If there’s one thing I can say for certain when it comes to the wonderful world of vehicles, it’s that you really just never know what kind of opportunity will fall in your lap one day, and this 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix is no exception.
For this story, we need to rewind the tapes back to the spring of 2007… actually, no. We need to go even further back, to the early, cold, snow-filled months of 2004.
Back then, I was an energetic go-getter, working away at a company that I had been dedicating most of time to for a couple of years and was responsible for setting the path for my future. I was working hard, feeling fulfilled and successful, making good money and enjoying all the great things that the bustling city of Calgary had to offer me in my young life, which included an opportunity to get myself into a decent vehicle for the first time in years.
I found myself on the lot of CMP Classic GM in Northeast Calgary, lured in by the offer of a one year old 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix SE in bright white for the paltry sum $15,995. While it did already have 30,000 km on the clock after one year of service, it was an immaculate car all around and the basket of goodies that came with it were plenty enough to satisfy my 24 year old needs. A quick tour on the roads, a round of paperwork in the business office and a handover of keys from my basic ’99 Cavalier and I was on the way. I felt proud driving off the lot in a near new car, and interestingly enough, at just one year old, it’s the ‘newest’ vehicle I have ever owned and still holds that title today.
That Grand Prix was such a suitable fit. A decent amount of power from the entry level 3.1L V6 under the hood, great fuel economy for what, to me, was a much larger car than I was used to driving, a very smooth ride and all of the creature comforts that I needed to keep me happy. I enjoyed a couple of years of perfect service from that car, opting to trade it in for an even more substantial vehicle in the GMC Yukon I later acquired, but that story is for another day.
For now, we’ll move along to the fore-mentioned spring of 2007, when I found myself once again on a dealership lot in search of vehicle, however, this time it was not for myself, but for my longtime best friend Matt, who was looking to get into a more well-appointed vehicle for himself, moving from a base model subcompact as well, only in the form of a Sunfire instead of a Cavalier.
His interest was in a 2004 Pontiac Vibe that was being offered at Stampede GM in downtown Calgary. While it was not an overly substantial move up in the vehicle world, it did offer the creature comforts he was looking for and lacking in the Sunfire, so we grabbed the keys and took the Vibe out for a spin. It ran great, drove well, had the options and obviously would return great fuel economy and reliability given its roots as a clone of the popular Toyota Matrix. He was sold.
That said, I wasn’t 100% sure. I mean, sure, the Vibe had the package of goodies, it was a good looking little hatchback and would serve well on the streets of Calgary, but it still *felt* like a subcompact and reminded me a lot of my Cavalier and his Sunfire that we both decided were too basic and plain for our likings.
When we returned back to dealership after the test drive, I noticed a trio of what would be the final generation (2004-2008) Grand Prix’s that were lined up against the back fence. I told Matt that we should explore them, given my experience with the 2003 model I have already covered, with my expectation that these units could be had for a great price, once again, just like I had experienced a few years prior. A quick inquiry with the salesperson churned out a familiar story: one year old Grand Prix’s being offered at $15,995.
Just as in the story with my 2003, these 2006 models all had around 30-35,000 km on the clock after one year of service and were being cleared out, cheap. We grabbed the keys to the lowest mileage unit in a sharp green-blue finish and took it for a spin. I was immediately taken by the sharp new interior of this new generation as it was quite a transition over the interior of my ’03. I don’t think we got even a block and Matt was sold, he liked it a lot more than the Vibe we had just driven, that throaty and capable 3.8L V6 delivering a lively demonstration, and in the same fashion as I laid out before, a bit of paperwork and the car was his.
From there, it went into active service as his daily driver and was an enjoyable car around town and on the long road trips from Calgary back to our hometown of Smithers in Northern British Columbia.
The summer of 2010 was one of change for both of us. I was busy with my young family as Jackie and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl two years prior and it was feeling like we needed to make a big change in life and get away from the hustle and bustle of city living. At the same time, Matt felt that it was time for a change, too, and he departed for Edmonton. We sold our house, packed up our stuff, and moved out to Vancouver Island to start a new life in a completely new place.
