1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE 1 2.4L DOHC from North America

Summary:

Reliable great looking car!

Faults:

The 1 and 2 setting on the blower doesn't work.

Scratches on the windows.

Replaced front brake pads.

The air conditioning needed a can of freon, it's cold now though.

General Comments:

I have not really had any problems with this car, just basically routine maintenance.

The acceleration is good for a 4 banger and the transmission is smooth shifting.

Good gas mileage.

Air conditioning is ice cold.

It's great looking, my friends complement it all the time.

Handles well in the snow.

Either I have been very lucky or it's just because this car is my baby and is VERY well taken care of, but I haven't really had any problems that seem common. I would recommend this car to anyone. It is fun to drive and rides smooth, pretty comfortable too. I would definitely buy another Pontiac.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st August, 2003

27th Oct 2004, 03:26

I have read several reviews and most are having problems with the A/C fan settings 1 & 2. I test drove a 1999 SE v6 today and it had the same problem. Has anyone found out the cause or remedy for this? Very nice handling car with good looks. As with any vehicles they are going to encounter some problems, especially as they get higher mileage. Overall very good vehicle.

17th Jan 2005, 23:40

The blower motor resistor is the reason the 1 and 2 setting doesn't work. The part is about $16 and is easy to fix.

Another note: If you experience a terrible noise when braking try switching to carbon metallic brake pads and I guarantee the noise will stop. The extra cost is worth it! I have had the carbon metallic pads for six months and the car is quiet as can be when it stops. The part store guy said the semi-metallic pads don't like this car for some reason and was the reason for the noise.

1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT 3.4L 175hp from North America

Summary:

A Great Car at a good price!!!

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong since I've owned it and the first owner also had no problems.

General Comments:

I bought this car as my first car. I was looking for something that as a teen I could afford, but didn't want a little four banger like a Cavalier. The Grand Am GT is the perfect car for this.

First off the car looks great, very sporty and fast looking. To simply put it the car is eye-catching.

The handling on the car is great, it drives very true, you can let off the wheel and the car will have no problem staying in a straight line. Cornering under heavy braking, acceleration, and in sharp curves is good. The back end can get a little loose, but not really that much. The car has very good fell, so you can feel everything that's happening so you won't be surprised. The traction control makes it hard to lose control of the car, which is definitely a good thing if you ever run into trouble. I haven't driven the car in snow yet, but by my other expericne with GM cars with the same traction system it should be a good snow car. Also the traction system makes the car fell less like a front-wheel drive and more like a rear wheel, which I defintly like.

The 3.4L 175 horse engine does a great job. Acceleration is quick and will throw you back in the seat with relative ease. Basically you have all the power you need, and a bit extra, regardless of your speed. Be careful (or not) cause you'll easily burn rubber) And the quad exhaust provides a very nice note.

You've probably heard numerous other Grand Am owner complaning about their brake rotars and things like that. There's a kind of grinding sound. It's pretty quiet, but you can hear it when you're going slow, like under 20 if you're braking or coasting. It's nothing wrong with the car or the brakes or anything like that so don't go replace your rotars. It's the Goodyear tires that were orginally equipped on all the Grand Am's. So just bear with it (cause it's really not that bad) or go buy some new tires. And the problem isn't doing any damage to the car anyway.

I have the GT version and I highly reccomend it. You should be able to get a 2000 GT for around 12 thousand. That's if you go for an all out one with everything on it. However a lot of the Grand Am's that I drove were driven hard and sometimes things like the transmission were off key. Cause a lot of these cars have been driven hard by their previous owners. So pay special attention to the way the engine looks and go over everything during your test drive. If you find one in good condition (which most are) then go for it. The SE version with the four banger provide good acceleration, but if you want a little extra something to enjoy then at least get the 6 cylinder SE, or better yet the GT (which also holds better resale values) you won't regret it cause she's a great car.

Also I wanted to add real quick that the seats up front and in the back have good leg and head room. 6'5" guy will fit easily up front and 6'1" is defintly fine for in the back. The car also has good trunk room.

Enjoy!!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th July, 2003

26th Jan 2008, 02:56

Thank you. I had read comments while shopping for another car and stumbled across yours. Same thing, the styling appeal had captivated me. I tried looking around and most were dreaded 4drs and they all were fairly pricey. I bumped into an ad for a 2000 Z24 and offered the guy a generous market value for the car. He agreed on the price and oddly replied the next day that he had to go out of town for work and wouldn't be back for over a week. More so, he pulled down his ad. I figured the guy got a better offer and fed me a line. So, I kept hunting around and finally found a 99 GA-GT coupe. I just brought it home from a three hour trip and I absolutely adore it. I agree with everything that you stated, I'm going to own this car for a very long time. :)

I went through the supplied repair history and the repairs were typical of GM slop in general, not necessarily exclusive to this specific model. The 1999 GA-GT window hardware and even the blower resistor is all still original at 165,564 KMS. Wheel bearing, 02 sensor, coil packs... that's fairly generic if you know what I'm getting at and that's just typical wear of substandard production. Well, electrical components are hit and miss in general. If you want to punish Western automakers by buying imports, be sure to punish import automakers for undue rusting and interference engines (check those T-belts often). It's a no-win situation until you stop driving and buy a bicycle. ;p.