1994 Pontiac Grand Am GT review from North America

I will start off by saying that car had several issues when I bought it.

Water leaked onto the driver side carpet and it was often wet. I discovered that the water was leaking through the air blower motor on the firewall, as the gasket seal had worn out. The previous owner tried hiding and/or remedying it with a piece of plastic and some black tape... so I inherited the problem. It was an easy fix by using sealant and covering the blower with some insulation tape, but it took forever to find the source of the leak.

Another problem I inherited was that both the power windows were not functioning, which I have found to be very common on this model.

The driver's door needed a new lifter, which was bent, and motor. The passenger side window just needed a new fuse.

Another issue was the rack and pinion steering system. One end had rusted which caused a leak of the power steering fluid. Eventually the end burst and the whole rack and pinion had to be replaced, which was a hell of a job to do, as it took two people 8 hours.

I also had to replace the heater core, which began leaking.

The car currently has a small coolant leak and I haven't been able to pinpoint its origin. I don't feel inclined to put time and money into it, as it just requires the coolant reservoir to be filled up every couple of weeks.

Other than that, the car has held up nicely for a car nearing 200,000 miles. Luckily my dad and I have auto knowledge and did all these repairs ourselves, which has saved us a lot of money. :)

Keep in mind that though I have only owned this car for 5,000 of the 186,000, I had inherited some of the earlier problems that developed.

Mechanically this car is as good a runner as I have seen. It is nearing 200,000 miles and is still running strong with no engine issues.

This is my first car, and have enjoyed it a lot. It offers reasonable power with the V6, and is bearable at as far as MPGs go, averaging about 22-23 MPGs, but my driving is almost exclusively city stop-and-go driving (not to mention I like to "get on it" every once in awhile!).

Handling is good, though I noticed the suspension is rather stiff, which can be pretty bumpy on the bad roads.

In the Wisconsin winters, it does good in the snow, as the FWD offers good traction.

The interior is acceptable, and the seats are relatively comfortable. I do agree that the cup holder is badly positioned, but I like the fold-out ones above the glove box. Cosmetically it's holding up great, with no rust to be seen.

Despite the few problems that I have encountered, the Grand Am is a solid car and strong runner, considering it is 15 years old and nearing 200K miles.