2008 gxp
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I've had my 07 GXP for years and never had a problem. Go for it, you'll love it.
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427 Posts
Mine has been excellent. I bought a 2008 GXP with 18,000 mi the only problem has been the airbag sensor in the seat, and a bubble in the door panel.
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2,252 Posts
I bought an 08 GXP earlier this year with 34k and have not had a single problem.
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5,172 Posts
This can be a tricky question. First let me say this. There isn't one car out there that doesn't have a common issue amongst all the same models produced. With that said, if you're looking for a mini Vette, the Solstice/Sky turbos are the way to go. They are fun little cars that get a LOT of attention, so hopefully your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend won't be jealous!!! :lol: Secondly, let's get into some of the more common issues. A lot of guys are seeing the following common issues:
Waterpump - can go at anytime, depends on a lot of unknown factors... go as early as 20k and some have over 100k on their cars with no issues.
Rear end leak - TSB by GM to extend the vent tubing to stop the leak
When the battery starts to get weak, it creates all sorts of electrical gremlins...but all are fixed with a new battery.
Exhaust and Intake actuator sensors - EXTREMELY easy fix and relatively inexpensive
Oil changes must use Mobil 1 - can be somewhat expensive at a shop
Must run premium gas, at least 91 octane...if the car is tuned, 93 octane is a must! I'm tuned and my car won't run on anything less then 93!!! So I frequent the gas stations that I know have 93, and put 93 in their pumps. They don't try to sell 91 out of a 93 labeled pump!
Then there comes some special things, like specific lifting points for a garage to hoist your car.
All in all, you wouldn't regret owning one!!!! Just remember, these are the Ferarri's of the GM world and they will need to be treated as such... Repairs aren't the most affordable when things do go wrong, and that's because the talent pool that knows how to work on them is dwindling. There are so many aftermarket things you can do to get the car to 300+hp very cheaply as well! Hope I didn't scare you off, just being realistic and giving you the info you need to make an educated decision.... But, these car's are a blast!
:yesnod:
Waterpump - can go at anytime, depends on a lot of unknown factors... go as early as 20k and some have over 100k on their cars with no issues.
Rear end leak - TSB by GM to extend the vent tubing to stop the leak
When the battery starts to get weak, it creates all sorts of electrical gremlins...but all are fixed with a new battery.
Exhaust and Intake actuator sensors - EXTREMELY easy fix and relatively inexpensive
Oil changes must use Mobil 1 - can be somewhat expensive at a shop
Must run premium gas, at least 91 octane...if the car is tuned, 93 octane is a must! I'm tuned and my car won't run on anything less then 93!!! So I frequent the gas stations that I know have 93, and put 93 in their pumps. They don't try to sell 91 out of a 93 labeled pump!
Then there comes some special things, like specific lifting points for a garage to hoist your car.
All in all, you wouldn't regret owning one!!!! Just remember, these are the Ferarri's of the GM world and they will need to be treated as such... Repairs aren't the most affordable when things do go wrong, and that's because the talent pool that knows how to work on them is dwindling. There are so many aftermarket things you can do to get the car to 300+hp very cheaply as well! Hope I didn't scare you off, just being realistic and giving you the info you need to make an educated decision.... But, these car's are a blast!
:yesnod:
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20,193 Posts
Great input Ghost. Well done.:agree:
Early 08s lacked the electrical vacuum pump and some owners have complained of lack of brake feel during startup and warmup. There are two fixes. First is a software modification that optimizes settings to pull vacuum during initial operation and the second is to retrofit the electric pump and piping. Check to see if it has the pump or not and verify during a cold start that you are happy with the brake performence during the first couple of minutes following startup.
A very small subset of owners that have 08s that lack the vacuum pump have complained of lack of brake boost while exiting long term cruise control managed freeway driving.
The engine cooling / cabin heater system is mostly reuse GM parts. One "issue" is a result of reuse parts and packaging. The heater core in the passenger footwell is the highest point in the system when sitting on level ground. If the coolant is hot and the overflow / fill cap is removed with the left side of the car sitting lower than the heater core, the system can injest air. The air bubble will cause interesting issues. See threads on heat / no heat. Bottom line is make sure you never open the fill cap unless that point is higher than the heater core.
A small number of automatic cars have had shift quality issues. See transmission succage thread for a full description of this if you are considering getting an automatic car.
