[BN]

Thinking of buying a 2000 Pontiac sunfire GT convertible 2.4 litre 105,000 miles as a second car. Anybody had one of these or have an opinion if they're good or bad cars?

[mike nixon]

They eat a lot of money. Cheaply made car and it shows with age. Heads tend to crack externally if it's a single cam.

[goatnut]

Actually they are pretty reliable little cars the early qaud 4's had head issues but the later years they corrected the problem. I have quite a few sunfires and cavaliers that come into my shop and all are quite trouble free besides regular maintenance. The most common problems are front control arm bushings falling out, front springs breaking - (common on almost all cars now a days) they are noisey though as far as squeaks and rattles alot of them have dash boards that make various squeaking noises but if your handy with a screw driver the dashes come apart easy and can be made quiet. They do make a great second car and do real well on fuel 27 - 35 mpg.

[87PONT.TA]

Have a 02 use as a work car. gets 31 mpg. been good car. plus Junk yard full of parts if you need them.

[Old Blue 66]

The car its self - there are worse. Mike mentioned the problem areas. Just maintain it. GM verts are always trouble. Id move on to a hardtop

[Jerry H.]

Having owned 2 sinced 99 here is my take. (Both Hardtops, I have to agree, I'd stay away from the 'vert) I bought the first new one in 99 for my 16 yo daughter. I was a great car for 77,000 miles until some idiot came across 3 lanes of traffic and cut her off and caused her to run off a bank and total it. Except for front brakes, the only money spent was for normal maintainance. Now remember, this was a teenage girl driving it.

We replaced it with an 03 demo with 3,000 miles. She drove it until last year when she pulled across a couple of lanes of traffic and was hit by oncoming traffic (her fault this time) and totalled
this one. Again, except for front brakes, nothing except for normal maintainance.

We replaced it with an 04 Grand Am and she HATES it! She wants to find another Sunfire!

[BN]

It's got to be a vert even though a sunfire's a far cry from my long gone 72 Lemans. We like to have a vert for our second car for the nice days.

[2002Z4CSS]

I have a 1999 Z24 with well over 100,000 miles and have had only regular maintainance done. No big issues. J cars are decent cars for the price. 4 wheel ABS and traction control was standard. Not many cars then had that standard.

[Sirrotica]

I picked up a 91 Z24 for $200 that had some front end damage to it in 2000. It had 110,000 on it and the 3.1 v6 engine, was loaded because it was a Z24 and I made it to 200,000. shortly after 200,000 the timing chain broke. I towed it home and put a timing chain and gears in it and when I went to start it up it had tweaked a valve so I scrapped it in 2008 and got just a little less than $400 for scrap. Car didn't owe me a thing and got by for 6 years with normal maintenance items. As Jerry said used up the front brakes regularly. Needed a crank sensor once, and a ignition control module once. If I needed another second car I guess I'd buy another J car too.

I also owned a 92 Grand Am that had the single cam quad 4 in it and it was not as reliable as the Z24. Ended up with a blown head gasket between 1 and 2 around 130,000 and I sold it to a local for $200. He put a head gasket on it and I saw it driving a couple weeks ago. The water pumps and thermostats are a nightmare to change in some of the quad 4 derived engines, at least they used to be, Under the exhaust manifold on the rear of the engine and they're driven by the timing chain. Starters aren't any picnic either as you had to remove the intake manifold to get them off. Both cars went through 1 set of front struts while I had them.

[Old Blue 66]

Didnt these cars have problems with the rack and pinions?? I seem to remember that being an issue.

[Mr_GTO]

Find a 2003+ with the ECOTEC 4cy. I'm close to 128K miles on mine with no issues. Uses 3/4 quart of oil on 9K mile oil change...gets 33-35mpg(5spd) depending on how I drive it.

Issues I have had: Fuel Pump at 90K miles, Front wheel hubs at 120K miles. Oh, my e'ffing horn is tempremental. That's it.

[Half-Inch Stud]

We had a Dark Green Sunfire. Sold it when the 4 CYL seem to be getting risky.

My wife wants another Sunfire now in vivid blue or Dark Green. 2003+ sounds fine, yet if a 3.8L 6-CYL Sunfire was ever made I'd want it.

[Doug]

Do these cars have oil pumps that cost over $400? And, aren't they prone to electrical problems?

[Jerry H.]

Originally Posted by BN

It's got to be a vert even though a sunfire's a far cry from my long gone 72 Lemans. We like to have a vert for our second car for the nice days.

The convertibles seemed to have leaking and wind problems when new. I was involved with 2 two GM 'buybacks' when I worked at Pontiac Dealership. If you are only going to use it for nice days, they shouldn't be a problem.

[77 Canamman]

Mother in law bought one new fully loaded 2.4 coupe in 2000. It has been a great little car for her. It has only needed normal maintenance items. A close friend has a 2.2 2000 coupe and has only done normal maintenance to it.

[oldblueponcho]

I bought my Sunfire new in '04. About 75,000 miles so far and only one set of front brake pads aside from normal maintenance. Now, that said - the thing will probly start falling apart, lol. Seriously tho, it's been a great little car.

[GoatRider]

Is the sunfire "related" to the Cavalier?

My wife's Aunt has a 2000ish Chevy Cavalier that I've been asked to replace the battery on and do a couple brake jobs over the years. Other than what I thought was a lot of squeeks, rattles and generally "cheep car noises"; it seems to be a good reliable little car for basic transportation...

[Lightfoot]

BN,
At 105K, I would check inside the valve cover real close for signs of 'milkshake' oil.
An extreme case would show up on the dipstick of course.

I don't know if the 2.4 utilized the same block casting as the 2.2 Ecotech, but I had first hand experience with changing out a 2.2 Ecotech from a 2002 Alero after only 52K miles.
Oil pan had over two quarts of coolant sitting in the bottom.
After pulling the head, it was discovered to have a crack in the block; between the water jacket & cylinder liner.
The Alero was owned by an aquaintence of a friend of mine. I got recruited to help turn wrenches on it.

[71 T/A]

I have driven a 90 Grand Am with the standard 2.5 4 cyl. Car runs great. The 90 and earlier Grand Ams don't use a timing chain or belt so less maintenance.

[Sirrotica]

Don't fool yourself, the gears go out of the 2.5 engines too. My Fiero lasted about 95,000 and they aren't a picnic to install in the car either......