Nothing has gone wrong with the car.
Every time I go outside and look at the big sporty Grand Am Ram Air in my driveway, I smile because this is without a doubt the best car I've owned.
Of course this is also the first new car I have owned so that may have a bit of an impact on my judgment.
This car is fast, good looking, comfortable, and surprisingly it gets good gas mileage. (25-29)
This car has a timid enough engine to drive happily into town, and when you want, it has enough power to pass just about anything.
The only feature I am annoyed with on this car are the automatic locks. I can never figure out how to unlock this car and get out. I've had it for about 6 months, and I still get stuck in it for a few seconds.
In all, it's a great buy and I would recommend this car to most people.
I think it is a good car I want it now!
I couldn't agree with you more. In April of '04 I bought a 2004 Grand Am GT with SC/T (special hood, sunroof and spoiler) package and I love it to death. The only beef I have with your review is that the engine is in fact a 3.4: Ram-Air V6, not a 3.8.
Cheers,
Kirk in Vancouver.
Hey I have a '99 grand am.
If you look in the owner's book it will tell you how to turn off the auto door locks.
It's something like, hold down the lock button with the car off until it beeps then push the button to scroll through the settings. I think the third one is to turn off all auto locking functions.
Two weeks ago I purchased a 2004 Grand Am SEI. All the doors unlock as soon as I turn the key off.
I will also say that this is one of THE nicest cars I have owned.
I had a 2001 grand am SE and it was a good car. I sold it and went back to the dealer and I had to get another one. in aug 2004 I got a 2004 ram air v6 and I have no complaints at all. It's fast, handles great on turns and people always look back at it. It's just a great car to have.
Cyril Marsh Random Island NfL.
My wife saw her new 2003 grand am with ram air and just had to have it. Bought used at 21,000 miles the only problem we would have was she would go out in the morning to go to work and it would not start. the radio would be on still?? it did this 2 times in a few months and finally I just put in a new battery and so far so good (hopefully). this is her car, when I drive it I just want to see if it will really do what the speedometer says (150mph:) ) she won't let me. drives like a go kart. she just loves it. I like it, but it could set better. I don't think it is very comfortable personally and I can hear to much road noise. just me though.
I've got an '04 GT and no the car will not go the 150 mph like the speedo says. It cuts off at just before 130. But that is stupid fast anyways on a public road. As for the road noise it is most likely the tires. The Goodyear RSA's tend to transmit a fair bit of noise into the cabin. When it is time to get new tires try another brand.
Grand Am is the most UNDER-RATED car on the planet!! I own a 2001 SE-1 and have never had one second's problem with it. I recently test drove several new sporty cars, such as the V-6 Mustang, Hyundai Tiburon, Dodge Charger (6), Mitsubishi Eclipse and a used Toyota Celica. Then I drove a 2004 Grand Am GT that had over 30,000 miles on it. Not only would the Grand Am eat the others for breakfast, but it would do it while making you feel like you were riding in a limousine!! Nothing came close to the power, ride and outright awesome styling of the Grand AM. Pontiac was insane for dropping it and replacing it with the anemic Camry clone G-6.
Most cars will not peg the speedometer. This is because they put speed limiters into the computers to keep insurance down (there's a reason a vette can go really fast, but cost a lot), keep wear and tear down on the engine because at top speed the engine is in its highest gear nearing redline and that's just not good for it, and finally it keeps loyal customers alive lol.
I'm surprised a little, since I've gotten my 4 cyl jetta up to 125 and still had a bit more rpms to go through till redline. But I just thought that was interesting since mine is a 2.0 sohc and that's a 3.4 v6.
The Grand Ams are one of the finest cars made. I've owned my GA for three years and it is the absolute best car I've ever driven. Pay no attention to the idiot car magazine writers who put down US cars. I dropped my subscription to a major US car magazine because they hated American cars and put the Grand Am down. Of course, they probably get LOTS of advertising money from the Japanese. That might explain their bias against everything American.
Magazine writers are totally clueless about cars. The manufacturers give them the most expensive, highest powered cars to test, so one never gets an objective view of an average car. I also think that the Japanese car makers give them lots of perks (or money) to rave about their cars. You can't get an objective view of any car without owning one for a while. Our Grand Am is the best car we have ever owned.
I currently own a 2004 Grand Am gt and reading some of the opinions I've had very little problems as well with it. It rides good and has enough power for me. We don't have the autobaun, so I don't understand why people need anymore power. I'm reading a lot of people having trouble with brakes and I've got close to 60,000 kilometres on the car and the brakes still feel fine with me. I have had a little squeak now and again in the driver side window when rolling down, but big deal I can live with that. Other than that everything is cool.
I recently bought a 2004 Grand Am Ram Air V6 Sedan and it is by far the best car I've ever drove! I haven't had any problems with it at all and it rides very smoothly. I needed a car that would last me through college and I am very happy to say, I couldn't find another car as good as mine! Does anyone know much about cold air intake on these cars? Someone told me to try it, but I'm a little iffy about it. Please comment back! Thanks!!
To the Commenter above: I have a cold air intake on my 04 Grand Am and I love it. You remove the factory air box and tubing and install the filter in the fender-well by removing the tire and the plastic wheel-well guard. It's not difficult to do. The sound that the car makes under heavy acceleration is a nice deep rumble. There is a bit more performance in the upper rpm range, but it's not going to turn your car into a drag racer. Still, it's reasonably cheap and worth the effort.
Can someone explain in plain English the Ram Air thing?
I too have an 04 Pontiac Grand Am GT with Ram Air, having downsized from a Bonneville. It has performed well, gotten me where I wanted to go, even across country, and looks stylish and clean in classic white. My only real expense in the last year was for the multifunction indicator switch (turn signal) that began clicking randomly. Turn signals worked, but the additional clicking was annoying. I'm considering selling it and want to know how to explain Ram Air to a potential buyer.
I still believe Grand Am beats anything domestic hands down!