# Regrets?



## tanktronic (Jul 7, 2006)

I know this isn't a topic discussed often [or at all] around here, but it was after I got my 2nd speeding ticket [a bullsh*t 37 in a 25, where it's 5 lanes wide] and had to drive all slow out of paranoia, that I had I my first hint of regret for getting the car. 

This would only apply to the daily drivers out there, but does anyone else think about the tremendous cost of gas to drive these things every day, and then how you really can't enjoy what they're built to do because all the police departments need some revenue? 

I'm still glad I got the car, but I have moments...


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

*Let me understand you... You got a speeding ticket for admitting breaking the law by speeding, and are regretting you got the car because you can't drive as fast as you want in it? 

You are complaining about the fuel costs of a car like this knowing full well 6.0 liter is not a 30mpg car, the MPG's are listed on the sticker? You cannot enjoy your car because of stupid speed limit laws that brings in revenue to police departments and you cannot enjoy your car for what it was intended for?

This post is a joke right? I'm not even going to begin to get into this....*


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## 69bossnine (Aug 9, 2007)

The car's not the problem, you would have been nailed in that 25 zone driving a Yugo...

Fast cars are not for driving fast everywhere.. They're for driving fast when the opportunity is safe and present.. And even if those opportunities are few and far between, they're worth it... Trust me, you'd be FAR more regretful driving some drone-mobile, heading up a long and wide-open interstate on-ramp, wondering what the hell you were thinking when you traded in your fun Goat for a soul-less turd, all just to save a lousy 10 bucks per-week on gas, which if you do the math, is all you'd really be saving if you switched from your GTO, to say, a Camry...

Not to mention the depreciation "hit" that you'd immediately have to absorb by changing cars, would probably take 2-3 years of driving to get back to a "break-even"...

If your car's a gas hog, and you wish it were not, you should have never bought it... But once you own it, it makes little financial sense to swap it out prematurely for a more miserly piece, when you do the math with utility-values and depreciation expenses...


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## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

The fuel costs do suck, but I'm realy not getting any worse fuel economy than when I had my V-6 Firebird (which I got oodles of tickets in).

Being an automotive enthusiast has it's costs. Ocasional tickets may be one of those costs. But when i'm in my 80's do I wanna tell my grand kids I always obayed the law and never got an infraction, or "yeah, I remember the summer I got my classic 2004 GTO up to 150 on the expressway, laughing at the Mustangs I passed."


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## tanktronic (Jul 7, 2006)

GTO judge said:


> *Let me understand you... You got a speeding ticket for admitting breaking the law by speeding, and are regretting you got the car because you can't drive as fast as you want in it?
> 
> You are complaining about the fuel costs of a car like this knowing full well 6.0 liter is not a 30mpg car, the MPG's are listed on the sticker? You cannot enjoy your car because of stupid speed limit laws that brings in revenue to police departments and you cannot enjoy your car for what it was intended for?
> 
> This post is a joke right? I'm not even going to begin to get into this....*


 Ok, calm down. I'm trying to have an honest discussion here. There's a pro and a con to every car purchase, and sometimes the cons slap you hardest, and I get pissed about it. We all love the car, obviously. If I didn't love the car, would I be on an enhtusiast message board? No. So instead of posting the 5,000,000th thread about deleting spoilers, replacing the CAI, or 1/4 mile times, I thought I'd throw something different out there that someone might enjoy talking about. Forgive me. Coming soon : PBM or Spice Red - which rocks harder?


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## tanktronic (Jul 7, 2006)

PEARL JAM said:


> The fuel costs do suck, but I'm realy not getting any worse fuel economy than when I had my V-6 Firebird (which I got oodles of tickets in).
> 
> Being an automotive enthusiast has it's costs. Ocasional tickets may be one of those costs. But when i'm in my 80's do I wanna tell my grand kids I always obayed the law and never got an infraction, or "yeah, I remember the summer I got my classic 2004 GTO up to 150 on the expressway, laughing at the Mustangs I passed."