Early 08s lacked the electrical vacuum pump and some owners have complained of lack of brake feel during startup and warmup. There are two fixes. First is a software modification that optimizes settings to pull vacuum during initial operation and the second is to retrofit the electric pump and piping. Check to see if it has the pump or not and verify during a cold start that you are happy with the brake performence during the first couple of minutes following startup.
A very small subset of owners that have 08s that lack the vacuum pump have complained of lack of brake boost while exiting long term cruise control managed freeway driving.
The engine cooling / cabin heater system is mostly reuse GM parts. One "issue" is a result of reuse parts and packaging. The heater core in the passenger footwell is the highest point in the system when sitting on level ground. If the coolant is hot and the overflow / fill cap is removed with the left side of the car sitting lower than the heater core, the system can injest air. The air bubble will cause interesting issues. See threads on heat / no heat. Bottom line is make sure you never open the fill cap unless that point is higher than the heater core.
A small number of automatic cars have had shift quality issues. See transmission succage thread for a full description of this if you are considering getting an automatic car.
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20,193 Posts
Here reprinted is the standard new kappa owners guide.
The vast majority of the deployed fleet of Kappa’s have had little or no issues at all. The owners take them home, have the dealers do maintenance, put gas into them and drive them until they want something new or the car is damaged beyond economic repair.
A tiny minority of cars have issues. And a much smaller minority of that subset have serious problems. To my knowledge, there have been on the order of 12 owners with major issues, like engine failures or differential failures.
NA cars - that is the 2.4 L normally aspirated cars - are going for 100k, 200k and approaching 300kl miles with few problems. The problems are "normal" failures like water pumps, clogged catalytic converters etc. Some of the early cars had issues with the differential. Several were replaced under warranty. There was a recall for all 06 and 07 MY cars that addressed the rear end. Some cars have rear end wine and some have a "clunk" when making significant throttle changes. I have yet to see a failure resulting from these symptoms. The only failures I am aware of were loss of lubrication or just a mechanical failure . Again we are talking less than 10?
The GXP cars are also pretty much bullet proof. A small - very tiny minority have had significant electrical problems that have been traced back to manufacturing errors. One Sky - GS Stage1 on the Sky forum had major issues that resulted in over a year of problems. In the end he got taken care of by GM, new engine, partial remanufacturing of his car . ..
Should GM Buy Back My Car? - Saturn Sky Forums: Saturn Sky Forum
One GXP coupe had a series of undiagnosed electrical problems that GM chose to not address but they bought the car back from the Oregon owner and made him good.
GXPs have had some water pump failures, beginning as early as 25k miles with a cluster in the 50k region. All were repaired under warranty. There are several threads that cover this information,
waterpump woes
Some automatic cars have had hard downshifting issues. It appears that these are related to cam position servo failures that cause the transmission control module to go into protection mode intermittently.
Auto transmission suckage
There have been issues with the tops early on due to improper adjustment of the top mechanism and / or the door windows. Some cars were built without the acoustic liner and are noisier. Some early cars were built with plastic ball end joints which failed in some cases are resulted in a redesign. Putting the top up without opening the doors or lowering the windows will cause issues over time. Failure to lubricate the side hinges over the windows can result in sticking.
top ripping/pinching fix
The vast majority of the deployed fleet of Kappa’s have had little or no issues at all. The owners take them home, have the dealers do maintenance, put gas into them and drive them until they want something new or the car is damaged beyond economic repair.
A tiny minority of cars have issues. And a much smaller minority of that subset have serious problems. To my knowledge, there have been on the order of 12 owners with major issues, like engine failures or differential failures.
NA cars - that is the 2.4 L normally aspirated cars - are going for 100k, 200k and approaching 300kl miles with few problems. The problems are "normal" failures like water pumps, clogged catalytic converters etc. Some of the early cars had issues with the differential. Several were replaced under warranty. There was a recall for all 06 and 07 MY cars that addressed the rear end. Some cars have rear end wine and some have a "clunk" when making significant throttle changes. I have yet to see a failure resulting from these symptoms. The only failures I am aware of were loss of lubrication or just a mechanical failure . Again we are talking less than 10?
The GXP cars are also pretty much bullet proof. A small - very tiny minority have had significant electrical problems that have been traced back to manufacturing errors. One Sky - GS Stage1 on the Sky forum had major issues that resulted in over a year of problems. In the end he got taken care of by GM, new engine, partial remanufacturing of his car . ..
Should GM Buy Back My Car? - Saturn Sky Forums: Saturn Sky Forum
One GXP coupe had a series of undiagnosed electrical problems that GM chose to not address but they bought the car back from the Oregon owner and made him good.
