Thinking of buying Pontiac G8 GT for DD/fun car

M

motownrx7

Forum Member
Like title says I'm in a market for DD/fun car. I like the looks of G8 GT but don't know anything about them. Would love to find out more about reliability and performance of these cars from current owners. Which years are better then others or should I just plain and simple stay away. Come on in and chime in. Any and all info greatly appreciated.
 
wheel hop increases with more power added, insurance will be high. Interior wears fast (seats, door panels, center console)
 
get a 2008.5 or a 2009 , bugs were pretty much fixed by then , get a gxp if you can find one , I almost bought one then life got in the way on top of a divorce so plans changed lol
 
They are fun cars, have usual issues like all gm products (front suspension wears out quick, cheap interior). I put 70k mile on mine before I sold it. In stock form they are HEAVY and SLOW. I wouldn't have any problem buying a used one,,,,,,,but there is no way I would buy a used one at the prices most people are asking. IMHO they are not worth the 16k+ that people are asking for the low mileage ones (<60k miles).
 
I drove one for 3 years up to ~105k miles. Not sure where the "maintenance is costly" comment is coming from. While I was still working at Belle Tire, I replaced a wheeler bearing and a ball joint. They're no more expensive than any other car..? The wheel bearing was available same day, but the ball joint had to be ordered. Some of the vendors on the two main G8 forums are able to give substantial discounts on almost any part you could possible need. Because the engine is an LS variant, parts are typically readily available if the need comes up, although I never had a single issue related to that. I actually never had an issue period.

I had Kooks LT headers with mid pipes to stock exhaust, Rotofab intake and a Livernois tune. It went 13.0 @ 108 and I daily drove it throughout the year. I put winter tires on it for the cold months and never had an issue. It is a heavy car, but I wouldn't ever call it slow. I'm not sure what NBFRC is comparing it to, but in stock form it's at least not bad. With a basic intake and tune you're in the very low 13's, which is fine for a large sedan.

I do agree the prices tend to be high. You won't find a GXP for less than $26k - $27k, and some of the sellers are asking more than what they were new. I really don't get who would buy a G8 GXP for roughly the same price of a new Chevy SS, but I've seen more than one priced that way. The GT model is certainly better than that, but the low mile ones are still getting $20k plus.
 
My friend might be selling his red gxp. Automatic, prob less than 5k on the clock. If your interested I can get you tbe year
 
Buy a G8, the aussies do a good job at building them, lots better than uaw

Fit and finish is great
 
The G8 definitely held it's value well. I think they're great cars and wish I would have bought a GXP when GM was "giving them away".

They respond well to mods and are reliable.

I sold the Livernois GXP with around 10,000 miles for $41,000 a year and a half ago or so. It was tastefully modded and made great power.
 
RyeLou said:
I had Kooks LT headers with mid pipes to stock exhaust, Rotofab intake and a Livernois tune. It went 13.0 @ 108 and I daily drove it throughout the year. I put winter tires on it for the cold months and never had an issue. It is a heavy car, but I wouldn't ever call it slow. I'm not sure what NBFRC is comparing it to, but in stock form it's at least not bad. With a basic intake and tune you're in the very low 13's, which is fine for a large sedan.
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It's just my opinion that it was a slow car in stock form (13.7 was the best 1/4 mine ran stock). When I say stock I am referring to it right off the dealer lot...... Tune, lid headers, and exhaust will wake up any LS1 and it will also set you back some $$$. I wouldn't complain about a 13.0 timeslip in a G8 but you can't call that stock when you are dropping including $2k of mods over the purchase price.

I ended up with a TVS1900 on mine and it was a consistent 12.3 car which was fun. The car sold last November to a kid down in Arkansas. I had it for sale all summer up here but could not find a local buyer.
 
You can find some 2010 Camaro's under $20k now. That is some serious bang for the buck. I drove mine all winter with a set of Blizzaks and it did fine. Huge aftermarket for that car too.

-Geoff
 
dline said:
Buy a G8, the aussies do a good job at building them, lots better than uaw

Fit and finish is great
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lol. Cute. Guess all the quality awards from magazines in the entrance of my plant are signs of your statement.
 
NBFRC said:
It's just my opinion that it was a slow car in stock form (13.7 was the best 1/4 mine ran stock). When I say stock I am referring to it right off the dealer lot...... Tune, lid headers, and exhaust will wake up any LS1 and it will also set you back some $$$. I wouldn't complain about a 13.0 timeslip in a G8 but you can't call that stock when you are dropping including $2k of mods over the purchase price.

I ended up with a TVS1900 on mine and it was a consistent 12.3 car which was fun. The car sold last November to a kid down in Arkansas. I had it for sale all summer up here but could not find a local buyer.
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To be fair, I had an intake and tune on mine before I had a license plate. I drove it from Ohio more or less right to Livernois. I wasn't as displeased with the power as I was with the transmission and stock shifting.

And although my mod list was over $2,000, an intake and a tune is only about $750 and takes off 3/4 of a second and it feels infinitely better. I don't think 13.0 is fast, but I think it's more than respectable for a car that weighs 4000 lbs and seats five comfortably (for short trips - 4 for longer.)
 
I had a 2008 and put 70k on it...loved the car. My interior didn't show any wear either. Parts weren't expensive either. Probably one of my favorite cars that I've owned.
 
seriously thought about buying one a year or so ago. overpriced, and the lack of nav were killers. anyone that says a 4000lb sedan that runs 13.7 stock is slow... well that's silly. :)
 
I typically stick to ford or gm product, but I've been considering a dodge charger. They should be hitting msp's auction site at some point if you want to try one out for cheapish price. I checked and they only had crown Vic's still.
 
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