Looking to buy a Grand Am; advise appreciated

ken0042 · 02-12-2004, 09:10 AM

Hey everybody. I'm new to this forum but looks like there's a good bunch of people in here from what I've read so far.

I'm currently looking at buying a Grand Am; probably a 2003 SE with a V6. I've always been a GM fan, and it's time for a newer car. I do have a few questions for those of you who own GA's.

- I own a tent trailer and noticed the Grand Am is rated for towing only 1000 pounds. Does anybody have any experience with towing? I would have thought a V6 could pull more weight than that.

- I've been hearing a lot about GA's having a poor crash rating. But I've only heard that from people/sites that favor import cars. Does anybody have any stats or personal experiences to share?

Once again, any advise would be appreciated!

Kdawg207 · 02-12-2004, 09:13 AM

well i dunno about towing...but i crashed the crap outta mine...was nice and sturdy...not even a sore muscle after

ken0042 · 02-12-2004, 09:41 AM

How fast was the person going who hit you?

Kdawg207 · 02-12-2004, 09:48 AM

well...i was already goin about 60 and got hit from behind...so i would guess 75-80

the best part is the auto body did such good work...it rides perfect and you can't tell visually...and got rid of some stupid howling noise i was gettin from the trunk vent

ken0042 · 02-12-2004, 10:00 AM

Wow. Gotta love those high speed collisions. Good thing you were OK.

Well, if that is typical of how these cars hold up it probably gets rid of my fears of getting into an accident. It's just that when I was 18 I got into a head on collision with a truck; I was driving my Trans Am. Combined speed was about 100 MPH. The Trans Am saved my life, and only suffered $3000 damage.

One friend of mine is a Mazda freak. He owns 3 RX-7's and has a Protege as a "Winter beater." He hates American cars. And he's trying to convince me I should get a Mazda 6 instead of a GA.

Kdawg207 · 02-12-2004, 10:04 AM

well dude Mazda's r great cars...I had a cutom twin turbo mx-6...that thing was awesome.

The 6 is nice...got some balls too
If i were you...i'd go test drive both and make your decision from that

AznGA · 02-12-2004, 11:21 AM

Towing...I wouldn't tow anything with any FWD car.

02-12-2004, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AznGA
Towing...I wouldn't tow anything with any FWD car.

why,

Our grand prix tows our boat all the time and theres no problems. Its a 16' with a 40 horse, not sure on the weight. I will prob be putting a hitch on in spring so that I can take the boat around and I'm not worried.

acdc1a · 02-13-2004, 01:42 PM

I crashed into a gaurdrail at 50MPH in my GA. Car didn't hold up very well but I sure did. As a result I bought another. I also own a Mazda 6...another great car!!

02-13-2004, 02:18 PM

It's not the engine you should worry about, it's the transmission that will go in no time.

coupe · 02-13-2004, 02:25 PM

If i was you and you want the 3.4L then this is my advice. Ask to look under the hood and look under the throttle body. If its wet close the hood and walk away.

ken0042 · 02-13-2004, 05:05 PM

superfula- do you mean the tranny will go if I try to tow with it? Or just on GA's in general?

Coupe- is that the issue that was under the January recall? A friend just emailed it to me.

02-13-2004, 05:13 PM

If the transmission isn't built to tow something, it will ruin it a lot quicker. As far as I know, the tranny in the GA is fine otherwise.

My pastor bought a conversion van that wasn't meant to two that much. Everyone told him that, but he towed his boat behind it anyway. Loe and behold, the tranny was shot after a few months.

ken0042 · 02-13-2004, 05:18 PM

You're probably right. Last night I started looking at vehicles that had towing capacity, like an Aztec or something similar. I was looking at about $4000 more for a 2 year older vehicle with 3 times the milage. For that kind of money I can get a beater truck to tow the trailer the 3 or 4 times I go camping.

I put an offer on a 2003 GA SE this afternoon. Has a lot of options the GT has (Good stereo, ABS, aluminum wheels, cuise, etc.) I'll take a better look at it tomorrow when I have more time; plus take it for a spin on the freeway. Hopefully it should be a good vehicle for me.

coupe · 02-13-2004, 05:51 PM

There is not a recall that i know of.

ken0042 · 02-13-2004, 09:04 PM

This is the text of the email. It looks like he copied and pasted from somewhere. I still didn't get a chance to ask where he heard it.

(edited; looks like somebody was playing a joke on me.)

XMBlackGT1 · 02-14-2004, 11:09 AM

I was rear-ended in my 2003 GT coupe. Hit pretty hard, and all that happened was a cracked bumper. I thought for sure that when I got out of the car that the whole back end would be smashed in, but nope! I am very happy how it has held up.

ArcticWhiteSE · 02-17-2004, 08:14 PM

I smashed the heII out of the back of an astro van with the front of my car at 15mph. All I got was a spider crack on the bumper...Yaaay!

AznGA · 02-17-2004, 11:32 PM

Our tranny sucks!!!!

acdc1a · 02-18-2004, 09:56 AM

Our Tranny works fine! What problems have you had?

02-12-2004, 09:10 AM	#1
ken0042 New GA Owner Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Calgary, Alberta Age: 50 Posts: 29 Vehicle: 2003 Grand Am SE	Looking to buy a Grand Am; advise appreciated Hey everybody. I'm new to this forum but looks like there's a good bunch of people in here from what I've read so far. I'm currently looking at buying a Grand Am; probably a 2003 SE with a V6. I've always been a GM fan, and it's time for a newer car. I do have a few questions for those of you who own GA's. - I own a tent trailer and noticed the Grand Am is rated for towing only 1000 pounds. Does anybody have any experience with towing? I would have thought a V6 could pull more weight than that. - I've been hearing a lot about GA's having a poor crash rating. But I've only heard that from people/sites that favor import cars. Does anybody have any stats or personal experiences to share? Once again, any advise would be appreciated!

