I have had this car for 2 years now and I have'nt had one problem. I have the 2.4 4 bangger and I love it. Great handling, and good response for the engine. Not to mention the only money I have put onto it is and oil change every 3 thousand miles.

I do not like the brakes. Also I had to replace every bulb in the back of the car.

Overall this car is the best car I could have bought for the money. However you will want to look into aftermarket brakes though. This is by far the most reliable car I have ever had the pleasure of driving. Overall for the driving I have done in this car oil changes and a couple bulbs are nothing. I have put over 56 thousand miles on this car and I have had no problems.

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Sebring, 99 neon, 91 grand am, 87 celebrity, 00 focus, 98 escort, 99 lincoln ls. Of which only the lincoln can compare. And belive me the list just keep on going, 98 accord

Styling, Handling

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Overall I would give my car a 9 out of 10 in almost every category. For the price it has a lot of extra features that make it fun. I am now at the point that i want to increase the performance a little bit, but that is probably because i just saw "The Fast and The Furious

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good gas mileage,nice looking car,not real expensive,good pick-up,overall just a real good car

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car has been great up until today.all the sudden it won`t start.this is the only problem i`ve ever encountered.it has 199,000 miles on motor and i must say this car is by far the best i have ever owned.i guess sooner or later something has to go wrong with any car.i am a gm lover and always will be.

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85 trans am&75 grand prix which i still own today and both in show room condition

nice styling, good acceleration for a 2.4 liter engine. Love the 5 speed transmission.

This car was built with quantity in mind. Replaced transmission 5000 miles after it was bought(under warranty thank god). Water pump went out with 62000 miles on it. That is about a 7 hour job. Have replace struts, shocks, ball joints, brake rotors and pads within last year. Front end does not seem to be put together with reliability in mind. Last fiascal was trying to replace the fuel filter. One end is nice with the nut concept and the other has a "quick disconnect". This commonly fails after it becomes a bit rusty and then you have a problem. Drop the gas tank and replace the sending unit(get a used one) then put everything back together just because the quick disconnect failed. The worst thing for this car though is the lack of aftermarket products for this car!!! If you are into customizing forget it. Besides a lowering kit from Eibach, Painting engine components and a fresh set of 17" rims and low pro tires, good luck finding anything else. I will never purchase another car again besides a 65 Impala sometime down the road.

The bad outweighs the good with this product. Constantly fixing the next problem. I have talked to many others with similar year Grand Am's, same thing with those cars also. Newer body style may be more reliable but the box on wheels concept doesn't go over well.

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91 Chevy S-10.....Grab the S-10 and go hog wild, very reliable, fun and the possibilites are endless.

Pick up, durability, ans sporty

no car manufactures make anything that you can put on to the car. The top speed is not quik at all. I raced my friends Integra Ls and my car topped out at 110 and his topped out at 145.

Overall Impression has been quite well. It has great gas mileage and it is a very sharp looking car and is great to pick up the ladies with.

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the looks

I have nothing extra on my car except cd player and it was still kinda expensive

I like it its a pretty nice car. But I think I would of rather gotta a Sunfire my friend just got a 1996 Sunfire GT and I like it more than my 01 Grand Am SE. I believe I could of gotta a lot more equipment with a more sporty look with the sunfire. Also of paid less money. The only extra thing I got was a cd player. He got a sunroof, cd player, dual exhaust, keyless entry, steering wheel stereo controls (which are so cool). I just wish i rethought my purchase oh well. I probably would switch him if i could payment would be smaller I don't care if mine is newer his is neater and more fun to drive. Plus his car is faster even though we both have the 2.4 liter 150hp engine. He has the advantage b/c his car is a little smaller and he has dual exhaust. Man I need to quit talking about this I'm getting depressed.

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Accelleration

Repair Record, expense, interior design.

I've had horrible problems with my car for the last 5 years. Let me list the ways:
Heating core cracked twice, dumping anti-freeze into the heater each time, and I spent 2 weeks with my lungs chewed up after breathing that stuff.


Electrical system has an odd glitch or five. Right side power locks died, lighter is short circuting intermitantly, oil sensor trips without reason (short somewhere). My alternator has blown up twice.