GXPs have had some water pump failures, beginning as early as 25k miles with a cluster in the 50k region. All were repaired under warranty. There are several threads that cover this information,
waterpump woes
Some automatic cars have had hard downshifting issues. It appears that these are related to cam position servo failures that cause the transmission control module to go into protection mode intermittently.
Auto transmission suckage
There have been issues with the tops early on due to improper adjustment of the top mechanism and / or the door windows. Some cars were built without the acoustic liner and are noisier. Some early cars were built with plastic ball end joints which failed in some cases are resulted in a redesign. Putting the top up without opening the doors or lowering the windows will cause issues over time. Failure to lubricate the side hinges over the windows can result in sticking.
top ripping/pinching fix
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20,193 Posts
There are cables that actuate the trunk release and the buttress releases. The plastic retention balls on the ends can fail and make it impossible to open the trunk normally.
Trunk won't open
Get a GM record pulled to verify the in service date and warranty remaining. Any GM dealer can do this for you.
You want to start with the local car because the Sky and Sol are highly susceptible to damage when lifted improperly. The front fenders crack frequently due to road vibration and are easily crushed if lifted with a floor jack. If there is damage you want to identify it before sale and with a dealer you can push to get them to repair the damage as part of the sale. There are basically no available right side factory fenders anymore and few left side fenders. They are repairable and there are aftermarket replacements available from DDM but you need to know if the fenders are cracked as this can be up to a $1k swinger on the retail price.
You also want to take a good look at the bottom front. Because of the configuration of the car nearly every new owner rams them into curbs one to several times and they get damaged. At the very least there will be scrapes on the bottom of the bumper cover that you can use to get a lower price or commitment to repair from a dealer that you probably will not get from a private party seller.
You also want to take a hard look at the top. More than a few cars have had problems with the folding mechanism that has damaged the canvas where it folds over the windows and / or damage to the canvas when it rubs against an improperly adjusted side window. The top is also susceptible to damage from the hold down feet mounted on the trunk lid. The rubber feet come off, fail or even twist allowing direct contact between the mounting structure and the top canvas while the top is in the trunk. I have seen more than one car that has holes in the top due to this. The canvas is $1600 plus installation which at a dealer can run into several hundred dollars. And to the best of my knowledge while there are plenty of replacement canvas parts available, there are no more top assemblies in stock.
You want to visually inspect the cup holders. The front one is notorious for failing and they cost upwards of $100 for replacement parts plus installation labor. The rear one between the seats is much more robust however they can and do get so full of dust and dirt that they will no longer deploy. If treated well they are fine but you do not know till you try to pull the things out.
Another area that I recommend you inspect is the center console. If the previous drivers did like me and leaned on them hard while driving and used them as a support while getting in and out of the car, they all will crack right down the center. I have had mine replaced under the warranty but you are probably out of warranty. The cover is easy to replace but again is in the range of $100 for a replacement part from GM. There are several threads that cover reinforcing below the cover so it will not crack again and DDM has a replacement that is much stonger and includes two cup holders but again that is in the same cost plus shipping and you get to install it.
If you are by chance looking at a 2008 RL, one factor is the production run for the first 6 or 8 months deleted the electronic vacuum pump that provided motive force for the brakes immediately after start up. The issue presents itself on some cars as high brake pedal force required and / or pulsing of the brake pedal for the first few seconds to the first couple of minutes upon cold start after sitting for an extended period or at high altitude. The issue is that the turbo car does not generate much vacuum (its boosted) and as a result once the vacume accumulator leaks down, there is no vacuum for the power brakes when you start. And when you start the factory tune, it is set to heat up the catalytic converter and not optimized for creating vacuum. There was a big safety investigation made and a lot of people had problems with this about mid-way through 2008 calendar year. My wife's car falls in this group and about once or twice a year we get the symptoms but it works fine through it and within about 30 seconds there is normal brake feel. The factory has a software update that if asked they will install on cars with this complaint and in extreme cases there is a retro fit kit that adds back on the electronic vacuum pump. But again, you cannot tell if the car you are looking at falls into this group or not unless you physically check for the pumps presence on the left side of the engine block, and unless you drive the car from a cold start. If you are buying from a dealer you could make the software update part of the deal and get a promise to do the pump retro fit under warranty because GM normally pays for it.
