I think I have found the replacement car for the CL. I am getting tired of having these trannies being replaced and the tranny warranty is running out time wise. I have a nice amount of extra scholarship money comming my way soon, so on top of the money I have saved I think it may be time to get a new car. Kind of sad since the CL was such a great car minus the damn trans.

I know there are a few GTO owners on here including atleast one that previously owned a CL-S. Any comments/advice/suggestions on what to look for, problems, mods, at/stick advantages, actual MPG, etc? I read up about the strut rub issue and from my understanding it was corrected by getting an alignment with new specs correct? I just want to get a heads up on stuff before I buy the car (which may be really soon or sometime within the next year).

 

Do a search, there have been some great threads. Strut rub isn't an issue if the car is properly aligned. The trunk is tiny...my only complaints

 

I forget the build dates, but some of the 2006's were delivered with defective struts that leaked or began leaking after a short time. It was a hot topic on ls2gto a while back. Pontiac issued a TSB for replacement but it was slow going due to supply.

If you end buying a 2006 make sure you check that out because a few cars might have slipped through with bad struts.

Good luck with your search! Two co-workers have GTO's and they love 'em...very responsive to mods.

 

I will do a search, unfortunately for me, Azine doesn't really like 3 letter search entries even when I used the GTO*.

Any GTO forum suggestions? I will have to check out the trunk when I go to take a look at them. Luckily trunk space isn't an issue because I would only have to put a book bag in there. There is a well known dealership 9 miles from my zip code with 13 brand new 06 GTOs!!

 

What trunk? You got a trunk?

TCM, The trunk is tiny and the gas milage sucks. But, it's hard to keep your foot out of the gas when you hear the 6.0 roar. I am getting about 16mpg in mostly city driving. On my only long road-trip, I got 21.5mpg.

The "recommended" Mobile1 oil change cost over $60 (unless you do it yourself) and more things are likely to break than you will have with an Acura. In the 4 years I had my 2nd gen CL, I had to replace the auto-dim mirror and an AC hose. Both were covered under warranty. I really don't expect that from the GTO after surfing the GTO forums for a while now.

I now have about 6500 miles on the GTO and I have been checking the strut issue occasionally. No problems so far. Mods for the GTO are not cheap. Stuff like headers, FI systems etc... seem to cost about 30% more than the comparable mods for a Mustang GT. But remember, your starting with a 100hp head start on the ponies.

Bottom line, you have to be willing to spend more for up-keep and give up lots of luxeries driving a GTO. You have to ask yourself, do I want a car that can be modded to run 10's in the quarter and still be streetable over a car that doesn't break and wraps you in luxury.

I am being as honest here as I can be based on owning both vehicles.

I still get a chubby every time I crank the GTO up and there nothing more fun than slowly burbling by a row of ricers with their hoods up in the Hooters parking lot

Keep us posted, LS1GTO.COM
Jabo

P.S. as of Tuesday, there were less than 200 new GTOs left at dealerships around the country. Only 9 of those were 6 speed MT.

 

Thanks for the info! I'm going to be checking out that forum . One of those 6 speeds is at the dealership (non Pontiac btw) that I am going to!

I'm already running mobil 1 fully synthetic in the CL, so that won't affect me too much. $19.94 for 5 qts at walmart and my friend's shop hooks up the penzoil oil filters and the labor (I take care of my friend of course in return by detailing his car and etc). Well I know that American based car companies aren't on the top of the reliability game, but I mean I've been through 3 transmission, motor mounts, and an axle at 68k miles in the CL and I drive her really mellow , coasting to red lights and accelerating under 2,200 rpms and of course I maintain the vehicle as I should.

So you really think the GTO is a downgrade in luxury from the CL? I sat in one a long time ago and it seemed very nice, steering wheel audio controls (one you have driven a car with them...its hard to drive a car without them), 6 disc in dash, leather, nice looking dash.

Do you have a MT or AT? I drive mostly on the highway now since I started college, so I would have no problem driving a MT and if I remember right they get like 4 mpg better on the highway than the AT which is another plus. The GTO runs premium correct?

I really hope this all works out

 

Sounds like you got a CL built on a Monday. Ouch! I was very fortunate with my CL. I drove her like I stole her all the time. The tranny was starting to flutter at 120K. That was part of the reason for getting the GTO. I knew I would need something new soon for a DD.

I like the interior of the GTO. The seating is very comfortable and the seats are snug in the twisty-turnies. Each front bucket weighs about half of what a CL-S seat weighs. They are called "light-weight sport buckets" or something like that. The leather is not the quality of Acura/Honda but looks to be very durable. The seats do not have memory settings. It can be a bitch to get it back to that perfect position for clutching. I miss the mem seat more than anything else. The GTO has AM/FM and 6CD (non MP3) and you have to by a aftermarket blue-tooth interface if you want to hook up a MP3 player.

GTO does not have auto-dim mirror, heated seats, rear cup holder, or sunroof. It does have a cool Instrument cluster. You can program the system to show your average speed/milage and show how far you can go on gas left and stuff. You can even change the speedo to KPH. That is cool. Makes it easy to bury the 200 on the speedo...hehehe

Is the 6MT you are looking at on a used lot? If so, you can get a GMVIS report at this LINK with the VIN number. It will show every and anything that has been done as warranty, such as front strut replacements. Most were replaced by the dealerships before being sold.

I've seen several '05 and '06 GTO with under 10K miles sell fro around 25K. Some with many mods already installed.

 

My gas mileage is better then it was in my acura, i avg 20-22

 

i've been looking into getting a GTO, if i could find one. thanks for the info.

 

here's a list of new cars available on the west coast

http://www.pontiac.com/vehiclelocato...ate=&x=37&y=18

 

i cant seem to search my area...32792.