The Grand Prix carried on with Matt in the new city and benefitted from a ‘commute-less’ career where he was able to go to work quickly without the need to drive, so it had a lot of downtime in an underground parking garage where it was able to become and then remain a low mileage example. After a few years in Edmonton, another change saw a relocation out to Saskatchewan, with the Grand Prix continuing its duties as reliable transportation, even approaching 10 years of age. A couple years after that, it was a return back to Edmonton with the car coming along again to continue its duties back in a familiar place.
Matt has always been a very caring vehicle owner, keeping maintenance up to date, keeping the car clean and tidy and committing to long term vehicle ownership and outside of the routine maintenance and replacement of wear and tear items, the Grand Prix was always very reliable and durable. It was in the summer of 2019 that it needed its first major repair, replacement of the power steering rack that had gone faulty after 12 years of ownership and 13 years in service. He had the rack replaced at a local shop in Edmonton and carried on from there.
Unfortunately, that repair didn’t last 6 months as he discovered all of the power steering fluid leaked out during the cold days of December in Alberta. He decided at that time that he wasn’t going to proceed with further dealings and repairs and rightfully treated himself to a newer vehicle. That left the question of what would happen with the Grand Prix and obviously given its low mileage and pampered life I raised my hand in interest and picked up the car from him. I ended up towing it back to my home in Red Deer so that I could get my mechanic on top of the repairs it needed and it has entered into another portion of its life with me.
The steering rack was replaced again with another of the same and that unit, too, failed a couple months later, signaling an obvious quality problem with the aftermarket racks. I was fortunate to have the shop who did the original replacement source another brand and replace it again, so it now cruises around on its fourth rack in just over a year and my fingers are crossed that is the end of that matter. It is still very much an enjoyable ride, the 3.8L V6 is still just as lively as ever and with an upgrade to 18” wheels and tires, I do get compliments from others out there as well. It’s always been a very handsome car.
In the end, I am appreciative of the opportunity that I have had to take ownership of this car so many years after we first met. It’s almost unbelievable that it’s been 13 years since that day we stumbled upon it at Stampede Pontiac in Calgary, that dealership now just a memory. I give it the same care that Matt did for so many years, love telling the story and look forward to it being around for a while… and who knows what might fall into my lap next!
I too had a 99 GP, ordered new as a sales car to replace my 95 Lumina. Loved it! Leaps and bounds better than the Chevy. Left company after I put 30,000 miles on it. Fast forward to 2005 and I was happy to upgrade my personal Grand Am to a another company car at my new place with another GP, a GT in black. Great car. Just wish it was supercharged.
Thanks for this story, Carey. Western Canadians represent!
These are good cars for a great value.
I like these cars a lot. My wife and I rented an virtually identical Grand Prix (same color, even) during a 2006 vacation where we drove over 1,000 miles around North Dakota and Minnesota. It was one of the best rental cars we’ve ever had, and for a while afterward, we said that if we needed to buy a new car at that point, we’d definitely consider a Grand Prix. We took a picture of this rental GP, below.
Also, your story about helping your best friend buy a car reminds me of the fun I had, just a few years earlier, when I helped my best friend buy a new car. Car shopping is fun when you can simply be the impartial observer, helping your friend to make a good choice. It my case, my friend bought an Acura. But I could certainly see the appeal of buying such a car from your friend, knowing the car’s history so well.
Hoping you enjoy many more years in your GP.
I worked as a GM service advisor when these were new. The steering racks fail right after the warranty in every single one. It was the same part (and therefore the same problem) as the A Body cars.
We tried aftermarket racks, too, to no avail. The GM part was over $600 and the total bill was always over $1000. Needless to say, the customers were not amused. They were really not amused with the strut mount bearings, ABS sensors and hub bearings that also came right after warranty.
Congratulations on your move to Vancouver Island. It is what I consider my hometown.
I am hopeful this most recent rack replacement will last awhile, thankfully all of this stuff has been under warranty. I did end up having to replace the power steering pump as well earlier this year and that part is starting to whine, so I think it might need that replaced again, too, we’ll see.
