Hi,
I recently test drove an 04 and absolutely loved it. i do a TON of driving for work, and want a really nice car on the inside, a well performing car on the road, and a kinda sleeper-esk car on the outside to keep from getting too much attention from the police. this car seems to have it all, and it has the mrs seal of approval as well.

my question...

is it dumb to buy an 04 rather than spending the extra money to get an 05? Im no wealthy man, so price is a consideration, but if the 05 is waaaay better in reliability/safety i would wait. if it is soley performance/looks im not terribly concerned because the 04 i drove ran fantastic and im not a particular fan of the hood scoops.

Thanks!
Tom

 

It. In fact, buy mine!!! I absolutely love the car but need something 4 door, new born, If we could afford it, we'd keep it and buy something else too. (Damn you higher education)

 

get the 04 then

 

I bought a new 06 a month ago, but I have been checking out used 04 prices. For the money, I might have bought an 04 if I spent as much time back then looking into used GTOs. There are many low-mile 04s out there with prices around 20k -- some with mods and available with limited warrenties.

 

I all but stole mine...I had a GM history report on it, and Buick had my baby sitting on the lot in Shreveport with 6k miles on it. ...and no body was buying any cars NEAR Louisiana. I hunted down another Black/Red '04 in December of '05 knowing that all those '05 owners paid for every one of those fifty extra horses. For me 13.5 @ 103 is good enough for my first time at the track and a stock car. The scoopless hood that you're talking about makes you nearly invisible to the cop across the way, and it's still GTO eye candy for whoever's in the lane beside you...not to mention a nice clean rear fascia for once they are behind you. I admit I may be a little biased because of how much I like my own '04 though.

 

I had a SEG for 3 1/2 years driving my '04 until I ran into a deal I couldn't refuse on the '06. Go for it!!

 

If you loved the 04 go drive an 06......... you will probably try sexing the tailpipe lol.

 

If you drive a lot and are concerned with gas mileage you can get "lean cruise" turned on via a tuner and get an extra 2~5% MPG which is nice.

If you want to mod it, the LS1 has a long history and plenty of parts. Most but not all parts are usable in the LS2 but there are some gotch yas.

If you want to go nuts modding the LS2 can be converted to a potent motor with the L92 head and intake swap.

LS1 is OBDII and the LS2 uses the CAN system which could also come into play if you already own an OBDII reader.

Hope this helps.

 

Is it dumb to buy the 04' instead of saving for an 05'?

You do not seem interested in the extra 50 hp or the racier styling so I do not see any reason for you to go the 05' route.

The only issue I have read about with the 04' is strut rub but that seems to be rare and relatively easy to fix.

If you get the 04' come back and post a couple of pics so we can congratulate you.

Jack

 

Great, thanks for all of the responses. That answered my question. The car in question is a darker red color, 6 speed, and has 37k on it. looks and feels like brand new. An older gentleman owned it and traded it in on an 06 from what ive been told. However, its been on thier lot now for a while, at least a month or two. I think i can get it out-the-door for under 19k since they told me 20k a week ago and my brother stopped in yesterday to see what i was "raving" about and they told him they had reduced the sticker since i last talked to them. If i get lucky, i may be driving it next week!

Thanks!

 

Dont hessitate to shop around. I got my 04 5 months ago with 12K miles on it for $20K out the door. If your heart is set on this exact one, and you think the cost is worth it, I say go for it. I love my 04. You really cant go wrong with either. Congrads if you get it, and welcome to the club.

 

That sounds like Pulse Red. A beautiful combination in my opinion. There are slight differences in the Pulse Red from the Torrid Cars, but you may not notice exactly what's different until you're parked next to a few other GTO's. Good choice, and good luck!

 

I have an 04 Pulse Red M6 and love it. It is a very comfortable car to road trip in. I drive 500 mile round trips with mine almost monthly. Seeing that you have a syclone (I used to have a typhoon) you probably like being somewhat stealthy and the 04 hood fits that bill.

If you are going to drive it a lot I would find somebody local to you with HP Tuners or something similar to tune the A/F ratios on it. I only have an intake and a cat-back exhaust and my car was confused and over-compensating at certain rpm ranges. Now the car runs much smoother, pulls better, and gets me about 2 more MPG.

 

There is nothing 'wrong' with an '04, but I feel the sportier hood, dual exhaust tips, LS2 vs LS1, are worth the additional price of an '05-'06 model. If you can afford the LS2 version, get it.