Faults:
Right after I got the car, the air vents started blowing everything through only my defrost - $500.
At 102,000 miles, needed new transmission shifter solenoid - $650.
At 104,000 miles, needed new alternator. I bought the part from O'reilly's with a lifetime warranty because AutoZone didn't have one with a lifetime warranty available. Was fixing to install it myself when I looked into the engine bay & couldn't find it until I looked at the bottom of the engine! Cost $220 in labor to replace it. Three days later, it went dead. I did it myself this time and got a replacement from O'reilly's. The 2nd one lasted a week and a half. Had to replace it myself again and got a refund this time. I went and bought the 1 year warranty alternator from AutoZone and never had another problem with it.
Shortly after my alternator troubles were over, the catalytic converter had to be replaced - $125 parts/labor.
At around 109,000 miles, my rack & pinion had to be replaced - $350 parts/labor. After I drove it out of the shop, I stopped for gas down the street and sprung a power steering fluid leak. Had to take it back and the lines blew which had to be replaced, but only at half labor cost.
At 111,000 miles, my transmission no longer operated in 1st gear or overdrive. (Taking off in 2nd gear every time is no fun). This lasted until 115,000 miles when I finally had enough money to get it rebuilt. It came with a 6,000 mile warranty. Cost $1,200 - which was the cheapest I could find.
Shortly after that, my steering wheel radio controls quit working. Dealer estimate to fix it - $400. I decided I could reach and turn the knobs for that much money.
Rear struts gave the car horrible road noise - $375.
At 120,000 miles, the top radiator hose broke off along with a little piece of plastic on the radiator. Had to replace the entire thing instead of just the hose - $300.
Around 130,000 miles, I had a friend who had a 1996 model Grand Prix with the same 3.4 Liter engine. His had 65,000 miles on it and the timing belt broke. It slapped a valve which cost him over $2,000 to have fixed. I figured I better replace mine pretty quick and did so at a cost of $425. (mechanic said it was no fun to time this DOHC)
All these repairs were in addition to normal wear and tear stuff: new battery, new tires, new brakes, new spark plugs and plug wires, and all new fluids and filters.
At around 134,000 miles, I had a feeling the transmission was starting to act up again and might need more work done to it. I really wanted to keep the car, but I just couldn't afford all the repairs. The dealer I traded it into sold it in less than a week. The people who bought it had it for two days and it went completely out! They called me to see if the first warranty was still in effect, but it expired over 10,000 miles ago. LUCKY TIMING!
General Comments:
It may sound like I had a lot of problems with the car, but I loved it.
The car was not the fastest off the line, but at about 15-20 mph it had incredible pick-up and could overtake or at least hang with just about anything.
I wish the car had been more dependable so I could have afforded to keep it longer. The car I traded it for was a Mercury Grand Marquis with 150,000 miles and a fast V-8. Now it has over 202,000 miles and I have done NOTHING to it at all!
I will one day buy a newer Grand Prix with the 3.8 Liter engine. I just hope they are much more reliable than the 3.4 L.
27th Aug 2005, 22:13
When you replace the spark plugs I suggest you also seplace the plug wires. I learned that the hard way one wire arced and caused my ignition module to go. It cost $1100 parts and labor to replace. So Iwould do those wires as well.