Marking the arrival of the Grand Prix’s sixth-generation, the 1988 Pontiac Grand Prix was quite the overhaul from the preceding fifth-generation, with one of the most notable changes being a transition to a FWD platform. Today, a like-new example of the 1988 Grand Prix is currently up for grabs.
Listed for sale in Wisconsin, this Grand Prix boasts just 26,261 miles on the odometer and certainly looks the part. The selling dealership claims to be very firm on the $9,990 asking price, and notes that this sporty coupe features a clean title and a clean Carfax.
Starting with the exterior, the white paint job appears to be in great shape considering its age, and has no notable or visible blemishes. The headlights and taillamps look to be clear of condensation, and all the exterior trim pieces seem to be in good condition. In addition, the five-lug aluminum wheels and tires look fresh and ready for another 26,000 miles.
Moving to the interior, the grey cloth upholstery doesn’t appear to have any rips or holes. In fact, the cabin as a whole seems to have been well maintained. Some creature comforts include power windows, power door locks, power front seats, a digital gauge cluster, an AM/FM/Cassette stereo, and air conditioning.
Interestingly, the sixth-gen Grand Prix is notable for featuring a glovebox that required a combination lock for entry as opposed to a key.
Under the hood lies the naturally aspirated 2.8L V6 LB6 gasoline engine, which developed a paltry 130 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque when it rolled off the assembly line. This fuel-injected powerplant delivers its output to the front wheels via a four-speed automatic transmission.
So, what do you think, dear reader? Do you think the dealership’s firm $9,990 asking price is reasonable for a 1988 Pontiac Grand Prix as pristine and well-kept as this particular example? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Comments
Good old GM-10 platform….
Just think, GM probably lost $2,500 at MSRP on this car.
By the time these were the best selling car platform in the US they were making money, besides the GM C/K trucks and the F-series, nothing else outsold the combined W body at 450,000 units a year at its peak, they did ok.
These cars along with the all electronic dash were awesome back in the day. My sister had an 88 Z-24 Cavalier with that dash. Man was it cool looking.
IDK if it’s worth $9,900??? Heck that car brand new in 1988 was maybe $13K or $14K.
$15,674 MSRP, tho I think the auto trans added a few bucks to that.
The equivalent of $41k today. This was a very expensive car for what you got.
Yes, thank you for doing the inflation calculation. Everyone always forgets about how inflation over the past 35 or so years has eaten away at the value of the dollar.
What clean good looking low mile car can you buy today for $10k? Nothing.
I had a ’92 Grand Prix with the 3.4 L twin-dual cam V-6. Loved that car. It was black with a red interior. Other than an ECU failure, I never had issues with it. I’d buy it today for 10K.
Remember when one could GET a car with a red interior?
Man that is amazing.
Love seeing cars from this era in this condition. I’d like to have it, but as Bob Barker would say…THAT’S TOO MUCH!
Gosh I loved Pontiacs, I had a few. All were purchased new. 1975 Granville Convertible, 1979 Bonneville, 1981 Bonneville Broughm , and one used one, a late model Grand Prix for my kids.
Remember that “The Bandit” drove a Pontiac in that documentary made back in 1970’s about being “East bound and down.”
I would say no. The digital dashes were troublesome as were the dreaded rear brake calipers that often were locked right up with many of these cars only having front brakes. The 2.8 was a good engine but weak in these cars and the 440 transaxle was a fragile transmission that needed to be handled with kid gloves. Another issue was the silly pillar mounted door handles that wore out or broke in large quantities. We replaced a ton at our dealership during the 90’s and early 00’s. The interiors were also mediocre with letters/numbers wearing off switches on the radio, trim falling off and coming unglued and dash tops separating.
If this were a previous year 1987 G-body GP with a 305 V8, bucket seats and rally wheels I would be all over it!
This. I’d contend that it is underpowered with that sad 2.8L Chevy V-6, when it should’ve had the Buick 3800 from the get-go. But, no, they wanted to prolong the suffering of the E body (Toronado, Riviera, etc) that nobody wanted. The 2.8L should’ve been in the rental car version only, and then I’d probably have limited it to the Lumina (which came a few years later).
GM stumbled a lot in the ’80s. Their market share proves it. But, hey, let’s dump a few billion into Saturn…
That fire breathing 1987 Grand Prix with its…..140hp V8.
The Lumina debuted in mid 1989 as a 1990 with the 2.5 4, the only W-car that had the Tech IV or the 3.1 V6, it never had the 2.8. In 1991 the 215hp 3.4 Twin Cam engine was added to the line up.
Neither did the 1st gen Grand Prix or Cutlass, they didn’t get the 3800 until after 1997 when the 2nd generation W-cars came out.
