Sell or Not - 2005 Pontiac Bonneville GXP

[Voorhees]

Thinking of selling my 05 GXP. I have too many cars and this is just too nice to end up sitting outside so thinking it may be time for a good home. Thought about using carsandbids. Anyone here sold a car on that site and have any tips or suggestions?









Car has clean carfax, no accident history and about to reach 77k miles. It has been meticulously maintained. Had a complete engine reseal 1.5k miles ago when the lower crankcase developed a leak and a new set of tires about 300 miles ago. Runs, handles and smells like new. I have every maintenance record dating back to 2005 when new. Has every option excluding heated seats & Trunk CD changer. The only flaws are some cracking on the center armrest, a few worn spots on the carbon fiber steering wheel wrap and a couple of small door dings.

[95naSTA]

Thats very clean but I wouldn't do carsandbids because the Q&A section will be filled with head stud comments.

[Voorhees]

It's a southern car so clean top and bottom - but did just have a wash But I'm Fine with the questions. The internet tends to have a way of blowing things way out of proportion sometimes. With all things considered, and with proper maintenance being the key, by 2005 N*'s are no more prone to head gasket failures then numerous other vehicles. My car has never missed an oil change, flush or service interval with a file of all the service records dating back to new. Which is one of the reasons I hate to see this car sit outside. Really needs a home of someone who will garage it, appreciate it and enjoy it even if only on weekends. Have no problems with anyone checking it out and I work from home so I would even drive it to a local Cadillac dealer or shop of any bidders choosing for inspection (at their cost of course). So if not carsandbids where would you suggest selling it?

[95naSTA]

The internet blowing things out of proportion was mainly the worry with C&B.

I would suggest Craigslist. I bought and sold my low mile '07 G35s 6MT on CL and picked up my '03 M5 form there as well. Both are fairly rare clean examples.

[haro1225]

A plus side to Cars and Bids is that it's mostly enthusiasts looking at the cars for sale and it may be somebody that knows a lot about the car already. And I think you could potentially get more money for it given the crazy used car marked we're in right now.

[Voorhees]

Think I may try carsandbids in a few weeks when I have more time. I think someone on there would appreciate all the service records that comes with the car and just being able to post a ton more pictures than most other sites would allow. Although seeing in person would certainly surprise most anyone as it really does show "new", craigslist in my area at least, seems filled with rebuilds, high mileage dailys and full of small car lots moving their wholesale purchases.

[nos4blood70]

If you do cars and bids it better be in pristine shape. Have you restudded the block? If not, that significantly impacts that value of these in my opinion.

[95naSTA]

Have you restudded the block? If not, that significantly impacts that value of these in my opinion.

If not, this is why C&B might not be the best idea.

[Voorhees]

If you do cars and bids it better be in pristine shape. Have you restudded the block? If not, that significantly impacts that value of these in my opinion.

It's in very pristine shape for nearly 77k miles- except for the center console lid has a few cracks and a bit of wear on the steering wheel. However no need for a restud. It's a 2005. But anyone who knows N*'s knows the changes made in both bolt length and design by late 2004 that made head gasket issues no more of a possibility than any other car. Now if it were a 2004 you really don't know if it received the new thread design as you would have to take it apart to know for sure. I am confident a Bonnie 6 would loose it's transmission before an 05' 8 would ever blow it's head gasket. Not saying it wouldn't or hasn't happen, but it's no guarantee it will either. The vast majority of it comes down to maintenance and upkeep. Most issues on any forums are not from individuals who tend to do regular maintenance, but rather those who post to find an answer on something that broke or is making noise they don't understand. And then they become interested in maintenance. If everything we read on the internet was a guaranteed truth no one would ever own a Mercedes, BMW or Jaguar. And I for one have never had an issue with either of them or my Bonnie But then again I do tend to be anal about maintenance on cars I own or buy.

[nos4blood70]

At this point, this community has seen plenty of 2004 and 2005 GXPs have head studs fail. They absolutely did not redesign them in any meaningful way for these years sadly.

Who knows when it'll happen. I personally want you to get get top dollar for it, as other than the center console it appears pretty minty. But you have to be prepared for the fact that people will criticize a non-studded N* block of this vintage.

[Voorhees]

At this point, this community has seen plenty of 2004 and 2005 GXPs have head studs fail. They absolutely did not redesign them in any meaningful way for these years sadly.

Who knows when it'll happen. I personally want you to get get top dollar for it, as other than the center console it appears pretty minty. But you have to be prepared for the fact that people will criticize a non-studded N* block of this vintage.

I respectfully disagree. GM made considerable changes to the N* engine that were effective. The main was going to the coarser thread pitch. Not saying a blown head gasket couldn't happen, anything is possible, but it is not a "when and not if" situation.

Of course we can't get specific numbers from now defunct Pontiac... However, we can use the internet unscientific approach where most myths are spread and shady facts originate. Being N*'s are the main Cadillac go to powerplant we can use the unscientific poll for such at the GM/Cadillac forum and see the 05 has 9 N* head gasket failures claimed from it's members. Not at all common considering the thousands upon thousands of 05 Cadillac's sold with the N*.

As for "this community has seen plenty", curious as to why considering the low Cadillac numbers, I could not find posts of actual owner occurrences in the plentiful amount on this forum. 04 or 05's. What I did find when doing a simple forum search on "blown head gasket" was the plentiful amount of posts on the 3800's head gasket failure. There are plenty of posts of "I heard, I read, my friend etc." but not a plentiful amount of actual owners of GXP head gasket failure.