Thank you for a thoughtful response... I agree... I got the car because I didn't want to start having kids without ever having a car like this.


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## noz34me (Dec 15, 2005)

I think I know a little about what you mean; at least in regards to fuel economy.

I'm at a station in life where fuel costs are not going to break me, I'm more cognizant of "Am I driving a gas hog, and therefore contributing to the overall oil price gouging?"

That said, we have traded our Jeep for a Mazda 3, and traded in my old Maxima (v6) for a new Sentra. So far, keeping the Goat.

The Goat for us is not a daily driver, it's kind of a luxury boy toy, so when I'm driving the GTO it's strictly for enjoyment, no utilitarian motive. That eases my conscience a little.

Personally, I recommend being more frugal at the younger ages and spending your funds on houses, kids, saving for their college etc., buying the more luxury items as you get older and can more easily afford them. 

To each his own, tho- -


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## Red Bearded Goat (Mar 19, 2007)

Yea a moped could get you busted in a 25, that's not the power of the cars fault. Gas, well mine is not a DD (6m) but to cheer you up the wife's 06 Torrent consistently gets 1.5 mpg lower than my GTO and my 99 GP in the same round town type driving gets 4 mpg better. Neither come close to the fun factor in driving .... unless its to the golf course with a 4 some (my bag & beer are barely accommodated) cause I don't like to share clubs.

Red.


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## 69bossnine (Aug 9, 2007)

GM's small blocks have always been pretty damn fuel-efficient, especially when you consider the power they produce... My best ever efficiency vs. performance car was a '93 Corvette 6-speed manual... With just a Borla cat-back, a custom chip, and an air box lid with K&N, I used to run real-high 12's at 108 mph, and the sucker would average 32mpg on the interstate with the a/c blowing and the cruise control on 78mph... Running 12's at the track, and going over 500 miles on a tank for road-trips, I found that flat amazing....


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## fergyflyer (Apr 18, 2005)

Along the same lines as the previous post I just got back from a 10,000 mile trip that I averaged 29.5 mpg in my 2006 C6 with the LS2. I'm just amazed that my car can break into the low 12's, hit 192 mph and get gas mileage as good as my friends V6 Nissan Altima. The GTO when I had it would regularly get 24-25 highway, compare that to just about any manufacturers mileage. 

As far as the ticket thing, I was 5 hours into my trip and got pulled over in Georgia. I was at 12 mph over the speed limit in a group of about 15 cars all going 12 over. They pulled 3 cars out of the group over and I'm sure i was selected because I was in a red Corvette. I went through the same range of emotions that you are going through now. I blamed the car. I wanted to ditch it for something that wouldn't get noticed so that I could get away with more. What good is the power if you can't use it. Truth be told the main reason I got a ticket is because I was speeding. 

Well my answer came at my next fuel stop where some kid about 10 years old said nice car. Then about a half day later I was chatting with a guy that was about 75. He and his wife were on a trip. He saw me in a rest area cleaning the windshield with windex and asked if he could borrow some paper towels. I loaned him the windex too. We started chatting and I told him my plans for the trip. His comment was the trip is nice, but the car makes it. He said, " You'll remeber the trip and the car." When he was in his late 30's he made a similar trip in a then new 69 Camaro Convertible. He cherished the memories the car helped him generate. He said no matter how much money he wasted on that trip it still made him smile to this day and was worth every penny. 

Trust me, the car is a sacrifice, but the rewards are the smiles when someone says nice car, or the guy beside you revs his engine. You'll forget the Honda Civic 2dr LX that you drove to save money and unwanted attention, you'll never forget the GTO. That means the money spent on the Civic is the waste, not the GTO.


