6th Jan 2009, 01:50

Hi! Blake from Paris Texas!

I bought my 2006 Grand Prix used in the summer of 2007. When I first got this car, I was absolutely in love with it, it was sporty roomy and good looking. I have had it 18 months and it has recently started to make this whining noise every time I accelerate it. It is a very loud noise, so I took it to a mechanic and they thought it was the transmission, so I paid $800 just to take it apart and they say it isn't that. I will have to pay $750 to take apart my motor!!

This car is a total piece of crap. I strongly urge you to not ever EVER brag about your Pontiac Grand Prix.

14th Jan 2009, 23:34

KF from NY here.

First off, to the girl with the problematic Grand Prix who started this whole dialogue, or any female, you should have some male person who could have advised you in the first place when you were having a problem. But I do sympathize with you.

Secondly, there are cases of Pontiacs being problem free for 100,000 miles or more. Quality control seems to be very spotty at GM -- some cars get good parts but many don`t. I had a 98 Bonneville which was a good car with very few problems. It is true that preventative maintenance is very important, but many GM cars have the `engineered problems` as noted in all the comments.

I am also among those who will not buy another American car, and lots of people have had more problems than me.

Some of the problems I have had on my 2001 Grand Prix GT with 3.8 engine which I bought used with 34000 miles:

Steering rack went just after I bought it, fortunately covered under warranty. After that, nothing was covered under warranty -- all expenses out of my pocket.

At about 40 to 45,000 miles I started having wheel bearings -- hub assemblies go -- three of them at least. I don`t drive my car hard -- basically commute 15 miles a day plus running around driving.

After that a front coil spring broke, which was replaced with a GM spring, followed by the other coil spring breaking about a year later. Then the first replaced spring broke again. Coil springs are a big problem on Ford Taurus also. I mean what kind of steel are they making these out of anyway?!

These are examples of junk parts that GM puts into their cars to save money, and no amount of maintenance would prevent them breaking or wearing out. Did you ever hear of coil springs breaking on a car 15 or 20 years ago?

I went through the typical couple of brake jobs too, which Grand Prix is noted for wearing out fast, but the real kicker was the broken springs -- just plain junk parts.

Lastly, find a good independent mechanic. Do not take your car to the dealer unless the repair will be under warranty -- everybody should know by now how much more they charge for everything.

Good luck to all!

11th Feb 2009, 13:43

I own a 2000 GTP and let me tell you that it has 270k miles and still runs strong. It is very easy to do maintenance on this cars, please stop paying "mechanics" and do it yourself.

11th Feb 2009, 14:56

Folks... all cars have problems. I have a few comments regarding things that have been said here:

Someone says Grand Prix is the worst car on the face of the planet - sorry, but I don't know how you can make such a statement, unless you have owned every car on the face of the planet. Yes, there are plenty of cars that are far better, as there are plenty that are far worse.

Someone says "I paid $xxx to have some part replaced, and my car still has the same problem, now I have to pay $xxx to get it fixed". How is that Pontiac's fault if your mechanic / shop cannot diagnose / fix the problem properly in the first place?

Some recommend going to independent shops because dealers charge too much. Well guess what... if you need a heart transplant, you probably wouldn't go to your family physician. Dealers charge more, but they're certified technicians, trained to work on GM cars. They have more resources within GM and are experienced with common problems, which they can fix far more efficiently.

An example - my transmission was shifting pretty harsh at times. I connected a scanner and the code it showed me indicated that a pressure control solenoid had to be replaced. I called a couple of transmission shops and explained the problem. They wanted $695 just to remove the transmission, plus any parts that it would require. Then I contacted my GM / Pontiac dealership and they replaced the solenoid for $450 and didn't even have to remove the transmission. That's not cheap, but saved me a good amount.

If you have a good, reputable dealership (I admit that not all are), you'll get what you pay for. That's not to mention that dealers can sometimes ask GM for certain parts to be covered under warranty (even if your car no longer has it) if it's a common problem, or if you've had numerous problems with it.

I've owned 4 Grand Prixs (from 99 to 2004) and I won't say that they're perfect, but take into consideration that no car is bulletproof and is bound to have problems. Many people buy cars used and don't know how they've been treated / maintained by previous owner (s). You could be very meticulous in maintenance, but that means nothing if it was neglected in the past. Add incompetent mechanics to the mix and your car can easily turn into a pile of junk... which doesn't mean that all GM cars, or all Pontiacs, or all Grand Prixs are a pile of junk.

My family had an 1988 Pontiac Bonneville 3.8, which we got rid of with 265,000 miles on original engine and transmission... it refused to die. My local dealership is currently selling a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix with 225k miles. These cars can and will run forever when cared for properly (and by that I mean responsible owners and competent mechanics).

That's just my 2 cents on the subject. I wish good luck to all owners. The whole "don't buy american" or "buy a honda" is a bad attitude. I've had problems with my cars and will continue to buy cars that I feel at home in. If your first was getting sick often, you wouldn't say "I'm not going to have kids again. I'll adopt next time". I know that's different, but you get my point.