1997 Pontiac Sunfire GTS 2.2L from North America

Summary:

It is what it is, cheap

Faults:

Timing chain went at 129,000km. $460

Valve cover gasket needs replacing.

Power steering lines leak.

General Comments:

Hey, you get what you pay for. I paid $2000 for the thing, I use it from point A to B for work. It gets the job done. It is very easy to work on and parts are cheap!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 27th March, 2008

1997 Pontiac Sunfire GT 2.4 from North America

Summary:

The best car to grace the road

Faults:

- Transmission

- Power steering return

- Alternator (2x)

- Blower motor

- Headlamp switch (4x)

General Comments:

This was the best car I have ever driven.

I got the car from my brother, and I put most of the miles on it. It was a very strong car; it was put in the ditch a couple times by my brother, I slid into a pole with it, and rear ended a car or two, and it was rear ended. I've never had to spend more than 1,000.00 to fix it; the body held to gather very nice. The only times it got damaged was from the ditch and the pole.

I never had a problem in winter starting it, it get -40 wind chill at night in north Dakota, and mine did not have a block heater and it never put up a fight.

Mine drove great for its year, and is way better than other cars would have been with that amount of miles. Even with my high miles, it still had the power of a GT.

My one major problem was the headlamp switch; it kept on going out and I had to replace it every now and then, or else I would have no head lamps.

My moon roof also quite working in 2007 a few month before it got wrecked. And my mine was 2 door, so after a while my doors did a little sag, but still worked fine.

My sunfire met its end one day when a very large pick up sped through a stop sign and crushed the front end and hood. Even though it was very badly damaged, I still was able to drive it to my insurance company so they could call it totalled.

My car was comfortable even for me, and I am 6'3 200lbs.

The stereo was stock and sounded great.

Back up was a little weird, because it was a little hard to see out the back window, due to its odd shape.

Shifted nicely.

If you buy one, get the GT; it's so much more worth it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th December, 2007

1997 Pontiac Sunfire GT from North America

Summary:

Thinking about getting a '97 Sunfire GT?... DON'T DO IT!

Faults:

What hasn't gone wrong with it?

The car was 8 years old when I purchased it back in 2005.. So I didn't expect it to be a dream when I bought it.. but I needed a car, it was cheap, that's why I bought it.

If I had been aware of all the trouble to come, I would have ran the other way!

Water pump is done, and needs to be replaced, I have yet to replace it because it's going to cost about $1,000... The car threatens to overheat and the thermostat is screwed up. The temp gage shoots up to the H and I have to turn the car off. If it gets near the H while I'm driving, like idling at a stop light, I have to put the car into neutral and rev the engine a few times to bring it back down.

I've had the alternator replaced twice in the last 6 months.

Wheel alignment on this car is a disaster and I've had to get the wheels re-aligned recently.

The car EATS gas like there's no tomorrow.

I've had a gas line leak, which I got repaired about a year ago.

Window motors wore out very quickly, in cold winter months, the windows will not go down.

I've had numerous troubles with the brakes. Had the brakes seize up on me once last winter and I went flying through and intersection, thankfully, no other cars were coming.

Horn, interior light, cigarette lighter fuses all wore out on me and I had to get the fuse fixed.

I can't turn the heating system on any more because it makes a VERY LOUD whirring noise and sounds like it's going to explode...also, when I turn the heating system on, the temperature gauge rises and I'm afraid the car is going to over heat.

The car is a nightmare to start in the winter. If I'm at work or somewhere, and leave the car parked for just a few hours, a boost is required frequently to get it started.

There's so much more to list, I can't even remember everything that's gone wrong, that I've had to replace, that's had to be repaired.. I've spent SO MUCH money trying to maintain the car that seems to be just..unmaintainable.

Bottom line, I've had nothing, but problems with this car since the day I bought it.. I will never buy another Sunfire as long as I live! If you're thinking about getting one..DON'T DO IT!

General Comments:

The only good things I can say about the car:

When I bought the car, it was in very good shape physically.. Black exterior, gray interior, bucket seats, 2 door, sunroof, rear spoiler, all the stereo buttons are on the steering wheel (which is convenient) the speedometers and everything else on the dash light up red, it was a sporty looking little car, for the price.

Its got a pretty powerful engine, and (used to have) a lot of zip.

Nice sized trunk, huge glove compartment, good sized armrest compartment.

However, these few things do not ride out the many faults of the car!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 25th November, 2007

4th Jun 2008, 21:00

Everything you are explaining could have been prevented with routine maintenance. The problem with used vehicles is that the buyer never knows if proper maintenance has been done. These cars are not bad cars. Failure to maintain will make any car into a heap.

8th Mar 2009, 10:37

My wife bought a 97' 2.4L sunfire in 07',for 1200 bucks. it had 260K on it, and had a used motor (180K) put in it before we got it. transmission lasted a moth, so I put in a used one ($300).saw it would be a good idea to replace the thermostat and gear driven water pump, too. hoped it would last from nov 07' til spring 08'. it now has 298K, and knock on wood, still goes! this car has oomph, too! I'm thinking of getting another, and fix her up.