Looking to buy and have some questions

1543 Views 64 Replies 21 Participants Last post by jon72vega, 17 h ago

spelly88

Discussion Starter · 12 d ago (Edited)

Hey all! New member here... I've been wanting a Solstice since I first saw one, but wasn't able to make it happen as it wouldn't be a practical daily driver for me in the Philly area.

I don't need it as a daily driver now so I'm looking into buying one as more of a fun weekend ride. I tried reading through these forums the past few days but I think it would be really helpful to me to just post a few questions and see what I can learn... I really appreciate any help!

I'm hoping to spend under 5k, so hopefully that's enough to get something good. I'm not expecting to put more than a few thousand miles a year on it... I need Automatic transmission.

1. Is there a year/trim I should be looking for? GXP sounds more fun, but is that unrealistic for 5k? If so, what should I be looking for in a base model?

2. I don't really care about color because I was thinking about getting a color wrap professionally installed. Any idea what an estimated cost for that is? I know it varies but wanted a ballpark if possible.

3. How easy is it to get things repaired if necessary? I'm not savvy enough to do things on my own so I'd want to bring it somewhere. Just curious how some of your experiences have been...

4. I assume for my price range it'll be high mileage, most likely over 100k. Do these hold up well over 100k or 150k?

I think these are enough to start, so thank you all for the help!

41 - 60 of 65 Posts

Bob Wall

· #41 · 10 d ago

I think patience and end of summer timing of purchase helps to lower the price. Depending on where you live, the solstice is somewhat of a niche car with limited number of potential buyers. Many sellers just want it out of their garage and the money is somewhat secondary. Research, patience and past history is vital in these cars. Low purchase price does not always mean best value. The bills can add up fairly quickly if a lot of things need repair. I find that the dealers are overpriced by a large margin and know nothing about the car they are trying to sell. lowball the heck out of the dealers as they hate slow moving convertible inventory.

Reactions: 1

stan66

· #42 · 10 d ago

spelly88 said:
Thanks for the info! I have a performance EV as my daily driver so I think I'm ok with a non GXP. I'm thinking mileage might not be too important if I'm only looking to put a few thousand miles a year on it... All helpful comments and I really appreciate it...

I don't know why, but I've never been a Miata fan... I just think the Solstice is one of the best looking roadster type cars I've seen...

Also, I'm noticing there are not many for sale near my area... Has anyone ever bought one and had it shipped to them? What would that typically cost, 1.5-2k?

We also have an EV for a daily driver. I'm in Los Angeles but bought my Corvette in AZ and Solstice in NV, personally it's a lot of fun to fly somewhere, buy a car and drive it back, kinda like a little adventure and probably chaper than shippin it.

Reactions: 1

Wunderkind

· #43 · 10 d ago

Unless you do no like the design, consider expanding your scope to include the Saturn Sky. It shares many traits & parts with the Solstice.

I was indifferent to both designs during my search. They both drove about the same. However the right Solstice showed up first and the rest is history. Pretty sure I'd be happy with a Sky too.

Reactions: 1

spelly88

Discussion Starter · #44 · 10 d ago

Bob Wall said:
I think patience and end of summer timing of purchase helps to lower the price. Depending on where you live, the solstice is somewhat of a niche car with limited number of potential buyers. Many sellers just want it out of their garage and the money is somewhat secondary. Research, patience and past history is vital in these cars. Low purchase price does not always mean best value. The bills can add up fairly quickly if a lot of things need repair. I find that the dealers are overpriced by a large margin and know nothing about the car they are trying to sell. lowball the heck out of the dealers as they hate slow moving convertible inventory.

I didn't even consider timing but that's interesting... Trying to buy a convertible right before summer starts might not be the best idea in the Philly area... Maybe I'd get better deals here in December...

spelly88

Discussion Starter · #45 · 10 d ago

stan66 said:
We also have an EV for a daily driver. I'm in Los Angeles but bought my Corvette in AZ and Solstice in NV, personally it's a lot of fun to fly somewhere, buy a car and drive it back, kinda like a little adventure and probably chaper than shippin it.

I think I would consider this if it's < 3 hours but I don't really want to do a 5+ hour or anything like that...

G-Ram

· #46 · 9 d ago

I had mine shipped from Miami sight unseen. Trusted the seller, which I normally don't do, as he was a 22 year vet of the Dade County Sherrif's Department. Even gave me his badge number to verify if I wanted to. I got lucky!

Reactions: 1

A Bat

· #47 · 9 d ago (Edited)

spelly88 said:
Quickly Googles how to drive a manual transmission

I've been looking at Auto Trader, KBB, and Cars.com. They all seem to have the same listings... Can you recommend any other sites?

