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Solstice GXP - and the state of parts availalbe

4K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  Zanepaul 
#1 ·
Good day, I am thinking of purchasing 08 GXP and I am wondering what is the state of availability with respect to the parts for this car? Are they easily obtained or getting insanely hard to find? it has been sometime since the end of Pontiac. The car to me is incredible looking, and it is not very expensive, but I am wondering am I potentially looking at car if something serious or for that matter not so serious breaks -- searching junk yards to find a part? I am reading all I can on the forum -- for example the water pump dies -- a lot from what I am reading, is this a part easily obtained what is the state of parts from GM direct or is everything third party now? how much of the Solstice could be repaired at a given GM dealership -- since there is NO Pontiac anymore, you bring it to Chevrolet or are we needing a 3rd party specialist place anyways, either GM waste of time or better to go specialist. if 3rd party anyone know of a good one in Canada -- specifically in Ontario? I owned a 'older' Fiat Spider -- big mistake -- but I liked the car ,but I was on an island with respect to parts and insane mechanics to deal with, I like the idea of a 2 seat roadster and I do not want to buy a Corvette, so what is the true state of the Solstice now --years later?

thank you -- trying to make an informed purchase.

Charles
 
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#3 ·
Most on this forum will disagree with me, but most parts are pretty easy to come by, particularly if you are internet and social media savy. The important bits (including the water pump) are all GM parts bin and were produced by the millions. It's one of the reasons I was drawn to purchasing my GXP.

As with any car that is now over a decade old, (particularly an entry level sports car that is easily crashed) body parts can demand a premium price, but it's the shipping of them that is a real deal breaker more often then not. The hood in particular is a particularly massive clam-shell piece on these cars. If you can't arrange a local pick-up - good luck.

I would not recommend any 10+ year old car to someone that expects to go to a dealer for service. Even the low mileage examples will need constant maintenance at this point and while I don't know your mechanical ability or financial status, I don't think you want to be going to a dealer three times a year for things like belt replacements, fluid changes, filter changes, brake changes, etc. The aforementioned water pump for example, is a $80 part. But a dealer charges $1800+ to replace it. Given that base model solstices can be picked up under $5k right now, if you can't wrench on your own car you might as well consider it totaled if you want the dealer to replace it.
 
#4 ·
Thank you for the excellent feedback. I intend to wrench it myself. I have just purchased an 08 GXP in Blue over Black leather. The car is excellent condition, with 64km or around 39k miles. Everything works. I will be reading and hopefully adding to this excellent forum.

Regards
Charles
 
#5 · (Edited)
From the Solstice Wiki page:
Shared technology[edit]
The sharing of technology and various components is a common practice among automakers, resulting in reduced parts costs. The Solstice shares major components with nearly every GM division:

The rear axle and differential are from the Sigma-based Cadillac CTS
The interior storage bin is from the Cadillac XLR
The passenger side's front airbag, steering column, and exterior and interior door handles are from the Chevrolet Cobalt
The backup lights are from the GMC Envoy
The heating, ventilating, and air conditioning modules are from the Hummer H3
The front fog lamp assembly is from the Pontiac Grand Prix
The steering wheel is also featured in the Pontiac G5, Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Cobalt
The 2.4 L Ecotec engine is shared with the Pontiac G6, Chevrolet Cobalt, Chevrolet Malibu, and Chevrolet HHR
The five-speed manual transmission is the same as in the Hummer H3, GMC Canyon, and Chevrolet Colorado
The five-speed automatic is identical to those of the Cadillac CTS, STS, and SRX
The seat frames are from the previous generation Opel Corsa

As you can see the Solstice & Sky shared many parts with other GM cars, however things like body panels, weatherstripping, basically anything unique to the Kappa platform may indeed be harder to find as time goes on. Plus, shipping can be equal too or more than a part is worth itself. Also the Kappa doesn't have a lot of aftermarket support compared to more popular sports cars and sports coupes.

There was approximately 65,000 Solstices made, and around 34,00 Skys, so parts cars will be available. Plus this forum, Skyroadster forum, Kappaperformance forum, and a few groups on Facebook.
 
#6 ·
I agree with phil1734. drivetrain parts are pretty easy to find with a little searching. body parts, not so easy. One trick I have found is go to eBay and look for a solstice rear view mirror. The seller will usually post a picture of a wrecked solstice. With a little hunting, you can find the seller and buy just about anything you need from that car. Finding the parts is half the fun.

Bill.
 
#7 ·
The parts situation isn't that bad at all. The biggest problems will be with electronic parts that are unique to the cars and with unique interior bits - hopefully you won't ever need anything like that.

For the rest of it, the situation is far better than it is for most of my other cars (most of which they made from 2% to 10% as many as Kappas produced) and I still manage to get parts for them despite being up to 50+ years old.
 
#9 ·
Bought my solstice 3 years ago
I've replaced just about everything from tip to tail, with the exception of alternator, transmission and ac condenser.

Never had a problem finding any mechanical part, electrical connector, clip, harness or sensor.... Except the manifold pressure sensor.

Called 9 different parts stores around the country, all were back ordered until "unknown." Posted that I was looking for one on this forum and had it in my mailbox 3 days later.

Rockauto carries just about every single-piece part you'd need
I bought a new long block from zzperformance
Summit racing is a good backup when everyone else fails for specific things.

Like others have said, if you get in an accident, it's game over, cosmetically speaking. Six weeks after I bought mine, I was tapped at 10 mpg in a parking lot. Lightly shifted the hood, cracked the bumper, knocked off the front signal light, dropped one of the plastic grill pieces, misaligned the front quarter panel. Insurance totalled the car, the repair estimates from the shop were in excess of $8,000 (granted they wanted to fully replace everything which wasn't necessary)
Ended up keeping the car and getting a check for $500 more than I paid, which I used to do all the parts replacing under the hood.

Cheaper to buy a brand new engine and turbo than it is to replace the body parts. Hood was $1200 with shipping. Bumper was $450 and then $140 for each grill piece ($770), headlight is another $340.

Parts are easy to find. Body parts are also easy to find - but priced way out of the realm of practicality
 
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