Looking at buying a 2005 GXP vs 2005 SLE vs 2003 SSEi

[7tcatvert]

I found a good deal on a 2005 GXP on the dealers lot. I have been researching the GXP for a few months and have been reading this forum for things to look for...

So here is my question...

The 2005 is a 68K mile one owner car in very good condition....what I dont know is if the head gasket has been replaced(probably not or if the any of the other weak points have been addressed...

Do most dealerships offer an extended warrenty and are they worth it to cover the problems on the car?

[repinS]

Hard to say if the head gasket is still a problem area on the later Northstars. Coarser thread head bolts were used from 2004 and onward, among other things, which is SUPPOSED to take care of it. Haven't heard of common failures since.

Extended warranty? I would say yes to getting one for a GXP. When they work well, they are fantastic and you will enjoy every minute of it, but when they fall, they fall hard...

Does this 05 GXP have service records?

[ga93sle]

I'm gonna disagree on the extended warranty... working on 2 car lots, you would be surprised how much those warranties DON'T cover.

[94SilverSSEi]

I'm gonna disagree on the extended warranty... working on 2 car lots, you would be surprised how much those warranties DON'T cover.

Exactly this....

It depends what the warranty covers. 99% of the time, they are a rip off but once in a while they will save you money.

But, on our 94 Bonneville the extended warranty did work out in our favor.

So I would say look into EXACTLY what it covers, then go from there.

Also, although there haven't been many failures of the newers Northstars, it could be because of the coarser thread bolts or it could be because the cars are newer and don't have as many miles and thus not as many failures yet.

[ga93sle]

On a second note, if you do decide to go with a warranty, shop around with somedifferent companies. We had a girl buy a car from us last week and she bought a warranty through the credit union that financed her. Payed like $1300 for it, I could have sold her the same warranty for about $800 and still made money off of it.

[SSEiMan01]

I had a GMPP warranty on my Impala, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Never again for me...

[skregal]

I have a CNA warranty on my GXP, and it has paid for $8000 in repairs.
I would recommend one, but make sure it covers gaskets and leaks.
These N-stars can leak and the car has plenty of other issues such
as cooler lines, AC lines, steering lines, etc. that could give you grief.

[00Beast]

We luckily haven't had any issues with our 05 GXP, but the issues with the Northstar and the nature of it being hard to work on has been enough to have me looking for its replacement, as it's nearing 100k. I just don't trust it to last, and I don't want my parents to have a huge bill on a car I pushed them to buy....

[7tcatvert]

I have a CNA warranty on my GXP, and it has paid for $8000 in repairs.
I would recommend one, but make sure it covers gaskets and leaks.
These N-stars can leak and the car has plenty of other issues such
as cooler lines, AC lines, steering lines, etc. that could give you grief.

How much was the CnA warranty and how did you get it....

[1oldman]

I had a GMPP warranty on my Impala, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Never again for me...

I had just the opposite experience. GMPP, on the ole green monster, paid for oil pan gasket, LIM gasket, rear wheel cylinders, rear brake shoes and ECC control. I wish your experience had been different. I think the extended warranty (service contract) experience is determined by the warranty company and it's call center agents, the repair shop and the buyer of the warranty. One daughter has bought a service contract on every used or new vehicle she has ever purchased. Sometimes the experience is great and sometimes it's terrible, same company. - BC

[SSEiMan01]

Funny thing was, when it was factory warrantied, the dealer gave us no troubles. Once it went into extended warranty, they turned a blind eye to our problems. Same dealer we had been going to since 1992.

[skregal]

I paid $2300 for my CNA warranty, but I bought it from the dealer to
make sure there wouldn't be any arguments betweent the dealer and
the warranty company when it came to paying claims. Of course,
that GM dealer went out of business a year later, but my current Chevy/Cady
dealer has had no issues getting repairs paid by CNA.

[SSEiMan01]

Mine was bought at the dealer as well...Go figure.

[CMNTMXR57]

Head gaskets and studs have been addressed by GM by 2005. Not to say it couldn't be a problem, but statistically I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

I'm gonna disagree on the extended warranty... working on 2 car lots, you would be surprised how much those warranties DON'T cover.

