Signs of trouble, and should I buy GrandAM?

Hi everyone
I just sold my car and I need to buy a new one asap. The problem is that I only have $4000 no more than that so I cannot buy anything extra amazing and judging by the prices it has to be an American car that is not newer than 2001 as well.

My first question is would anyone recommend to buy a GrandAM or a Sunfire in terms of realibilty?
How is the fuel consumption of a 1999 3.4 6cyl GrandAm? I just had a 4cyl 2.0 VW Jetta would the gas be way more?
Also I am not sure if ill get a chance to take the car Im interested in to a mechanic to have him look it over, so if anyone could advice me how to check for warning signs, trouble spots and meanings i would apprecaite that very very much! For example i was interested in a GrandAM where the fuel gauge was going back and forth while i was driving. The dealer said its normal with GM cars (might be) but this practicular problem had to do with the fuel pump. SO if anyone has ideas like this then pleaseeee share because if my investment won't be too succesfull then im in serious trouble....cannot afford anything!

Thank you very much in advance

On a '99 3.4 you should get about 25-28 on the highway and 20-22 in the city, depending on the condition of the car, how you drive it, whether you're running A/C, etc. Mine averages about 23 to 24 in mixed driving conditions. Definitely check to see if the lower intake manifold gasket is leaking. That's a common problem on those GM V6 engines and is not cheap to fix if you have to pay for labor. I've also found that alternators seem to last about 65,000 or so miles and I've had more brake problems on my GA than on other cars. Nothing major, just wear and tear seems to get to them sooner. If you don't know the maintenance history of the car and it's getting up over 50,000 miles, you would probably want to replace coolant, transmission fluid, inspect the serpentine belt, inspect the hoses, and all of the other stuff that's recommended in the maintenance intervals laid out in the manual. The pink Dexcool claims to go for over 100,000 miles, but I find that it darkens and even starts to gum up much sooner. I think the rule of thumb should be that if you don't know what maintenance has been performed, assume that it has not been performed.

Hi everyone
I just sold my car and I need to buy a new one asap. The problem is that I only have $4000 no more than that so I cannot buy anything extra amazing and judging by the prices it has to be an American car that is not newer than 2001 as well.

My first question is would anyone recommend to buy a GrandAM or a Sunfire in terms of realibilty?
How is the fuel consumption of a 1999 3.4 6cyl GrandAm? I just had a 4cyl 2.0 VW Jetta would the gas be way more?
Also I am not sure if ill get a chance to take the car Im interested in to a mechanic to have him look it over, so if anyone could advice me how to check for warning signs, trouble spots and meanings i would apprecaite that very very much! For example i was interested in a GrandAM where the fuel gauge was going back and forth while i was driving. The dealer said its normal with GM cars (might be) but this practicular problem had to do with the fuel pump. SO if anyone has ideas like this then pleaseeee share because if my investment won't be too succesfull then im in serious trouble....cannot afford anything!

Thank you very much in advance


trust me...buy a honda, toyota or a nissan. if you want a headache go for a grand am :smooch:

^ they are reliable, and usually wont give you problems.

if they are taken care of they are great fun cars.

But when maintenance has not been done regularly and its had the crap ran out of it, probly wouldnt be a wise investment.

Back in April I picked up a 99 GT 3.4 w/94k near perfect body/interior(lady owned/nonsmoker) for $4k.

It did hav several gremlins, leaking sunroof drains=toasted BCM. Just fixed the intake/head gaskets, and the wheel speed sensors are close to failure.
ALl I spent was for the gasket kit so far, done all the labor(thats what kills your wallet) myself. Saved 100$$$ !

Oil leaks on the heads/intake/oil pan and vavle covers is common after 60k miles.

As with all autos, you'll hav good ones, and you'll hav some bad ones.
Just dont let one bad apples spoil the whole bunch :nono:

Good Luck with your purchase :thumbsup:

Thank you all for the reply i feel so much better going there not being that ignorant lol!
Im definitely going to watch out for all that you said.
However, Im kind of thinking that I will chose a different GrandAm because the lady said i can bring a mechanic to take a look at the car but i can't take it to the mechanic since her husband works 7days a week....makes you wonder whats the problem when she is home.....:uhoh:

What?

^x2

sorry i guess i was :screwy: and didnt explain it well
so what happened is that the lady i want to buy the grand am from doesn't let me take the car to a mechanic's garage because her husband works every day and she would want him to come with us. BUT she has no problem if we get a mechanic to come with us to her house to get the car checked there. But realisticly which mechanic will take time away from work to come with us to a private home?? Also why couldn't SHE come with us?
Hope i explained it a little bit better lol:banghead:

...people are strange when your a stranger :lol2:

I would go with my someone/friends anytime to look at something.
Any reason to get the hell outta the shop :) I'm gone !

Ask the lady If she could drive it to where ever you would like to get it looked over :thumbsup:

You would probly want to set up an appointment first though,
Good Hunting VeeMon !

Thank you again for all these VERY useful replies! Also thank you for the good wishes!
I went to look for cars today and just disappointment after disappointment... they tried to tell me the cars were not leaking engine oil while I'm stepping in oil puddles...hmmm... and I looked at a nice Chrysler Cirrus, fully loaded for $3750..guess what my final price would have been after "administration" fees(meaning signing 4 papers:disappoin )and taxes? $5186! HHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMM most expensive 14%tax and administration i ever saw

Sooo now i'm panicking because I have to buy a car by Wednesday and it is almost Sunday now, or my insurance policy will be canceled and restarted. Talking about pressure!! But thank you all again very much! I even printed your replies and took it with me, people just look at me with a whole new perspective

Hope you find something nice and on time VeeMon .

Good Luck !