1994 Pontiac Grand Am Reviews - Page 2 of 24

There was a leak in the floor from water coming in the firewall.

I had to replace the muffler.

I had to replace the shocks in front.

I did regular maintenance on the car - fluids, brakes, alignment...

I had to get the boots, axles, and all that fixed.

I had a little bit of rust on one fender, but it didn't cost much to have it fixed right away.

I'm 6 feet tall, and when I was driving my boyfriend's Elantra, I found I didn't fit well as compared to the Grand Am. It's lower to the floor like a race car would be, and much more comfortable to drive.

One of my favorite things about this car is what I call the "slingshot effect". When you want to merge in front of someone, you can step on the gas and the car will propel you like a slingshot. When I've raced the car, that's the "oomph" that will make it so that you win... it's just faster off the line and harder for other cars to catch up.

When you buy a second hand car, you will have some general repairs to do on the vehicle. I didn't find this one to be as bad as some of my friend's cars - it really wasn't in the shop that often. When I first bought it, I didn't take it to the mechanic for at least 6 months.

The car was in a horrible car crash in the end. A guy jumped the red light and hit the car in the back driver's side. He busted the fender in pretty good. He was going pretty fast. The car spun out of control and the front passenger side hit a pole. I was on the passenger side. The ambulance technician looked at me and said "it's for sure your car won't be fixed, but you are lucky to be alive. If that were a Sunfire, it would have wrapped around the pole and you would have been dead. That car was a well made car and saved your life". The fireman was outside telling my boyfriend the same thing - that car took a serious impact and he and I were able to walk away.

I looked up the car at http://www.safercar.gov/ and it got a good rating. From now on, when I buy cars, I am not going to worry about if I'll have to change a fan belt in the near future, but if I will live to tell the tale!!

Timing chain gasket leaking, causing oil to be sprayed into engine compartment.

Alternator died about 6 months, and 9 months after purchase, may have been due to oil spray.

Engine seized at 220,000 miles, with no hope of return. Probably due to a cracked and repaired oil pan that occurred about a month prior. I believe that if the oil pan hadn't cracked on this car, I may still well be driving it.

Transmission was slipping in 2nd gear at the time of the car's demise.

Power windows were off track.

Only rear speakers worked.

Wipers would sometimes freeze in cold weather. (Very dangerous on white-out mountain highways where I lived at the time)

Despite all of its quirks, I loved this car. Once I learned how to manage it, it was a very, very good car. I used to drive it from Pittsburgh to Morgantown nearly weekly with no problems at all. Handled decently, fuel consumption was not exceptional either way.

First thing is a common problem with this type of car; the windows fall off the track and roll down like lambo doors, but I fixed this myself.

Then at around 170,000 miles the heater core broke, costing an arm and a leg.

Around 175,000 miles my upper radiator hose split (most likely because of my lead foot) and normal wear and tear. This was only a $16.00 fix.

The latest problem happened when a friend got out of the back. He rubbed the railing and the cover broke off.

The car handles great and quick if well maintained.

The cabin is welcoming, but with a few snags: the ash-tray / cup holder makes me mad -- I just use it to hold change. But it was only when I read the manual that I found the secret cup holders on the passenger side that open with a push of a button that's out of sight. But the car is very comfortable from the seats to the leg space.

Some would say that's a lot of problems for a car, but the car has over 150,000 miles and is over a decade old.