Not trying to write a book here or beat a dead horse. And certainly not trying to change ones belief. Cars are like politics in that manner and commonly end in heated frustration. That's not my intent. I just can't find any actual numbers that would prove the changes made to the N* by 05 had no meaningful effect, or that they fail at a higher percentage than any other engine.

[95naSTA]

Well, you can see how this one goes:
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rJXEv2 ... eville-gxp

[ddalder]

I would love to own that car. I've always wanted a Crimson/Pewter GXP in excellent shape.

[luke_dubs]

It's in very pristine shape for nearly 77k miles- except for the center console lid has a few cracks and a bit of wear on the steering wheel. However no need for a restud. It's a 2005. But anyone who knows N*'s knows the changes made in both bolt length and design by late 2004 that made head gasket issues no more of a possibility than any other car. Now if it were a 2004 you really don't know if it received the new thread design as you would have to take it apart to know for sure. I am confident a Bonnie 6 would loose it's transmission before an 05' 8 would ever blow it's head gasket. Not saying it wouldn't or hasn't happen, but it's no guarantee it will either. The vast majority of it comes down to maintenance and upkeep. Most issues on any forums are not from individuals who tend to do regular maintenance, but rather those who post to find an answer on something that broke or is making noise they don't understand. And then they become interested in maintenance. If everything we read on the internet was a guaranteed truth no one would ever own a Mercedes, BMW or Jaguar. And I for one have never had an issue with either of them or my Bonnie But then again I do tend to be anal about maintenance on cars I own or buy.

Why are you thinking of selling such a clean car in the first place, if I may ask?

[Voorhees]

It's in very pristine shape for nearly 77k miles- except for the center console lid has a few cracks and a bit of wear on the steering wheel. However no need for a restud. It's a 2005. But anyone who knows N*'s knows the changes made in both bolt length and design by late 2004 that made head gasket issues no more of a possibility than any other car. Now if it were a 2004 you really don't know if it received the new thread design as you would have to take it apart to know for sure. I am confident a Bonnie 6 would loose it's transmission before an 05' 8 would ever blow it's head gasket. Not saying it wouldn't or hasn't happen, but it's no guarantee it will either. The vast majority of it comes down to maintenance and upkeep. Most issues on any forums are not from individuals who tend to do regular maintenance, but rather those who post to find an answer on something that broke or is making noise they don't understand. And then they become interested in maintenance. If everything we read on the internet was a guaranteed truth no one would ever own a Mercedes, BMW or Jaguar. And I for one have never had an issue with either of them or my Bonnie But then again I do tend to be anal about maintenance on cars I own or buy.

Why are you thinking of selling such a clean car in the first place, if I may ask?

Short answer: I have a bad habit of buying things. Longer version: I have more cars than I have space for or time to drive. I work from home so I really don't drive that much and with an addition of a Jaguar the Bonneville is parked outside and rarely gets driven anymore. It really should be in someone's garage and enjoyed. I hate that it is now sitting outside as it has always been garaged until recently. Most likely I will put it up for sale next month after I have time to give it a good detail, record a few videos etc.

And thank you for the complement. If you think it looks clean in those pictures you should see it in person. It sure doesn't look 16 years old and pictures just don't do it justice. Even the black trim is spot free with no oxidation or discoloration. The inside is very clean and if it weren't for the center console armrest having some cracks and the ware spots on the carbon trim on the steering wheel it would look showroom inside.

But I see there is one currently for sale on carsandbids which is why I originally posted asking for feedback on listing mine on that site. The car up for sale has lower mileage (I sorta question that - just from an appearance standpoint compared to mine) but looking at it, then looking at mine it just goes to show how similar items can be taken care of in different ways. Anyhow it will be interesting to see how the bids end up.

[luke_dubs]

I believe that auction you're referring to ended up selling for $6500. I don't think your car will sell for more, since it has more miles than the one auctioned off, and people look at that too much. However, maybe someone will fancy that lovely shade of red and you might get more. I don't know.

If I had the money, I'd take her off your hands. But of course, I don't right now.

[Voorhees]

I believe that auction you're referring to ended up selling for $6500. I don't think your car will sell for more, since it has more miles than the one auctioned off, and people look at that too much. However, maybe someone will fancy that lovely shade of red and you might get more. I don't know.

If I had the money, I'd take her off your hands. But of course, I don't right now.

I think the condition of that car itself hurt the price more than the mileage helped. I don't think the car showed as a low mileage car should have nor was it what I would call in good shape from the pictures. The amount of scratches, scrapes and discolored trim alone was concerning for such low mileage. But having had the roof repainted due to clearcoat peel may have turned off a few potential buyers. But why someone would sell a car without cleaning that stained interior is beyond me. Then again it was a dealer looking to unload with as little work as possible which is understandable for dealers in this market. Although I probably would get more selling in person simply because the condition would certainly impress, the auction process does appeal to me out of curiosity. I am sure I could take enough pictures and close ups to represent the car and highlight its condition. I would probably have 50 pictures of service records alone being that I all of them dating back to 2005. As a buyer, having a clean well taken care of car with a complete service history is worth more to me than a few thousand less in mileage.

[luke_dubs]

If your car is in better condition than the one on auction (I didn't take a close look at it when I viewed it), then you'll probably have better luck getting more money for her. That complete service history will definitely help matters.

If you think you'll have a good chance of getting more than $6500 for your GXP, then you should try to sell it on carsandbids. Maybe test the waters with the in-person approach for a bit, then put it on auction.