Brakes seem to wear out abnormally fast. I've had pads replaced 6 times since I owned the car and twice the pads gave me no indication that they were going bad until the brakes completely failed (a very interesting experience when driving down a mountain, I must say)

Steering wheel column pin snapped. My tilt-wheel steering wheel does exactly that. It will not lock in place.

Cup-holder is in the most idiotic position--under the stereo console. How the %#$@&% am I supposed to get a drink in there??

Tires for this model are about 40% more than tires for a similar car.

Turning radius is terrible.

Spare tire is impossible to get to.

Fog lights are easy to knock-loose given how hard it is to see the front end of this car.

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It starts.

Power windows are very slow (have changed the motor 3 times!); Dash sounds like it has a family of mice inside of it; ABS light keeps going on yet there is no apparent problem with them; acceleration is horrible, burns way too much gas for a V6 (even thought I have done tune up after tune up); fuses often burn out at random times; most people can stop on a dime, I can stop at a bank if i'm lucky; and there is an weird sqeak thoughout the car when I hit a few potholes!

I've drivin the car for about 2 years now and I have lost all patience with it! The only good thing about it is that there is little or no rust because I've taken care of it!

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Affordable, fairly reliable, high level of standard features, interior & trunk space, sporty looks, peppy engine, decent MPG's!

Daytime Running Lights, cupholders, needs a rear sunshade, minor quality issues, plastic wheel covers make horrible sounds and fragile! Weak brakes? Too many and too loud reminder chimes & idiot lights!

If you are buying a car to get you from point A to point B, with little irritant, this is your car. I bought a '99 SE 4 door-sedan in metallic gold. Its been a fairly reliable and easy car to own. There is nothing it does exceptionally well, but it does nothing truly bad either.

I find the car to be "just right" in size, its not too big or too little. Being a base sedan, it came well equipt with power door locks, air conditioning, tilt wheel, AM/FM/cassette, fog lights and cruise control.

Inside you find a big meaty 4 spoke steering wheel. Instrumentation is first rate with a tach, speedo, fuel, engine temp gauges all glowing in a eye relaxing deep red @ night. Of course, there are plenty of idiot lights to remind you of things, but I wish it had an odometer that could be viewed @ the same time as the mileage meter.

There are lots of thoughtful nooks and crannys to store things in, but the front door pockets could be deeper. Perfect placement of remote trunk opener! Its located on the drivers door, making it easy to punch when you get out of the car and want to open the trunk.

I have yet to find the perfect cupholders, and this car is no exception. The two that are provided in the front can only hold cans. I need one that will hold my 44 ounce "Big Gulp" I get every morning on the way to work.

The drivers seat in my car feels firm to the touch, but it sits too low for me. I've driven a '99 SE1 with the power height adjustment. This feature's ability to adjust the height of the seat, would have solved my complaint. I would strongly recommend going for the SE1 package, I wish I had!

The back seat sits low and you lean back further than I like. The rear glass/roof curviture causes your head/shoulders to be exposed to the sun, which can get uncomfortable quickly in the Texas summer. GM should provide a rear sun shade, @ least as an option. Two adults in the back seat will be okay, three is pushing it. Rear seat leg room is okay, as long as the front seats are not pushed all the way back.

The trunk is roomy, even though the back seat doesn't fold down unless you order the SE1 package. The liner in my trunk does not "fit". At the belt line of the trunk, the liner is in two seperate pieces that are supposed to fit over one another. On mine, it dangles out on the sides. I am constantly trying to tuck the fabric back in, but it comes out every time. A minor thing, but irritating. Also, the trunk lid is hard to close. It usually requires two or three hard slams. I now have a small indent in the truck from slamming the it so hard.

I continue to get compliments on the looks of the car. I don't know why it surprises me, but every time a stranger comes up to me and tells me "nice car", I always say "thanks", but in my mind I'm thinking, "hey, its only a BASE model"! The paint application is good and the body panels feel "sturdy". The doors have a nice "thunk" sound to them, but for some reason, the back doors never FEEL like they have closed. I always open them again and close them harder, just to make sure. I've observed several of my passengers do the same thing when they have gotten out of the car and closed the back door. My left back door's interior light deflector popped out every time I slam the door closed...I finally glued it back on.