 

I miss my 05 GTO but it wasn't the best car with 2 babies.

It was my first manual and I learned to drive a stick with it. Gas mileage is decent, the trunk sucks. I never had a rattle or any other issues.

 

If you don't mind driving down here, I can give you the name of the dealership I am going to. I am not on the laptop so I don't have it on my favorites link, but I got to go and get some stuff done before class. I'll post back here later today.

 

WHOO HOO, just my scholarship refund check in today! I've been really busy lately so thats why I haven't given an update. I am going to see what happens within the next couple of weeks.

 

The 04's seem to be holding value. When I check for them in my area they've been stuck at around $18-20k for the last year and a half. I was hoping by now they'd be even lower.

 

^ Maybe you should drive up to Jersey to pick one up

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/10-Se...QQcmdZViewItem

 

thats brents old car....this guy is going to take a real bath from what he paid

 

That's what happens when a muscle car is easily confused with a Cavalier.

 

It's a sick car, for what it is. $30k for a LS2, IRS, T56, RWD, and damn near 50/50 weight distribution? Yes please. You can't get a better performance vehicle for your money. I would get another one just to get the engine. The LS2 is a miraculous power plant.

The only bad thing about this car is how difficult it is to get traction, and its largest possible tire sizes are on the small side.

 

It all depends with the way you look at it...I, for one, think the GTO looks great!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=07jWp-jzQ...elated&search= and If you ever see a Cavalier that sounds or moves like this,please tell me as quick as you'll be able to

 

I am a car enthusiast; I will never confuse a GTO with a Cavalier. Unfortunately the market is not full of car enthusiasts. The average Joe still thinks it was a Cavalier.

 

The average Joe shouldn't drive more than an Accord or Camry.I know you're a car enthusiast I was just saying...

 

That would be fine with me.

I'm waiting to see if the G8 fit/finish and materials are up to my standards.

 

I can care less what Joe Blow thinks. Just for the features is it worth it. But yeah, nokiaman nailed it on why the current design failed. Very unfortunate that Joe Blow doesn't appreciate the car.

 

hopefully they can redesign it and bring it back. just like we have the redesigned Mustang, the new camaro, charger and Challenger.

 

They are redesigning and bring it back for 09 or 11, I can't remember which and from what I remember reading it's going to be more retro.

My friend is coming over tomorrow with his LS2 GTO and he is going to let me drive it!!! I'm sure I'll love it, but its nice to test drive something without any pressure of salesmen. I had a blast driving my cousins LS1 Vette when I was 16, it was only down the street and some, but still!

 

i highly doubt it'll come back

 

With the Camaro coming out, I'd think that there would be a better chance of the Firebird/TA making a comeback...

 

I agree, and personally would rather see a new T/A. But I even think that is doubtfull.

 

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=116031

http://www.leftlanenews.com/its-offi...ll-return.html

I can't find the automotive magazine I saw it in, it was at my barber shop near the start of summer.

I shall be test driving my friends GTO in a matter of minutes!

 

I'd rather Pontiac have the GTO than the Firechicken ... Unless of course the new Firebird is going to be like the Smokey and the Bandit T/A ...

Crosspost! *ducks*

 

some pictures for now (2 are camera phone):









I'll post about the drive in a bit.

 

I've kinda grown to appreciate its understated looks. The kid in the sideways hat driving his WRX doesn't always rev at me at a stoplight, and I don't always get the trademark downshift/rev match/BOV hiss from his friend in the SRT-4. Which is more than I can say for when I drive the TSX.

It also gets tons of WTFs when they hear me spool and the rear end breaks loose at 60+ mph. lol.

 

My test drive review in bullit form:
-Seats are very confortable, not as much as the CL (atleast to me), but plenty good.
-very behaved during regular driving and I found it pretty quiet driving at 70
-acceleration didn't put me in the back of the seat like I was expecting (based on my c5 vette driving experience), but the power was steady, strong and didn't waver even as I went faster. We had about ~350 extra pounds in the car as my friend is a big dude and he also brough a mutual friend. My friend had a CEL also, he was going to take it in the next day the dealer was open. It only has 2k on it. Maybe that was part of it?
-trunk was bigger than I expected and is plenty big for what I use my trunk for.
-brakes were pretty good
-handling was better than my lowered CL for sure!
-loved the gauges especially the digital speedometer.
-I unfortunately didn't get to blast the stereo, but it seemed fine. Any GTO owners have something to say about the stereo?

 

paint is horrible on the GTO's or any pontiac for that matter... be prepaired to spend $600 bucks a year keeping the dings and scratches out... probably more if you live in an urban area

 

You can turn up the gain on the subwoofer amp with a screwdriver. Highly recommended. The stereo is good enough for me, but I'm no audiophile.

 

why not wait on the new Challenger coming soon (like in a year) .

 

<-GM Fan (vs Chrystler/Dodge and Ford) here and the GTO is a bargin especially since it was discontinued for now. I probably wouldn't have enough money for the new challenger anyway.

 

What is insurance going to be on that thing for an 18 year old. I'd have to imagine it will be much more then the CL...

 

I believed we checked a long while ago for curiosity and it was like a $50 difference every six months. When I was looking at cars when I was 16, the insurance for the CL-S was way cheaper than a four door civic, scion tc, 03 stang v6 and a few others.

I'm going to have to make sure of course. This is a huge decision so I'm taking my time doing the math and research before I actual purchase it. The CL's tranny has been acting extremely well lately, so I might wait until the trans warranty is out before picking up the GTO, but the again maybe not. My 7 classes and other random stuff has kept me pretty busy the last two weeks so I haven't had a lot of time to do this.