More new car help Grand Prix GXP, Grand Prix GTP and Saab 9-7X 5.3i

[Leadfoot]

Ok, the deals from my previous thread just didn't work out. The Impala just seemed like it was going to be trouble and the dealer and I were too far apart on the Regal.

 

I am not looking at a couple of cars. I was hoping for some help from those of you with more experience than I with these particular models.

 

I am looking at 2007 Grand Prix GXP's, 2004-2006 Grand Prix GTP's, and some Saab 9-7X 5.3i. Thoughts Impressions?

 

Specifically, a few questions regarding fuel economy. It is not critical, but I find widelay varying reports of mileage on the GTP's and GXP's. It seems the official EPA estimates do not match anything I find in reviews either, but that does not surprise me much. What are you guys getting out of these cars. I am not sure how much diff a 3.8 supercharged would vary from a N/A 5.3 V8.

 

Also, the tires on the GXP are different sizes front and rear. It seems to me that I would just put the larger tires on the rear to keep it simple, be able to rotate, etc. Do the larger tires not fit in the rear? Is there something I am missing here?

 

Lastly, the Sabb 9-7X 5.3i is basically a Trailblazer V8 with all wheel drive in Saab clothing. I have done a fair amount of research, but there aren't too many out there so the info is minimal. I was just curious if any of you have experience with this platform with the 5.3 AWD or not and esp if you are familiar with the Saab variant.

[Addicted To Boost]

I have a 2004 GTP with the Competition Group package and have been very happy with it. The Comp G has the 3.29 gearing versus the standard GTP 2.93 gearing, so it helps in the city, but you take a bit of a hit on the highway. I'm averaging about 27 mpg in mixed driving and averaged 29.3 mpg on a recent 90% highway trip.

[jeremy]

The wider tires go in the front and the rims are wider as well. My mpg in my Gxp was mid 20s on the hwy, high teens in town. I like my gxp but wouldn't buy another one.

 

 

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[Leadfoot]

Good info. I am heading out of town to where my family lives because there are far more clean used cars like I am looking for. I honestly would avoid a GXP because of increased price, but they honestly are not priced much more. I think it is the image and many people I run into think that owning a Pontiac is going to be a nightmare because they are out of business. They all assume you cannot get parts for them because they are gone forever. Oh well, if the thoughts of the poorly informed general public help me get a better deal.....GREAT!

 

I am most concened with the vehicle being clean, good condition, and as low of miles as I can get. All 3 of these have solid proven drivetrains and I can work on them or have my buddies at the dealership do work on the side. I have my preferences and my wife has hers. I will just have to see what these all look like in person.

 

One last question for all of you northerners. A couple of these I am looking at show to have spent some time early in their life up north (Michigan specifically). Any areas that are particularly rust prone I should pay special attention to?

[jeremy]

Good info. . All 3 of these have solid proven drivetrains and I can work on them or have my buddies at the dealership do work on the side.

 

The GXPs have transmissions made out of glass. If you buy one, plan on replacing the transmission at some point in the time you own it, most ls4 owners expect to replace them and end up having to.

 

 

 

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[LuminaPower92]

Do the 97-x 5.3L. If it was an 97x Aero, we wouldnt even be having this convo.

[Leadfoot]

Do the 97-x 5.3L. If it was an 97x Aero, we wouldnt even be having this convo.

I couldn't find any Aeros near us that weren't really $$$. We drove a couple of the 9-7X and just didn't like them as much as the Grand Prix's. I have a 2500Hd if I really need to haul something so we don't need an SUV. We ended up picking up an 07 Grand Prix GXP with 62,000 miles. I was able to get a good deal on it too so that made it better. I will take some pics and post them once I get a chance to wash it.

[Leadfoot]

Heres a couple pics I took while we were fueling up to head back to Houston.

http://db.tt/LC9h9qyN

http://db.tt/0uU0iuaa

[Addicted To Boost]

Nice! LOVE that color.

[Euro]

Congrats on the buy! I would've gone with the GTP personally, especially since you don't need an SUV or something to haul. GXP's look awesome, but don't want to be messing with trans' every 10k. Plus you'd get way better MPG's with the L32 than LS4

[Leadfoot]

Nice! LOVE that color.

 

Agreed. Honestly, when I first saw the internet pics (they weren't very good) I was pretty ho hum on the color. Turned out the color looks good. They just couldn't take pics. We looked at a black GXP, but it had tons of knicks and scratchs to the point it needed a paint job. While I like black, I was reminded it will show every little thing so I wasn't to upset about passing on the black one anyway. Not too mention it had other issues.

 

Congrats on the buy! I would've gone with the GTP personally, especially since you don't need an SUV or something to haul. GXP's look awesome, but don't want to be messing with trans' every 10k. Plus you'd get way better MPG's with the L32 than LS4

 

 

Honestly, I didn't care too much. I was more interested in a mechanically sound car that was a fair price. We looked at several GTP's and I was shocked at how beat up they were for the miles. Especially considering 2 were at new car dealerships. One needed a full repaint and the supercharger had problems. It had pretty big intake leak as well. They were over BB value too. The other dealer one was rough and still a high price. The only clean one (private seller)was metallic teal. Probably the least favorite color for my wife and I. It was clean and well maintained. It was an 04, but did not show its age at all. It had been a northern car (salt, snow, etc) until last year. There was some rust on the underside (mostly brackets). Not terrible. However, if I can get a clean no rust GP in a color I prefer for similar price this was a no brainer for me.

 

I was able to negotiate with the dealership and get the GXP well under BB value which was in the same price range of most of the GP we had seen over the last few weeks regardless of beat up or not. Plus, the interior is a little nicer, it was newer, a color we liked much more, and had all the little bells and whistles. If they hadn't gotten down in the price range I wanted, we would have walked away. We had set pretty solid boundaries on what we were willing to pay and what condition we wanted.

 

All in all, I like it so far. It is a bit deceptive thanks to the tq it has. You aren't really giving much throttle and are just cruising at 80. Good thing for heads up where I am constantly reminded of how fast I am going so I don't get a bunch of tickets. It did get 26+ mpg on the trip home running 75-80 so that wasn't bad.

 

I guess to close the loop on the Saabs, I don't think the 9-7X is a bad choice. We drove a few and just couldn't bring ourselves to deal with the pretty low mileage when we don't really need an SUV. They rode great and have nice interior as well as exterior. I was a bit concerned with AWD eating tires and having more moving parts to have problems. Apparently the transmissions are known to go out if you aren't meticulous with greasing U-joints because they cause excess drag and heat the tranny up. Not too mention the ones we found were in a bit rougher shape than we wanted. The one with reasonable miles lost oil pressure within 100 feet of leaving the dealer. We had already pretty much decided we didn't want it anyway, but that was the nail in the coffin.

[Euro]

HUD is what I miss the most about my GP! Glad to see you guys really shopped around and got a car for your money. It's crazy how beat up a GTP of any year can get, 99% of them here are the same way.