You want to cycle the driver’s seat up and down because a lot of cars have never had their electric adjusters cycled and they need to be freed up and lubricated before they work correctly. In fact, I did a test last year and out of 40 cars and 80 drivers only 5 knew that the driver’s seat went up and down with the switch! Servicing the seat is no big deal but it will be half an hour of labor and some parts allowance so its in the $100 range. If you buy from a dealer you are much more likely to have this addressed as part of the deal than if you buy from a private party. And if you do not have access to the car its difficult to verify operation.
Many, maybe most of the key fobs for 2006 through 2008 at least have a known manufacturing problem. The metal tab / connector that holds the battery in place has a cold solder joint. The fob starts to work intermittently and eventually stops working. If you are good with a solder iron you can easily fix it as many of us have done, but if not, then the dealer will charge you around $100 for a replacement fob and programming it with the car. Potentially times two. If you have access to the fobs, you can pop them open and inspect the condition of the at risk part and know if you are good to go or not. If not, again you are much more likely to get the fob replaced as part of the deal by a dealer.
The door sills have an aluminum insert that is glued to the plastic part. Unfortunately as a result of the attachment method and the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between the aluminum trim insert and the plastic door sills, the aluminum part will almost always bow up around .25 inches in the middle during cold weather. In some instances drivers will drag their heels across the door sills and can catch the trim plate and bend the crap out of it. They are relatively cheap - around $25 plus labor to install, but if you find it after the fact then it’s your $25 and not the sellers.
If you are getting a GXP, put an OBD2 reader on it and pull any codes. There can be codes that are not displayed but that can indicate incipient problems.
Have the selling dealer pull the outlet air tube from the turbo at the turbo and check for oil. A little oil is normal. If there is a lot of oil there then have the breather valve checked. When they fail, and if the car is driven moderately hard they pump oil out of the valve cover into the intake at the turbo. If there is a LOT of oil there, have them check the drain on the intercooler to verify that it is not holding pooled oil there.
Check the intake clamps for condition. The factory clamps are basically radiator screw clamps and have been known to fail and allow leakage which can cause tuning issues under boost
Trunk won't open
Get a GM record pulled to verify the in service date and warranty remaining. Any GM dealer can do this for you.
You want to start with the local car because the Sky and Sol are highly susceptible to damage when lifted improperly. The front fenders crack frequently due to road vibration and are easily crushed if lifted with a floor jack. If there is damage you want to identify it before sale and with a dealer you can push to get them to repair the damage as part of the sale. There are basically no available right side factory fenders anymore and few left side fenders. They are repairable and there are aftermarket replacements available from DDM but you need to know if the fenders are cracked as this can be up to a $1k swinger on the retail price.
You also want to take a good look at the bottom front. Because of the configuration of the car nearly every new owner rams them into curbs one to several times and they get damaged. At the very least there will be scrapes on the bottom of the bumper cover that you can use to get a lower price or commitment to repair from a dealer that you probably will not get from a private party seller.
You also want to take a hard look at the top. More than a few cars have had problems with the folding mechanism that has damaged the canvas where it folds over the windows and / or damage to the canvas when it rubs against an improperly adjusted side window. The top is also susceptible to damage from the hold down feet mounted on the trunk lid. The rubber feet come off, fail or even twist allowing direct contact between the mounting structure and the top canvas while the top is in the trunk. I have seen more than one car that has holes in the top due to this. The canvas is $1600 plus installation which at a dealer can run into several hundred dollars. And to the best of my knowledge while there are plenty of replacement canvas parts available, there are no more top assemblies in stock.
You want to visually inspect the cup holders. The front one is notorious for failing and they cost upwards of $100 for replacement parts plus installation labor. The rear one between the seats is much more robust however they can and do get so full of dust and dirt that they will no longer deploy. If treated well they are fine but you do not know till you try to pull the things out.
Another area that I recommend you inspect is the center console. If the previous drivers did like me and leaned on them hard while driving and used them as a support while getting in and out of the car, they all will crack right down the center. I have had mine replaced under the warranty but you are probably out of warranty. The cover is easy to replace but again is in the range of $100 for a replacement part from GM. There are several threads that cover reinforcing below the cover so it will not crack again and DDM has a replacement that is much stonger and includes two cup holders but again that is in the same cost plus shipping and you get to install it.
