I might getting my first car soon (20, soon to be 21) for about

>>16558450
Resident GM fag here.
He mentioned a leak. It's most likely the intake manifold gaskets. Common problem assuming it's the V6. You can fix it yourself with basic hand tools in an hour or so. They're decent reliable first cars.

They do have an aftermarket, but it's not exactly large. And the aftermarket pretty much caters to the V6 models.
known aftermarket sites:
http://www.pfyc.com/GA.html
http://milzymotorsports.com/
https://wot-tech.com/

if you're looking for suspension mods, they'll generally have to be special orders for anything beyond lowering springs. KYB used to offer a fantastic set of AGX struts but they've been discontinued since.

Also read up on the forums for the car. Lots of useful info with people WELL versed in GM N-body cars.
http://www.grandamgt.com/forum/

>>16558450
If you are in a rust belt area

check the edges of all that plastic cladding

compared to say an alero or malibu, they tend to rust faster since the plastic tends to let rust and dirt sit under them next to the body metal

Trans tend to be kinda weak but as long as you aren't dumping the fucking gas pedal everywhere it can last.

Check trans lines, if they rust out and piss tranny fluid you are going to be looking at a new 4t45e sooner rather than later

Interiors are cheapish so don't expect it to not get kinda ragged looking without a bit of care, some armorall every 6 months can stretch the cheap plastic a long way

I remember that the LCD bits in the dash and radio tend to shit themselves too since GM went for a "futuristic" look on a hella budget

As far as a beater with a heater goes, not bad

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>>16558475
>>16558450

Grand am gt daily driver, been my first and only car since 2011.

I wouldn't straight up assume its the manifold gasket but I'd definitely ask for clarification on where the leak is coming from before purchasing. ~1 grand to replace the gasket at a shop if you don't want to attempt it - but then again, the fair market price is <2 grand for this car.

since owning, I've had to replace the fuel pump, rack & pinion, and a few oil/coolant hoses.

grandamgt.com is great.

Most aftermarket exists on customgrandam.com
modding this car. . . Well I want to as well, but it's a straight up waste of money.

The car is old.. but it's been reliable

i did put in new headlights recently tho. had to cut a lot of plastic for it to fit, and its not exactly perfect.

>>16558475
>>16558506
>>16558562
Goddamn wasn't expecting all that. Thank you guys a lot. Will do more research later when I'm not busy.

I hate n bodies and GM's v 6s but if you do the manifold gasket and let it warm up until it stops piston slapping it will last 400k

>>16558475
Not OP, but i have a newer model grand prix with the series 3 V6 and its also got a coolant leak, what are the common leak areas that i should check?

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Here's my GA. Not a bad car, not great.

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A buddy's GA.

>>16561709
The 3800 series 3 is a completely unrelated engine to the 3400 used in the Grand Am and no they're not the same car.
The Grand Prix uses the larger W-body platform
The Grand Am uses the N-body platform.
The 3800 V6 is a 90* V6 designed by Buick in the early 1960's.
The 3400 is an evolution of the 2.8L 60* V6 GM introduced in 1979.
The 2 engines share no parts whatsoever. The 3400, despite making less power, is far more advanced than the 3800.

Sorry. it just sets off my OCD when people confuse the two because they look similar. Similar looks don't mean it's the same car. They're designed to look similar so you can tell at a glance that it's a Pontiac. It's called brand name recognition.

Anyways. The 3800 is also known for intake manifold gaskets. Do a compression test. if any one of the cylinders fails, you'll likely have to replace the headgaskets.

another thing, junkyards are full of grand ams for you to salvage from