Nice look.

Internal engine and manifold problems.

This is an awful car. It will not crank and one dealership tells me my motor locked down. Why? They do not know. I had it towed (another $75) to another dealership and they do not know what is wrong either. All they could say is it was shooting water out of the cylinders and they will get back to me in a week. Obviously, I have the same problem as others, a cracked something and a $3500 repair bill. What stupid people. My car only has 67500 miles on it. I was driving and the engine light started flashing. I immediately pulled over. This is not my fault and Pontiac should recall this product.

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None and never will again. I will go back to the reliable Ford.

Mechanically sound if you overlook the ongoing problems with the warning message. Plows through snow!

Gas mileage isn't that great. 90% of my driving is highway and I get 21.8 mpg and have to use premium grade.

I have a 2000 Bonneville which has been back to the dealer dozens of times for the same innocuous problem they never have been able to resolve. The "Check Tire Pressure" warning displays almost constantly. It has literally been on more than off in the three years I have owned this car. This would be amusing except for the fact that I now commute 70 miles roundtrip every weekday and at this point, I can't rely on the warning to let me know if there's a real problem. But this isn't my main complaint. That would be with the worthless, unethical, customer alienating, inconvenience-the-owner-at-all cost, DEALER who has never fixed a problem the first time I've brought the car in for repair. I won't recite the litany of repeat trips I've made due to this dealer's service shop's incompetence, let me just give you the latest. I took the car in about 4 months ago because of a significant vibration and to, as usual, get the darned tire pressure warning light reset. After waiting an hour and a half, I was told that a mechanic test drove my car and it was "fine". After my insistence that the ride quality was not "fine", I was asked to take a drive with the mechanic. About a mile into the drive he admitted there was a definite vibration and said I needed new brakes. I agreed to this service and paid an exhorbitant price for a front brake job, confident that I was paying for the "quality" of having it done by the dealer. In the past few weeks, the ride has become even worse and there is now a definite wobble / shimmy at any speed (imagine driving on the highway in 50 mph winds and you'll get an idea of what I'm experiencing). Thinking the tires might need re-balanced, I took it to an independent shop today, one that does only tires and is not a chain store, near where I work. Although the tire shop certainly could have used the opportunity to stick me for a set of new tires, they were honest and said the problem was with "whoever did my brakes". Apparently the rotors were not resurfaced, although the Pontiac dealer specifically told me they were, and now a few months later the rotors are warped and will have to be completely replaced. This was the final straw and I contacted Pontiac Customer Relations. After an hour on the phone with their rep, their call to my dealer who was unfailingly unapologetic and unconcerned, they have asked me to use another dealer near my work for service on the brakes as a solution. Now the question is, who is going to cough up the cost for new rotors? I can assure you it's not going to be me. I may need the name of an attorney.... My appointment is next Tuesday and I plan on contacting a lawyer if this isn't resolved to my satisfaction at that time. As an aside (but interesting note), I found out that my dealer has convienently omitted about 75% of my service records and coincidentally, those seem to be the ones associated with my repeat trips to have problems fixed! My ten trips over a three year period to have the tire pressure warning message checked / reset are in their system as "2" visits. The two trips to get a cigarette lighter repaired (c'mon!) are "1" trip in their system. Even Pontiac Customer Relations saw only one record on the cigarette lighter which the dealer documented as fixed by replacing a fuse. However they failed to mention that it was still non-functioning when I drove it off the lot and a few weeks later I had to bring it back, sit in their waiting room for 3 hours while missing time at my job, until they decided to replace the entire lighter assembly. Again, no record of this repair! I could go on....... In spite of consistent repeat visits because of their errors, they have never made the smallest accomodation as concession to my inconvenience. I have repeatedly explained that I work 35 miles away and asking a friend or family member for a "lift to work" isn't feasible. They do not offer loaners and their shuttle service isn't available to me because of the distance to work. I have requested that they set a definite appointment time so that I could be there when I could be assured a mechanic could devote his attention to my vehicle. I have begged for them to fix these problems on a Saturday when I am off work (they only like to do oil changes and other profit generating services on their 1/2 day Saturdays) and I am consistently told "no". My choices are to take a vacation day from work and leave the car there for the day or to sit in their waiting room for hours while they work on everyone else's car.

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I've owned GM cars for the past 20 years.

fast car, 205 hp... the 3800 engine has always been dependable... its been around for like 40 years much like the 350 and so on and so forth so the engine is proven and if it didnt work GM would have scrapped it a long time ago. The overall comsumer ratings on Bonnevilles are good, much better than Intrepid and Stratus and comparable to Buick which is a little more luxiorious, but i prefer the sportier look.

a little noisy cockpit at interstate speeds... the air noise can be high in the right winds and/or speed.