Buick really was the only division to offer the 3800 in the 1988-1996 style 1st generation W-cars, they also were the only division to avoid offering the 3.4 Twin Cam V6
The 305 LG4 actually was rated for 150 HP in the regular Grand Prix’s and 165 in the 1986 2+2 version. The 4.3 liter TBI V6 was rated 140 horses and was introduced mid way through 1986 and were a regular option on all 1987 Grand Prix’s with your choice of 3 speed or 4 speed automatic transmission. Nowhere in my post did I call the 305 a fire breather. It provided peppy smooth and quiet power in a beautiful 1987 Grand Prix LE that my friend owned and was definitely quicker than any 1988 W-body 2.8 with automatic transmission.
BTW the 3.1 V6 made 135 HP in the 1990 Lumina’s or a paltry 5 more than the 2.8 so power was only marginally better mainly from the slight increase in torque.
I may be slipping, but I don’t recall the 4.3 V6 being used in cars, only trucks. The 3.8 was used in the cars.
The 4.3 was used in the Monte Carlo and Caprice, I don’t recall it in the Grand Prix or any other G-body.
That was a 4.4 V8. Not a V6.
Those 3.8L V6 engines were one of the best motors that GM ever produced; up there with the small block 350.
GM killed their cash cows when they came out with this generation of front wheel drive vehicles to replace olde generation rear wheel drives that were so popular.
The RWD G-coupes weren’t that popular anymore by 1987, though specialty models like the Grand National and SS, 442 variants were still doing ok, they were way past their replacement date, these were 1978 cars still being sold a decade later.
The Cutlass hadn’t been the best selling car in the US for 6 years at this point.
That’s correct and was partially due a shift in consumer preference to 4 door sedans and other types of vehicles like wagons and hatches and GM’s failure in keeping these cars up to date. In a span of 11 model years there was literally only one exterior reskin a few engine reshuffles seeing the 4.3/5.7 diesel engines come and go, minor refinements to the mainstay Buick 231 V6 that was heavily used as the base motor throughout and numerous carbureted V8’s along the way. The only two engine innovations were the Buick 3.8 liter SFI V6 turbo with distributorless ignition and later an intercooler and the base Monte Carlo’s and late run Grand Prix’s with the 4.3 liter TBI V6’s. Most everything was just an old designed carbureted V6 or V8 that dated back to the 1960’s with minore refinements.
Meanwhile Ford was introducing there 1989 T-Bird and Cougar’s with independent rear suspensions, manual transmissions, SFI 3.8 liter V6’s and later 302 V8’s and much more modern bodies and interiors/tech. It must be noted that even with these all new cars sales of personal luxury coupes continued to slide into the 90’s and the writing was on the wall sadly.
“Meanwhile Ford was introducing there 1989 T-Bird and Cougar’s with independent rear suspensions, manual transmissions, SFI 3.8 liter V6’s and later 302 V8’s and much more modern bodies and interiors/tech”
And they blew a billion on those and they went nowhere, they didn’t even repurpose the platform into something that could sell.
Yup that is correct also. The main two points I was making was that Ford did heavily update and redesign their personal luxury coupes but it really didn’t pan out as sales of these types of cars declined thereafter. GM still could have bought another model year or two with these cars with fuel injecting the 305 V8 and a few interior upgrades/modifications. They do as they always do and let everything rot on the vine and then cry years later about collapsing sales.
And then what? Still selling the 1978 A-body in 1992 would have been more embarrassing than still selling them in 1988.
One of the problems GM had during this era was that it wouldn’t fully commit to some things this, was a clear example. Still sell the new FWD W-cars and the RWD G-body cars, next to each other, plus the 1982 era FWD A-body cars, which still hung around through 1996.
Making them a year or two would have been 1989 and 1990 not 1992. Note Dodge still made their ancient M-body cars dating back to 1976 until 1989 and the 1978 designed Omni/Horizon until 1990 so making the G-body Monte Carlo and Grand National until 1989 or so would have bridged the gap until they got the FWD cars right instead of rushing out the 2 door only version in 1988 with weak sauce 2.8 liter V6’s that lacked the torque to move these 3000 LB cars with any verve. They should have waited until 1989 as 1990 models when the 4 doors, 3.1 liter engines and turbo 3.1’s were ready to go
Those Ford luxury $ should have went to Lincoln sedans. Ford would have done well to try to make a Fox sedan follow up interesting. For GM, the 4th gen F-body needed to platform share with a sedan, and generally be more ergonomic & less bathtub.
The G-body BoF was out dated by then. Getting rid of RWD for the Cutlass is a big part of what lead to Olds dying. GM was late to focus on sedans. The Cutlass was never going to work following Chevy and Pontiac to FWD.
Oldsmobile died because middle class people started buying the nicer and more luxurious Japanese cars that started becoming available at this time and Oldsmobile stopped attracting new buyers.
Attracting new buyers was the point. Olds wasn’t really luxury. Buick was way better at being the lux Japan fighter anyway.
GM is their own worst enemy. Really sad because they produced certain models that were superb for the masses,
I want it!! My favorite car as a kid! 😀
Motor Trend’s 1988 Car of the Year.
Then again, the Chevy Vega, Mustang ll, and Renault Alliance have been MT COTY as well.
