1989 Pontiac Sunbird LE 2.0 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

Reliable car when taken care of.

Faults:

At 130,000 miles when I bought the car, on the way home from the dealership the engine lost oil pressure because of bad main bearings and we dropped a new motor into it.

At approx. 140,000 and 145,000 I had to replace the alternator both times because of a bad battery that I failed to notice.

Approx. 5000 miles later the timing belt broke because I didn't replace it when we put the motor in and it had been sitting for a while so that one was on me. The bottom end of the motor looked really good so I put a stage 1 (Performance Street) camshaft in it and had a friend of mine port and polish the head, made a big difference in power and throttle response with the automatic transmission.

General Comments:

The car had decent handling, but the power steering lost a lot of the feel.

The acceleration before the engine upgrades is a bit on the slow side, after wards it was a good bit quicker, I'm sure the manual transmission versions make up for it.

The interior of the car was rather nice, the front seats were very comfortable to me, the rear seat room depends greatly on how tall the people up front are, with the seats in a comfortable position up front its very tight in the back seat.

After I replaced the timing belt and put the new parts in it was a good car, never gave me any other problems, the only reason I ever sold it was because I totaled it when I hit two deer, one slammed into the front and the other went up on the hood and almost through the windshield, but the engine ran perfect, drove it home and parked it and sold it off.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 14th November, 2004

1989 Pontiac Sunbird SE 2.0L from North America

Summary:

Great first car

Faults:

My alternator went the first month I had the car, but cost me nothing to fix as I took it out of a junker.

The previous owner told me that a spark plug was nearly stripped, but I had completely forgot about that when I went to do a tune up. Now I've nearly rebuilt the entire engine, but parts are cheap on this car, and I know it will continue on very reliably.

General Comments:

An all around great car, although I really do not enjoy the stock stereo equipment.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th August, 2004

1989 Pontiac Sunbird SE 2.0 from North America

Summary:

Great value for your money

Faults:

My car has had a problem of overheating just in the last 2 years.

General Comments:

I really love this car.

I would like to drive it for another 10 years!

Great mileage. Rides smooth. Steering perfect. Little Rust.

My car has most of it's original parts!

Big car for little car value. Can really put a lot of items in the car, more than you can imagine.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th August, 2004

1989 Pontiac Sunbird 2.0 from North America

Summary:

A reliable high performance bargain

Faults:

I replaced the front brakes right after I got it.

I had to get a new radiator and water pump.

I replaced the temperature gauge as well.

Other than that, nothing else has been done to it.

The catalytic converter is going bad in it right now though, sometimes you can hear it rattle.

General Comments:

This car is so reliable I travel a lot with this car, 100 miles every day and it keeps up to par.

I have changed the oil three times since I've had it.

It runs really clean. I try to baby it and don't take it much over 70 miles per hour.

I put a 1000watt amplifier with one fifteen inch speaker in my trunk. It rocks.

The battery, alternator and main engine parts like the transmission are perfect.

I only paid $600 for it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 2nd August, 2004

1989 Pontiac Sunbird SE 2.0 from North America

Summary:

This car is an excellent car and you must get one with a 5 speed in it

Faults:

The only problem I have had with this car is that I had to replace the converter and muffler.

General Comments:

This is a very quick car for a 2.0.

The 5 speed manual shifts well and quick.

Starts with no trouble in cold weather.

The suspension is nice and stiff.

The interior is a bit cheap.

Needs better seats.

The manual does not come with a cup holder, how do you drink coffee?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th May, 2004