If you are by chance looking at a 2008 RL, one factor is the production run for the first 6 or 8 months deleted the electronic vacuum pump that provided motive force for the brakes immediately after start up. The issue presents itself on some cars as high brake pedal force required and / or pulsing of the brake pedal for the first few seconds to the first couple of minutes upon cold start after sitting for an extended period or at high altitude. The issue is that the turbo car does not generate much vacuum (its boosted) and as a result once the vacume accumulator leaks down, there is no vacuum for the power brakes when you start. And when you start the factory tune, it is set to heat up the catalytic converter and not optimized for creating vacuum. There was a big safety investigation made and a lot of people had problems with this about mid-way through 2008 calendar year. My wife's car falls in this group and about once or twice a year we get the symptoms but it works fine through it and within about 30 seconds there is normal brake feel. The factory has a software update that if asked they will install on cars with this complaint and in extreme cases there is a retro fit kit that adds back on the electronic vacuum pump. But again, you cannot tell if the car you are looking at falls into this group or not unless you physically check for the pumps presence on the left side of the engine block, and unless you drive the car from a cold start. If you are buying from a dealer you could make the software update part of the deal and get a promise to do the pump retro fit under warranty because GM normally pays for it.
You want to cycle the driver’s seat up and down because a lot of cars have never had their electric adjusters cycled and they need to be freed up and lubricated before they work correctly. In fact, I did a test last year and out of 40 cars and 80 drivers only 5 knew that the driver’s seat went up and down with the switch! Servicing the seat is no big deal but it will be half an hour of labor and some parts allowance so its in the $100 range. If you buy from a dealer you are much more likely to have this addressed as part of the deal than if you buy from a private party. And if you do not have access to the car its difficult to verify operation.
Many, maybe most of the key fobs for 2006 through 2008 at least have a known manufacturing problem. The metal tab / connector that holds the battery in place has a cold solder joint. The fob starts to work intermittently and eventually stops working. If you are good with a solder iron you can easily fix it as many of us have done, but if not, then the dealer will charge you around $100 for a replacement fob and programming it with the car. Potentially times two. If you have access to the fobs, you can pop them open and inspect the condition of the at risk part and know if you are good to go or not. If not, again you are much more likely to get the fob replaced as part of the deal by a dealer.
The door sills have an aluminum insert that is glued to the plastic part. Unfortunately as a result of the attachment method and the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between the aluminum trim insert and the plastic door sills, the aluminum part will almost always bow up around .25 inches in the middle during cold weather. In some instances drivers will drag their heels across the door sills and can catch the trim plate and bend the crap out of it. They are relatively cheap - around $25 plus labor to install, but if you find it after the fact then it’s your $25 and not the sellers.
If you are getting a GXP, put an OBD2 reader on it and pull any codes. There can be codes that are not displayed but that can indicate incipient problems.
Have the selling dealer pull the outlet air tube from the turbo at the turbo and check for oil. A little oil is normal. If there is a lot of oil there then have the breather valve checked. When they fail, and if the car is driven moderately hard they pump oil out of the valve cover into the intake at the turbo. If there is a LOT of oil there, have them check the drain on the intercooler to verify that it is not holding pooled oil there.
Check the intake clamps for condition. The factory clamps are basically radiator screw clamps and have been known to fail and allow leakage which can cause tuning issues under boost
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158 Posts
I Have over 56,000 miles on my 2007 GXP "No Problems"
I ordered my 2007 GXP in May of 2006, it arrived in November 2006, have not had any problems with it. I run it hard and it keeps on ticking!!arty: I bought my wife a 2009 Solstice Coupe, non GXP, last year with a little over 3,000 miles on it and it runs great! If I were you I would run out and by that GXP!!!! You will have a lot of fun with it. Just remenber that with any car they all can have problems sooner or later.
I ordered my 2007 GXP in May of 2006, it arrived in November 2006, have not had any problems with it. I run it hard and it keeps on ticking!!
arty: I bought my wife a 2009 Solstice Coupe, non GXP, last year with a little over 3,000 miles on it and it runs great! If I were you I would run out and by that GXP!!!! You will have a lot of fun with it. Just remenber that with any car they all can have problems sooner or later.
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5,172 Posts
Too be honest, if you get a tune, the MPG increases!!!!! If I drive freeway at 75mph, I can get 42MPG! And I'm over 300hp!!!
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20,193 Posts
:agree::agree:
Rule of thumb is for the GMPP tune, the mileage goes up ~2 mpg:thumbs:
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8,941 Posts
Lot of us have ordered the General Motors Performance Parts (GMPP*) through Crate Engine Depot (it now includes a pigtail so no more cutting and crimping) to stay OEM. Others prefer aftermarket Trifecta or Westers tunes. Comes down to your preference on what you hoping to achieve.
