TeKiZeRo

Hey guys,
I saw a brand new Pontiac GTO drive by me the other and my jaw dropped at how nice that thing looked! I decided to stopped by the dealership to take a look at it and.. oh boy is it purdy I decided I am gonna go get a black or silver one this weekend! But first I would like to get some input from the community on the pros/cons of this car before I purchase it, thanks!

Ray Khan

just drive it and see if you really like it. I can't imagine it's not fun to drive. So if you like the price, like the looks, like the feel....why wouldn't you buy it? You might want to do some research and find out what if any first year bugs there are with this car.

phil2

I am sold on it myself as my next vehicle i just gotta wait till my lease is up (never again ). After driving it all i can say is im in with both the driving experience and the interior. The exterior is very sleeperish imo and i cant wait to get one myself. You really cant go wrong with the 350hp v8 monster

phil2

BBsAcuraRacing

I drove one already across the street from my office.

Car has plenty of power but is a far cry from the semi- luxury ride , sound ergonomics etc.. of the Acura or any of the the imports as entry level as Altima, accord or camry.

I priced one out at a 1000 out of pocket 24 month lease. 687.00!!!!!

For reference across the street I drove an 2004 S4 which stickers at 51,000 and leases for 760.00!!!

If you want a cheap 13 second car , it is a good replacement for the camaro or firebird. Sound and drive like one.

The car is right at home with a nascar number in the back window.

YOu CANNOT get a sunroof!!!!

I am 5' 11.5" and my head hits the roof. There is a slot in the headliner for your head. If you move to left or right while hard cornering , your head hits the liner.

Pretty shitty car for the price IMHO

It would be beneath me to drive one...........

phil2

Obviously the car is going to lease like shit because it just came out therefore no leasing programs, but how are you going to compare apples to oranges (24month lease vs. a 36-39 month lease)? Furthermore i dont know what your looking at as far as interiors, you must have been sitting in a gran am because thats what every review raves about . I guess you should really reexamine what car you are driving before you say it is beneath you ...oh wait thats right you have an 2001 acura cl-s thats the one that beat the bentley arnage for the motor trend car of the year for 3yrs now :ghey:

I guess i will be then because i love the gto and for the money their really is nothing for comparison

CLean

It is what it is. A Pontiac....

It would be a pretty hot car for around 25 - 30 range. But I think that they are over priced for what you get.

Actually, I think it is a hugh slap in the face for the true GTO fans. NOTHING has carried over from the original GTO, except that it has a V8 and it has GTO on the rear. It is a sales gimic, and thats all. The damn thing looks like every other Pontiac on the road today!!!
The last Fire-birds and Trans-Ams were crap. Extreemly poor quality and customer satisfaction. So GM replaced it with this new car, that they decided to slap a GTO name to.

But for what they are asking, I think you can find a nicer car that is just as much fun.

DeezNutz

Here's a question: when do the new Mustangs hit the street, and what options (Cobra, Saleen, etc) are gonna be available, and what's the price? I wonder how they'll compare to the GTO in terms of build-quality, performance, price, etc.

phil2

and an acura is just a honda.......If the GTO was badged as a volvo or a saab and priced at 45k you guys would be all over that shit

Shawn S

I test drove the GTO a few weeks back and it was a BLAST.
The power of the engine and the exhaust note will sell a lot of them.
Would I buy one?…NO.
The engine is awesome, the interior is better then most everything GM makes, but the body style screams Cavalier.
It just looks so plain on the road.

Plus I think the placement of the gas tank is a major FUDGE-UP.
Did you pop the trunk?
The tank is located ABOVE the floor of the trunk and right behind the rear seat.
This means the filler port is way up near the window.
I’m sure it’s passed all the US safety tests, but I just wouldn’t feel comfortable driving something like that around.
I would think if you got hit from the SIDE a certain way, the tank would breach and the gas would come into the car.

Shawn S

jriga

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BBsAcuraRacing
I drove one already across the street from my office.

Car has plenty of power but is a far cry from the semi- luxury ride , sound ergonomics etc.. of the Acura or any of the the imports as entry level as Altima, accord or camry.


I priced one out at a 1000 out of pocket 24 month lease. 687.00!!!!!

For reference across the street I drove an 2004 S4 which stickers at 51,000 and leases for 760.00!!!

If you want a cheap 13 second car , it is a good replacement for the camaro or firebird. Sound and drive like one.

The car is right at home with a nascar number in the back window.

YOu CANNOT get a sunroof!!!!

