Looking at a '96 Grand Prix....

[Yzzim]

So I'm looking for a used car and see this nice looking Grand Prix. The price is $5995 which seems like a decent deal for a car in good shape. No dents or dings and it's very clean inside. I ask to take it for a test drive and the guy hands me the keys. I get on the highway and give it a little punch to see what it has. When the car's going from 1st to 2nd gear there's like a very strong kick. I repeated it again and again with the same results. It only kicked from 1st to 2nd gear though.

Now I know nothing about cars so I asked the dealer to see what he said (cause, you know, he won't lie) and he said that all Grand Prix's with a 2nd gear start option do that. The kick definitely didn't seem normal so I thought I'd ask you guys what it was. A bad tranny? Or is he actually telling the truth?

I almost got whiplash one time it kicked :Q

 

[Thegonagle]

How does it shift at part throttle?

Many cars give a harder shift at wide throttle openings and higher RPM, and this is perfectly normal. (For example, the 2002 Grand Caravan I rented last weekend was like that when accelerating away from the toll booths, but shifted nice and smoothly during normal acceleration.)

 

[Yzzim]

Originally posted by: Garfang
How does it shift at part throttle?

Many cars give a harder shift at wide throttle openings and higher RPM, and this is perfectly normal.

My dad was with me (who also doesn't know much about cars) and he could feel the shift from 1st to 2nd...it just didn't feel smooth like most cars I've driven (all 3 or 4 of them )

When I floored it and the car shifted it felt like the whole car shook.

 

[Yzzim]

My next question will probably be, how do you know if the tranny is going bad? What are some things I can do to test it out?

 

[Thegonagle]

Hmmn... Unless the miles are pretty low, I might stay away from this one. Otherwise, it sounds like an OK deal. If you want this car, I'd bring it to a different GM dealership, ask for a used car inspection ($50-80), and let them know about your specific concern about how the transmission shifts. See if they think it's normal behavior for this particular car.

 

[dave127]

actually, the hard shift is perfectly normal....i have a 96 grand am with the same basic drivetrain and it does the exact same thing

Dave

 

[Yzzim]

Originally posted by: Garfang
Hmmn... Unless the miles are pretty low, I might stay away from this one. Otherwise, it sounds like an OK deal. If you want this car, I'd bring it to a different GM dealership, ask for a used car inspection ($50-80), and let them know about your specific concern about how the transmission shifts. See if they think it's normal behavior for this particular car.

The dealer actually said he brought it to a local GM car dealer and asked him why the hard shift, and the GM dealer said it was normal.

Too bad car dealers lie so much you don't know when to trust them

 

[Yzzim]

Originally posted by: dave127
actually, the hard shift is perfectly normal....i have a 96 grand am with the same basic drivetrain and it does the exact same thing

Dave

Seriously? It just seems so hard and violent, like the frame is going to break when shifting from 1st to 2nd

 

[Thegonagle]

I want to add that no GM car that I know of, much less any six cylinder car that I know of, normally starts in second gear. Car salesmen, and salespeople in general, make stuff up when they don't know what they're talking about, so it may sound like they're lying, when they're really just talking out their asses. I say this not to defend, but to clarify his actions. It's definitely an ego thing.

If you don't like the sales dude, but you still want the car, go in on his day off and get someone else to help you. That way, he must split his commission with the second guy who helps you. It's wrong in a way, but not uncalled for if he's trying to play you guys like chumps or something. What goes around comes around, you know.

 

[jjessico]

On a 96 Grand Prix there is a switch on the lefthand side of the dash underneath the lights toggle that is called 2nd Gear Start. This allows, as the name implys, the driver to bypass 2nd gear. However this had nothing to do with kick, power, or getupandgo. 2nd gear start is for those people who live where it snows a lot and they need help from the drivetrain to not over-throttle and spin the tires and go out of control. So 2nd gear start makes your car slow as sh!t when on because it keeps the engine out of its powerband in order to avoid tirespin.

As for this whole "The car shakes when it shifts from 1st to 2nd" if it really shakes then I think you're in trouble. However at full throttle the 1-2 shift is a _tad_ bit harder than on most cars, although it does not, in my opinion, shake the car.

On 96 GPs as a whole, I like mine, its not a rocket ship(duh...) but it gets around town just great, hasn't had any trouble, and is great on the freeway. Also its a 2 door so it doesnt' look like a run of the mill family sedan.

Jason