Faults:

I had a very, slow leak of coolant, and now I have been advised to replace the intake gaskets, and the dealer wants to tear down the engine to see if it needs to be replaced due to coolant leaking into the engine. If in the worse case scenario, a new engine is needed, it would cost about $8600, which is close to the blue-book price.

There have been some other minor repairs that are big safety issues. The First problem was the driver's side door, I had it replaced a year and a half ago, and now it has died again.

I had problems with the turn signals not working. The dealer said they could not duplicate the problem, but it occurred again on the way home. About six months later, I received the recall notice.

The heating and air conditioner fan does not work at levels 1 through two, but I am living with it on level 3 as the lowest setting--somewhat uncomfortable, but not worth the money/effort it would take to fix.

General Comments:

I purchased my 2000 Pontiac Grand AM new, and it now has 44,500 miles. The style and looks are sleek and nice, but I cannot say the same for the repairs. The car runs fine enough.

All in all, I would not buy another GM car after this experience. I have previously had Fords, and even the Pinto held out much longer before it needed these types of repair.

Faults:

Intake manifold gaskets had to be replaced.

Many engine repairs have been required.

Fuel Pump started to groan very loud and had to be replaced.

Rear speaker needed to be replaced.

Sound system display always seems get stuck on a number or is very distorted.

Front wheel speed sensors keep causing the ABS light to keep coming back on.

Blower motor had to be replaced multiple times along with the resistor.

Multifunction switch and cancellation cam had to be replaced to stop the whirling noise in the steering column. Starting to happen again, but the dealer says that this time it's the SIR coil, go figure.

Creaking noise in front end over bumps became so annoying that I had to finally get the front strut mounts replaced.

Thermostat never let the engine get warm enough to actually overcome a cold Buffalo, NY winter morning.

I would go on about the front brakes, but I think everyone else before me already went on about that.

Air conditioning compressor clutch started to make a scraping noise.

Front headlamps keep getting weathered to the point where the surfaces become abrasive and result in poor lighting quality.

Turn signals shorted out once, but started to work an hour later. I never really did figure this one out.

General Comments:

This car has given me a lot of smiles. Although it has had more than it's share of problems, I still love it.

This car is for someone who want to go out for a good time. If you like a fast car, but not a large budget, this is the car for you.

I don't like to complain about the problems because the car was cheap. To be honest, I kind of expected the problems I've had.

One tip of advice is to keep up on the problems and keep up with the scheduled services! Once there is a problem or if you need to have normal servicing done (oil changes, coolant flushes), don't delay. The car will cost a bit more to take care of on a month to month basis, but that's better than an annual $1,800 repair bill.

I plan on driving my car for years to come. It has done it's job very well and I look foreword to another year of mediocre service from her.