There's also Do and Don'ts when it comes to owning Kappas.
*GMPP must be installed by dealership.
There's also Do and Don'ts when it comes to owning Kappas.
*GMPP must be installed by dealership.
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5,172 Posts
The tune.....
2 different options that include many 'sub' options
Option 1: If you are under warranty yet, you can go to a GM dealer and have them install the GMPP tune for anywhere from $700-$1200 depending on where you go. It will give you 290hp and 350ft/lbs of torque with a manual trans, 290hp and 290ft/lbs with auto trans.
Option 2: If your car is out of warranty, you can go to an aftermarket vendor and they will supply you with all the equipment to tune your car....as simple in some cases as hooking a computer up to the diag port under the dash on driver's side and pushing a button....or as complex as pulling out your ECM, sending it with your VIN#, mileage, etc., to a company to have them tune it. I personally would go with Trifecta..... They are by far the best, almost the least expensive and has the best customer service and more on the order of just plug and play (but a little more then that!!). Trifecta will give you a little more power and torque for a measly amount of money compared to the GMPP dealer way.
The nice part is once you're tuned, the "learn down" feature is turned off in your car, so any aftermarket upgrades net you some additional power instead of the ECM learning down to the preset 260hp/260torque.... The car your looking at may also already be tuned!!! You may not have to even think about doing this!! :lol:
2 different options that include many 'sub' options
Option 1: If you are under warranty yet, you can go to a GM dealer and have them install the GMPP tune for anywhere from $700-$1200 depending on where you go. It will give you 290hp and 350ft/lbs of torque with a manual trans, 290hp and 290ft/lbs with auto trans.
Option 2: If your car is out of warranty, you can go to an aftermarket vendor and they will supply you with all the equipment to tune your car....as simple in some cases as hooking a computer up to the diag port under the dash on driver's side and pushing a button....or as complex as pulling out your ECM, sending it with your VIN#, mileage, etc., to a company to have them tune it. I personally would go with Trifecta..... They are by far the best, almost the least expensive and has the best customer service and more on the order of just plug and play (but a little more then that!!). Trifecta will give you a little more power and torque for a measly amount of money compared to the GMPP dealer way.
The nice part is once you're tuned, the "learn down" feature is turned off in your car, so any aftermarket upgrades net you some additional power instead of the ECM learning down to the preset 260hp/260torque.... The car your looking at may also already be tuned!!! You may not have to even think about doing this!! :lol:
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10,583 Posts
Yes is only $200.00 and achieves the same results as the GMPP, less the warranty.
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2,252 Posts
sounds like you have some good info. I'd print it out and keep it in a folder or save the link for future reference. I did. I have a stock 08 gxp and I have the brake problem but I've only noticed it at start up and it's never bothered me. more of a change of habit if it does. I'm looking to get a trifecta tune and a solo free flow cat and exhaust for sound. then all I'll need is a backbone and maybe a brace and I'll have a fast and tight little car. You'll like I promise.
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371 Posts
step 1- Buy GXP
step 2- Order Budget LNF tune from Trifecta
step 3- Try not to kill yourself
these cars are FAST for their size (and price). I bought mine in January of this year for ~$16k and it's got ~310 bhp and ~350 torque...while weighing about 3000lbs with fuel (minus myself). the engine SCREAMS. the tune adds incredibly throttle response, especially in the low end, and removes any doubt about purchasing the car. If you're buying the car, you might as well order the tune right now. it's probably the best $200 anyone could spend on any car in the history of making cars go faster. seriously. (GM torque-limited the car purposely, then released the GMPP kit to unleash most of the engine's potential. aftermarket tunes are even better)
Also keep in mind that the Sky Redline is more or less the exact same car with a different set a body panels. Together they are 2 of the 3 cars of the GM Kappa platform and are basically mini Corvettes. the chassis is strong and provides confidence when you're pushing the car to its limits. The platform is so solid and with the right tires and a few suspension mods you feel like you can do no wrong.
I also DD mine, and while it's probably the least practical car on the planet to DD, the G forces I pull when flooring it from a stand still more than make up for it. How impractical is this car? With the top down I have to finagle the top to get 2 medium-sized duffle bags in the trunk. Forget about multi-day trips with the woman as there won't be enough storage for most girls (at least those around my age that require a bag per day)
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