AMCRambler
Diamond Member
Congrats Chorb. I'm a happy '05 goat owner. Just ignore the rice boi crying. He can't afford to drive a GTO so he's rationalizing why he won't buy one.
I read up on these cars for like a year before I bought mine. The whole time I was watching the prices on them, waiting for them to come down, I kept reading the forums at ls1gto.com and gtoforum.com to find out about all the little foibles and things to look for if I actually went to buy one. Couple of things to watch out for are:
1. Strut rub - front tires rub against the lower strut mount, GM put fat tires on the front of the cars and the clearance between the inner tire sidewall and the strut is real tight. If the alignment gets out of spec even a small amount you can start getting contact and blow a tire.
2. Leaky Struts - I'm not sure if this was a prob on the '04s but the struts have a habit of failing early and the symptoms are oil on the struts and a nice bouncy front end when you stomp the brakes.
3. Dynamic Alignment Issues - Radius Rod Bushings Fail - I had this problem on mine. Front tires were wearing on the insides so I took it for an alignment. Everything felt nice and tight but then I started having issues with the car pulling randomly to either side when going over bumps and when braking. I knew it wasn't the brakes or it would pull the same way every time. Turns out GM used fluid filled bushings on the radius rods, well they can bust if the nuts are tightened down too tight and with the fluid gone the bushings flex a lot more and the suspension assembly is not held tightly in place. Very hard to diagnose as an alignment check will come out fine. It's only when wieght is put on the bushing when braking or going over a bump that the alignment changes. Picked up a pair of solid poly urethane radius rod bushings and hardware from Pedders and got re-aligned and the problem was solved.
4. Ignition Lock Jams - Key will get stuck in the ignition. I guess this one is a bitch to repair as they can't just pull the cylinder they have to replace the whole column. Mucho expensive. Watch for binding in the ignition lock. There's posts on how to lubricate the mechanism on those forums.
Those are the main bugs I'd watch out for. And $17,500 is a bit high for an '04. At least it was while I was looking. Although that is pretty damn low miles for an '04. I bought my '05 last summer for $19,500 with 17k on the clock, so $17,500 isn't too far off the mark. I would have guessed about $16,500 to be a fair price if it is mint with no imperfections in the paint. And with 28k on the odo you can be fairly certain it hasn't been abused too badly. That said, these cars are made to handle the power put in them too.
Good luck with the new car and enjoy.
I read up on these cars for like a year before I bought mine. The whole time I was watching the prices on them, waiting for them to come down, I kept reading the forums at ls1gto.com and gtoforum.com to find out about all the little foibles and things to look for if I actually went to buy one. Couple of things to watch out for are:
1. Strut rub - front tires rub against the lower strut mount, GM put fat tires on the front of the cars and the clearance between the inner tire sidewall and the strut is real tight. If the alignment gets out of spec even a small amount you can start getting contact and blow a tire.
2. Leaky Struts - I'm not sure if this was a prob on the '04s but the struts have a habit of failing early and the symptoms are oil on the struts and a nice bouncy front end when you stomp the brakes.
3. Dynamic Alignment Issues - Radius Rod Bushings Fail - I had this problem on mine. Front tires were wearing on the insides so I took it for an alignment. Everything felt nice and tight but then I started having issues with the car pulling randomly to either side when going over bumps and when braking. I knew it wasn't the brakes or it would pull the same way every time. Turns out GM used fluid filled bushings on the radius rods, well they can bust if the nuts are tightened down too tight and with the fluid gone the bushings flex a lot more and the suspension assembly is not held tightly in place. Very hard to diagnose as an alignment check will come out fine. It's only when wieght is put on the bushing when braking or going over a bump that the alignment changes. Picked up a pair of solid poly urethane radius rod bushings and hardware from Pedders and got re-aligned and the problem was solved.
4. Ignition Lock Jams - Key will get stuck in the ignition. I guess this one is a bitch to repair as they can't just pull the cylinder they have to replace the whole column. Mucho expensive. Watch for binding in the ignition lock. There's posts on how to lubricate the mechanism on those forums.
Those are the main bugs I'd watch out for. And $17,500 is a bit high for an '04. At least it was while I was looking. Although that is pretty damn low miles for an '04. I bought my '05 last summer for $19,500 with 17k on the clock, so $17,500 isn't too far off the mark. I would have guessed about $16,500 to be a fair price if it is mint with no imperfections in the paint. And with 28k on the odo you can be fairly certain it hasn't been abused too badly. That said, these cars are made to handle the power put in them too.
Good luck with the new car and enjoy.