I am 5' 11.5" and my head hits the roof. There is a slot in the headliner for your head. If you move to left or right while hard cornering , your head hits the liner.

Pretty shitty car for the price IMHO

It would be beneath me to drive one........... [/QUOTE}

Luxury ride? Huh? We're talking about GTO right? It's not a !$%%@$ Lexus. It's not meant to have a luxurious ride.

You priced one out with $1000 our of pocket? Are you listening to what you typed? You didn't even cover your sales tax in that leasing senario. Think a little here - $35,000 car, means $2400 in sales tax (approx.). No one leases for 24mos, know why? The BIGGEST range of depreciation in a car is in the first 24 months.

There isn't a car on the planet that should be leased for 24mos. If you want a lease that short, go to swap-a-lease and find something with no down payment and short term.

Can't get a Sunroof? Let me find a tissue for the tears. It's a
G T O

Did the orginal have a sunroof? Did the orginal even have power windows? Hell, for that matter, did the original even have windows?

Go try a 36-42 month lease, 12k miles, with $2500 due at signing... on a decent $35,000 car you'll break into the mid4s.

Now, as devil's advocate - I'll never, ever drive a GM or GMC product. The fit and finish is pure shit - it always has been and always will be. The covette is my argument. People drool allover the Z06 - sure it'll rip a sick whore out of bed.

But the finish is base model S-10 pickup quality, pure junk.

CLean

Naa, I doubt that.

We have over 150 vehicles for work. From Fords to Dodge to Pontiac to Jeep to Chevy.

And the Pontiacs are always having problems. Usually minor nusance stuff. Ya know. Arm rest broke. Mirror fell off. Headlights leak. Just little things.

I would rather have my tranny fail and get replaced then have my car squeek and rattle.

My opinopn is partially bias. I just have had realy bad luck with all GM vehicles. Or cars that have GM parts. (Like Volvo)

I think the GTO is a hot little car. Just not for that price. Hell, I think that no car is worth more than 30 grand IMO. They all break at some point.

Scrib

Oh sure... Other than the tranny, the CL is perfect, right? The rattles, the warping rotors, the condensation in the headlights, sunroof this, hairy seats that... Leather that cracks. DO I need to go on?

Are those minor?

CLean

I think it is stupid to lease a car for over 36 months. 36 is (even at a stretch) the longerst I would ever lease a car for. If you go longer than 36 months, you might as hell go and buy the damn car first off. If you ned to extend a lease over 36 months to make it affordable, then you are looking at a car that is out of your price range. 24 Month lease is good way to go. Hell, I have never had a car over 24 months anyways.

And as far as the original GTO. This car carriers NOTING over from the original. They might as well have painted it orange and called it "The Judge"....

BBsAcuraRacing

reexamine the car????? phil??

I have DRIVEN IT 3 times

I also don't understand your reference from the Acura to the Bentley.

It sounds like you have a severe case of CRANIAL / ANAL INVERSION

I am not knocking the car. It is just not a car for me. I had a 11 second V6 buick GN when I was much younger and I thought it was the whip!

in 1986 as a young punk, I never had the luxury of even riding in let alone owning owning a BMW or benz or audi at that time.

My point here is that it is not a natural progression for me to go backwards in a vehicle. My income and assets increase dramatically from year to year and I cant see driving what should be a 20-25k car , especially after driving an Acura since 1997.

The Acura is not a Bentley the same way that the PONTIAC is not even ENTRY LEVEL LUXURY either.

phil2

That being the case then why you driving a measly 30k car anyways...

and stepping back.....why are they comparing it to the clk55 in the latest issue of motor trend?

phil2

I was referring to your almighty acura

"I guess you should really reexamine what car you are driving before you say it is beneath you "

jriga

You should take a minute to do some math. I've worked in this business for some time - know how many people have done a 24 month lease since I've been leasing to people?

1. That's it. Just one. And it was a company.

Leasing is a way to drive a more expensive car for a lesser amount, or a way to not OWN a depreciating asset. The first 24 months are the WORST for value droppage.

So you're proposing to lease a car for the WORST time in it's value, and then give it back.

Take a 36 month lease, and calculate your TOTAL loss including sales tax, depreciation, rent charge, and auto value - then do the same for a 24.

No one leases for 24 months - BMW, Lexus, Infiniti, Audi, Mercedes, etc - all highline brands have 'comfort' terms, terms that their cars lease very well at. Not one of these manufacturers has a 'comfortable' 24 month term.