I ordered a 1991 coupe with G4U package, which copied the 89 turbo McLaren body styling. Sportier fascias and rocker panels, gold cross lace wheels, it was white like the 20th anniversary 89 turbo TransAm Indy pace car. It was stunning, more people gave me the thumbs up in that car!
repriced at 9990. guess not that firm
It never hurts to haggle
If it was built in the 80s it’s a piece of junk.S
“Malaise era”
I wonder if the advertisement claims that it’s never been in snow? haha
“Never been in snow until today” 😉
It’s all in the eyes of the beholder. It is severely overpriced and rose-tinted memories should be left at home. It’s just an old car that got left behind, not a classic car barn find of any value.
As a tech who worked on them daily, it was an okayish vehicle when new, but like it’s cousin the Chevy Lumina, had buggy spring rear suspension with composite spring that failed at the ends and woefully poor disc brakes that frequently pulsated always needed new rear rotors and the seized rear caliper slides fixed.
It appears to still needs the Mass Air Flow delete to Speed Density only fix.
Expect the usual Intake manifold oil leaks, rear main seal and transmission woes.
In reality, it’s worth about $2K and will likley turn to junk rapidly, if used as a daily driver as everything is old and most parts that will break are unobtainium.
The sun visors are saggy and the headliner likely isn’t far behind once it sits outside.
The only thing going for it, is that it doesn’t have the “boat anchor” 3.4L Code X dual cam engine with increased problems.
The 2.8L W engine was no powerhouse, but quite sufficient for most who don’t need a 500 HP race car, in the same trend that the 1.5L turbo moves some current models around just fine.
If “Bubba” replaces the intake gaskets and mixes up the short intake and long exhaust push rods, the cams may rotate on the hollow steel tube camshaft (“ballized construction” with cams swaged on the tube).
Again, nice enough old car, but still just an old car, not a classic in any sense.
Sorry to interrupt you misinformation but this is in fact a “classic” car.
Ah, I miss you, Pontiac.
Especially the ’68 GTO and ’69 Firebird ❤️
Must be gold bars under the seat
This Pontiac isn’t worth $10,000 and neither is Mary Bara worth $29 million dollar salary.
It’s hard to believe the GM10 launched the coupes first. Pontiac Grand Prix, Olds Cutlass and Buick Regal coupes, followed by Chevy Lumina two years later which included coupe, sedan and minivan models. They were supposed to be GM’s late response to Fords popular Taurus, too late to overtake the competition. By then the Accord and Camry were starting to overtake the midsize market. Pontiacs Grand Prix had the best overall styling, Olds had a convertible model which looked similar to the coming Saturn styling in the 90’s. John DeLorean certainly would have been an asset to GM during this period of indecisive corporate culture. Too many divisions to satisfy, not enough funding to make all the programs successful. Actually the Asian brands had very dull styling and they all looked alike, reliability was their selling point. GM was always playing catchup, just too big to stay ahead of the competition. Many of those same competitors today suffer from the same problems. Quality control at larger companies is difficult to maintain.
DeLorean was an overrated con-man, exhibit A, the turd he launched when he ran his own car company.
Similar to Bob Lutz, every great idea was his, every bad idea was from someone else…..
Combined all the W-bodies far outsold every other car makers mid-sized cars in the 90’s, after the GM C/K trucks and the F-series the W’s were the most produced passenger car in the US from the late 80’s through the late 90’s.
I’d prefer a late 89-90 with the 3.1 or even better one with the 3.1 Turbo.
Though this is still a pretty good price in deflated Bidenero Ameropesos for a very clean turn key car that you can enjoy and that will definitely get attention at car shows.
GM should have kept Pontiac, for all GM’s issues over the years Pontiac did a generally excellent job with styling, both outside and inside. 36 years later this car looks better than most new cars for sale. I compare this to the hideous Hyundai Ioniq 6 or even a current Accord or Camry and realize the 80’s/90’s may have been the peak of car styling.
I had an 87 Bonneville which I finally ditched at about 240k miles due to needing yet another transmission. I assume the 2.8 was easier on transmissions than the 3.8 was.
Had one of these. It was ok but not whst I would call a great car. Brake issues, steering issues, electrical issues. Handling was muddled. It was heavy for what power it had. Doors were too large.
They also could roll over due to the rear suspension. Mike Losh GM head rolled one at the Press release. Not a good start.
A friend of mine bought an identical car to this. It was an 1989 model with a 5 speed. It turned out to be a lemon and she replaced it with the same thing in 1990. No issues with that one. It was fun to drive with the manual.
Mine had heads-up display. Red with grey interior
Fantastic car. Had mine for 20 years, did 650,000 kms in it. Used a few alternators, around 5, other weak spot on mine. small hose goes from the front cyl head to the block. Attached to the head through a 2 bolt flange deal. Well the gasket kept blowing at the head connection. $2 dollar gasket but a pain blowing so often, usually had 3 in the car. Real good for cornering real hard. Only spun once. Still in great shape when I let it go