1997 Pontiac Grand Am User Reviews

Bullet Proof Piece Of Sh*t — Pretty good car for what i paid for ($2000). Takes a lot of abuse (trust me). Takes a corner well, acceptable amounts of bodyroll for car, tires slip like none other, but that can be fixed. It has significant amounts of oversteer, and some torque steering. Decent performance with the 3100 V6, 155 HP/150 ft-lbs. 0-60 in my own test averaged about 9-9.25 sec, slightly slow then new, but what do you expect with over 100,000 miles on it. Fastest I've gotten it is 115mph, dont know the top speed. Gas mileage is about 21 in mixed driving with lead foot. I've never replaced any part on this car with the exception of the stereo (aftermarket) and bulbs. Body is decent, it looks ok from a design stand piont, but it has tons of hail dents. If you ruin any part of the car you can easily find parts to fix it due to the extreme amount of them built.(i.e. mirrors, altenator, panels, interior parts, motor) The dual exhaust is neat, along with the 16" low-pro wheels and tires. Interior is good with ample space for tall people (i'm 6'4), back seat sucks for anyone. Plastic everywhere on the interior. At night the gauges and panels have red glow, pretty sporty. The stock stereo is good. It has two 4x6 speakers in the front doors, two 6x9 speakers in the rear deck. The head unit is a AM/FM/Casette/CD that has equalizer switches. The volume knob has a mind of its own though. Over all this car is a pretty good car, decent performance, still modern and sporty exterior, and ok interior. I would recomend this car for anyone looking to get a first car or something you would want to build into a sport compact racer, it works well for both.

Bottom Line- Great Car — I love the interior and the exterior of the car. Its performance was very good, as well. Cost to own this vehicle was very affordable. I also love to drive this car because it was a good looking car with a pretty good engine under the hood.

Primary Use: Commuting to work

Red Rita — After my Neon experience, I began looking to a manual transmission. My red Grand Am GT was perfect (except for the 2DR style). It handled great and lasted forever. Upon my return from Iraq, the A/C shot craps and I had to decide if I wanted to fix it or trade it in. It was low maintenance and fun to drive

Cheap Work Car — This is a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am, cheap work car, has new AC compressor however, still does not work, someone said something about an expansion valve? Have issues with the windows getting off track, however if you need an inexpensive vehicle to drive back and forth to work, it will get you there.

It's Good For The Time Being... Great First Car... Can't Wait For A New One Though! — Braking needs a lot of work done to it yet. I've been having problems with the rear drum brakes locking up when I barely press on the brakes. The front rotors must be warped because there is definite shake-age. I have had more repairs into this car than you can imagine. It now has a new fuel filter, fuel pump, starter relay, I believe the 3rd relay is now replaced, new battery, ground wires had to be re-done and there is a shortage somewhere that I'm about to get looked at, It is now burning oil. I have had issues with the RPMs spiking and then the car shutting down. The car looks fairly good. No vanity rust but the clear coat is peeling off at the edges especially. Gas mileage is about 20 MPG. Typical maintenance. The car is fun to drive on back roads. Things get really interesting when ya pull the e-brake at night... headlights turn off... found that by accident. Good times!

Primary Use: Commuting to work