Large Amount of Negative Grand Am Reviews

[Subtle_Cynicism]

I was browsing Car Report a few nights ago, where I usually go to see user opinions on cars, and I've come to realize something. A good majority of the review for Grand Am's on that site are negative.

They list so many problems, mainly minor ones, that happen to Grand Am's, and they make it seem like it's not worth it.

What's everyone take on this? Is this just a small representative of negative consumers, or do Grand Am's sometimes have more problems then they should?

I've never seen a Grand Am have too many major problems, aside from various electrical and burnout bulb issues.

[scotiez]

I believe that if someone writes a review they are upset over something and that is why you see more negative reviews then positive ones. This is just my belief and you could think differantly, but over all the reviews i have looked at, the negatives always seem to be more.
I love my GA. This is my 3rd one. My 1st one was a 96 SE, my 2nd one was a 2000 SE, and My currant and 3rd GA is a 04 GT. I have never written a review but maybe i should ... A positive one though :-)
Personally i think there great cars. I have never had a major problem, and non that every other car hasn't had. You will find good cars and bad cars in every make and model.
Anyway this is just my .02cents.

[TheNewLMHDesign]

Personally,
Every car has problems. Every line of cars. I have noticed in Saturns that after about 120k miles or less they start to have problems. The current problem I have with a 97 LS is the fact that it eats through oil because something is leaking, and cuasing it to burn through the oil. It's ridiculous.
And the latest problem with an Oldsmobile Silhouette is that the engine is starting to die, and its only reached 75k miles. All cars have there problems. Just look around. You'll even see negative reviews on the honda 4 bangers.......but we already knew they were chalked full of problems ;)

[RocketFast321]

the does have a lot of problems, i'm not ashame to say it. If i did tell sombody to get a grand am it would be a I4 one.

[Scias]

I took a course on statistics once, and we discussed the problem with a 'voluntary response' survey like the ones you speak of, the problem is that most of the people who express their opinion feel strongly one way or the other, mainly, going on web site data would produce highly skewed and poor statistical data. However I do believe that JD Power does some real statistical analysis of cars.

[Subtle_Cynicism]

Good points. I took Psychology and we briefly covered statistics in the course, so I'm aware of that.

I'm also aware of consumer bias and other issues that affect proper reviewing, but I'm surprised I forgot to take that into account.

I think when I go to the library tomorrow (I work there) I'll take a look at what Consumer Reports had to say about it.

[Gimli]

I've also studied statistics enough to know that you can make any statistical result say pretty much whatever you want it to say.

I have no faith whatsoever in any car magazine/show to fairly review any car. That market is so plagued by company "marketing" events (like a free ski trip to Europe, etc.) that the actual reviews are worthless IMO. It's just like how pharmaceutical companies treat doctors, it's sickening...

[akeller]

But I think it all boils down to if you like your car and are happy. I bought my 04 grand am cuz I wanted it and liked it. Not because some magazine told me to go buy it. I hate reading car reviews. The people that review are used to driving cars like a BMW. Of course a Grand Am won't handle like a BMW. Review the car yourself and see what kind of score you come out with.

[JoeyK]

Well, I gotta tell ya. My '01 Grand Am Gt is the most dependable worry free car I've ever owned & I have owned alot of cars, I lost track @ 20 I'm sure if I sat back & really thought hard I could come up w/ an accurate#, but oh well, no sense in that. Anyways... I've heard some people wine about thier GA's I my response is, nothings' perfect, every car manufacturer has it's problems & make a few bad apples on every model they make. I'm talking accross the board, from cheap to insanely expensive. Whether you get a good or bad apple is just a roll of the dice. I can tell you one accurate thing about the 99+ GA. It is designed & engineered well for it's class. Way above average. You would shriek in horror to see how some cars are designed & put together. So it has that going for it. Now If I were looking @ a used GA I'd try & find out who owned it previously & how they took care of it. I'd also look for signs of wear n' tear. If it has been well cared for & hasn't had a history of major mechanical issues I'd say it's a winner as long as the price is right.:)