I found my 2008 GXP manual w/66,000 mi on Carsandbids.com last march for $14,850. The site is very user friendly and professional. The car spent most of its life in BC and never saw salt. It shipped from AZ to OH for $850. I got lucky to find such a well cared for car without seeing it in person.
2008 Pontiac Solstice GXP - ~65,900 Miles, 5-Speed Manual, 260-hp Turbo 4-Cylinder

Reactions: 1

spelly88

Discussion Starter · #48 · 9 d ago

easy2grasp said:
I found my 2008 GXP manual w/66,000 mi on Carsandbids.com last march for $14,850. The site is very user friendly and professional. The car spent most of its life in BC and never saw salt. It shipped from AZ to OH for $850. I got lucky to find such a well cared for car without seeing it in person.
2008 Pontiac Solstice GXP - ~65,900 Miles, 5-Speed Manual, 260-hp Turbo 4-Cylinder

Thanks for that site... No live Solstice auctions at the moment but I signed up for email alerts if any start...

sprdave

· #49 · 9 d ago

I thought I'd share this video to see kind of reaction I get.

Scotty Kilmer says "stay away from the Pontiac Solstice". I love me some Scotty Kilmer, but I'm glad I didn't take his advice. Besides, what's life without a little risk taking (as long as you understand the risk your're accepting). I wish I had researched and been more patient in selecting my 2006, but I bought it fully expecting to pour several thousand dollars into it to make it worth keeping indefinitely.

Breakdown of my investments so far:

LED light upgrade (headlamp, mirror, and backup)
Oil change
New brake rotors/pads
New tires (plus alignment)
Upper radiator hose
Drive belt/tensioner
Power steering belt
Coolant flush
Power steering fluid
Brake/clutch fluid
Rear differential oil
Manual transmission oil (Redline MT-90)
Pioneer stereo system (including backup camera)
Glove box trunk open button
Rear window defroster connectors
Passenger interior door handle
Hood struts
Spark plugs (Autolite Iridium)
Air filter
Second key fob (Dorman)
Cleaned MAP sensor
Charged AC (low from factory)
OEM Wind deflector
Window tint (nano ceramic)

See less See more

Reactions: 3

ChopTop

· #50 · 8 d ago

spelly88 said:
Hey all! New member here... I've been wanting a Solstice since I first saw one, but wasn't able to make it happen as it wouldn't be a practical daily driver for me in the Philly area.

I don't need it as a daily driver now so I'm looking into buying one as more of a fun weekend ride. I tried reading through these forums the past few days but I think it would be really helpful to me to just post a few questions and see what I can learn... I really appreciate any help!

I'm hoping to spend under 5k, so hopefully that's enough to get something good. I'm not expecting to put more than a few thousand miles a year on it... I need Automatic transmission.

1. Is there a year/trim I should be looking for? GXP sounds more fun, but is that unrealistic for 5k? If so, what should I be looking for in a base model?

2. I don't really care about color because I was thinking about getting a color wrap professionally installed. Any idea what an estimated cost for that is? I know it varies but wanted a ballpark if possible.

3. How easy is it to get things repaired if necessary? I'm not savvy enough to do things on my own so I'd want to bring it somewhere. Just curious how some of your experiences have been...

4. I assume for my price range it'll be high mileage, most likely over 100k. Do these hold up well over 100k or 150k?

I think these are enough to start, so thank you all for the help!

www.facebook.com

Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky/Opel GT/ Daewoo G2X owners | Facebook

A page for Kappa enthusiasts to post pictures and discuss GM's best Roadster/Coupe ever. Welcome! We have some (very very few...hardly enough to call a group...) questions we ask when you request to...

www.facebook.com

www.facebook.com

Brian Cooper post, but not his car. $5,500 Redline. 90,000 miles. South Central OH

Reactions: 1

ChopTop

· #51 · 7 d ago

$5,800

2008 Pontiac Solstice - cars & trucks - by dealer - vehicle...

2008 Pontiac Solstice Convertible Coupe, silver w/ grey and black cloth, 148k miles, 3/24 PA inspection, Runs great! 3 Month / 3000 mile WARRANTY INCLUDED! $5,800 plus 6% tax and tags = $6,517 out...

allentown.craigslist.org

Reactions: 1

ChopTop

· #52 · 7 d ago

$4,000. I won't post anymore, but as you can see, cheap Sols are out there.

fayetteville, AR for sale "Pontiac Solstice" - craigslist

fayetteville, AR for sale "Pontiac Solstice" - craigslist

fayar.craigslist.org

Reactions: 2

spelly88

Discussion Starter · #53 · 7 d ago

ChopTop said:
$4,000. I won't post anymore, but as you can see, cheap Sols are out there.

fayetteville, AR for sale "Pontiac Solstice" - craigslist

fayetteville, AR for sale "Pontiac Solstice" - craigslist

fayar.craigslist.org

That looks fishy to me. 2005 solstice with a turbo? 2006 was the first year no?

