Hey guys, I just registered but I've been visting this board regularly for close to a year.

Anyway I know how everybody says GM is getting killed in the passenger car market. I now totally understand why...

This past weekend my dad decided to get a new car for himself, he immediately thought Honda/Toyota. I told him to look at GM, he immedately told me that he hates American quality (even though his 84 Century lasted him hell knows how long). I told him that the new GM cars are better and as reliable as the Japs. I finally convinced him to take a look at the Grand Prix and Impala (He only wanted to see Accord/Camry).

Anyway we went to the Honda dealer first. The salesman was very friendly yet agressive and picked us out as soon as we walk in. He printed out lots of info (pro-Accord and anti-American mostly), and was convincing my dad to get the Accord. I made my dad leave to take a look at the competition.

We came to the Pontiac dealer. We walk in the door, walk around for 5 mins before a salesman even decided to approach us. He tells us some basic stuff about the Grand Prix, almost as if he didn't care if he sold the car or not. That was strike one. The outside we both liked, the egnien was good, then we went inside the car, the GP's interior is hideous. My 15 year old GTA had a better looking interior! Strike two. Then we asked for a test drive, and they didn't have any GT sedans available for test drive. Strike three, and we ealked out of there.

After that my dad didn't even want to look at the Impala, he just went back, haggled with Honda and got a nice deal on a 4-Cyl/A5 Accord.

The moral of the story is unless GM improves both its interior quality and dealer quality, I will NEVER go back to buy a new GM vehicle. If you got this far, let me know what you think.

 

I agree that many salepersons are total morons who not only are rude, but don't even know the product they are selling... which amazes me, as this is their mealticket.

That being said, you can run into a bad salesperson at any dealership, regardless of what manufacturer you are shopping...

As for the interior styling on the Prix... well, that is subjective, of course... I kind of like it, but it is a car that is virtually unchanged since it's debut in 1997... THAT is my biggest arguement with the current Grand Prix... of course, that changes soon with the all new Grand Prix not too far away...

 

When shopping for a car, my Wife had a salesman talk about how great they were - they were GERMAN, and how "HITLER MADE THIS CAR!". She's Jewish.

Anyway, in regards to beating the Japanese, GM will have to Consistently deliver a higher quality product, or mainstream america (people who don't like cars) will never shop there.

 

Yeah no kidding, at a Honda dealership looking at a used trans am I was practically yelled at by a salesman. My friend and I were just sitting in the car checking it out while my mom looked around the outside of the car. The salesman walks up and is like "those kids need to stop playing around in the car" in a real rude voice, then ask what my mom is interested in looking at. I realize I was only 16 at the time but I still wasn’t doing anything wrong. My mom said she wasn’t interested in looking at any thing and we left.

 

Sounds like your Dad would not have been likely to buy a GM anyway. If you were turned off by the interior chances are, so was he. To each his own. And I agree the GP interior is getting stale... although I believe it's a classic, contemporary design and maybe that's why it still sells today (hmm... why do you suppose there were no GT sedans around?).

That said, I agree with the other post above about being able to find a bad dealer for any brand. A few years ago I got a card in the mail saying "Test drive a Mazda and get this free financial book". So off I went. I went to a Mazda dealer and showed them the card, said I wanted to test drive a MX3 (? the one which was a Ford Probe clone). Salesman's first words were something like "Are you serious about the car or not?" I said, with complete honesty "the card is what brought me in, but I am genuinely interested in that car". He and "his Manager" were both still very cynical and rude about it. But I insisted. He pulls up in a unit with precisely 1/16 of a tank of gas. I said "can we get some gas in this so I can try it without worrying?" He said "we won't need to... we won't be out that long". I drove it and revved a little too high once taking off from a stop (it was an M5 trans). Naturally he had to make a little snide comment about my driving skills.

I got the card signed (after more haggling and more rolled eyes from them). Then I told them how disappointed I was in their dealrship and Mazda, and haven't set foot in a Mazda dealer since. Which is a shame, because I admire some things about the RX8.

