# Goat daily drivers



## mrmusic88 (Oct 11, 2005)

Can't make up my mind.I'm 55, drive a 05cts,been riding bikes(currently H-D01 road king classic)for 40 years and have found a new gto from a dealer that I'm ready to pull the trigger on.Will i get true good usage inwinter weather(I'm in the northeast)or will car or bike sit during good weather(direct competition with each other)? Goat is a m6.


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## tano (Oct 6, 2005)

I drive mine every day and love it. Gas mileage certaintly isn't the greatest (13mpg) but I knew that going in. I've managed to get 22mpg on the highway... My daily commute consists of intermittent stop and go so on average I have to live w/ 13. Around town and in stop and go I usually avoid second all together... The GTO is a smooth comfortable ride that can be driven as hard or as lite as you like.


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## RiceEater (Jun 21, 2005)

Hah yeah Tano, you live in a nice populated city in Cali... may explain the 13mpg...

The goat gets nice mileage considering the car it is. For your location in the NE (or did you say NW? anyway) you should get 20mpg average I would think rather. I'm not an expert on winter driving, living in the coldest state in the continental US anyway, but I would think the GTO handles winter weather rather well.


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## tano (Oct 6, 2005)

Living where I do definately explains the 13mpg... If it's not stop and go on the freeway it's a red light every quarter mile. It's all I know though so I'm used to it. When I take it out on the weekends and head towards the open roads I find the 20-22 mpg you're talking about.


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## mrmusic88 (Oct 11, 2005)

I'm thinking more about winter and crappy weather , and will i want to take it out on those days. not necessarilly handling but any components or blemishes attributed to ny area winters? My harley riding is about 8 to 10 months long depending on weather. will that conflict?I plan to alternate the cts and goat daily for work.


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## Don (Sep 20, 2004)

I live in a lake effect snow area in N. Indiana and the GTO goes fine on the OEM BFG tires. Traction Control and ABS make this car very drivable in the snow. I will see how autocrossed tires with 16K+ do this winter.


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## mrmusic88 (Oct 11, 2005)

Don said:


> I live in a lake effect snow area in N. Indiana and the GTO goes fine on the OEM BFG tires. Traction Control and ABS make this car very drivable in the snow. I will see how autocrossed tires with 16K+ do this winter.


 Any warrenty issues? The dealer is in an another state and where i live, local dealers find excuses not to do warrenty work(or delay) on cars not bought in their house.


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

It's a great daily driver- I have over 47k miles on mine in just over 1 year of commuting. The Holden is the best GT car out there for the money, and excels at long-distance / high speed cruising.

The 20-21 mpg I average is good for a V8, but the $40/day fill-ups get a bit old if your drive in long like mine... 

I had a transmission go kablooie on me at 30k miles...fixed under warranty (though much teeth gnashing ensued). Other than that, no problems.


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## vnamvet (Mar 22, 2005)

mrmusic88 said:


> Can't make up my mind.I'm 55, drive a 05cts,been riding bikes(currently H-D01 road king classic)for 40 years and have found a new gto from a dealer that I'm ready to pull the trigger on.Will i get true good usage inwinter weather(I'm in the northeast)or will car or bike sit during good weather(direct competition with each other)? Goat is a m6.


I am 56, just purchased a 2005 Blck/Red GTO six speed. I work for the local H-D DEaler (10 years!)

Hopefully you will not pay more that 29/30K..............

As far as winter, I cannot say, but I will jump in on the "mileage".

Mine is a daily driver (50 miles roundtrip) city/hwy driving to work.
I am averaging 20.4 MPG and can live with that! However on a long freeway trip, you would average about 24 - 25 MPG.

Comfortable, quiet, (probably because its NOT made in the USA)and great to drive. The footwell is tight (space between the dead pedal and clutch),
the cigarette lighter is in a odd location, making it difficult to plug in a radar detector.

Oh, and passengers ALWAYS bump their head getting in the front seat..........

Enjoy and definately "pull the trigger"!!


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## toolman (Jan 10, 2005)

I have driven mine in the snow a couple of times, keep the traction control on and out of the throttle and you should not have any problems. Mine is my daily driver by the way. :cool


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## FastFreddy (Jul 29, 2005)

Had the same thought when I bought mine. But when I test drove the car, and now every time I drive the car, I have a big smile on my face...probably look like a 54 Buick.

I live in the Philly area, and commute into town. Last winter was pretty bad, and I was driving an Alfa Romeo Spyder with winter tires all around. The car has no ABS, no t/c, but with 2nd gear starts in the real bad weather, the car was terrific. 

I was thinking about getting winter tires for the GTO, but with what I'm seeing here, I will see how the BFG's do. If it's a problem, I will get a set of winter tire's and wheel's. Remember, the BFG's come in KDW (performance) and KDWS (snow) which are the stock tires on the GTO, so I'm thinking that they should be pretty good. Just remember, that this is a very powerful car, and you can kick the back end out in the dry, so in the snow, and muck, I do plan on taking it easy.

But go for it. The car is a blast to drive, is very nicely done on the inside, handles and brakes beautifully, and has just a ton of power. You won't be sorry.

Good Luck


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## warsgoat (Oct 6, 2005)

*I concur!*



vnamvet said:


> I am 56, just purchased a 2005 Blck/Red GTO six speed. I work for the local H-D DEaler (10 years!)
> 
> Hopefully you will not pay more that 29/30K..............
> 
> ...


Precisely my thoughts! :agree I lived in southern Michigan for 18 years and all my V8 performance cars were daily drivers. With all the technology and balance the GTO has to offer should proove worthy for your wintery needs.