I do appreciate the help though, I’ll have to check CL more.

spelly88

Discussion Starter · #54 · 7 d ago

ChopTop said:
$5,800

2008 Pontiac Solstice - cars & trucks - by dealer - vehicle...

2008 Pontiac Solstice Convertible Coupe, silver w/ grey and black cloth, 148k miles, 3/24 PA inspection, Runs great! 3 Month / 3000 mile WARRANTY INCLUDED! $5,800 plus 6% tax and tags = $6,517 out...

allentown.craigslist.org

This is the one I mentioned a few posts back. It has paint issues on the hood and one of the door handles works but pulls out farther than it should according to that guy. It’s a base model with no packages from what I can tell. I tried offering $4500 but he wouldn’t bite.

JohnWR

· #55 · 7 d ago (Edited)

spelly88 said:
That looks fishy to me. 2005 solstice with a turbo? 2006 was the first year no?

I do appreciate the help though, I’ll have to check CL more.

2006 was the first Model Year, but production began in July 2005. If someone looked at the build plate in the door jamb instead of properly decoding the VIN they may think that the car is a 2005. legally, of course, it is a 2006.

And, any turbo would be aftermarket for that year car.

Edit: That is a GXP, so is a factory turbo and the earliest possible MY is 2007.

spelly88

Discussion Starter · #56 · 5 d ago

JohnWR said:
2006 was the first Model Year, but production began in July 2005. If someone looked at the build plate in the door jamb instead of properly decoding the VIN they may think that the car is a 2005. legally, of course, it is a 2006.

And, any turbo would be aftermarket for that year car.

Edit: That is a GXP, so is a factory turbo and the earliest possible MY is 2007.

Ok thanks for clearing that up... So either the guy didn't know what he had or it was a scam... It's gone now in any case...

One more question, and thank you all again for taking time to answer these...

How do the GXP models compare with 2007 to 2008. Are they basically the same or are 2008's more desired/recommended?

Wunderkind

· #57 · 5 d ago

I'd consider owner maintenance quality more desirable than the little variations of the 2 years. As of this writing, car's like these are 15-16 years old, care and feeding from POs are critical factors.

Reactions: 1

JohnWR

· #58 · 5 d ago

spelly88 said:
Ok thanks for clearing that up... So either the guy didn't know what he had or it was a scam... It's gone now in any case...

One more question, and thank you all again for taking time to answer these...

How do the GXP models compare with 2007 to 2008. Are they basically the same or are 2008's more desired/recommended?

The 2008s have TPMS that the 2007s do not, but there isn't much else that I have noticed to differentiate them.

Reactions: 1

chickenwire

· #59 · 5 d ago

I believe there was a change (elimination of) to the vacuum pump for the braking system on the '08 GXP. If I remember correctly there was a service bulletin to address it and it was eventually "de-changed" back to the original configuration during subsequent production.

Reactions: 1

tw71

· #60 · 4 d ago

FWIW? I just bought a 2008 Solstice GXP and it cost me $15,000. It only had about 34,000 miles on it though. I was impressed with how clean it was. Under the hood, everything looked practically brand new and the interior was similar. (A little bit of wrinkling on the driver side leather seat, but no cracks/rips/tears.).

Having had previous experience with direct injection engines? I'd say that they're fine, with the "catch" that they're constantly getting a fine mist of oil in the intake and coating the valves, gumming them up. I'd imagine you really should consider having the valves cleaned up every 50,000 miles or thereabouts? (BMW specifies something like every 45,000 miles for the D.I. engines in the Mini Cooper, with the walnut shell blasting process to clean them up. And my 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe with direct injection had something similar in the owners' manual about scheduled maintenance to clean the valves at a certain mileage. GM may have been using chemical cleaners vs the blasting process though.)

I did find one third party performance shop around where I live who specializes in Mercedes, primarily, but says they do the walnut shell blasting process to clean D.I. engines. Might take my Solstice to them at some point to see if they'll do the work on it and at what price.

See less See more

Reactions: 1

41 - 60 of 65 Posts