Faults:

The only thing that has been wrong with the car is the rotors. I had to have the rotors on the front brakes polished. Grooves formed in them around 6,000 miles causing the car to vibrate while braking. This I think was my fault more than cars, because of my over use of the brake pedal.

General Comments:

I really love this car. I bought a fusion orange GT2 for 19,000 on the road. It is completely loaded with Xm radio, Heads Up Display, and a 6 disc cd changer.

The Grand Prix's performance is really good for the price I payed for it. From my shopping around they're only a couple of non GM cars that are the same performance for the same price.

The styling is really what sold me on this car. Toyota Camrys, Nissan Altimas, and Ford Taurases are all good cars for the price, but all these cars in my opinion are bland and just fade into the background in interstate traffic. However, when you meet a 2004 Grand Prix on the road you know it. With its flaring orange running lamps and it's reptilian looks there is not another car on the road that looks like it.

However, if you are looking for a family hauler this probably won't be your car. The backseat is cramped even for small adults. The only people to ever fit comfortably in the backseat are my small young cousins who are 8 years old and even then they can't see out the back windows. But, the front seats are very comfortable even for me and I am 6'5" and weigh 360 lbs. But if you are looking for comfortable, stylish, and zippy sedan to carry yourself and another then this car might be for you.

Faults:

Only issue so far has been a bent alloy wheel that was caused by pothole. dealer replaced immediately at high, but fair price.

Wipers seem to be not so great when in a moderate rain.

General Comments:

This is a great road car. It has heated leather seats that are quite comfortable and give a good driving experience over a long trip.

Handles corners well and is very responsive.

Mirrors are very large and that creates problem backing out of garage, but give great visibility to rear and sides.

We did purchase 100,000 mile GM warranty.

Faults:

Headlights bounce up and down while driving at night. It is very annoying to see my beams dancing on the road no matter how smooth the roadway is.

Paint finish very cheap for a $30,000 car. "Grand Prix" badge peeling off after two car washes.

Plastic interior trim squeaks in the dash and the rear door panels. Why?

Toe-in alignment out after 3 days of ownership. Again, why?

General Comments:

The only attribute is the engine power and the handling improvements for 2004.

So, from a "Driver's" point of view, the car is "Fuel for the soul" as Pontiac claims in their ads.

For the average person, the seats are not as comfortable as the previous generation, and you will find yourself trying to look over the dash. Raising the seat won't help as you quickly run out of headroom if you are over 5'9". It's really a problem if you have the sunroof, which to me opens too short and ruins the car's lines when open.

The "Drive by wire" is a great idea that does not work well at low speeds. The car has a tendency to jerk. You can't feather the throttle smoothly.

The transmission shifts too frequently, which tells me that trans overhauls will be sooner than expected in a car that for the price should have reliabilty written all over it.

Back in January 2004, I traded in a 1995 Grand Prix GTP with the 3.4 twin cam engine, and bought a used 1998 Grand Prix GT (3.8 old school engine) with 57,000 miles on it for $7,000. The car is loaded with Heads-up, auto climate, overhead console, leather seating areas, trac, realtime info center, high power 9 speaker CD system, etc.

Dealer calls me 4 months later and asks if I want to get a 2004 model. I like the new styling and power, so I get a GT2 for $32,000 which includes taxes, financing, etc. Here is where Pontiac got it wrong:

No auto climate, no overhead console because of the sunroof. The info center is now limited to only warning you about a problem instead of constantly showing you Oil Life, distance to empty, real time MPG, fuel used like my 1998 does. No heads-up display unless you order and pay more. Sure, the GTP comes with these things, but for a higher purchase price, higher insurance premiums, and fuel costs. Sorry, a Pontiac is not worth that much.

Third day of ownership, the front wheels went out of alignment. The dealer "fixed it" and the steering wheel was now off center 1" to the right from being 1" off to the left. After two car washes with the car being pulled through, the steering wheel set itself to center.

I bought a black GT2 that had water spots in the finish. The dealer sent the car out to get detailed, but the finish was never as good as an import in black. It was later determined that the paint was never properly sprayed and the "water spots" were imperfections in the paint. At this point, I was not happy with my car.

The door panels on my car squeaked while driving. Drove me nuts. The plastic dash would squeak sometimes too.

The last straw for me was the headlights dancing up and down while driving and the constant plastic parts in the interior squeaking, along with the realization that I was spending $32K for a car that should be well executed versus spending $7K for a car that was just as smooth, loaded, and has a 3 year extended warranty that I did not pay for the 2004.

I took the 2004 back to the dealer, and got my 1998 with all the toys, lower insurance, lower payments, a more comfortable ride, and peace of mind.

The 2004 GT1 and GT2 are not worth what dealers want for them now. I don't know about the GTP Comp G. Too many imports out there to consider before Grand Prixs. The 3.4 twin cam was a better high performance engine than the 3.8 Gen 2 or maybe the Gen 3. But it had reliability problems that GM could have fixed and kept in the Pontiac line-up.