1990 Pontiac Grand Prix LE 3.1 liter V6 from North America
Summary:
The best first car I could ever imagine
Faults:
The rubber insulation on the rear spring came off, causing a scraping rattle and wearing out the spring.
The plastic seat belt guide on the driver's door has broken.
The light for the headlight control switch has burned out and there is no replacement available.
The brakes are mushy and very slow to respond.
The vacuum plumbing dry rotted and all the plastic hosing had to be replaced.
The headlights have milked over and are almost useless to see out of at night.
The master cylinder had to be replaced after the brakes failed at 98xxx miles. I still had some brakes, but not nearly enough.
General Comments:
This car was my first car when I turned 16, and I'm 24 and still driving it. It has a sport appearance package that consists of the SE grille and red striping along the body moulding, and it still looks contemporary.
This car sips gas. I get 27 miles per gallon driving in town and 31 miles per gallon on the highway.
The handling is very crisp and the car corners like a rear-drive car. It corners quicker than my girlfriend's '97 Monte Carlo Z-34--in some cases up to 15 mph quicker through the apex of the turn.
Despite the problems listed above, I have put less than $1500 worth of maintenance into this car, including tires, over eight years.
The seats show wear, but are still comfortable and look better than some 97+ model cars I've looked at.
The windshield wiper delay system is superior to any other car I've ever driven, and the controls are easy reach with your fingers without taking your hand off the wheel.
EDIT: I stumbled across this review 8 years after I wrote it. Sad to say, my Grand Prix was totalled in 2008, right after I finished grad school. Until the wreck that destroyed it, it never needed any major repairs. The transmission was a little iffy at times, but change of fluid / filter helped the car round out 230k or so miles without a rebuild. I'll forever miss my little red Grand Prix.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 3rd November, 2002
14th Jan 2003, 19:23
Maybe if you didn't do all the high speed cornering and such, you wouldn't have as many mechanical problems.