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## CYCLONED (Jul 14, 2007)

GTO judge said:


> *Let me understand you... You got a speeding ticket for admitting breaking the law by speeding, and are regretting you got the car because you can't drive as fast as you want in it?
> 
> You are complaining about the fuel costs of a car like this knowing full well 6.0 liter is not a 30mpg car, the MPG's are listed on the sticker? You cannot enjoy your car because of stupid speed limit laws that brings in revenue to police departments and you cannot enjoy your car for what it was intended for?
> 
> This post is a joke right? I'm not even going to begin to get into this....*


The thread should have ended here:rofl:


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## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

I don't think we should be so hard on (huh, huh, "hard on") this guy. Any of us who have our Goats as a daily driver have had to fuel it with our last bit of pocket change at one time or another. And it is at those times I have thought "[email protected]%IN GAS PRICES!!" Still not gonna get rid of her any time soon, though. 
Tanktronic is voicing his opinoin, while at the same time asking for other's opinions. Which is what you do on a message board, anyway.


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## 6QTS11OZ (Mar 27, 2005)

CYCLONED said:


> The thread should have ended here:rofl:


If this thread ends it won't be because of me. There is nothing wrong with tanktronic sharing his experience with us.

So with that said, I never regret having a fast car when I get a ticket. I just thank my lucky stars that I have never gotten caught when I was really hauling ass and being careless. Well let me change that. Since my last two 100+ mph tickets I got back in the days, I have not gotten another one since.


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## Red Bearded Goat (Mar 19, 2007)

tanktronic said:


> I thought I'd throw something different out there that someone might enjoy talking about. PBM or Spice Red - which rocks harder?


I've gotta vote SRM :cool


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## tanktronic (Jul 7, 2006)

Thanks for the honest thoughts, guys. Appreciate the support 6Q11 and Pearl. Look, I love the car, if you offered me a "normal" car like a G6 for free for the next 12 months, I wouldn't take it. I know I probably won't have a chance to have a beast like this someday soon, and I know I would forever regret it if I didn't pull the trigger [I'm 30 and single, but I can be 32 with a kid before I know it]. 

But it's a DD for me, I live in Metro Detroit, and I drive in 45, 35, and 25 zones with the exception of trafficky freeways to and from work. I wish I lived somewhere a little more rural where I could open it up every day. Don't get me wrong, I love the 20mph-80mph sprint on the on ramps  

I knew all that goin' in, but I was hypnotized by the 400hp  At the end of the day, I have no regrets, the car ain't goin' anywhere except my garage, and I completely agree that there are moments you'll experience that are totally worth it. Just sometimes [like after a ticket] I think "damn, I can't open her up anywhere, it's $75 a week to fuel up...damn" Think of it like an argument with your woman - you don't wanna leave her, but you ain't happy sometimes. 

Thanks for the thoughts guys... Next thread won't be a bummer:cool


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## MPU621 (Jul 5, 2007)

I have had my GTO for under 6 months, and I took it on a 4000 mile trip in June, and it was a complete blast. I loved opening the car up, showing it off on the road, and it got decent gas mileage, ATC. I am sure that I would be pissed as hell to get a ticket in the GTO, but I have gotten tickets for driving my Corolla! Yes, the Corolla gets better mileage, but the fun factor far outweighs the mileage. Just enjoy the car while you have it! I am. I drive the Corolla around town, and use the GTO on weekends on dates and road trips. Very fun! Also, it keeps the car from getting stale.


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## CrazyFace (Jul 19, 2006)

I know what you mean. I bought the car when I couldn't really afford it and the monthly payments are killer, but the countdown is on....16 more payments and it's all mine!!

Also in the past year I've gotten 4 tickets, so there have definately been times when I have second guessed the GTO purchase. But you know what? You only live once. When you slam on the gas and feel the hair tingle on your arms, you forget all about those doubts. I've had the car for just over two years and I've seen maybe 5 other GTOs on the road. That's got to make you feel good.


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## noz34me (Dec 15, 2005)

My biggest regret in buying this car is that there are no dealerships in my area that know anything about the GTO. I'm down to trying out the local Chevy dealership for my next oil change, because at least they should know the LS2.

I guess it shouldn't be surprising when GM did a half-ass marketing campaign for the Goat that they would also do a half-ass training program for the service departments and personnel.


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## b_a_betterperson (Feb 16, 2005)

tanktronic said:


> I'm still glad I got the car, but I have moments...