I havent had any problems with my car... i see some people on the board here have. Generally when something goes wrong on a car, the last thing you do is call the maker. The only time that might be worth it is if you live in Detroit right down the street from them. seroiusly if you want the most expensive person to fix your car then go ahead and call them. Not to mention car makers would rather have you buy a bran new car than fix your old one so they are always going to have bad service. But any ways this car has been great and it just keeps on moving after 6 years.

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1992 bonneville, Olds 88

I love everything else about the car

engine

I had same problem as others with coolant,except mine did not give me any warning.engine ran out of coolant and blew up with 88000 miles on car.Pontiac also told me gm would have to tear apart to see if it was defect or not and it would cost at least 450 to tell me my engine was junk.pontiac nor car dealer will fix the problem,,not only do I have to pay off but I get to put a 3500 engine in.I am also aware of 3 other 98s in my area with same problem.I think somebody has an engine problem and are not going to admit.

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I have had a 92,93,95 bonnevilles no problems

Comfort, ride, power, stylish body style and sleek looks.

Wind noise, the intake manifold leaking problem mentioned above, too many functions on directional lever.

We recently bought our 93 Bonneville SE because our 92 Grand Am gave up the ghost. We bought it from a Chrysler dealership. They told us it was a trade in and a 1 owner vehicle. It looked beautiful and seemed to run great. It had 137,000 on it so I was expecting perfection. In the short time we had the car we have alread had to have the front end aligned. While aligning the front end I asked them to check on an oil leak and a mysterious loss of antifreeze. Low and behold, I was told the exhaust manifold gasket was leaking. Originally the Chrysler dealership I bought it from said they would send it to a GM dealership for the repairs, and give me a loaner car till the repairs were done. Now I find out the Chrysler dealership is going to attempt the repairs. I plan on giving them a copy of all these reviews so the dont overlook the Plenum, or the possibility of a cracked or warped manifold. Please pray for me. My overall review of this car, sans repairs, is good. I love the looks and style of the car. Ours is only a base SE, but it looks like a brand new car. The paint is a light metallic blue, and the car is flawless and rust free. (which is unheard of in Wisconsin/ Minnesota area) We love the ride quality and the power. This is one of the nicest car we have ever owned. We do notice a lot of wind noise, and the combination cruise control, windshield wiper control, high beam/low beam control all on the directional lever is a little confusing. We hope the leaking problems have been caught before any permanent damage has taken place, and that the repairs resolve the leaking issue. We want to keep this car for many more miles.

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The only other nice vehicle I have ever owned comparable to this was a 1966 Lincoln Continental fully loaded.

This car has great acceleration and some good power... i have pulled fishing boats with it and things like that. It is practical too for a family car... i have 3 kids ages 5, 8, and 10 and we havent had the need to get a bigger vehicle yet. Its nice to drive a car that is big enough to get anything you could expect from a car. I remember riding around in my dad's big ol' Oldsmobiles.. he never let them cars die because he wanted to have the biggest car on the road.

One weakness i have noticed is that it doesnt brake as quickly as a normal car, but then again, it weighs 300lbs more than a normal car... Also my door has been closed too rough or something, because it is starting to sag a little and might need to get straightened out. But its 9 years old for crying out loud, and the most money that me or my dad put in was for my struts. Now it rides like air... and it almost did that before

My Bonnevill has ran extremely well. I bought it 6 years ago from my dad when it was only 3 years old. He never had any trouble with it either. It had 55,000 miles on it when i bought it and i drive 50 miles round trip to work so over the 6 years i have had it i have put 100,000 miles on it. So in the last few months I reached the 150,000 mark. I see that people have been having problems with the manifolds but i have never had any such problems... really the most i have put in to my car was when i upgraded my struts for a smoother ride on an already smooth car.

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Nothing is simular to this car

Great ride other than the engine trouble. Owned a 1993 before this one and had no major problems upward of 100k miles.

Intake manifold

Wow! I am amazed by the number of people with problems on their intake manifolds. Had the car towed to a garage today due to low coolant/engine trouble. They couldn't find a leak but heard the cooling system losing pressure in the engine itself. Told me a Pontiac dealership would have to find/fix the problem. Pontiac calls and says $263 to drain and dry the engine, oil change, and replacement of spark plugs, with 3 hours labor. This is all before they can identify the problem, so they say. But they do think it may have to do with the intake manifold. I asked if this was commonly seen on 1998 Bonnevilles and was told NO, he has only seen one this year. I thought he meant the previous 12 months. Obviously, he meant the previous 17 days. By the way, just under 70k miles on the engine. If the engine is salvagable (dealer says they'll find out Monday), I'm guessing repairs in the $500.-1000. range. GM is ripping us off with plastic.

