Potential overheating?

My mom bought a 94 Grand Am SE with the Quad OHC today, and it appears to have a cooling system issue. The seller didn't tell either me or my dad this until after my mom had handed over the money already! Basically he says it runs hot. The gauge shows the car will run at over 105 Celsius (220 Fahrenheit) just while driving, despite the outside temperature being around 29 Fahrenheit. The cooling fan does work, and it comes on at around this temperature:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/moms%2094%20grand%20am/th_CIMG2370.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/moms%2094%20grand%20am/?action=view&current=CIMG2370.jpg)

That was just idling in park. I sat and watched the gauge, and it went up a bit higher. I got a little nervous at this point:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/moms%2094%20grand%20am/th_CIMG2371.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/moms%2094%20grand%20am/?action=view&current=CIMG2371.jpg)

so I revved the engine a bit and cranked up the heat. It came down pretty quickly to around this point:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/moms%2094%20grand%20am/th_CIMG2372.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/moms%2094%20grand%20am/?action=view&current=CIMG2372.jpg)

after which I just shut the car off and went inside. The engine seems to run quite nicely and doesn't make any unusual noise. Could the dash gauge be inaccurate?

What does the condition and the level of the coolant look like ?
Has the thermostat ever been changed ?
What does the oil on the dipstick look like, color and consistency wise ?
Are there any coolant leaks in evidence ?
What size engine ?
Any noise from the water pump pulley area ?

Also check around the top of the engine for any antifreeze that may be pooling. And do what was suggested above.

My mom bought a 94 Grand Am SE with the Quad OHC today, and it appears to have a cooling system issue. The seller didn't tell either me or my dad this until after my mom had handed over the money already! Basically he says it runs hot. The gauge shows the car will run at over 105 Celsius (220 Fahrenheit) just while driving, despite the outside temperature being around 29 Fahrenheit. The cooling fan does work, and it comes on at around this temperature:

If the gauge is dropping realy fast after you rev the engine its possible thier is a blockage or the water pump is failing.

You can test the temp sensor to see if it is working correctly.

And since the fan kicks on at 220 deg I would say that is working fine.
I'll PM you a link with the test procedures. :thumbsup:

What does the condition and the level of the coolant look like ?
Has the thermostat ever been changed ?
What does the oil on the dipstick look like, color and consistency wise ?
Are there any coolant leaks in evidence ?
What size engine ?
Any noise from the water pump pulley area ?

Don't know about the thermostat, have only had the car 2 days
Oil on the dipstick looks like it needs a change, but its not sludged up
Don't think there's any coolant leaks under the hood, heater core could be leaking though
Engine is the 2.3 Quad4 SOHC oddball
Water pump noise? I'm not sure what to listen for, but I did make a video of the engine idling:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/moms%2094%20grand%20am/th_CIMG2367.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/moms%2094%20grand%20am/?action=view&current=CIMG2367.flv)

Hard to tell by the video, nice job by the way, there sounded like a high whirrr in there but without putting ears, stethiscope, on it hard to say if it is comming from the water pump.

I would take the serpentine belt off, and take a look at the water pump, you could check the other pulleys while you are at it.