The transmission will fail at about 130,000 km.
Had six of these in my fleet. Every sales person and branch manager wanted one after mine was delivered ( being the Fleet
Manager had it’s rewards!) never had a rack failure and only one bearing issue. That was on a secretary’s that she bought off a lot.
You are lucky. We did tons of racks in W body cars, usually at about 70,000 km.
I rented an early FWD Malibu (in Vancouver, as evidence of a bit of tie-in to this CC COAL) that had the steering rack fail just as I pulled into the hotel parking on our trip from the airport. Same part?
Yes.
My experience has been that piss-poor quality is very common in “remanufactured” parts of whatever description—alternators, brake boosters, carburetors, distributors, engines, fuel pumps, generators, whatever parts begin with “H” through “R” that don’t come to mind at the moment, steering racks, transmissions, and all the rest.
It’s also been my experience that the off-brand copycat parts from China, hyped as “100% NEW NEW NEW NEW!!!” as a supposed alternative to “remanufactured”, are at least as bad.
Yep it’s the Wild West out there on aftermarket parts. Even previously trusted brands (Moog, Gates) have been slipping badly recently. And with reboxing and parts sharing you never know what you’re gonna get from where. I lucked into a nice Japan-made Koyo bearing a few years back that came in a Timken box. OEM is really the only guarantee.
When I was 18 years old, I had a Datsun 1200. The starter went and I put a crappy rebuild in it. I replaced it three times until I got smart enough to go to the dealer and buy one.
I don’t quite agree that OE parts are the only guarantee. It is still possible to buy (some) good quality aftermarket parts, but I agree with you that it seems to have grown more difficult.
I had a front-row seat for what happened when a big-American-name corporate parent of many (once-) reputable auto part brands including a lighting line, basically fired all the engineers. Their MBA replacements considered it laughably beneath them to know anything technical; they’re carefully taught it’s all just “product”, whether it’s watermelons or internet service or light bulbs. For many years, a significant chunk of that light bulb line had been sourced via the long-established American agent for a longer-established European manufacturer, so there were three levels of knowledge and expertise in the pipeline: the manufacturer’s, the agent’s, and the American corporation’s own in-house divisional engineers. At a stroke of the MBA brigade’s pens that went to zero levels; in the manner of their ilk they sourced everything out of China on a low-bid basis, and pretended quality didn’t matter as long as there was quality-control documentation (which absolutely definitely surely certainly is never, ever faked! It can’t be! Why would you even ask that?! Geeze!!).
I worked for the American agent of the European maker at the time, and I quickly began fielding many phone calls and emails from many longtime high-volume buyers of that American brand of bulb. Suddenly the bulbs’ output was way too low, way too high, wildly inconsistent. Lifespan had plummeted while the dead-outta-the-box rate had jumped. Filament configurations were incorrect for the bulb type. There were physical fit problems (too big, too small, index pins incorrectly located). Glass was breaking with just light finger pressure. Two-filament bulbs were short-circuiting one filament to the other because of sloppy build. Every kind of problem automotive light bulbs could have or cause. The only answer we could give amounted to “We know. We’re not the source of supply for those any more; you’ll have to call [American corporation]”. When they did, the corporate answer amounted to “We buy from global factories with quality control certifications and we’re not seeing any significant quality-control issues; the problem must be on your end”.
And these monkeyshines aren’t just on the suppliers’ part. I had to give up on RockAuto some years back after a final-straw lousy experience: in buying a radiator for my car, I deliberately chose the OE Valeo part over a cheaper off-brand Chinese item, because I knew there was a large and significant difference. What arrived was a cheap off-brand Chinese item with the predictable and obvious lousy quality. I contacted RockAuto and they gave me a few loads of imaginative bulk wrap, starting with “All radiators are made by one company and there’s no difference in brands except for the label on the box” and ending with “Well, just because we offer a specific brand and you select that brand doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to send you that specific brand; the auto parts industry is global and there’s no difference between brands”. It took some fighting to get them to accept the return, and they insisted on categorising the return as “Customer changed mind”. I ordered the real (Valeo) radiator through another vendor and surprise, what arrived was…
…a Valeo radiator, in all its made-to-the-actual-spec glory.