The 3.8 is a nice sized engine for a plain old car and its is just as fuel effcient as any engine that is 3 Liters or bigger. It responds well in slippery conditions because it has a wide track, its a heavy car though. Cars being heavy never bothers men, but it might bother women... Bonnevilles are 3481 lbs.. my wife's Intrepid is listed at 3,351 lbs.. and that 130 lbs is a big difference when the two cars about the same size. When you use common sense, if two cars are the same size but one weighs 130lbs more, you should kinda know that one is built sturdier and heavier. Nothing against Intrepids though, they get you there and thats the point right? Plus this car always starts! I live in Fargo... it was 5 below or colder every morning so far this week and its started without a problem every time. And unlike other people that posted on this board, i have never had a problem with the manifold. It seems a little odd to me that all the stories are the same "manifold went out right after warranty ended, at 52,000 miles" Im almost wondering if one of my buds just made up a whole bunch of names and wrote a whole bunch of stories HAHA! just joking! sorta.. they would do that.

The car has a governor... i find that a weakness.. hopefully cops dont hunt me down for writing this, but car with 171,000 miles on it, runs at 100 miles per hour at 2800 Rpms in overdrive. I owned a plymouth acclaim that ran at 2400 rpms at 60! HA! I wish there wasnt a governor so i could see how fast the car would go if i could run the engine higher... i mean geez, its still comfortable at 2800 rpms... id bet good money it would go 125. Other problems include the back driver side window doesnt always work, and the automatic antenna is stuck so i just pulled it up. Otherwise, it runs as well as any other car and in the last 20,000 miles has only gone in for a tune up and brake change.

My car is a 1993... so its reached its 10 year mark now this year.. I bought it 4 years ago and didnt intend on it lasting this long. It has 171,000 miles on it and still gets the same gas mileage as it always has at about 24 to 25 mpg unless i hit the highway, then its better. The car still reaches 105 mph (where the governor kicks in) without a problem. My wife owns an 1997 Intrepid with the same horsepower rating as my bonneville give or take one or two but me and my friends timed the Bonneville half a second faster at 0-60. This car moves... and i have a 3800 series ONE engine with 170 hp, i want to know what the 205hp series II is like.. but i dont need to know yet because this car keeps on going just fine.

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Besides Intrepid, nothing simular. i used to be a truck guy. I'd take a Bonneville over an Intrepid.

The 1991 has over 252,000 miles on it, the 1992 has about 175,000 miles, and the 1993 has 155,000 miles. I have had these cars for a few years now. Between the three of them they have only gone to the shop twice, both of which were for minor things. All three of them run at 2500 RPMS at 85 MPH. Their average gas milage is 26 mpg. GREAT IN THE SNOW AND COLD WEATHER!!! I live in Minnesota, so with the exception of this year we usually have harsh winters. The bodys are in perfect shape...no rust (now that says something about the paint job!). Stereos are nice. They have the most comfortable seats that I have ever sat in. GREAT power. These cars have more spunk than a 94 Mustang that I recently drove, and not to mention insurance is infinitely cheaper. I will forever be a Bonneville man! Did you hear that they are going to make a Bonneville with a 4.4 Liter V6 with 300HP?!?!? YAY!!!!

The ONLY weakness is the fact that the gas guage on the 1993 starts beeping and goes down to the E about 120 miles before I need gas. THAT IS IT!!!

All three of my Bonnevilles are the best cars I have EVER had the pleasure of looking at and driving! The 1991 cost $1000, the 1992 cost $2500, and the 1993 cost $3000.

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Buick Regal, Buick LeSabre, Chevy Lumina

Black, sharp, fast, and a nice ride.

Deluxe stereo is weak; has poor sound. Retarded cup holders on door panels. Water pours into trunk when lifted after rain. Wind noise coming from window seals. Runs through window-washing fluid so fast that I may buy stock in it. Don't forget the intake plenum failure. A car in this price range should be better built.

Yep, the "Toys Are Us" plastic intake manifold went out at 51,000. I'm glad I have an extended warranty....PAY ATTENTION TO THIS REVIEW SITE. IF YOU WANT TO OWN THIS CAR AND STAY SANE, YOU MUST HAVE A EXTENDED WARRANTY. I have had no other repairs yet, but I feel the car is a ticking time bomb after reading the reviews.

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