Used 1998 Pontiac Grand Am Consumer Reviews
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Still runs
mememe, 08/27/2007
1998 Pontiac Grand Am SE 4dr Sedan
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Bought it in 2001 with 17k miles on it. The 6-cylinder engine gives it decent speed pickup. There is no rust except on the underside, which is pretty good after this many years for Minnesota. It had never stalled on me. The numbers of problems I've run into keeps growing though, even though I don't drive it much. Power windows dying a slow and painful death, one of the fog lights going out periodically due to bad wiring, the cd player display malfunctioning and it wouldn't play cds for about a year (I was about to have it replaced when it magically started working again), fan/ac giving off a high pitch noise, and the all-to-common leak problem.
Not a top choice
95Light, 06/17/2003
1998 Pontiac Grand Am SE 4dr Sedan
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I am still looking for the excitement that Pontiac talks so much about. The seats are awful and with the SE you are surrounded by hard plastic which doesn't aid in comfort. The engine (4 cyl type) does well and so do the brakes but the chassis lets these down. The transmission broke at 75K miles and the altenator died 1K miles after. All in all I should have bought the Honda or Toyota for a little more money. Very plain car.
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See all 0 listingsA fun Ride!
Allen, 03/29/2016
1998 Pontiac Grand Am GT 4dr Sedan
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Where to start with this car? I owned a 1998 Pontiac grand AM GT V6. I bought the car in 2012 when I first turned 16 at 132,000 miles. I'll start with the good. The V6 engine in the car gets up and it is pretty loud for a nice vroom vroom feel. I drove this car hard during my whole 4 years of owning it and not once did the engine or transmission show any signs of wear. In the winter the car will start with no problems. I had co-workers with 05's and up whose cars would not budge at all in the cold weather, my Pontiac would turn on and be driving down the road about a minute later. Now electronics are obviously not going to be top notch in this car as it is a 1998. I came with a standard radio and a cassette player so at least you could use a cassette to MP3 player for music(I replaced the radio). Now the bad, keep in mind I did not get a carfax before I bought this car and the shady dealer I bought it from did not do any work before hand. The car was in the shop for quite a few minor fixes. I Probably spent around $2000 in repairs on the car. Ball bearings were bad but went to crap about 3 months after I bought the car $400, I had seal for the radiator bust that cost me $600 along with other radiator repairs...In the winter this car does horrible in the snow. Even with good tires and new brakes it is terrifying to drive in any type of snow, but if you drive careful as you should it will get you to your destination safely. The window motor on my driver side window went bad so it would only go down halfway. The passenger side window motor would not go down at all. I have read reviews before about he window motors on the make and model so I would be wary of those...Besides that I finally got into a new car this year in 2016 leaving my Pontiac with 180k miles. The Pontiac was still running and would probably still be running for another few years. I would recommend this car for a first car or for something reliable and fun.
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True love until 103,000 miles
noram, 04/08/2008
1998 Pontiac Grand Am SE 4dr Sedan
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Bought new, this has been a wonderful vehicle until now. Other than brakes and a water pump there was no repair work done until 84k when the intake manifold had a coolant leak requiring a new gasket. Last week this same problem was detected at 103k. After paying my $1000+ bill I decided to start thinking about a new car. Not a Pontiac. I've seen this same issue on elsewhere for this same vehicle, same engine for as many as 3 times on a vehicle. Poor engine design? whatever the problem is people have tried to get Pontiac to make good on it to no avail. Class action suits were mentioned. And American car companies are wondering why people don't buy American? I really want to but I can't
Not too bad for the price.
Braves441, 03/31/2002
1998 Pontiac Grand Am SE 4dr Sedan
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Good car for the money. Has some quality issues, but it's a good starter car.
An Alright Car
Taylor, 01/11/2017
1998 Pontiac Grand Am SE 4dr Sedan
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I bought my '98 Pontiac Grand AM almost 2 years ago, with only 93,000 miles. An elderly woman owned it before me and her son took good care of it, but left it sitting for years, so it took several oil changes before it quit looking dirty. I'm not much of a car person, no one has ever showed me much about maintenance, but since I've had it, I've had the serpentine belt replaced, a brake pad, and had Freon put in it. That's about it. Maybe I've gotten lucky, but no major issues have occurred. Now, the A/C didn't work from the get go, but I didn't mind it until a really hot summer. The ABS light has stayed on since not long after getting the car...mechanics said it was just a sensor and turned it off, but it came back. Occasionally the battery light comes on, but I've never had a problem with it starting. The radio knob fell off, so it's kind of hard to adjust the volume without busting your eardrums. I WISH I had plain crank windows, because being a 19 year old car, the power windows barely work. The driver window luckily works the best out of all of them! Car is somewhat noisy, especially on highway. The headlights are great, super clear with no fog. AS OF 2017: I slid in a curve due to snow, and ran up on a short rock wall, and dented in a chain link fence. The body is TOUGH! Only scratches, a busted fog light, a dented plate holder, and I knocked the long plastic piece off that runs under my doors. (I just popped it the rest of the way off since it was dragging.) Underneath: I was told I broke the stabilizer/sway bar, and that the car needs to be aligned. (My brakes had also started to grab before the accident, so I'm having those looked at too.) I'm having it fully looked over to estimate the damage, but I honestly think (after research) that it will only amount to no more than $400, without any cosmetic stuff done. (I don't care, as long as I can drive it.) Insurance estimated WAY up there, actually more than the car is worth, mainly because of the scratches. Overall, she's a tough car. I hope to keep her, but I always am hoping to get a newer one, that's not so low to the ground.
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Great car
Raden, 08/20/2008
1998 Pontiac Grand Am GT 2dr Coupe
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
I bought the car a little over a year now and owning a 93 Grand-Am before this I knew what I was getting my self in to. This car has the 3100 V6 auto. Great pick up. Fuel econ was better then expected. Again and problems were expected including Power windows (GM cant seem to build power windows) and front brakes suck. Better to upgrade with slotted/drilled rotors or face premature rotor ware and constant garage time.
Overall its a good buy and a fun drive!
snoopkus, 04/22/2002
1998 Pontiac Grand Am SE 2dr Coupe
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
my grand am is smoke blue with black tinted window on the outside, i have a new cd player on the inside... and that all i had to do to feel satisfied with the vehicle. It looks good, it drives good, and if you make some engine mods that are under $300 total, it can be fast enough to suit your racing urges.
Fun car to drive expensive to keep
carlover, 01/25/2005
1998 Pontiac Grand Am GT 4dr Sedan
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Had this car for about a year when problems slowly started appearing. First was the notorious Coolant leak that GrandAMs commonly have.Next the igngition coils blew on 2 cylinders, all this needing about 1200$ to fix.As a poor student, this ate most of my savings. Car is extremely powerful.Just step on the gas pedal and all it asks you is what speed you want to run to. Interior is not well designed..esp the cup holders are awkward.The front cup holder cant be used when gear is in Park.Fuel economy is 15-16 mpg once you reach about 60k miles.ALl I can say is that dont buy the HorsePower you dont need.Go for a Toyota/Honda and keep maintenance minimum and get a good resale value.
Sensors
KJG517, 05/29/2003
1998 Pontiac Grand Am SE 4dr Sedan
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
ABS sensor is always going and having problems. Brakes wore down very quickly. Still going strong however because I keep it up and dont let my cars die