# Things to Look for in 06 GTO



## CChase (Dec 11, 2007)

Hello all,

I have been a member of this board for some time reading through threads as I have been interested in this car for a number of years. Now the time has come for me to supplement my current vehicle with something that will be more reliable. And of course, if I have to make payments on something I'd rather it be something I want.

I have spent considerable time reading through these forums for a while to get an idea of problem areas with these cars and what to look out for. What I am looking for here is everyones input on what I should be watching out for when shopping for a car that is now going on 3 years old.

I will be going to look at a few of these over the next few days and I want a checklist or ideas on problem areas, things to look for, ways to tell if it has been abused beyond the normal things that are obvious...

This vehicle will be replacing my truck which has 360,000 miles on it and I want something that I can depend on. I can do work on vehicles myself (barring complicated electronic problems) but I want a heads-up for little areas to check for.

Thanks in advance.


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## Copasetic (Oct 20, 2008)

There's a sticky thread with a link to the consumer auto guide for 2004-2006 GTO's: 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO Reliability - Consumer Guide Automotive That's a good place to start.

Most times when you buy a used car, the dealership you bought it from will give you a 3-12 month warranty on it included with the sticker price. I would advise you to get a mechanic you know to do a safety inspection on it (Where I work it costs just about $100) then have them give you the list of problems they found and take it with the car to the dealership you bought it from so all the work is covered by the warranty.

I just got my GTO on Saturday and did the inspection with 2 people I work with last night and found a rather big list of problems:

Water pump seals leaking
Rack&pinion is leaking from left boot
Cracked disc on drive shaft (trans side)
Drive shaft seal seeping
A/C belt has cracks
Power steering cooler hoses leaking
Rear brake pads are starting to run low (don't care if they don't want to address this right away)
Alignment off, pull to the right
Front tires are cuffed due to bad alignment
Stop leak build-up in engine coolant, needs to be flushed (there was actual build-up on the yellow coolant level measuring stick, pretty bad)
Oil leak between engine and trans
Auto transmission fluid needs to be changed (power steering fluid also on it's way out.)


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## CChase (Dec 11, 2007)

Sounds like you really got the shaft! You aren't giving me such a good feeling with that many things wrong with a car that can't be more than 4 years old.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Copasetic said:


> There's a sticky thread with a link to the consumer auto guide for 2004-2006 GTO's: 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO Reliability - Consumer Guide Automotive That's a good place to start.
> 
> Most times when you buy a used car, the dealership you bought it from will give you a 3-12 month warranty on it included with the sticker price. I would advise you to get a mechanic you know to do a safety inspection on it (Where I work it costs just about $100) then have them give you the list of problems they found and take it with the car to the dealership you bought it from so all the work is covered by the warranty.
> 
> ...


What is the dealer going to do to correct all this? 

There is an additive in the Dex-cool. It's there to help lubricate internal workings of the water pump etc and to aid as a sealant. It is normal to see the "gunk" on the dip stick. If you replace the coolant, I'd suggest replacing that "gunk" with new "gunk." 

Some of those items listed are normal wear and tear. Are you sure this car was not wrecked?


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## CChase (Dec 11, 2007)

Well I test drove a 2005 tonight, and my initial impressions were that they had some of the worst brakes I have ever felt on a car. Actually, I think they were the worst.

Is this normal, or was there something wrong with this one? I had no intention of buying it, I just wanted to get a better feel for what they were all about, but still, I could stnad on the pedal and it wouldn't lock the wheels up... or stop very quickly.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Not normal...... there are other cars out there, this one they way you describe is a dog.


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## B-ville Goat (Oct 5, 2008)

Must be something wrong. If I stand on my brake pedal it'll smack your head on the steering wheel. Almost did one time!


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## CChase (Dec 11, 2007)

What do you mean by "a dog"? I mean, what is it in reference to?


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## CChase (Dec 11, 2007)

Thanks for the input on the brakes. I am going to try out some others this weekend and hopefully their brakes operate normally. I see that the 60-0 is supposed to be 121 feet. I don't know how far it would take for this to stop but it was nothing compared to my truck, that's for sure.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

CChase said:


> What do you mean by "a dog"? I mean, what is it in reference to?


Dog meaning..... from what you describe it was beat. Not maintained, and in need of work. Of the problems you discovered how many need discovered yet?


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## CChase (Dec 11, 2007)

GTO JUDGE said:


> Dog meaning..... from what you describe it was beat. Not maintained, and in need of work. Of the problems you discovered how many need discovered yet?


I think you are confusing me with someone else who posted in this thread with information about a GTO he just bought. I haven't bought anything, I just wanted to know what other people had as things to look out for and I test drove one the other night that I had no intention of buying, just to see how they were.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

CChase said:


> I think you are confusing me with someone else who posted in this thread with information about a GTO he just bought. I haven't bought anything, I just wanted to know what other people had as things to look out for and I test drove one the other night that I had no intention of buying, just to see how they were.


Right you are.... My bad..... the one Copasetic was describing is the car I was referring to.


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## CChase (Dec 11, 2007)

GTO JUDGE said:


> Right you are.... My bad..... the one Copasetic was describing is the car I was referring to.


Hey if you could tell all of that from my saying the brakes felt weird, I'd pay to bring you along with me on any car buying adventure :lol:


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

People always want me to be the psychic mechanic!:willy::lol:


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## Copasetic (Oct 20, 2008)

Yeah it sucks that they sold the car to me like that, but I've pretty much got them by the balls because I have a 1 year bumper to bumper warranty on it. And if they try to weasel out of fixing the things I listed I'll make them take the car back and refund me my down payment because I did the inspection with techs who do safety's for a Mercedes dealership and this car never really should have passed safety the way it is right now.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

If they sold you a car that fails to pass a state inspection, and has serious safety issues they could be in deep $hit. They gave you a warranty so it wasn't an "as is" sale. 

If you have serious reservations on keeping this car, contact the nearest State Police and talk to the department that over sees state inspections. They may want to examine this car. If they concur, this would be your ticket to getting your money back. If you want to go that route.


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## Copasetic (Oct 20, 2008)

I'm only gonna go that route if they try to refuse to fix the problems I've found. But I seriously doubt it's going to come to that.


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## CChase (Dec 11, 2007)

Well I drove another GTO yesterday, the brakes on this one were spot on, so there must have been something wrong with the other one.

I am taking it out again today and may be a GTO owner by the end of the week.


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## CChase (Dec 11, 2007)

Maybe I can throw a few questions out there.

This car is still under factory warranty but it has a few small issues, I don't think they should be big, but:

- drivers side seat belt does not retract properly, I am not sure if something is hung up or maybe it is just twisted inside its track somewhere internally, it has the spring return, it's just not strong enough

- rear tires are about 50% down and I am going to have to eat that cost because they will pass inspection

- there is a sort of rattle in the gear shifter at sort of mid level RPM's, I am not sure what this is but it goes away if you put your hand on it, I am thinking just a loose and vibrating linkage?

- synchros are a little tired on 2nd gear


Anyone have any input on any of this?


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