New owner

[bhaze]

Yesterday we traded in the minivan for a 2005 GXP with just over 52k miles. It's a beautiful Pearl White. I'm still in awe over all the features this car has. Things I didn't even know existed. Now it's a fight with the wife over who gets to drive it. The alternative is the Chevy Aveo. This coming from the woman who set out shopping saying all I want is power windows and door locks...other than that I don't care. She's singing a different tune now. The car's not perfect but coming from a 4 cylinder minivan with manual doors and windows, I can overlook a few things. The only real problem is some rust. Upstate New York winters are brutal and this poor car is starting show it. We're trying to come up with options so it looks its best as long as possible. We plan on keeping this car for at least 6 years but that would make it 11-12 years old. My only concern is that repairs are going to be insanely expensive. But after driving it we couldn't leave it behind. I hope I'm not spending as much time scouring forums for repair help, like I was with the Chrysler van.

[Jrs3800]

Welcome to the forum... The GXP...... Some have had very few issues other have had their fair share.. Hard to say...

But yes, the GXP's are really nice and handle really good too not to mention that V8 exhaust note

[repinS]

I got my GXP last December and am absolutely loving it. The handling is second to none over my old SSEi - even with snow tires - and the Northstar feels amazingly good to drive, and its still comfortable!

Where is your rust, underneath the gas door?

[WhiteArrow3800]

Congrats on the new ride! Welcome to the Community!

[bhaze]

I got my GXP last December and am absolutely loving it. The handling is second to none over my old SSEi - even with snow tires - and the Northstar feels amazingly good to drive, and its still comfortable!

Where is your rust, underneath the gas door?

I have not looked at the gas door closely yet. I just read about that problem last night. The worst is under the hood at the seam that folds under and the hood latch. And a little on the same type of seam on the trunk. My old Chrysler minivan started that after 4 years. It wasn't long before it started to look really bad. I'm hoping this car will hold up longer, the metal feels a lot more substantial. The underide of the car looked exceptionally clean though. Although I have not crawled all the way under. I'll have to wait since it is -6 degress here right now...boy those heated seats are nice. There ought to be a law for this part of the country that makes them mandatory in all cars. I always scoffed at the notion of heated seats. Now I don't know if I could live without them.
Now I need to find excuses to get in the car. My commute is only 3 miles. Sure honey, I'll go out for some milk...I'll get the loaf of bread...

[bill buttermore]

Welcome to the club! Up in Canada they use a product called Krown oil to slow rust. The concept is to coat the rust-prone areas (inside the rocker panels, inside the doors, up inside the boxed in fender areas, etc) with a waxy oil. If you can't get someone to professionally treat your car, you can do some good yourself by just applying oil to any rusted or rust-prone areas. You may have to drill some holes. And, it is messy - the car may drip for a few days, but it is very effective. I did this on my '95 Bonneville around the rear wheel openings and rocker panels- stopped the rust from penetrating on the driver's side and slowed it down considerably on the passenger side. If I had started a couple of years earlier, I doubt it would have perforated. Used a step drill and punched several 1/2-inch holes in the door jambs. After squirting in some 70-weight oil, the holes were plugged with neat little plastic caps from Dorman. Make it look downright professional.

[vogie01]

Welcome to the forum!!

[willwren]

What's 'rust'?

[bhaze]

I have not read the owners manual yet or looked around the vehicle closely. Can someone tell me what octane the 05 GXP, Northstar v8, was designed to run on? I found a lot of posts with opinion on what should be used. But I want to know what it was designed to use before experimenting. Thanks.

[bhaze]

I have not read the owners manual yet or looked around the vehicle closely. Can someone tell me what octane the 05 GXP, Northstar v8, was designed to run on? I found a lot of posts with opinion on what should be used. But I want to know what it was designed to use before experimenting. Thanks.

I found it in the owners manual. It says to use 87 unless it starts to knock.