 

my moms been riped off at a mazda dealer mt grandmother has been riped off at a ford dealer and i've been riped off at a GM dealer (sort of) so yeah you can find that crap anywhere.

 

The thing is my dad was going to buy the GP. He liked the outside, the engine, and most of all the price (0 Financing and 3K cash back aint bad). If the interior looked at least slightly better, he would have bought it. As much as I love Pontiacs, even I wouldn't want to sit in that car's ugly interior for too long (IMO of course)

Anyway about the not having the car for test drive, I think the salesman just didn't want to get it. He honestly looked like he shouldn't be workign there. He had this attitude of "You want the car? That's fine. You don't want the car? That's fine too" and looked like he was about to fall asleep.

What I really want to know is if there are any GP owners there that can honestly say that their interior is better then Accord's/Camry's?

 

My in-law bought a Honda Accord back in '87 or so, because the car they wanted, a Pontiac 6000 I believe, was not available with bucket seats. They've bought Accords ever since, and I'm sure will continue to do so for the rest of their driving lives without so much as a glance at what any other manufacturer offers.

The domestics have their work cut out for them to recapture lost market share.

 

"What I really want to know is if there are any GP owners there that can honestly say that their interior is better then Accord's/Camry's?"

I had a GTP for a company car, and will take a Grand Prix interior over a Accord or Camry any day of the week. There is at least SOME interest to the Pontiac interior, while the Accord has a better chance of putting you to sleep than pleasing anyone.

Not to mention the powertrain... I seriously have to question why anyone in the world would take a 4 cylinder Accord over a 3800 powered Grand Prix.

Your father missed one other option - a Buick Regal LS or GS. Same powertrain as the Grand Prix with a more subdued interior.

 

Good point.

I think Chris Frezza has a Regal GS, and he has said he likes it quite a bit...

 

1. Am I the only one who would like a non-aggressive salesman?

2. I'm not familiar with the Grand Prix's interior, but my brother just bought a 2002 Accord and I think the interior does deliver a nice fit and finish (similar to my friends Neon, seriously), but it is bland/non-exciting. So yes, To each his own.

3. I also agree that the Buick Regal may have been a suitable alternative.

Jeff

 

Also unless I'm mistaken, Buick's overall fit & finish (including the interior) is better. It too has the same drivetrains as Pontiac, right down to the supercharged V6s.

 

not buying GM cause one salesperson is an idiot? Sounds like a cop-out excuse to me. EVERY dealer has a few moronic salepeople....BFD. If one is not going to look at all options before purchasing a car(different makes and models), then one is making an uninformed decision.

too bad for him

 

GM is doing great in terms of reducing assembly and material defects, but my last rental of a Buick Regal left me appalled by the selection of materials. Kudos for GM for killing the fake woodgrain in the GS model, but did they have to leave little fillets of plastic wood around the window switches? (This looked like a manufacturing accident, but wasn't.) Better yet, couldn't they have at least tried matching the vinyl and cheap leather.

I know that JD Powers' surveys are coming down in favor of GM quality, but I'm not convinced. Yeah, GM produces some of the best massmarket drivetrains, factory soundsystems and electronics, but don't tell me that their cars have the best "fit-and-finish" in the industry.

 

Well I guess everybody has their own opinions on the GP's interior. Now I personally think it looks like it belongs on a Geo (if it was still around) instead of a GP. I have driven both the new gen Camry (3yrs) and Accord (going on a week now) and in terms of quality (styling is subjective) the Pontiac is nowhere close.

About the drivetrain, no doubt the 3800 V-6 is the better choice, but my dad is not going to sacrifice quality for power. I told him to look at the Buick (even though I think it stickers close to 25K), but he didn't even want to bother. He just bought the Honda later that day.

Maybe it was just my luck with the dealer, but until Pontiac's (Buick's maybe) quality improves I won't be buying any of their new offerings. (Still saving for another GTA though )