Goats are thirsty, but it's still cheaper than therapy. I only have two regrets:

1. The trunk sucks. Really wish GM had left the gas tank where the Aussies put it.

2. My car is bright yellow. And since they're so rare, it sticks out like a sore thumb. So whenever somebody does something stupid like cut me off, I can't flip them off because I don't want them seeing my car later and keying it (or something else).

Other than that, it was been great!


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## DaveH (Jan 20, 2006)

Mines a daily drive and NO REGRETS!


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## Tacmedic (Feb 24, 2006)

*No regrets here....*

...I was driving a '96 SHO and a '92 Corvette. I wanted to sell both and find a car that was the best of both worlds. Now I have the GTO and don't have to mess with two cars, (My wife has her car, we each have a motorcycle, and I have a city car, so the driveway was getting full)


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## MonaroGuy06 (Feb 1, 2007)

I hear a lot of guys complaining about gas prices, but the only thing that I'm concerned about is how much I pay at the end of my fill-up...Tanktronic, $75!?!? wow...Am i the only one that fills up for about $50 a trip? :confused


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## Red Bearded Goat (Mar 19, 2007)

MonaroGuy06 said:


> I hear a lot of guys complaining about gas prices, but the only thing that I'm concerned about is how much I pay at the end of my fill-up...Tanktronic, $75!?!? wow...Am i the only one that fills up for about $50 a trip? :confused


About $42 ~ $46 a refill in MD where per gallon price ranges between $2.81 ~ $2.95 for premium.


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## GTJimbO (Apr 28, 2006)

A little late to the reply, but.....

No regrets whatsoever. I am fortunate however in that I telecommute if I'm not heading out on a business trip. And if the business trip is within driving distance (about 4 hours is my limit), the GTO is the car of choice. 

Yeah, it sucks the gas down hard when you drive it hard, but I managed the other day to set cruise on a long flat piece of Interstate, reset the trip computer to see what the mileage was at that instant. For a while I was actually achieving 32 mpg. 

Naturally, that came down at the first hint of a hill. Overall, it's getting around 25 hwy.

To me, the mileage thing is the price of admission to the performance the GTO offers. I knew this getting into it. And given the price/performance ratio -- both to purchase, but also to own, it's one of the best buys -- if not THE best -- out there with defference to the Corvette.

Having a higher MPG car in the stable might be advisable if you can afford a second car. We (wife and I) have our primary cars (Saab 9-5 Aero for her, Goat for me) and our restored weekend cars (classic '91 Saab 900 Turbo Convertible for her, classic '93 Saab 900 Turbo 3-door for me). (Kind of odd, I know, considering the Goat as the Daily Driver rather than the Slabs, but what're gonna do?).

So it's all good. Goat has it's foibles, but worth every penny, IMHO.

Jim Miller

'06 M6 PBM, JHP gauge pack, JHP Bluetooth, tint. Thinking Pedders, Kooks LT's, cam in it's future...

'02 Saab 9-5 Aero SportWagon, Remus exhaust, Forge BPV

'93 Saab 900 Turbo Commemorative Edition (#116 of the last 325 built), Resto-Mod, custom suspension, exhaust, more...

'91 Saab 900 Turbo Special Edition Convertible, 1 of 360 built. Restored.


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## Tacmedic (Feb 24, 2006)

GTJimbO said:


> A little late to the reply, but.....
> 
> No regrets whatsoever. I am fortunate however in that I telecommute if I'm not heading out on a business trip. And if the business trip is within driving distance (about 4 hours is my limit), the GTO is the car of choice.
> 
> ...



Off Topic, but have you ever owned a Saab Sonnett (sp?). I had a friend in high school that had one, and I saw one restored on the road the other day.


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## TORRED1 (Apr 1, 2007)

No regrets whatsever, my 04 will be passed on to my kids along with my 66 when I die, 51 now so that will be a way off. Took a trip out west last september and put 5400 miles on her in 14 days, a lot of time in the car and with the wife, we had a blast and it will be something we will never forget, Montana, Idaho, Yellowstone, Colorado ect, especially when the wife says it's time to best my record, told her to get the camera out, opened her up and sucked up some interstate, its as fast as care to go. 