Either every single auto banker and every single customer that leases is wrong - OR - you might want to go through the REAL math and see what a waste of cash 24 months is.

And why would you consider buying at $650/mo for 5 years when you can lease for $450/mo for 3 years? I don't see where they are even CLOSE to each other...

24 month terms have HIGHER payments than 36-42 month terms as a general rule of thumb. Don't believe me?

BMW 330ci:
MSRP = $40,115
24mos, $2500 due at signing, 12kmiles/yr = $595.00 + TAX

Same car:
36mos, $2500 due at signing, 12kmiles/yr = $537.00 + TAX

Difference in payments over one year = $696 BEFORE TAX, dpereciation, and rent charge.

BBsAcuraRacing

By the way.. I get GM FORD AND DMX A PLAN s and would never buy any of the above.

ALSO, who ever mentioned about the out of pocket on a lease, doesnt know how a lease work. Someone made the comment that "it doesnt even cover the sales tax....

Leases, at least in MI, you get the tax added to each months payment. in my case is 30.00/ month on 500.00

In my opinion it is stupid to put extra money down. My money in my portfolio makes way more money than the interset charged on the lease....

Always Dirty

Pontiac made the Aztec. That is all.

BBsAcuraRacing

Phil you are obviously a know it all and I submit to you, You have the upper hand.....

Go buy the Pontiac.

Someone needs to, it wont be me.

One final word,
You sure spend an awful lot of time defending the GTO,

It needs it......

joeshmoe

IT'S A FUCKING MUSCLE CAR!!!!!!!!


morons

Bluto

I have not seen any on the road.

I'd check one out. But dealers have $4-5k markups or none in stock.

phil2

Not really defending it just making observations of peoples stupidity and obstinance......The fact that you say your above the car and yet you drive a cl-s (chariot of the gods) with all your money and knowledge.......

soopa

lol. that is the cl-s's biggest problem too.

the gto and cls actually look kinda similar from a distance.


they both have vanilla exteriors... so you really cant fault one and not the other.


IMO

Beltfed

I know you're just trying to make a point, but that is definitely not a real world # for a 330Ci.

Posted awhile go but my buddy ordered one some weeks back (MSRP was just about $40k). Payment is $474/month, 36 months, 15k miles/yr, $3800 total out of pocket. NY has a high bank fee, that's why the out of pocket is a little high. He also put down a $300 cap reduction.


Anyway, for those that read the article.....the GTO definitely held its own against the $70k MB. That was the point of the article, no more no less. I don't think CLK55 shoppers are now going to be heading over to even give the GTO a first look.

jriga

In Ohio, sales tax is paid in total - not on the payment. So in Ohio it's stupid to pay sales tax, and then spread it out over the lease - you end up paying INTEREST on the sales tax...

So here, the $2400 I talked about covers the tax and document fees for Ohio. In Michigan I'd put down about $500-$800 and have the sec.dep. waived.

GM GMC A-Plan? Meaning you get to buy their cars at invoice while the rest of the world gets $5k rebates and 0% interest? That's the only way American cars sell is with rebates and incentives... if US Auto Makers removed these things and tried selling Malibus, Mustangs, etc... without them the market would go WAY down.

You won't see BMW, Infiniti, Acura, Lexus whoring out their products like that - there is a certain 'perceived value' there.

As far as I'm concerned - I work on the inside of the leasing biz - I think I have some clarity and experience with numbers. You might have bought a few cars, but I've leased hundreds - I've seen what works and what does not.

Does this mean I don't understand the leasing business? Ha. I'm sure you're right...

jriga

I hope your portfolio makes more than interest on a lease... oh wait. There is no interest on leases. But yeah - you know the leasing biz.

You pay RENT, and you pay DEPRECIATION, and you pay a MONEY FACTOR - it is not calculated as interest as it is a fixed cost for the life of the lease - it can be guessed as an 'interest rate' by taking your MONEY FACTOR and multiplying by 2400..

Hence - MF = .00188 = 4.512% APR (roughly)

This calculation helps the bank decide what they will make on the lease, and what MF needs to be used to show profit.

Bye now. :P

jriga

That's what BMWUSA.com quoted - your buddy would have had a HIGHER payment on a 24mo term - that is the point I was making.

Real payment of not, the point is that leases don't pan well at 24mos.

Simple principal really.

phil2

Obviously it does since he is :hurryup:ing money and is above all others in his leased cl-s...

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I've seen 3 on the road so far.