Never buy a replacement turbocharger made in China. Period.
Carey, I am happy you like your 2006 GP. Personally, I find your 2003 GP to be infinitely better looking. The 2006 has numerous styling gaffes. 1. The bodyside protection molding has a non-functional flat surface and it runs excessively uphill front to rear. 2. The decklid spoiler looks like a pediatric tongue depressor (too narrow and hangs over the waterfall of the decklid like it’s sticking out it’s tongue). 3. The tight-fisted finance members of the GP development team must have decided the taillamps should not be too wide, but the designers kept the taillamps surface bulges on the decklid (it shouts “cheap”). 4. The headlamps have hard-edged outer and upper surfaces, yet the mating hood and front fenders have soft edges. 5. The base of the A-pillar does not flow naturally to the fender or hood…. this is an area of a car’s design that consistently signals good vs. bad design… bad in this example. 6. The belt line (side window sills) rises too sharply though the rear door and quarter panel, creating a quarter window that seems lost in the C-pillar and lacks spacial relativity to the rear window.
Bottom line, this GP and the Malibu/Malibu Max of similar vintage are design disasters.
Sorry Carey if I rained on your baby.
These are great cars, very durable. Mom has an ‘04 in Silver that I helped her buy new many years ago. It is now her ‘summer car’ and kept at her place in MI. I believe it has around 200k on it and has not had any major problems. It is a melancholy thought but I imagine in many more years I will take stewardship of it. She sends me a pic of it every summer and it’s still looking good.
My brother had a new ?1999? Grand prix two door. He insisted on the two door for some reason. It served well and held up beautifully for about 14 years but he never could get a decent replacement steering rack, even from the dealer. It’s unfortunate cos it was a beautiful car. Gm really got the grand prix to be the best looking and best quality of the second generation w bodies after missing with the first and phoning it in with the third. The grand prix of the 1997-2003 models was sexy, masculine, but not boy racerish but it didn’t feel like your driving a middle aged boring sedan. The interior was nicely laid out with high quality materials and it held together better than the intrigue or regal interiors. The 2003 restyle made it ugly and cheap for no discernible reasons, although I don’t mean to insult your particular car. I hope you continue to enjoy it much longer and that your steering rack is finally fixed!
It is a cool experience to get a car many years later when you knew it from the time it was new. I had that experience with a few cars, like the two Crown Vics I bought from my mother – an 85 at 8 years old and a 93 at 13 years old.
Come to think of it, my kids are still driving two of them – the last cars of two of their grandmas – 06 Buick Lacrosse and a 98 Civic.
Hey I have a 99 2 door Grand Prix and have had no problems with the steering nor transmission other than replacing the fluid once. I’ve had it since 2012. In 2016 I had the exhaust redone and after that it stopped running I replaced the fuel system and many sensors. But only after it sitting until 2020. I was homeless and laid off 2 times but towed that thing refused to let go. So happy today it runs great with over 200,000 miles on it and a mechanic word that no foreseen issues after checkup for it. I love it!!
I bought a 2005 Grand Prix in July of 2019 , 125000 MI first radiator leaked then the transmission went then both back window motors broke then it was the UBS failure replace the power steering pump and rack and pinion and lower control arms, I’m 70 years old this must be the worst car I’ve owned in my life
While I’m a bigger fan of the styling of the previous generation of FWD Grand Prix, this version has it’s charms. Living in Michigan, we still have a ton of these cars on the road, still hammering it out in traffic every day.
I have several friends and acquaintances who have or had these cars and gotten good service out of them. A few had either the GTP or GXP versions, which were good if not great performers considering the platform they used. I especially liked the the GXP with the 5.3L V8 and the rumbly exhaust. Those were fun…
Glad to see yours is still plying the roads, I hope you have many more years and adventures with it.