Been pulled over twice and I think its because its Tored Red color, it catches the cops attention not really speeding but going a tad over, with in 10mph, I look younger than I am and I think the cops are looking to bust some kid but when they find out im older they just give a warning, plus I just think they want to see the car, had one cop in Wyoming flip across the median as soon as he saw me, again a warning, and he just wanted to see the car.

The best part of this car other than driving it is when my wife comes home from work( she drives it everyday, I have a company car)and is smiling and happy and says "god I love that car", Its a 6m and she "gets" the exhaust note, she loves it. That makes it worth it.


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## snide (Dec 28, 2004)

I regret not getting my GTO two years sooner. :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## PEARL JAM (Sep 6, 2005)

TORRED1 said:


> No regrets whatsever, my 04 will be passed on to my kids along with my 66 when I die, 51 now so that will be a way off. Took a trip out west last september and put 5400 miles on her in 14 days, a lot of time in the car and with the wife, we had a blast and it will be something we will never forget, Montana, Idaho, Yellowstone, Colorado ect, especially when the wife says it's time to best my record, told her to get the camera out, opened her up and sucked up some interstate, its as fast as care to go.
> 
> Been pulled over twice and I think its because its Tored Red color, it catches the cops attention not really speeding but going a tad over, with in 10mph, I look younger than I am and I think the cops are looking to bust some kid but when they find out im older they just give a warning, plus I just think they want to see the car, had one cop in Wyoming flip across the median as soon as he saw me, again a warning, and he just wanted to see the car.
> 
> The best part of this car other than driving it is when my wife comes home from work( she drives it everyday, I have a company car)and is smiling and happy and says "god I love that car", Its a 6m and she "gets" the exhaust note, she loves it. That makes it worth it.


You've got a cool wife. 
My wife doesn't understand why I upgrade my car so much. "You spend all that money just to go a little bit faster each time?" I tell her that's how my hobby is. The last time she rode with me was right after my cam install. I said "Let me show you what's changed", dropped 'er into 2nd and floored it. SCARRED THE HELL OUT OF HER!! "OK, OK!! THAT'S ENOUGH, I GET IT!!!":lol:


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## Lapres_3 (Mar 2, 2007)

My #1 choice for new cars was the Mazdaspeed3. I often think what if i actually bought that car. Would i regret not getting the GTO? I'm so glad i did though. I no longer wonder what a 400hp coupe feels like. I regret not getting a convertible, and i regret paying $50 a fill up. That time in-between fill ups is pretty good tho :cool . All my buddies with turbo [and supercharged] 4 bangers wish they were me too.


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## macgto7004 (Jul 22, 2007)

*Happy Every Day I Drive It!*

I have had many, many cars in my life. Prior to getting my 04 YJ, I was happy to enjoy my 70 for cruising and fun. My 04 purchase was a total impulse buy. (well, not really, but I was not in the market for a car at the time).

Having the 70 for 12 years, I give not one hoot about gas milage, and I am very selective about where and when I "get up and dance" so I have avoided any tickets.

I have owned my 04 now for 9 months and don't regret my purchase at all. Having a BMW for a DD however, the GTO has left me wanting for a few of the creature comforts that I am used to. 
Most notably, a central interior lock switch (easily solved, thanks to JHP, if I ever get off my butt and order the kit), lack of dead pedal (I have gotten used to it), but most of all, I wish, given the GTOs rear visability shortcomings, the the right side mirror tilted down when shifting into reverse, like my BMW.

As far as gas mileage, no regrets again. My BMW averages about 23 in daily driving and about 29 on trips. That's with a 2.5 6cyl/5 spd auto combo. My GTO averages about 16.5 with local driving and about 25-27 on trips. Given 350+ hp under the hood, and the best damn interior on the planet, the tradeoffs are few.

I absolutely love this car. 

Russ


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## Wing_Nut (Mar 6, 2005)

One more voice......

