12th Sep 2007, 16:36

I'm wondering how to remove the driver's-side interior door panel on my '95 Grand Am. The window motor is crippled: it works for about 5-10 seconds, and then the power window won't budge (the passenger window works fine). I want to avoid yanking and jerking the panel, for fear that I'll shatter the panel and window. Many thanks for sharing your expertise.

22nd Oct 2007, 20:55

I just want to know where are the spark plugs in my 95 Grand Am and how do I get them out?

26th Oct 2007, 16:38

I have a '95 Grand Am. I've loved it and fixed all that needed fixing, but, I can't figure out now why the LOW COOLANT light is on after I've added coolant and it seems as though the engine fan isn't coming on. What would cause this? Oh, I've got 220,000 miles on it...:)

1st Nov 2007, 12:35

To the above commenter:

You paid $800 for a 12 year old car. Surely you had to expect that it would take at least twice that amount of money just to get it into a reasonable running condition. There was a reason that the previous owner was willing to part with it for next to nothing.

4th Nov 2007, 08:08

To 8:02.

I was the one who previously posted about an $800 car would likely need twice that amount in repairs. I didn't know that you were a woman, and even if it were evident from your post, I wouldn't have changed what I wrote.

I had similar experiences myself with a cheap car. I bought a 13 year old chevy for $1200 and over the course of a year I had to dump almost the same amount again on repairs. This is what happens when you purchase a car at the end of its life cycle.

If your mechanic inspected the vehicle and told you that it was in safe condition, then he is liable for any repairs that need to be made to bring it up to road worthy shape. Keep on his butt and you'll get this issue resolved. Good luck.

8th Jan 2008, 11:54

I have a 1995 Grand Am SE.

It has 205,000 miles. Yeah...great!

Anyways, I bought it a year and a half ago, and I have had more problems with it than I can count.

The head cracked one day on my way from Minneapolis to Eau Claire, WI. I drove home on three cylinders hahaha. It overheats daily, but then cools down after a while. I have to downshift, and make the water pump work harder in order to cool this car down. The car just last night popped a cooling hose, so it is sitting in my driveway now waiting for me to crawl under it for the 50th time to fix it. But, then the infamous floor leak kicked in, and my carpet got soaked, so at first I drilled holes in the floor, to allow for drainage. This didn't work because they got plugged full of gunk. So what did I do? Ripped all the carpet out. I have no carpet now, and big holes I drilled in the floor, so you can look down between your feet and see the road flying under you. The left turn signal is broken, so you have to turn the signal off yourself instead of the steering doing it for you. Luckily I have power locks that work, and manual windows. This car sucks and I would never EVER recommend anyone to buy one.

31st Jul 2008, 00:24

I recently bought a 1995 Grand Am SE (3.6L) coupe as my first car. I paid only $600 for it with 200K. I have only put $600 more into it, replacing bulbs, brake lines, gas line, drivers side window (new motor and track) and body work. I haven't experienced any problems with the car, except that the odometer runs fast and the gas line, which was repaired easily. I have also noticed that underneath the mat on the drivers side is wet occasionally? Otherwise, I have not run into any problems. I am happy with the car.

31st Jul 2008, 12:01

Buying a cheap car doesn't always mean lots of money in repairs. When I was going back for my degree, at a university noted for car thefts and break-ins, I purchased a 1979 Pinto with over 180,000 miles on it for $300 to use instead of one of our new cars. I put a valve cover gasket on it (about $10) and drove it for 3 years with absolutely ZERO problems, then sold it for exactly TWICE what I paid for it. I'm currently driving an 8-year-old Grand Am that has had NOTHING but one battery and the front brake pads (which set me back a whopping $17).

8th Aug 2008, 15:50

I bought my '95 Pontiac Grand Am in the summer of '05. From what I've read, I've been very lucky I guess. I have manual windows. I do have a slight issues getting the driver side window up... but it's not too bad. I do find my passenger side wet after it rains.

Yesterday was the first time I found real issues. My check oil light came on. But was off when I turned the car back on so I thought nothing of it. Well today my oil light came on and my temperature gage went up, not high but went up, but it went right back down to normal temperature within a minute or so.

And I've also now I'm noticing coolant fluid mixed in with the water on my passenger side floor.

My uncle's first thought when he heard I bought it was "oh god" because he's a mechanic. Well he's gone through my car a few times and he says it's actually pretty decent.

Hopefully my issues now aren't too bad though.

28th Aug 2008, 12:10

OK I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I have 1995 Grand Am GT with the 3.1 with 250,000 Miles. Bought it new in 95. It's been everywhere. I get 25m to the gallon.

I am a mechanic. I check the car every month. and have to do the basic maintenance. The only major repair I have done was I had to replace both wheel bearings. Which set me back $65. each and A arm bushings that was 50 total for both sides.

When I do find something wrong on one side of the car, I replace the other no matter if I it is broke or not. Like brakes, when I change one I replace them all. But I do understand what most of you all are saying. I do a lot of the same repairs you all report.

But what I find out is that the ones that have problems are the ones that don't keep up on the maintenance. Like the overheating. Most people don't change the coolant every year. So what happens is the radiator gets clogged up. And oil let's face it, even I don't sometimes change the oil every 3000 miles sometimes. Oil and coolant is the the life of a car. Brakes too. I say every year a person should make out a routine for there car. Change oil, trans and gas filter plus fluid. And don't forget coolant and brakes every year. And you should have a happy car. LOL..

The problem is that the ones you bought the car off of didn't take care of the car. And you're stuck fixing the problems. What I do is when I buy a used car, I replace everything even if they show that they just done the tuneups. Just to know that it was done. I hope everyone has a great fall.. Good LUCK TO ALL..