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## Holden (Sep 10, 2005)

I got a solid 24 @80 on Vacation to NC from FL with 300mi on car. Around town cant keep my foot out of it so not good but no complaints!


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## johnebgoode (Oct 4, 2005)

mrmusic88 said:


> Can't make up my mind.I'm 55, drive a 05cts,been riding bikes(currently H-D01 road king classic)for 40 years and have found a new gto from a dealer that I'm ready to pull the trigger on.Will i get true good usage inwinter weather(I'm in the northeast)or will car or bike sit during good weather(direct competition with each other)? Goat is a m6.


I'm on Long Island and just picked mine up 2 days ago. It's been raining and with traction control on it's not too bad. But like you I am waiting for the snow to see what it's really like.
PS..I'm 53....growin old but not growin up...........


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## mrmusic88 (Oct 11, 2005)

thanks for all the replies. I am redy to buy the 6m (28500) and I see on another post people are paying 27000! Is this possible? Am I paying a sucker price this late in the season?


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## Jumbojet (Oct 12, 2005)

Daily driver with 200miles. I hope it does OK in the NYC winter. Figured I managed a 5spd 87 Iroc for 3 yrs, so this can't be nearly as bad!


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## idareu (Nov 20, 2004)

Two Snow Tires Drove All Last Winter In Buffalo Ny!


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## mrmusic88 (Oct 11, 2005)

I'm convinced.Posts on other websites are quoting prices from around 25350 to 27000.Are they legit? How much did prices drop last nov. and dec.? I can wait one month to save thousands if true


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## mrmusic88 (Oct 11, 2005)

now I hear one guy got a new 04 last dec. for 23500! Is this BS or should I wait 2 weeks till next month? :confused


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## danrieke (Oct 12, 2005)

I got my '05 on last day of GM discount (Sept 30th - also my birhday). With 6-speed paid $30K in California, but added extended warranty, LoJack, grill inserts, and Gap coverage which brought it back to $33. Am refi'ing my house right now, so will have the pink slip on the girl in time for Christmas.


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## silver/red/04 (Aug 22, 2005)

Do you guys really think the stock tires will do good in the snow ,I was planning on buying some blizaks


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## Hi Speed (Oct 27, 2004)

Silver/red/04

I just put on some Dunlop M3's.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Winter+Sport+M3

They are great in the rain - We haven't had any snow yet so I can't say how good they are other than what I've heard. You will give up a bit in the dry compared to the KDW's but I believe they will far outdo them in the snow. read the survey's and where they are from. They are also runflats and they balanced out great. Very minimal weights usually mean they are well made. A couple of our guys here have had them on their vehilcles in the snow and they can't say enough about them. You will have to put a Z rated tire on your GTO cause it can go over 150 mph. I know you probably won't ever go that fast in the snow it's just in on the dry pavement that is a concern. They are a little slick when new but after about 2-3 hundred miles they become sticky. I believe all snow tires require a 500 mile break in before they get to their max potential. :cheers


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## fergyflyer (Apr 18, 2005)

I've driven in Pittsburgh for most of my driving years. With the hills and winding roads, snow driving was always a challenge. I always thought this car has front wheel drive or I have all-season tires, so I'm ok. Well I bought a car with a cheap winter tire and was amazed. Not much difference in getting the car going, but the difference in stopping and turning between all-season and winter tires is amazing. Then I tried Blizzaks, the added safety is incredible. Another thing to think about is, your deductible on your insurance is 500. The snow tires are 600, plus your insurance doesn't go up and the body man hasn't messed with your baby. IMO get snows if you live anywhere that is snows regularly and you need to go out in it.


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## 84racebird (Jan 4, 2005)

I purchased my '04 last December for $25k +TTL. Plus I got about $1200 off of that from my GM card savings. GM was also running a lot of discounts with select GM card holders. I heard of at least one person who was a reliable source buying an '04 with an extended warranty and TTL for around $20k, this included the GM Card discounts and GM incentives. So it was possible to get really low prices on '04's last year. There were several factors that lead to the low pricing, I doubt it will repeat this year.
As far as winter driving, I did not do very much, but did do one 200+ mile trip in a snow storm that included highway, around town, and in the country driving and I had absolutely no problems. The traction control worked great. I found myself always wanting to accelerate quicker, but the car kept me in check. I was also running the stock tires, not winter tires.
And for fuel mileage, the car tells me I'm averaging 19.7mpg. I have never reset the computer and have about 6500 miles on the car. I have driven it about 70% highway over this time and have had some auto-cross runs on it.

As just about everyone on this board will tell you. You won't be disappointed. I have a friend who is a pretty devoted Mustang guy. He drove my GTO a couple weeks ago. When he got back, the first thing he said to me was "I have to get one of those!"

Good luck.


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

The resale value on these things oscillate somewhere between jack and sh1t.

Fact.

I blame the Pontiac wedgie unfortunately and unfairly nailed to the car. Not exactly the sign of quality.


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## mrmusic88 (Oct 11, 2005)

Why do you think lower pricng will not be repeated this year?


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## Xcommuter (Jun 30, 2005)

Hi Speed said:


> Silver/red/04
> 
> I just put on some Dunlop M3's.
> 
> ...



With the runflats did you have to install a monitoring device inside your Goat ?
And Also how does the ride compare - I've heard that a disadvantage of runflats is that the ride feels harder ??

I too like tirerack as my Tire provider...


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## 84racebird (Jan 4, 2005)

There were more '04s produced and most people didn't accept the styling. Plus it was widely known that the '05s were going to have the LS2 with 400hp, split dual exhaust, and hood scoops. I'm not saying that the prices won't go down. I just don't think they will go down as much. Just my $.02.


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