02-13-2004, 02:25 PM	#11
coupe lick it AKA: Rand Join Date: May 2003 Location: Grand Rapids, Mi Age: 40 Posts: 7,347 Vehicle: 99 GAGT/96 Z71/05 R6	If i was you and you want the 3.4L then this is my advice. Ask to look under the hood and look under the throttle body. If its wet close the hood and walk away. __________________ CarDomain.com http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endID=31690558 he has asserted his dominance over competing males with the loud masculine sound form his exaust system, Females searching for a potential mate will be driven away by weaker exaust systems and attracted to his SLP.

02-13-2004, 05:51 PM	#15
coupe lick it AKA: Rand Join Date: May 2003 Location: Grand Rapids, Mi Age: 40 Posts: 7,347 Vehicle: 99 GAGT/96 Z71/05 R6	There is not a recall that i know of. __________________ CarDomain.com http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endID=31690558 he has asserted his dominance over competing males with the loud masculine sound form his exaust system, Females searching for a potential mate will be driven away by weaker exaust systems and attracted to his SLP.

02-13-2004, 09:04 PM	#16
ken0042 New GA Owner Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Calgary, Alberta Age: 50 Posts: 29 Vehicle: 2003 Grand Am SE	This is the text of the email. It looks like he copied and pasted from somewhere. I still didn't get a chance to ask where he heard it. (edited; looks like somebody was playing a joke on me.) Last edited by ken0042; 02-17-2004 at 01:10 PM.

02-14-2004, 11:09 AM	#17
XMBlackGT1 UAW FTMFL AKA: Shawn Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Madison Wisconsin Age: 41 Posts: 879 Vehicle: 2012 Infininiti G37xS	I was rear-ended in my 2003 GT coupe. Hit pretty hard, and all that happened was a cracked bumper. I thought for sure that when I got out of the car that the whole back end would be smashed in, but nope! I am very happy how it has held up. __________________ Kids in the back seat cause accidents........... accidents in the back seat cause kids.

02-12-2004, 09:41 AM	#3
ken0042 New GA Owner Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Calgary, Alberta Age: 50 Posts: 29 Vehicle: 2003 Grand Am SE	How fast was the person going who hit you?

02-12-2004, 10:00 AM	#5
ken0042 New GA Owner Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Calgary, Alberta Age: 50 Posts: 29 Vehicle: 2003 Grand Am SE	Wow. Gotta love those high speed collisions. Good thing you were OK. Well, if that is typical of how these cars hold up it probably gets rid of my fears of getting into an accident. It's just that when I was 18 I got into a head on collision with a truck; I was driving my Trans Am. Combined speed was about 100 MPH. The Trans Am saved my life, and only suffered $3000 damage. One friend of mine is a Mazda freak. He owns 3 RX-7's and has a Protege as a "Winter beater." He hates American cars. And he's trying to convince me I should get a Mazda 6 instead of a GA.

02-12-2004, 11:21 AM	#7
AznGA GAGT - Junkie AKA: YJ Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Midwest Posts: 4,440 Vehicle: GAGT	Towing...I wouldn't tow anything with any FWD car.

02-13-2004, 01:42 PM	#9
acdc1a GAGT - Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: West Palm Beach, FL Posts: 108 Vehicle: 2004 Grand Am SE1 3.4	I crashed into a gaurdrail at 50MPH in my GA. Car didn't hold up very well but I sure did. As a result I bought another. I also own a Mazda 6...another great car!!

02-13-2004, 02:18 PM	#10
superfula Guest Posts: n/a	It's not the engine you should worry about, it's the transmission that will go in no time.

02-13-2004, 05:05 PM	#12
ken0042 New GA Owner Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Calgary, Alberta Age: 50 Posts: 29 Vehicle: 2003 Grand Am SE	superfula- do you mean the tranny will go if I try to tow with it? Or just on GA's in general? Coupe- is that the issue that was under the January recall? A friend just emailed it to me.

02-13-2004, 05:13 PM	#13
superfula Guest Posts: n/a	If the transmission isn't built to tow something, it will ruin it a lot quicker. As far as I know, the tranny in the GA is fine otherwise. My pastor bought a conversion van that wasn't meant to two that much. Everyone told him that, but he towed his boat behind it anyway. Loe and behold, the tranny was shot after a few months.

02-13-2004, 05:18 PM	#14
ken0042 New GA Owner Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Calgary, Alberta Age: 50 Posts: 29 Vehicle: 2003 Grand Am SE	You're probably right. Last night I started looking at vehicles that had towing capacity, like an Aztec or something similar. I was looking at about $4000 more for a 2 year older vehicle with 3 times the milage. For that kind of money I can get a beater truck to tow the trailer the 3 or 4 times I go camping. I put an offer on a 2003 GA SE this afternoon. Has a lot of options the GT has (Good stereo, ABS, aluminum wheels, cuise, etc.) I'll take a better look at it tomorrow when I have more time; plus take it for a spin on the freeway. Hopefully it should be a good vehicle for me.

02-17-2004, 11:32 PM	#19
AznGA GAGT - Junkie AKA: YJ Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Midwest Posts: 4,440 Vehicle: GAGT	Our tranny sucks!!!!

02-18-2004, 09:56 AM	#20
acdc1a GAGT - Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: West Palm Beach, FL Posts: 108 Vehicle: 2004 Grand Am SE1 3.4	Our Tranny works fine! What problems have you had?

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