It's rained all week here and ALL 3 of the GTO's had fogged up windows on the inside. Seemed like they couldn't keep them clear. Remember how Toyota used to have this problem on basically all their cars, especially the Camry??

I wonder if it was just a fluke or not, but i've only ever seen 3 GTO's and they all had fogged up windows while it was raining

BBsAcuraRacing

Well, you partially understood my point.


The point was that 2000 down on a lease to lower your monthly,

vs investing that 2000 over 24 or 36 or 39 months, the investment will offer you greater end result.

Ask any financial advisor, or anyone with common sense and they will agree.........



Also, my Acura is 100% paid for and has not been driven on wet pavement more than 5 times in nearly 4 years.

sounds like Schenectady ghetto punk is just jealous.........

jriga

Wow. It's not $2000 down. Did you even READ the post? It's sales tax, and financing sales tax is not a great thing to do if you have the cash to pay it off...

Some people just don't pay any attention... it's like talking to a brick wall. :swear2:

Also - do I care if your Acura is paid off? You own an asset that is depreciating faster than you can shake a stick at. Are you proud that you own something that loses more value than you can add to it?

If it flies, floats, or drives - it's a BAD investment. Do you think you're the only one that understands investments?? Please. And the fact that you don't drive your Acura in the rain is O D D.

That 'ain't' no Ferrari. The CL-S is a dime/dozen.

If you do the math, putting money down on the lease is not always stupid. It's money you are going to pay anyway! All it does is pay some of it up front so your payments are more manageable.

The money doesn't disappear! Pay now,pay later - but you WILL pay. bank will make sure of that.

This thread sucks - it got sabotaged - I'm out... sorry if the original owner of this one didn't get the info they needed... if you want to tell me more about how great you, just... wait... no I'm done with that too...

Nofear6370

It usually makes sense to have the downpayment added to your monthly payments if you would invest (lets say its $2000 in the case above) the downpayment in something else. Basically putting you money to work for you. You could earn a return on the $2000 and use that to pay your monthly payments. So in the end of the lease you would have potentially paid less than the total amount of all payments out of your own money.

In my opinion the only time it makes sense to lease is if you want to have a new car every 3 to 4 yrs and you do not plan on buying the leased car at the end of the lease. Its like paying rent the minute you stop paying it you have nothing. The only other time it makes sense to lease is if you really like a car and you are not sure whether you would want to keep it long term (due to reliability for example). Leases also make it possible for people to have a car they could never ever afford to buy.

As far as the GTO goes, you like it buy it. Tell the rest of us how it is. I honestly am staying away from american cars until they can prove themselves, too many stupid problems from past experieces.

PHIL2 what car do you currently drive? If it is a CL not sure why you have it, doesnt sound like you enjoy driving it.

Nofear6370

Ah you have the CL s, just saw an earlier post. Why not terminate the lease? Probably worth it, considering how much you hate it.

I would just be careful with a first year new model american car, too many unknowns

Good luck

NSX-Tuner

It's fast in a straight line, but the reviews I've read and seen say it handles like a pig. I don't care for it's looks, kind of plain.

BBsAcuraRacing

Thanks No fear.

You understand my point about putting cash up front on a lease.

You are correct , it has gotton way off topic.

cusdaddy

A car with an excellent interior, RWD and 350hp for low $30's is overpriced for what you get???? I guess you have some really high expectations for $30-35k car.

What do you expect to carry over from the original GTO? The original is a 35 year old car. They both have a honking V8, RWD, and a true dual exhaust... Yes, it doesn't look the same, (but why should it? Does every car have to look exactly like its original?) but the essence of both cars is the same. A huge powerful engine in a normal looking car. The ultimate sleeper.

I agree with the arguement that the new Impala is a disgrace to it's heritage, but not the GTO. The GTO lives up to everything that was the essence of the original.

And as Soopa rightly said, the CL isn't a standout looker either. I see many similarities between the GTO and CL myself, so I kind of find it funny when some CL owners attack the GTO styling as boring.

And the comment where someone said the GTO is beneath them Most of us drive ~$30k cars. Very little is beneath us. It's a damn car.. Enjoy it.

phil2

First off what do you have for me to be jealous of? Second do you know me, my posessions or my income. How am I ghetto? I no longer live in schenectady and the only reason i did is because i had family there and not all parts are ghetto not that i owe you an explaination

Chaptorial

I personally wouldn't buy one however for what it is and what it’s supposed to do the car is a great buy.