How can you complain about a 400HP car that costs $33K and gets 25MPG highway, 18MPG city? Please name any other car that can compete with those numbers. What GM has done with the smallblock V8 is simply spectacular. The total cost of ownership (excluding depreciation) is pretty darn good for the GTO. If you keep it for 6-7 years, depreciation doesn't matter much.

As for tickets, I managed to attract the attention of the local constables twice while I owned the GTO. Both times, it wasn't while I was driving like a madman. It was 5 over in a 55MPH zone. There was a stretch of 4 lane highway that was patrolled like you wouldn't believe. It was slated to be turned in part of the federal interstate system but was temporarily in the hands of the state of PA. They lowered to speed to 55 and raked in the money on a daily basis. It didn't matter what you were driving. I would routinely see 3 or 4 cars trapped in a 10 mile stretch at rush hour. I never once got pulled over (thankfully) while exploring the territory north of 140MPH which I did on a regular basis.


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## Tacmedic (Feb 24, 2006)

Wing_Nut said:


> One more voice......
> 
> How can you complain about a 400HP car that costs $33K and gets 25MPG highway, 18MPG city? Please name any other car that can compete with those numbers. What GM has done with the smallblock V8 is simply spectacular. The total cost of ownership (excluding depreciation) is pretty darn good for the GTO. If you keep it for 6-7 years, depreciation doesn't matter much.


Depreciation sure did matter to the guy that sold me my GTO, (He only kept it a year and a half). He paid more than $1.00 a mile in depreciation alone. As for gas prices, I'm glad they are high. How do you think I got an '06 with less than 10,000 miles for $10,000.00 below the cost of a new one?


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## GTJimbO (Apr 28, 2006)

Tacmedic said:


> Off Topic, but have you ever owned a Saab Sonnett (sp?). I had a friend in high school that had one, and I saw one restored on the road the other day.



No, but I am hunting for one....

There is one up on a trailer near me for sale. Total basket case. I checked it, but walked away.

They have a Ford V-4, basically an old Capri V-6 minus two cyls... 68 hp stock, they can be tuned/hotrodded to about 160 hp. And at 1600 lbs, that's an incredible power/weight ratio. Total sleeper.

I've had Saab 99's, classic 900's (still have two), "New Gen" 900's, and the current 9-5 daily driver. For 2.0 to 2.3 liters, they are incredibly strong engines. Turbo'd from the factory, they take well to modifications. One guy at the national Saab owner's convention last week dynoed his 2.0 at 416 whp, and I know of one in Sweden pulling 850 whp. 

Jim M.


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## Tacmedic (Feb 24, 2006)

GTJimbO said:


> No, but I am hunting for one....
> 
> There is one up on a trailer near me for sale. Total basket case. I checked it, but walked away.
> 
> ...


Off to a complete hijack now..... I got interested in the little Sonnets when racing Capris. We had those little 2.6 and 2.8's running pretty strong for their day.

Again, sorry for the hijack... back to the discussion


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## RipTheSix (Apr 26, 2006)

*Regrets*

My only problem is that i don't drive it as much as i would like to, I only drive it in good weather. And the other bad part is that it sits all winter. But what started this topic, is that i fly every where i go, regardless of the car.


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## 4wheelin (Apr 15, 2006)

My solution for the the gas problem is this....I ride my bike half the time, drive the GTO the other half. The Suzuki gets 40mpg, the GTO 16ish (city driving) that gives me an average of 28mpg. 

Either way I go, the performance is there, the fun is there and between the two, the mpg is there! Works for me!:cool


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## Wing_Nut (Mar 6, 2005)

Tacmedic said:


> Depreciation sure did matter to the guy that sold me my GTO, (He only kept it a year and a half). He paid more than $1.00 a mile in depreciation alone. As for gas prices, I'm glad they are high. How do you think I got an '06 with less than 10,000 miles for $10,000.00 below the cost of a new one?


True! Some of the best deals on cars are with people who for whatever reason sell after 1-2 years. They take it in the shorts generally.


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