1994 Pontiac Grand Am SE review from North America

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, breaks, alignment...

I had to get the boots, axel's, 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 "umf" 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 drivers 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!!