Those infamous side plastic panels that create such design debate are a bit "gaudy" to some, but they sure keep the door ding monster away! No complaints from me.

The base plastic wheel covers although somewhat attractive, sound like they are going to crack when you hit a bump. In fact just recently I struck a rather large pot hole dead center with the front left tire and low and behold, the wheel cover literally split in half, yet remained attached to the wheel! Cheap....very cheap.

As far as the engine goes, I get what I would call "peppy" performance from the base 4 cylinder engine. It can be loud (thrashy) when you stomp the pedal, but its not bad. I get good gas mileage. I recently drove from Houston to Little Rock on one tank of gas, averaging 33 mpg, @ an average speek of 71 mph. I'd say I am getting in the low 20's in city driving. I have had no mechanical problems other than one time it mysteriously refused to start (of course I was about 300 miles from home!). When it was towed to the shop, nothing could be found wrong and it started right up again. ???? Hasn't happened since. I had to have the brake pads replaced @ 30k...apparently an issue with many GA owners.

I know a lot of people like or are indifferent to daytime running lights, but I HATE them! I almost chose not to buy this car based on it having them. GM makes it difficult to disconnect them. If you pull the fuse (which I tried the minute I brought it home), you do without gauge lights + an idiot light remains lighted all the time. You also have to deal with an additional number of very loud warning chime notes every time you start the car. I would really like to have the option to turn my own lights on or off! GM should make them a no/low cost option like Toyota does. Lots of folks have argued that they are a safety feature that makes me more visable. I wish someone would tell that to the multitudes of people that have pulled out in front of me while driving my DRL equipt GA.

Warning chime notes. More bells go off when you start this car than a church on Sunday. When your gas tank nears empty a very LOUD multiple chime warns you (along with a light on the dash). The chime startles me EVERY TIME! It also scares your passengers, and you have to start explaining to them that "every thing is okay". Chime go off to tell you to put your seatbelt on, your wiper fluid is low, it goes on and on. They are very, very loud. I have many a passenger say "Jeez!" When I start the car up. GM has gone overboard on all of the various lights, chimes and reminders.

I have had a recurring problem with my gas cap. If you don't put the gas cap on "just right", the "check-engine" light comes on the dash. I've also had an electrical demon in the dash that makes the gas gauge fly between "E" & "F" (which causes those loud chimes to go off!), I think its related to the same problem with the gas cap. ??? Last time I took the car in for maintenance, they checked it out and couldn't find anything wrong. They referred me to my owners manual about properly putting the gas gap on. It still does it, but @ its own choice of times.

The brakes make me a little nervous. Again, they FEEL a little weak. I've found myself several times having to mash the brake pedal down harder than I expected to have to.

I know it seems like I am just needling this car to death, but I really like it. In fact, I love it. We also own a '99 Honda Prelude. I love the Prelude, its fun to drive, has great power and looks, but I constantly worry about parking it near other cars for fear of door dings. If I hear a rattle in it, I complain because a Honda shouldn't rattle! With the Grand Am, we just get in it, drive and don't worry about those little things. It has some minor rattles, but I sort of expected them from this car @ this price.

There are better mid-size cars (Honda Accord), but this was a "value purchase", I wanted a car that was more an appliance that I wouldn't have to constantly worry about. Our GA is driven hard and often and has yet to let us down. I love it warts and all!

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Of the GM mid sizers, I like it best. I've driven rental Malibu's, Century's and Alero's and still like the GA best. Alero is quite nice too.

Nice car for the price (bought it for $4,000 w/ 94,000 miles). In the last 3,000 miles, it has done nothing but run well. Roomy, sharp looking, good (not great) on gas. Lots of cupholders!

My fuel pump went at 96,000 miles. Other than that, the car has been excellent to drive. Drive it almost 100 miles daily and have no problems or worries. Inside mostly made of plastic, but again -- if I wanted luxery, I would have got something else.

I would recommend the car to someone. It is durable, with almost 100k on it. The resale value is probably low compared to similiar cars, but it is roomy, reliable, and good looking.

I paid $4,000 in June for it.

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Test driven Dodge Neon, Ford Escort -- drives better, seems stronger.