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Pontiac GTO Reliability and Maintenance Costs

54 messages,  Last post on Dec 22, 2012 at 6:53 PM

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What is this discussion about? Pontiac GTO, Auto Repair, Coupe

Messages Page 3 of 6

#17 of 54 Re: Pontiac GTO 2005/2006 How reliable have they been? [silvergoat] by cappgoat

Nov 01, 2007 (11:31 am)

Replying to: silvergoat (Aug 09, 2006 12:08 pm)
I have just been reading here of some negative comments regarding the 2004-2006 GTO. I bought a 2006 in September of '06 and have nothing but rave reviews from my own experience. Yeah, I had to have the front struts replaced and there have been little things that I have asked the dealer to do, but that is mostly due to how picky I am about ANY car I own. I am sure if I bought the falsely praised Toyota I would be to the dealer as much demanding things be corrected. I have owned Pontiacs of one form or another since 1977 and have nothing but praise for the cars. They are typical American vehicles, yes. But I put 230k on a '77 Grand Prix I bought used and it was still hauling ass when I finally let it go in 2002! Hated to see it go but I had bought a '98 Grand Prix (a SWEET car) and the old fella was just sitting around. I preferred to see him go off on his own and think of him still serving someone well.
 
Back to my GTO. The quality is a quantum leap from previous GM's I have owned (and GM is about the only brand I have owned since '77, save the VW Rabbit diesel and the lone '88 Toyota Camry wagon. What a piece of crap!)
 
I have what must be the best Pontiac ealer in the world, Sewell Pontiac here in Dallas. I have NEVER had one issue with their service and I had a Trans Am that had issue from day one. But their service made the experience with my favorite but flawed little T/A enjoyable anyway. So, it all comes down to the quality of the dealership.
 
To answer whether GM will back up the GTO, YES! With the advent of the G8, which comes from Holden as well, the availibility of parts and service will continue...not to mention it is the law!
 
So for those who wanna bad mouth the orphan GTO, go ahead....I will drive off and leave you in a cloud of dust and love every minute of it!!!

#18 of 54 Re: Pontiac GTO 2005/2006 How reliable have they been? [jtaco] by goat06ls2

Nov 07, 2007 (11:25 pm)

Replying to: jtaco (Aug 09, 2006 9:10 am)
I have an 06. It has almost 9,000 miles on it. No problems of any kind so far. The car is stock except for a Volant cold air kit.

#19 of 54 Re: Pontiac GTO 2005/2006 How reliable have they been? [goat06ls2] by cappgoat

Nov 08, 2007 (11:06 am)

Replying to: goat06ls2 (Nov 07, 2007 11:25 pm)
Mine is also an '06 with the 6 litre LS2. I have about 13,500 on it and it is still just like new. It is totally stock unless you consider a K&N air filter making it non-stock. (I always have those on my cars.) I have found no reason to alter it in any way. It has every sort of performance feature on it that I would want, so no need of the alterations. Even the exhaust, which is what I have always altered for fuel economy and better performance, is stock on the Goat.
 
I am just simply impressed with this car and, if service to this point is any indication, I am gonna be keeping this one for the long haul, which had been the plan for the T/A but maintenance became the deciding factor on him. I kept the '77 Grand Prix for 20 plus years and I see no reason to let this one go either!

#20 of 54 Re: Pontiac GTO 2005/2006 How reliable have they been? [cappgoat] by whatsachevy

Nov 10, 2007 (8:09 am)

Replying to: cappgoat (Nov 08, 2007 11:06 am)
I have an '05 M6 with 21K. There is not a day that goes by that this car isn't driven hard. It is just too tempting. It has seen some track time as well. My only mods have been bolt-ons (headers, cai and exhaust), and along with a tune, produced 387/383 at the rear wheels. I did have the strut rub problem, but this seemed to be fixed by 0* camber in the front (mine was set at -0.7 from the factory). Very slight, if any noticeable, effect on handling. I wore out the original set of BFG's at 16K (funny how the rears seem to wear a lot faster than the fronts on these vehicles). They were replaced with Eagle F1 DS G3's. Nice tires, but overpriced in my opinion. I also run Nitto DR's at the track. Other than that, I have had no issues with this car, although I'm pretty sure the stock clutch is about to go. I'm sure it has to do with how the car is driven. I plan on replacing it with an LS7 clutch. No noticeable oil consumption between 3,000 mile changes with Mobil 1 Synthetic. I also installed a catch can as the LS2's have been known to bleed a pretty fair amount of oil back into the intake through the PCV valve when driven hard. I usually empty a couple of tablespoons from the catch can every oil change. I'm also planning on doing the Pedders Street II. There is no doubt, I would definitely buy this car again. I like to refer to it as the family man's or poor man's (although those typically seem to go together) corvette.
 
