 6 windshields replaced under warranty trying to fix the problem and its still there. She eventually gave up on it. I have tried everything & still can't locate exactly where the water is coming in at, if anyone has this problem & has cured it please let me know! Sometimes when driving in a hard rain, water will drip on the steering wheel radio controls causing the radio to "freak out."

Low gas mileage. I expected a little more out of this car, it got about 16mpg when I got it. I keep my vehicles in top shape mechanically, this is all it will get. I've added a ram air intake system along with a large K&N cone air filter, this has jumped mileage up to 19mpg. Overall investment was under $40, so its been very worthwile. Every 3rd tank of gas I add Lucas oil "top end fuel stabilizer" to the fuel, this is good for 1-2 extra mpg also. Short of towing it, that's all this car will ever get.

Clearcoat is coming off badly, as with all GM vehicles from the 1989 year.

Bad in the snow. I thought FWD was supposed to be good in the snow, I've never had something this bad in the snow! It won't stop, start or turn in the snow! The overly aggressive ABS is a pain slowing down on ice, I think it makes it actually worse. This winter I will put thinner front tires on it, perhaps that will help.

Considering this car has 241K on it, its dead reliable. I would not hesitate to drive it anywhere on a moments notice. It does not smoke, burn oil, it shifts fine & all the basic equiptment still works flawlessly. It has enough power that it doesn't feel like a slug. The 3.8 (231ci) is GM's toughest engine, this one will run well over 300K with no major problems.

I would sell it due to the very annoying winshield leaks, bad mileage & poor winter handling, but the most I could probably get out of it is $400-$500 due to all the cosmetic problems (paint, water leaks). Its worth more to me just keeping it around as a backup car than that, so here it stays till the body rots off it!