2003 Pontiac Grand Am GT 3.4 Liter from North America
Summary:
It burned to the ground!
Faults:
LOL! Is that a joke question? OK the car was 3 years old, with 54k miles on it, when I watched it burn to the ground.
On the day of purchase of the vehicle, there was no right headlight, and power door locks and windows didn't work!
The motor was replaced at 12k miles.
The first transmission was replaced at 16k.
The 2nd transmission was at 36.5k.
As well as the 2nd motor!
The 3rd motor was put in at 53k.
Fuel pump once at 35k and again at 49k.
Brakes; I swear they were serviced once a month.
The front end alignment was horrible on numerous accounts.
The car started by itself, which scared me!
The car finally overheated and caught fire, and was a total loss.
Pontiac didn't want to approve my repairs since I was 16-17 at the time, and "it was my driving habits".
General Comments:
OK lets face it GM sucks; there is no other way to put it!
This Grand Am was purchased by my grandparents for my first car. I was 16 when I received this vehicle. I was excited! My first car, and it was brand new with 9 miles on it, and was a cute car. Well, was I wrong about the whole situation. The day I got the car, I didn't test drive it, because in the state of Georgia we are not allowed to test drive a vehicle before we are 18, for insurance reasons. And my grandparents didn't feel like test driving it.
Well we took the car home, and I noticed some things, such as the power door locks and windows didn't seem to work! And the right headlight was blown.
It went to the shop; it took them 3 weeks to fix the first problem. OK the car drove fine and was great. I loved the features in it, such as the sunroof and the monsoon sound system.
Well now the brakes; they were changed every month, just about. I know that every time I went for an oil change, they told me "have you checked your brakes yet?" and I said "I did them the last time you changed my oil". they was like it is the Pontiacs these days.
I was in high school, and already on a budget. Yes, the car was new mind you, but my grandparents had already put enough into this car. The Grand Am wasn't cheap back in the day, but let it roll off the lot, and you lose half of the value already.
OK, now here we were around 12k miles, and I was merging onto I75 from I285 (for everyone, this is like the worst place in Atlanta, GA for merging) and I all of the sudden went from 80mph to around 55mph. My car lost power and the accelerator was not responding. I basically had to sling over 6 lanes of traffic, almost causing many wrecks, but I had no choice. They said the head gasket blew, causing my motor to be junked. GM didn't want to cover the issue, since I was a 16 year old at the time, and I was racing the motor. They said the car was overheated. Well, isn't that what causes a head gasket to burst? They said this once; my other issues as well (that dealt with the drivetrain).
At 35k my fuel pump just died on me on a trip to Toronto, Canada. The Pontiac place told me that it would be 2 nights for the part and installation. OK, well it turned into a week and a half. After I got in, I noticed the gas hand didn't work, so I called the Pontiac place and informed them that I would just swing back by on the way home. They said, "No, you bring the car back today before we close or we will not fix it". I was in Ky, and I didn't feel like turning around so I just forget about it. It would be like a $25 repair.
Boy, was I wrong! It was quoted at $235 (since they have to remove the fuel pump just to get to the reader).
At 49k miles, I ran out of gas and it caused the fuel pump to go bad again!
Now at 53k miles, I have replaced my 3rd motor, and I was already on my 2nd transmission. The car would like to start itself.
And the night that ended it all, was October 13th, 2006. Yes, Friday the 13th. I was at a party which was being held at my house. We all noticed my car's engine was on, but I had the keys in my hand. Everyone thought I was playing a joke, but my car caught fire and it burned to the ground before the fire department arrived at my house.
I have talked many people out of buying this car. They said, "I don't believe you". I carried around my booklet of receipts, and if they still didn't believe me, I even let some drive my car and they changed their mind really quick.
The car was great when it would work properly. I kept it clean, didn't drive down dirt roads, and I didn't even hotrod it (because I was scared to get it over 4000 rpm, as it felt like the motor were about to pop out of the hood and the wheels were about to roll off).
But now I have a 2005 Ford Focus ST; I even hotrod it and I am still getting better mpg, and better performance, as well as lower initial cost than the Grand Am. Heck, even the insurance is cheaper!
So I am sticking with Ford. Bye bye, GM.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 11th March, 2008
13th Mar 2008, 13:31
Well, you will have the same problems with any car that you rag out! When I was your age, I'll have to admit that I ragged on my cars too but I didn't blame the car for falling apart.