20th Jul 2006, 21:06
When you get a good one, hang onto it!! Several years ago I sold my '90 Dodge that had 200,000 miles on it and bought a sporty little Japanese car. A year later I saw the guy driving my old Dodge and was tempted to buy it back!!! The Japanese nightmare has long since been traded for a real car (in other words an AMERICAN car) and we won't make that mistake again. Nothing will outlast a well cared for American car.
29th Oct 2008, 22:15
Its me again, the originator of this thread. My 2001 Grand Prix is still running fine at 226,000. I've done no repairs under the hood or to the drive train other than scheduled maintenance. Right rear wheel ABS sensor is bad and requires the replacing of the whole assembly, which is otherwise fine. I put it off for a couple months but with winter approaching I'd like to have the ABS again, and after 7 New England Winters it may be time to replace the original battery. Having proven so durable, I think I like this car more now than when it was new. It's still reliable, and before I'd buy a new car, I'd look for another used Grand Prix 3.8.
20th Apr 2012, 07:45
Going through my history, I stumbled back on this site. Alas, my glorious Grand Prix and I finally parted. The tranny was shifting harsh and the ignition module died. The aforementioned original battery survived 10 winters, finally dying in late March of 2010. The AAA guy was amazed.
I donated my beloved Pontiac to the Good News Garage; they fixed it up, gave it to someone who needed it, and it's still on the road. They even sent me a picture of it with the new owner. Happy ending for me, a good start for someone else, and continued life for a very durable car.
9th Jul 2006, 23:04
Welcome to the wonderful world of American cars as they really are. I get so tired of reading the "I'm GONNA TRADE IT FOR A JAPANESE CAR" rants from the abusive drivers who have minor problems with their American cars. My wife and I are in our late 50's and have owned over 30 cars since we got married. The only cars we ever had a second's trouble with were 2 Japanese cars and one German car. Several of our American cars went over 100,000 miles without a single repair, and one went an amazing 240,000 miles with no repairs other than two timing belts and two brake jobs. We currently own 2 GM cars (A Pontiac and a GMC) and one Ford. None of them has ever required a single repair.