Faults:

Valve cover gaskets.

Oil pan gasket.

Serpentine belt.

Fuel pump.

Blower motor (AC & heat).

Basics; Battery, spark plugs, etc.

General Comments:

Performance; This car is no joke when it comes to performance. Stock, this car can run 0-60 in a matter of six seconds without the use of 10 gallons of gas. To make it faster, all you need is a cold air intake, a smaller supercharger pulley which generates 25-50 more horsepower, and if wanted, an upgraded PCM which raises shift points, lowers engine temperature, etc.

Gas mileage; This is probably one of the only cars that requires premium gas, but does not demand a lot of it. I have used ultra 93 ever since I bought the car, and have consistently got 20 city and around 30/31 highway.

Comfort; I compare most other cars such as Camaros, Firebirds, and Mustangs to my car, and find that although the GTP is not exactly a performance/sports car, the ride is phenomenal with its sport suspension and quiet cabin, with lots of room to fit five people comfortably. Long highway trips are extremely nice with this car. There is no road noise that you hear in other sports cars or even compact sports cars.

Daily driving; This car is very practical for anybody! I would consider it a crossover between a sports car and a luxurious car. Although city mileage is in the lower 20's and upper teens, it still beats the mileage of a Lincoln and a Corvette. Passing power is amazing without having to drop a gear. The boost from the supercharger comes into play before the car drops down to the fourth gear on highway.

Reliability; Owning this car for over ten years has brought me minor problems such as valve cover gaskets (they all eventually go bad), oil pan gasket (which was only $20), and the fuel pump, which wasn't a whole lot to replace. It has never had a problem starting up, nor any funny noises coming from the engine compartment.

Exterior; Pontiac really made a difference when they redesigned this car for 1997. The aggressive styling looks amazing from the nose to the rear spoiler. The paint and trim are better quality than most of the other competitors, and don't rust like others either.

Interior; The bells and whistles this car has are very nice. It features leather seats, driver's heated seat, a heads-up display (windshield speedometer), premium sound system, CD player, and a dual climate system.

Faults:

Rust on bottom leading edge of passenger doors at 45,000 km. Dealer fixed and repainted doors, I paid for new mud flaps.

Driver door lock fell into door at 55,000 km - dealer initially said it was my fault, but discovered "retainer clip misaligned". Also fixed loose passenger panels from previous paint job. Also turn signal return stopped working - covered under warranty.

During previous service dealer found a suspected oil leak and added dye. At 58,000 km returned to dealer. They found intake manifold and oil pump drive leaking. Required reseal of lower intake and oil pump drive, SERP belt very cracked, PERF lower intake / stub shaft reseal replaced gaskets / seals as necessary. Had to pay for transmission service flush and service plus new SERP belt, plus power steering flush ($400 CAN).

Did vehicle inspection at 78,000 km and found A/C not working - cause was air temp sensor ($220 CAN).

General Comments:

Even though it's the base engine this car has plenty of power. Can leave those wimpy 4 cylinder cars in the rear-view.

Interior is good, seats are starting to wear, but I've kept them clean so they should last for quite a while. The best cup holders are the best I've come across in any car!

Have the auto climate control which isn't of much use except for long drives, usually leave in manual mode. The integrated antenna is nice and the factory CD player and four speakers is acceptable, but not great.

Found the factory tires BF Good... wore quickly (50,000 km) and were terrible in snow/ice so switched to Michelin all-seasons for summer and Michelin Alpin for winter. Makes cornering even better in summer and excellent in winter.

The rust is coming back on the doors which is very annoying. Also the truck lid has rust starting... not too impressed. Will see if warranty will repair before it does permanent damage.

Overall I feel I got what I paid for with this car. An equivalent Toyota, Hondo or Mazda would have cost 10K more for a similar car when you factor in the low interest rate (1.9%) and haggling to get $4K off MSRP. The price is more repairs and a less refined car. To me its being a good trade off and if I get at least another 5 years out of it, it will have been the right choice.