Dream Car Corner: 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO
How does a Corvette V8-powered, four-place Grand Touring coupe that can dash to 60 mph in about 5.5 seconds, run the quarter in 14 flat and yet get up to 25 mpg on a long trip sound? And what if we told you that there are mint, low mileage examples available for under $20,000?
We're talking about the 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO, the made-in-Australia Poncho that had old-school muscle car purists treating it like Rodney Dangerfield ("I tell ya, I get no respect!") and performance car purists dinging it for its less-than-agile handling. Hey, that's their loss and it results in these modern, fast yet comfortable muscle cars being one of the best used car deals of that last couple of decades. Throw a performance set of springs/shocks/bushings and brake pads on it and you're good to go.
Brief History:
Reviving a storied muscle car name from the '60s and early '70s, GM took the Australian-made Holden Monaro and basically gave it a signature Pontiac grille, GTO badges and of course left-hand drive and called it the new GTO. Debuting for 2004, the GTO featured a 5.7-liter Corvette V8 with 350 hp hooked up to either a six-speed manual or four-speed automatic.
The 2005-2006 GTO offers 50 more hp (400 versus 350), slightly more aggressive styling (via twin hood scoops and more traditional dual exhausts) and a better behaved suspenion (no wheel hop) under hard acceleration from a stop. And according to the enthusiast forums, they also have better braking performance than the '04 version.
What's Special About It:
-- Comfortable seating for four adults
-- Strong performance
-- Respectable fuel economy
What We Found:
2006 Pontiac GTO on eBay: Six speed, 21k miles, Black on Black, $19,750:
2005 Pontiac GTO on eBay: Automatic, 24k miles, Black on Red, $18,300:
2004 Pontiac GTO on eBay: Six-speed, 11k miles, Blue on Black, $16, 575:
Edmunds Road Tests:
2004:http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=101578
2005:http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=105773/pageNumber=1
Owner/Enthusiast sites:
http://www.gtoforum.com/
- Posted by
- John DiPietro September 10, 2009, 11:05 AM
- Permalink
- Categories:
- Pontiac, Used Car Corner, Used Cars
I love these posts. Please keep doing these.
Don't get the automatic. Six-speed is the only way to go! The 6.0L rocks.
I'd say don't even bother with a 2004 if you can afford a 2005-2006 goat. More power! I like the speed holes in the hood, too!
Well I took a chance on an '04 amid all the comments of "it looks like a Grand Prix/Grand Am/Cavalier/'58 Esdel..." - while I really liked the idea of the car itself (seated 4 comfortable, had great power, etc), the one I had constantly gave me fits.
Seemed like every other day there was an electrical gremlin of some sort - sometimes the dash gauges would quit, the radio would quit, the low-coolant sensor would constantly go off even when the system was checked numerous times and within specs, brake lights would work intermittently... most of these glitches would fix themselves, sometimes it'd have to go back to the dealer - an annoyance either way.
The worst, however, was the dreaded "strut-rub" problem. Over time the front tires would cant inwards and the tires would end up rubbing against the struts, which would cause the sidewalls to suddenly separate (and considering the speeds this car is capable of achieving, this could be an incredibly dangerous defect). Mine did this, and thankfully the problem was caught in time before any real damage was done (and before anyone asks, my car was never driven hard or autocrossed).
If anyone is considering one of these, my advice is to inspect VERY carefully - pull the front wheels and check the struts for evidence of the "strut-rub" and definitely check the insides of the front tires for any sign of tread separation - that's usually your first sign of trouble.
Thankfully my car was a lease. At the end I turned it back in to GM and walked away.