1994 Pontiac Grand Am SE review from North America
"Non Stop Breakdowns"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
What has not gone wrong with this wreck.
Radiator cracked on the Plastic Tank, replaced it with a Brand New one and Three Months later it has cracked again, think it needs a Heat Shield or something. The plastic Pipes that the Radiator Hoses go onto are almost impossible not to break when installing new Hoses.
The Heater Core went, so I just by passed it.
There was always a heavy Burning Oil Smell about the only thing to its credit was it did not use much Oil.
It was very expensive to get the Serpentine Belt replaced as the Mechanic even had to remove a Motor Mount.
I replaced both Ignition Coils myself, was easy.
Threw on a new Battery as a precaution.
In short the Engine bay always smelt of Burnt Oil, even though I religeously changed it each 2k Miles, and also an Acidic Electrical burning smell also.
I had to replace the Starter this was very hard to do, took hours and hours. I can change the one on my Honda in 45 Minutes.
Lots more went wrong, its main fault was stalling after a highway run, then not restarting for 2 hours.
General comments?
I never liked the image or feeling, I always felt like white trash when driving this car.
I managed to sell it on 2 years later for 400 Bucks less than I had paid for it. I kinda broke even, even after parts, tires and stuff, I was only out $1300 not bad for 22k and less sale price included.
Never again though, I like my weekends much more now I am not a nervous wreck trying to fix this thing. My Honda has twice the miles, but it is solid.
I feel sorry for all Grand Am drivers now.
In my opinion this car should never have been sold to the General Public.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1994 |
| First year of ownership | 2004 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2006 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.2 4 cylinder Automatic |
| Performance marks | 6 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | |
| Comfort marks | 2 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 0 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 0 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 132000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 155000 miles |
| Date of Entry | 26th September, 2006 |