1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP 3.8 Supercharged

Summary:

High performance piece of crap with wheels

Faults:

Main seal leak at 25000, would cost $900 without the warranty.

Cheap leather.

Windows always loose and rattle. Had them fixed four times, no luck.

Wiper arm was stripped at 37000.

Alternator shorted, caused my battery to overload. Covered under warranty.

Heating fan squeaks.

Headlights rattle when going over bumps.

Cheap disk brakes, coating rusts after one winter.

Sun roof screen got caught in open position. Had to replace. Would have cost $250 w/o warranty.

Have a feeling my transmission is going to go any day now.

Can keep going, but do not have all day.

General Comments:

Good design, has some good ideas, but engineering really blew it here.

After 30,000 miles, piece of junk.

On average, had the car in for a service for 1 day or more once every 3 months.

Buy something else, it's a good looking car but is unreliable and will cost you more than most other cars.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd March, 2001

16th May 2001, 19:34

Sounds like you got a lemon. My 2000 GTP has been put through the paces and already has 35000 clicks without a single hitch. I have tricked it out substantially and driven it very hard. I feel sorry for you gettin a bad apple in the bunch. Better luck next time.

4th Nov 2004, 09:16

I have a 1998 Grand Prix GTP and I Have nothing, but trouble with it to it has 129000 miles on it I bought it when it had 96000 on it. but since then I had to put in three Transmission, new brakes, Alternator, tires, lights, and a new seal in the driver door. Now I think the motor is starting to have a noise in it.

23rd Dec 2004, 21:13

I have a 1998 grand prix too. It has 62,300 miles on it and well maintained. However, it has had a lot of problems. The molding on the passenger door kept popping off. The headlight covers kept falling off and getting condensation in them. Have had the blower motor in the ac/heating unit replaced twice and it still chirps and doesn't work on 1. The airbag light kept flashing and that was fixed under warranty. The rear main seal and the window motor went out at 36,000 miles, but luckily was covered under warranty. The rear passenger side motor is now burned out. Had to have the alternator and serpentine belt replaced at 34,000. The water pump replaced at 45,000. Just had to have the intake manifold gasket replaced. Wouldn't buy another GM vehicle.

1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP 3.8 supercharged V6

Summary:

Affordable, luxury sports sedan

Faults:

The headlamp lenses have fallen off on both the driver and passenger side of the vehicle. The dealer is giving me the runaround on whether this is a warranty issue or not. I purchased an extended warranty from the dealer at the time of purchase, which now seems to have been a mistake.

General Comments:

I've been fairly happy with this car. With the exception of the headlamp covers, I have nothing negative to say.

It has more power than any other vehicle in its class, and maintenance has been minimal.

Be sure to read the extended warranty offers carefully. Some of the GMAC extended warranty plans cover fewer componenets than the original vehicle warranty. In addition, some of the extended offers increase the years of coverage while only slightly increasing the mileage covered; I was burned by this.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th January, 2001

17th Feb 2001, 12:15

Service contracts are, in my opinion, a must have on any of today's automobiles. I have had one on all of my cars since my first, a 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R. I had two transmission replacements and the drive shafts replaced twice. Also had a smattering of smaller, electrical repairs done.

My current car, a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP has a 6/100 GM Major Guard, $200 deductible. So long as you know how many miles per year you drive, you can't go wrong. I have had, so far under the original factory warranty, the cruise control module replaced, the front and rear valve cover gaskets replaced, multiple adjustments to the shifter mechanism to eliminate a rattle, a new stereo installed, a new right rear woofer installed, two blower fans installed and a new gasket around the air inlet to the HVAC system. By no means does that make my car any worse than any other car on the road, but I have no reason to believe that when my GTP rolls over 36,000 in about a month and a half, all the little things will stop going wrong.