1998 Pontiac Grand Prix SE review from North America

Rust on bottom leading edge of passenger doors at 45,000 km. Dealer fixed and repainted doors, I paid for new mud flaps.

Driver door lock fell into door at 55,000 km - dealer initially said it was my fault, but discovered "retainer clip misaligned". Also fixed loose passenger panels from previous paint job. Also turn signal return stopped working - covered under warranty.

During previous service dealer found a suspected oil leak and added dye. At 58,000 km returned to dealer. They found intake manifold and oil pump drive leaking. Required reseal of lower intake and oil pump drive, SERP belt very cracked, PERF lower intake / stub shaft reseal replaced gaskets / seals as necessary. Had to pay for transmission service flush and service plus new SERP belt, plus power steering flush ($400 CAN).

Did vehicle inspection at 78,000 km and found A/C not working - cause was air temp sensor ($220 CAN).

Even though it's the base engine this car has plenty of power. Can leave those wimpy 4 cylinder cars in the rear-view.

Interior is good, seats are starting to wear, but I've kept them clean so they should last for quite a while. The best cup holders are the best I've come across in any car!

Have the auto climate control which isn't of much use except for long drives, usually leave in manual mode. The integrated antenna is nice and the factory CD player and four speakers is acceptable, but not great.

Found the factory tires BF Good... wore quickly (50,000 km) and were terrible in snow/ice so switched to Michelin all-seasons for summer and Michelin Alpin for winter. Makes cornering even better in summer and excellent in winter.

The rust is coming back on the doors which is very annoying. Also the truck lid has rust starting... not too impressed. Will see if warranty will repair before it does permanent damage.

Overall I feel I got what I paid for with this car. An equivalent Toyota, Hondo or Mazda would have cost 10K more for a similar car when you factor in the low interest rate (1.9%) and haggling to get $4K off MSRP. The price is more repairs and a less refined car. To me its being a good trade off and if I get at least another 5 years out of it, it will have been the right choice.