1988 Pontiac Bonneville LE review from North America

The Radiator went out soon after I got it.

The Thermostat had to be replaced.

It ended up needing new calipers.

The Serpentine belt fell off mysteriously.

Burns oil.

Gas tank has recently sprung a leak.

The Body is showing it's age, for certain.

Brake line went out after sitting unused for a year.

Interior head-liner had to be removed (It no longer adhered to the ceiling), leaving rotten foam dust everywhere.

Front seats are bent backwards to an awkward angle (Prior to my owning it)

Manual window crank is oddly tight to operate, and sometimes impossible.

The shifter linkage has been replaced 5 times previous to my ownership (according to the documentation I received)

Bad starter. I sometimes have to open the hood and use a jack handle to force the starter to initiate. I will be replacing that soon.

The Plug that powers the interior fan has melted, and therefore the fan works inconsistently.

The switch for rear defrost is selective about whether it chooses to accept your order to activate.

Overall, I love this car. Yes, it is agreeably showing me its age and will have to be replaced, but I'm never throwing it away.

It handles over an hour of highway commuting per day.

It's not too large, but not too small (Interior wise)

It's moderately stylish without being garish (Mine is now sadly in bad shape as its appearance goes)

Before the tank leak, it got great gas mileage, for an 88.

Handles very well in the snow and ice.

Stereo is so-so sounding, but really durable. I have factory speakers, and I have put them through their paces. I think I may have finally blown the front passenger speaker, though.

Great headroom! I find myself having to "limbo" into many other cars, or perform exotic contortionist moves to eviscerate myself from them without banging my head. Not the Bonneville, it's comfy.

It handles like you'd expect a car of its size to handle. I wouldn't call it "Turning" as much as I would call it "strafing" in the Bonneville.

It went 29,000 miles without an oil change from the previous owners. (They lied about the last oil change)

Thanks to myself and my father, repairs to this car have only tallied about $400. Well worth it for a vehicle as reliable as it is.

It has a pleasant smell. I'm not kidding. Something about the foam drying out and crumbling gives it a sort of charming odor. It's hard to explain.

After all these years, the Bonneville still has an impressive amount of 'get-up-and-go', as it were. There are a lot of situations (usually merging onto a busy highway) that require just a drop of turbo, and the Bonneville can provide, within reason.