Faults:

It had a leak in the water pump.

The battery was weak.

The drive belt needed replaced.

The front spoiler was cracked.

General Comments:

Granted, we haven't had this car very long. But we love it, especially compared to the Dodge Neon we traded in. It seemed to be "beefier" than what I would have expected.

The dealer had gotten it in on trade just the same day we bought it, so they didn't have time to check it out. Since we had already sealed the deal, they fixed all of the problems it had at no charge. I have a feeling that if we had waited to buy it, they would have figured those repairs into the price.

The dealer replaced the battery, the serpentine belt, the front spoiler and the water pump. It's good to go.

We bought it for about $500 less than the Kelley Blue Book retail value, and got about three times the average trade-in value for our Dodge. So, we came out pretty good.

The car is quick and just fun to drive. Since it seemed so meaty, I had my mechanic son look it over. He pointed out the "high output" label, then popped the hood and pointed out the Ram Air and the sequential firing.

I've heard from others who have said they had owned or driven Grand Ams and were not impressed. I think the high output seems to make a difference. My son drove it, and he was duly impressed with the pick up it had.

I've only had it up to 95 mph, and it handled really well at that speed.

The interior is like sitting in a cockpit. We like the way the controls are laid out. It has a lot of extras we weren't used to, like CD player, electric windows and locks, etc. This is like a Cadillac for us poor folks. My wife and I have a standing wager as to who will be the first to be ticketed in it.

It's red, which we refer to as "Ticket-Me-Red."

After reading some poor reviews, I thought it would be prudent to let people know that we're very happy with ours.

It did have some problems at 44,000 miles, which is probably why it was traded in, but they were easily fixed.

Faults:

Since purchase, a few things have gone wrong. The fuel pump went at 99,000 km, luckily I purchased the extended warranty. The dealer did not want to do the warranty work, saying that it was not part of the "power train", as I had only purchased a power train warranty. It specifically states in the warranty agreement that all parts of the "fuel system" are covered. Needless to say, I fought that one and got it under warranty after knocking a few heads.

Lately, little things have been going wrong with the electrical system. The cruise works for the most part, but sometimes decides not too. Also, the stereo clock light went on and off, depending on the day. I just finished taking out the stereo and checking the wires, and they looked fine, but now the stereo has no power at all! The theft lock light just flashes, even when the car is running. These kind of things really bother me!

General Comments:

On the other hand, the car is very rank on the road, you can corner hard (if you've got the tires), and it has a lot of jam for a 4 cylinder. It also looks deadly when it's cleaned up and the tires are shined. If not for the little things, I would love this car even more. If you are looking for a cheap used car that is sharp looking and good on fuel, than this is the car for you!