Good luck on your car hunting. If you choose a GTO, chances are you will grin a lot more. I know I do.

#21 of 54 Re: Pontiac GTO 2005/2006 How reliable have they been? [whatsachevy] by cappgoat

Nov 10, 2007 (8:48 am)

Replying to: whatsachevy (Nov 10, 2007 8:09 am)
I have never driven my Goat very hard at all. In fact, the dealer has commented on how I don't. But I can tell from the feel of it that it can handle whatever.
 
Just as I felt about the Trans Am, I see this as the 4 seater 'Vette. And at 10k less and running essentially the identical power train, it makes a lot more sense.
 
What I don't understand are the comments I read about the car in the press. "Ill-fated", "ill-advised", "unsuccessful"? Okay, it didn't sell as well as Pontiac would have liked to see. But then it was also not advertised very much either. And it is more in the spirit of cars like the BMW 3 or 5 M series, not the original GTO. I think that is the reason it didn't sell as well as one would have hoped. It was not what people expected. It was a totally different concept. That is probably because it was based off the Monaro which was an Australian idea of a GTO (look up Holden/Monaro and if you are thorough enough, you will notice that the performance version even has the GTO badge on it just in front of the rear wheel opening, down low on the rocker). Of course, that is going to be a different interpretation. Once you separate yourself from the idea that it is not a GTO because it does not reflect the vintage versions, you can truly come to appreciate it.
 
I will offer this thought in observation of where it should really fit into the Pontiac line up though. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I have owned two Grand Prixs, one a '77 and one a '98. When I first bought the Goat, I had just spent 6 years driving a Trans Am. For those who have not driven a T/A, it was a car that you drove by the seat of your pants. You WORE that car and it responded in that manner. The GTO did not feel that way. It struck me as more of a luxury car that was incredibly powerful and performance oriented. Then it dawned on me. Had Pontiac continued to develop the Grand Prix in the idea and spirit of the original one, THIS is what we would have today as a Grand Prix instead of the turd that exists. (How could they go from the slick little GP of the generation just prior to this ugly piece o '$%!+?)
 
I would just like to know if anyone else can understand/relate to my feeling on that.

#22 of 54 GTO reliability by coreseller

Nov 13, 2007 (5:13 pm)

On my second '04 GTO. The first was totalled October 6, 2007. A 16 yr. old kid who had his license for 4 days pulled out in front of me. That car had 94k on it, the issues it had: door lock actuator ~30k miles, tie rods 90k miles and the rear gears were starting to whine pretty bad about a month or so before it's untimely demise. I liked the car so much I found another used '04 GTO with 29k miles and bought it 3 weeks ago. I'm VERY sold on these vehicles.....Mark.

#23 of 54 Re: 2004 GTO water leak [mick1] by hawkeyefan1

Mar 15, 2008 (12:35 pm)

Replying to: mick1 (Aug 10, 2007 5:40 pm)
I have a 2004 GTO with the water leak . Please , do you know how it can be fixed ! Thank You .

#24 of 54 water leak by cappgoat

Mar 16, 2008 (6:47 am)

I had a very small leak somewhere in the hoses. The dealer dealt with it in no time and I haven't had any more problems with it.
 
What is this i am reading about the gas cap? I have never had an issue nor have I received a letter from GM regarding an extended warranty. Someone fill me in.

#25 of 54 gas cap / better mpg with 87 octane than 91? by elias

Mar 16, 2008 (7:19 pm)

cappgoat maybe yours is a late 06 and they made those with more reliable gas caps? the ratchet mechanism seems to fail on the caps - it just sits there in the tank - no fuel spills but fuel evaporates. OBD does not seem to notice the pressure loss, but I won't tell EPA if you won't. I drove for months before realizing the cap was not working - the mpg cost was considerable since i wasn't driving it much like I do now.
in economy news, lately this winter I think my 05 M6 gets better mpg with 87 octane than 91 - at least as good.

#26 of 54 Re: gas cap / better mpg with 87 octane than 91? [elias] by cappgoat

Mar 17, 2008 (6:27 am)

Replying to: elias (Mar 16, 2008 7:19 pm)
Was the extended warranty for the whole car or just the gas cap. If it for the whole car I hope my gas cap messes up, LOL! I bot an extended warranty for it but it only runs for 4 years. The way I put miles on the car (a year and a half and only 16k on it) I would be able to have this feela warrantied a long time.
 
It is interesting to hear about the 87 octane mpg boost. My concern with it is the overall health of the engine. In my daily use, which includes a reasonable amount of freeway driving, I get 17 mpg in town. I have been out on trips on the highway in it and got 22-23 mpg, which I figure is pretty good for this car. Granted, I don't drive it hard or too fast usually, so that helps I guess. But hell, if these prices go any higher I may be looking for some economy beater to use and let the Goat sit more.

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