Yesterday, I bought a used 2004 Grand AM SE1 with 35,627 miles on it. Drove it home with no problems visible at all. Thought I smelled slight odor of exhaust on highway but nothing that lasted nor smelled extreme. Today the "service engine soon" light went on right after I started the car. I revved it a bit and when I did, I noticed some white smoke or steam coming from the tail pipe. When I got out to inspect it there was a bit of water leaking from the tail pipe. Nothing leaking onto the ground from the engine area at all. There was an extremely faint smell of exhaust that dissipated quickly. The "smoke/steam" does not linger in the air like a haze, and is definitely a pure white. It's still under obligatory 90 day warranty and when I called the service center they told me to bring it in on Monday for servicing. Two questions: 1.) Is it safe to drive the 20+ miles to the service center via interstate highway, and; 2.) Is this indicative of the early signs of something major that's going on with the car? I've never purchased anything pre-owned and was wary to begin with. I hadn't noticed anything amiss when I inspected the car before purchase and it seems to drive just fine. Now I'm scared to death I bought a lemon that I'm stuck with because it's used. Bear in mind, I know absolutely zero about cars. I see an engine light on and I freak out. Thanks for the help.
- posted
18 years ago