I worked in GM service. At one point in time while employed there, I'm the one that dealt with the warranty administration when people brought their cars in. It depends on the extended warranty. If you get a GMPP warranty (or a manufacturer backed warranty if not a GM vehicle that you're looking at), this is the ONLY way to go and you will have minimal problems. It is an extension of the OEM factory warranty and the consumer simply pays a deductible. The service department/manager/writer has control/say over coverage. No need to go any further, unless you feel something isn't/wasn't being covered that should be. But normally it's an open/closed thing. You have your car in, part XYZ needs fixing, you pay your deductible, extended warranty pays the rest.

The issue you witnessed is from 3rd party, fly-by-night, finance manager pushed (and kick back laden), warranty contracts that are nothing but a nightmare to deal with. You have to wait on the 3rd party warranty company to come out on-site and make a determination. If you're lucky, they may give you a decision there. 9 times out of 10, that wasn't the case though, then we had to keep hounding them to give us an answer. That was the next battle. Then it could be a day or two for that answer. Some cases we'd get, "ohh, we've not seen that claim yet, we need to send another person out to check it out...", starting the process all over from scratch. If this doesn't happen, and they make a determination, many times they deny the coverage. Yes, it has happened. You have to then inform the customer, then the customer has to go duke it out with them (the 3rd party company). In the meantime this wastes our time, time with the car sitting in a tech's stall taking up space (sometimes you can get it pushed out if the vehicle is inoperable), and of course causes the customer aggravation and frustration on top of which probbaly having to pay for a rental (which is another topic of whether they'll get re-imbursed or not). I think at one time we measured it, the average GMPP claim took 1 day to repair, the average 3rd party took 3 - 4 days for the same repair. All because of the red-tape to have to go through.

Moral of story, if looking at extended plan, ONLY get a manufacturer backed. In this case GMPP. Of course to get it, the car will have to be certified by a dealer service department.

Additional moral of story, unless you're mechnically inclined and don't mind doing some wrenching on your own car, stay away from a Bonneville GXP. Get an SSEi or other 3.8L V6 version.

[7tcatvert]

Well I am really torn right now...

I guess I have three options

2005 GXP with 68 k for 10k car has been gone through a couple times by 2 diff gm mechanics over all the common problems with the nstar and everything checks out...black with gray loaded..


2005 SLE 98k for 8k car is nice dealer ship serviced and runs good and looks good..white tricot with tan interior loaded

2003 SSEi 107k for 5500 car looks and runs good but individual with no history on the car for maintianance.... bronze metallic loaded

Taking votes now...wish website had an option for polls...

[SSEiMan01]

It's a tough choice, while I love the GXP, and I love the 05 SLE even more for the body cladding/3800 combo, I have to say I'm partial to an SSEi. It may make the most sense to buy the SLE though, it seems like a good deal for what it is.
EDIT: Just noticed, the SLE is white gold tricoat on tan, I revise my choice.

[vogie01]

05 SLE. It is rare, does not have the N* and possible issues and maintenance costs, plus it has the 3800.

[00Beast]

I'm going to say either the 03 Ei or 05 SLE. Ultimately depends on what you want, whether it's speed or looks and mileage. Really is up to you...

[swampthing]

I'm gonna play devils advocate here, I have driven both my car (00 ssei) and a 2005 gxp back to back. The gxp is an entirely different animal, ride, handling, and speed (stock vs stock) is better and fit and finish is improved, given the chance I would totally trade my aging car for a newish gxp any day and simply maintain it and watch for problem signs.

[00Beast]

I've put 50,000 miles on my 03 SSEi and probably 8-10k on our GXP. Yeah, the parts are fancier/ different on the GXP, but there is no difference in fit and finish. The GXP still has quirky little things like all the other 00+'s do, and yeah the power, handling and other GXP stuff are nice, but not the be-all-end-all in a car, and the GXP is still prone to all the other issues 00+ Bonne's have. On ours, the steering wheel control fell apart on the left side, the trim over the shifter doesn't fit right, etc. It's a good car, don't get me wrong, but I'll take my SSEi any day over it. The GXP isn't as good as the sum of the parts that are desireable from it.