I bought my 98 GTP in December of 1997. When I picked it up, I was very impressed with the looks and performance of the car. This car has more acceleration than most new cars I've been in, and the handling is great. The array of features that come with the car are impressive - the heads up display (HUD) is a great feature. I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but now I hardly ever look at the gauges or stereo!
The stereo system is very good for a factory system. I went with the indash CD player and premium sound system. It sounds great with just about every genre of music, and I have never had any problems with the sound system. The only complaint I have is that the low frequencies are boosted too much. With many CDs, I have to move the lowest band of the EQ almost all the way to the minimum position just to keep the speakers from popping or clipping.
The tires are another great feature of this car. I now have 46,000 miles on my car, and the tires still have some tread on them. I think I'll probably have to replace them around 50K miles. That won't be fun, as these tires aren't cheap - probably around $200/tire!
Now on to the reliability issues. I have had my GTP in the shop many times for things that shouldn't be happening with a car in this price range. First, I noticed the transmission slipping and some odd "sucking" and "squeaking" noises coming from the engine compartment, so I took it to a dealer in Chicago (Grossinger) to have them take a look. They told me the noises were normal and the transmission had no problem.
Then I moved to Phoenix, Arizona and took the car to Tempe Pontiac (great dealer, BTW!). They found the problem with the transmission right off and fixed it under warranty. Unfortunately, every 3-4 months I have to take it back in for more transmission work because it starts to act up again. At one point, they said that one of my gears was pretty much shot, so they did a complete rebuild. I've also had a leaky oilpan, leaky transmission, and leaky valve cover (all fixed under warranty as well). It seems to me that Pontiac didn't take the high power and torque of the GTP into account when they designed the transmission. Another problem is that three out of the four power window motors have gone out in the last 8 months. They've all been fixed under warranty as well. Now the outside temperature gauge works only intermittently, and the transmission is starting to feel different again.
Overall, I would say this is a fun, nice-looking car with plenty of power to keep you entertained. However, the transmission and window motor problems have been irritating to say the least. I am now thinking of selling the car, as I'm afraid of what might happen to it as it gets older.
I would recommend this car to anyone who wants a fast, responsive, good-looking car with a plush interior and lots of options. But I wouldn't suggest keeping it past the warranty period because of all the problems I've had.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 22000
Condition: New Model Year: 1998 Model and Options: GTP loaded
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