needtomod!

so i recently sold my mustang and am looking to get back in a real car, i got about 20k to spend and i got in narrowed down to a 05+ gto or ctsv i have owned a 2004 gto but never a v. so is the v worth the extra cash?

VforMe

Yes. Why do you want to buy a funny looking cavalier when you could get a cadillac?

SSmokd U

I have owned both. Love the look of only two doors but I love the V way more. So my vote is go V!

johnny2343

I love my v but an 06 gto would be nice

bamacaddy

iTrader: (1)

V without a doubt....I have a couple of friends with GTOs and EVERY one of them say that they'd trade theirs for a V in a second. It was between a V and a G8 GT for me. Caddy all the way.

whisler151

The shop that I go to is known for their work on GTOs. Every time i'm in there the GTO guys are drooling over my V.

jasonk

iTrader: (29)

Shameless plug, but if you decide to look at 04's I am selling my maggied v for that price

Pillion88

iTrader: (1)

I'd never sell my gto but I most defenetly want a V, plus for me the car seat in the GTO looks funny haha

aurora40

iTrader: (1)

What are you planning on doing with it? The GTO seems to me like a much nicer F-body. Which is to say a car more or less made for driving fast. They are fairly basically equipped as far as features go. But they certainly have a nicely styled interior.

The CTS-V has four doors, awesome brakes, HID's, Nav, heated seats, memory seats, XM, stability control, side and curtain airbags, and a reasonable trunk (sorta small, but gigantic compared to the Goat). The GTO has body colored gauges, a Blaupunkt, and the pedals, switches and wheel that are required to safely pilot the vehicle...

That said, if that sort of stuff is not important, then it's not important that the GTO doesn't have them. All I mean is they are two different cars. To me, the GTO is like a really nice F-body. As such, though, it is lighter and should be faster all else equal. The V is a Cadillac, and has a measure of equipment that would be expected from a Cadillac. I also tend to think the CTS has a much more purposeful appearance, and in V trim it really looks great.

Not sure there should be too much "extra cash" needed though? At least around here, LS2 GTO's seem to hold value fairly well, CTS-V's don't. I'd think both could be had in good shape with decent miles for within two to three grand of each other. A Goat maybe $17-21k, a V maybe $18-25k. What are prices like where you are?

wcryan

iTrader: (2)

Just keep the GTO out of the picture

needtomod!

ive seen decent ctsvs for 18/19 k and decent gtos for 15/17k but my thought was i could get a very nice gto for 20k or a ok v for 20K, im not a family man so back seat room is not really a issue. It will be my dd but i would still like to find one with some mods. from what i read they both run around a 13-13.2 stock and i was interested to find out the v is less than a 100 pounds heaver than the gto. how is insurance on the v, is it still considered a sports car in the insurance company's eyes?

needtomod!

is that the silver one in your pics? pm me some details or a link

JNR_Design

iTrader: (3)

I've owned both (2006 GTO brand new and now an '07 CTS-V)...They are different cars and both have their ups and downs. The V is far more practical though and you see less of them (although see a lot of CTS'), but the GTO can be a lot of fun and looks nice...I laugh at the ignorant folks who call it a cavalier and make other stupid comments about it and just ignore those magazine types. You can't go wrong with either car, but if you go GTO, get the 6-speed and make sure you get one from an owner who has not abused it, although same could be said for the V's...I've bought brand new cars in the past and normally shy away from them (rather have somebody else eat the depreciation), but one reason I was glad to buy the GTO new was a) got the color and options (although not many) I wanted (impulse blue/blk, 6-speed and 18's) and b) knew I didn't buy somebody elses hack job/abused car.

Just need to ask yourself what you are looking for in the car. If you can get by with a mostly useless backseat (not the size, but getting in an out is a PITA with the stupid electic seats) and trunk (lose 1/2 of it for US gas tank), then there is nothing wrong with the GTO. I'd look for an 05 or 06 for the LS2 and better brakes, etc., but I'd also recommend looking for an 06 or 07 V.

Either car can be a lot of fun, get decent mileage and turn heads (if that's what you're into) and are cheap right now + can still find decent examples, but I will admit I do like my V better in many ways, but I also have kids and use the trunk a lot now. Either car will have its flaws and things you need to replace and neither can put any real tire on them with oem wheels, but small points, IMO.

jasonk

iTrader: (29)

It's in the classifieds bit here's the link

https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-cts-v-classifieds/1456664-fs-04-maggied-v.html

.Houdini.

iTrader: (1)

Might have missed it but I didn't see anyone mention the handling... V all the way.

wes8398

iTrader: (2)

I was considering GTO's too, but wound up with my V. In the end, I needed the potential for a practical 'sports car', so that when my wife and I decide to start having kids I didn't have to trade it in and wind up being guilted into a van. lol All other factors were really just personal preference.

What about our V's rear end and other inherent issues? Would a GTO have those issues too?

JNR_Design

iTrader: (3)

^^^GTO's have some rear end issues, too (I never experienced them, but with a lot of folks abusing on them you hear about it), as well as some cheap bushings and so on. The rear springs sag, so your camber is affected (negative) so I ran thru tires a lot. Some people complain about the shifter (the V is better there) and other things, but on the internet, it's hard to tell what are *really* inherit issues and flaws, or people just complaining (100 our of 15,000 let's say doesn't mean it's common)...The Radio in them does suck...They are not perfect, but neither is the V.

Mine held up quite well for the 68k miles I owned it...Just be sensible and keep on the maintenance (they are really easy to work on too) and it'll last a long time. However, as I mentioned before, you just have to be careful who you buy it from. Personally, I would be wary of buying anybody's modified car and doubt many of them would be done well enough anyway (compared to how I like to do things ) and it would just be too questionable. I'm sure a few examples are out there, but makes it all the harder and especially if the buyer is not totally on top of things. Worse is buying a car that has been returned back to stock, IMO. Just try to find a virgin either way and especially an orig. owner and you'd probably be fine...This goes for either and any (esp HP) car though.

SSmokd U

GTO's do have their own issues but I don't think they are as bad as ours. Mine had some electrical issues I had worked out under warranty. With that said, even with our issues I wouldn't dare trade my V for another GTO.

ColeGraham

iTrader: (8)

An ok CTS-V is still better then a Nice GTO. My dad had an 06 GTO and I have an 07 V...his GTO was 8 grand less then what i paid for my V. His had 15k more miles then mine did. And the the V was worth the extra money, even my dad thought so. The GTO is a very good carm but it can hold a candle to the V.

With the V, dont look at drag number and how fast you will do the 1/4. if you want a car to DD and take to he 1/4, get the GTO. there are guys on here that are pushing 500+ to the wheel and not in the 11s.

insurance is pretty good on the V since it has 4 doors, but the GTO (at least for me) is cheaper.

itsslow98

iTrader: (18)

Comfy quick daily= ctsv

Potential car tO heavily mod=gto