Faults:

Starter relay switch failed so the car would not start.

It was replaced free of charge under a recall.

Replaced both front struts at 148,000 miles.

It eats wheel bearings for breakfast!

I've replaced all 4 wheel bearings, and the front wheel bearings have been replaced 2 times in one year!

Warranty on the bearings covered the cost of the replacements free of charge.

This car has too much plastic, as is typical on all General Motors vehicles.

The dashboard and various plastic pieces make a lot of noise on rough roads.

Power windows can be very slow to open or close sometimes.

General Comments:

V6 power is pretty smooth, reliable, and always starts in ice cold temperatures.

The 3.1 liter engine is the best attribute of this car.

Plenty of power for passing cars in traffic.

Stay away from the Quad-4 engine which has been known by many mechanics to be a troublesome engine with known problems.

Brakes are OK, but not the best.

This car takes very little maintenance, so it is a great college car!

Automatic transmission shifts quickly and never fails.

The larger 16 inch factory rims make a big difference in cornering and braking ability!

The factory sound system is pretty decent.

Front seats hold you in well, however, they lack good support on long trips.

Great climate control system.

The tight solid steering feel gives the driver a greater sense of security on curvy roads and tight traffic.

Airbag and automatic braking system are nice safety features.

Gets about 24-30 miles per gallon, depending on how heavy my foot is.

Faults:

Nothing major. Just the usual stuff. Water pump, alternator, belts, hoses, heater core.

The electric lock on the front passenger side gave out about 2 years ago and the other ones all went recently (about 140k miles). The dealer wants a fortune to fix 'em. I'll just unlock the doors myself, thank you.

General Comments:

I like the car overall. It was a very good investment. It has a nice sporty look. The instrument panel is very easy to read. The design of the car is awesome! I'm the original owner. I bought it when my son was a baby 9 years ago. I bought it for safety features and thank God I have never had to test any of them! The car is great on gas and the power is great for the V-6. I rented a 4-cylinder once and the power can't even be compared to the V-6.

I paid about $15,400 for the car brand new 9 years ago and it now has almost 145,000 miles on it and it runs like the day I bought it. The air conditioning still works great too!

My Mom has a 2000 Grand Am SE and after driving mine and getting into hers, I can tell that Pontiac has really been doing their homework on this model.

4-stars from me! :-)

Faults:

When I bought this car all 6 fuel injectors were dirty, and I decided to replace them all rather than deal with them in the future. The dealer I bought it from was very helpful and paid for them to be put in. The EGR valve went bad causing the service engine light to go on when I coasted for long periods of time especially on off ramps from the highway. I bought an EGR valve from a local parts store and installed it myself, it required 3 screws and a clamp, so it was very easy. The power doors locks did not work for a while, but I fixed them myself by replacing the "accessory" fuse. There was an excessive shake in the car, especially at highway speeds, but this was fixed by having my tires properly balanced. These were all small problems that were fixed quickly, didn't cost much to fix, and didn't bother me much to fix.

General Comments:

I love driving this car everyday, and will buy another in the future. The sporty look draws rave reviews from everyone, and quickly quieted my immature friends that constantly made fun of my previous car, a 1988 Buick LeSabre. The engine has plenty of power, and gets respectable fuel mileage (I get about 22 MPG doing normal driving). Handling and suspension have a sporty feel, and provide great cornering ability with some body roll. The brakes are great especially in the snow were I live in Wisconsin and deal with it for the better part of 5 months every year. The sound system was good to start with, but since I added a Pioneer 3400 CD player, it has been excellent. This is with the original speakers that were in the car. Friends have asked me while riding in my car what kind of subs I have when I only have the stock speakers!