2009 Pontial G5 - thoughts?

[cam62]

Hey folks,

My 19 year old son is planning to purchase a 2009 pontiac G5 today, with just over 25k miles with warranty expiring at 36k or July 2012.

It's not exactly what he wants but I'm cosigning his note and won't cosign for what he wants.. LOL poor kid :( But.. he's been drvining a pos 93 prizm that he paid 400 for so it's still a step up.

I digress..

Anyone have opinions, experiences, good or bad with these cars?

He isn't too good about getting a wrench and he hasn't saved enough money to buy something cheaper without a loan. He also woudn't have enough cash for unexpected repair bills. So he's also looking at an extended full warranty for an additional 3 years, or 75k miles.

I'm generally not a fan of extended warranties, but in this case.. ( I don't want to get a wrench and fix his car) ..

Any thoughts on the extended warranty?

Car is in great shape and without all the details in the buyers order.. out the door including extended warranty - 11k.

Think this is a good value? According to KBB and NADA it should be. I guess I'm most interested in personal experiences about the reliability or other things unkown about these cars.

I found one forum for these yesterday but didn't find too much of interest. I'll poke around in cyberspace a bit this morning.

[fielderLS3]

11K for a 3 year old G5/Cobalt seems just a little steep unless it is fully loaded. Though that may just be the market at this time. Used cars are definitely higher than they were just a few years ago. (3 years ago, a 1 year old Impala could be had for about $12-13K).

I've personally never driven one, but the reviews and reliability/satisfaction surveys do not have much good to say about this car. There are better cars out there than a G5, in terms of build quality, reliability, and driving dynamics, particularly with an $11K budget. To be blunt, the G5 was one of the bigger contributing factors to Pontiac's death.

I'm not a fan of extended warranties either. I don't buy them myself, but I also have the savings on hand to cover anything that goes wrong. On this particular car, it sounds like he has 6-7 months to build some savings just in case before the warranty runs out. Also, I'm assuming this has a 5/100 powertrain warranty, though I'm not totally sure when GM started that, so don't quote me on that...check with the dealer first.

Ultimately, think of it as a form of insurance. If he can afford to take the hit should something go wrong, don't get it, as statistically, people pay more on premiums than they make in claims. If he won't be able to afford any potential problem himself, it is probably not a bad idea to have it.

Just out of curiousity, what were the other cars he was looking at?

[cam62]

Well, like I said the 11k is is out the door. Actual price of the car is about
8500.00
Tax, tag titel, warranty.etc.. brings it to about 11k out the door.

He's got a part time job making 10.00 an hour (about 1200 month gross) I charge him token room and board since he's not going to school and he pays insurance and gas.

Needless to say, car payments, increased insurance, (i'm raising his rent too since he didn't register for the next semester).. he's po'd at me.. but "hey kid.. welcome to adult world.. and I'm giving you a break!", he'll be stretching his budget a bit. I'm considering limiting him to a bit less, but this appears a good price for the car and truth be told, I am thinking of the extended warranty as insurance. Insurance for me.... haha.. i'm cosigning and if he screws up I don't want to be rsponsible for a broken pontiac I may tell him to skiip that and I can get him out the door at 10.1k. As you said he may be able to save a bit before warranty expires.

I was trying to keep his out the door cost at 10k or less, which means any car he looks at should be advertised around 10.5k or less..
negotiate 10.5 - maybe knock 5-700 hundred off = 9.7
9.7k - 400 (maybe) for trade, = 9.3 - tax tag title, etc.. maybe around 10k.

So far he's tossed out a couple of civics, a couple of jettas, a mazda 3, and such.

With what you said about reliabilty and such, if he goes this route I think the extended warranty may be a good idea for him. It's transferable if he sells the car.

I drove it yesterday and other than having to remind myself it's not my ss camaro it seemed fine. Took a pretty good long look at it with him yesterday.

Originally Posted by fielderLS3

11K for a 3 year old G5/Cobalt seems just a little steep unless it is fully loaded. Though that may just be the market at this time. Used cars are definitely higher than they were just a few years ago. (3 years ago, a 1 year old Impala could be had for about $12-13K).

I've personally never driven one, but the reviews and reliability/satisfaction surveys do not have much good to say about this car. There are better cars out there than a G5, in terms of build quality, reliability, and driving dynamics, particularly with an $11K budget. To be blunt, the G5 was one of the bigger contributing factors to Pontiac's death.

I'm not a fan of extended warranties either. I don't buy them myself, but I also have the savings on hand to cover anything that goes wrong. On this particular car, it sounds like he has 6-7 months to build some savings just in case before the warranty runs out. Also, I'm assuming this has a 5/100 powertrain warranty, though I'm not totally sure when GM started that, so don't quote me on that...check with the dealer first.

Ultimately, think of it as a form of insurance. If he can afford to take the hit should something go wrong, don't get it, as statistically, people pay more on premiums than they make in claims. If he won't be able to afford any potential problem himself, it is probably not a bad idea to have it.

Just out of curiousity, what were the other cars he was looking at?

[Scrappy Doo]

My buddy has a g5 for his wife/kids to drive. No complaints, no issues with it.

11k otd seems fair to me. 8500 doesn't buy you much these days.

[DarkneSS]

He should get something much cheaper with good reliability. For $5,000 he could get something decent thats probably way more fun than a G5.

[cam62]

Originally Posted by DarkneSS

He should get something much cheaper with good reliability. For $5,000 he could get something decent thats probably way more fun than a G5.

Agreed Yeah but he doesn't have 5k saved. I'm not going to loan it to him and he's not so hot with a wrench This one has low miles and warranty. I want him to start building his credit.

He decided against the extended warranty at took it for 10,1 out the door. We got some of the dealer bs when we got there.. it was more like 11.9 out the door with warranty.. grr..

Oh well.. it seems a fair deal and let's hope he doesn't have major problems over the next few years.

Thanks for your help and input folks!

[KXRM]

When I was young I wasn't so hot with a wrench but my dad told me that it was my responsibility to take care of my car and that was that. Needless to say, I learned very quick.

[DaBears]

Your supposed to drive a POS at 19 years old.

and im sorry to say but the G5 is a chic car. Why not let him get a good used truck or something? I bet you could find a charger or something too.

[upflying]

A G5 is just a car, it has all the personality of a refrigerator.
Many G5's were purchased for rental fleets, hope your son did not buy a former rental.
Is the carfax clean?
Agree about the G5 being a chick car, Oprah Winfrey gave away hundreds of them on her TV show.
oops, my bad, I think it was the G6 that Oprah gave away.

[~Stacy~]

I actually co-own a G5. I purchased it new in May of 2008. So far I have racked up over 48,000 miles on it. The thing runs amazing. They only issues I had was the car has bad supension. The left control arm broke just before the 36,000 warranty ended. They right control arm broke this summer the same week my camaro blew a heater core The repair was $380 since it was out of warranty. Otherwise the car runs great. The seats definatley suck in those cars. You get butt cramps after 20 mintues and I'm only 5"4.:( Then the sunroof rattles alot. Other than that she goes It's a good car for a teen driver or early something crowd. It definatley attracts cops. I have been pulled over twice in it and I had my camaro for 2 years in January and no stops

[Number 3]

Cobalt/G5 is a solid car.

The G5 is coupe only so a tiny bit sportier looking.

Opinions on the car not withstanding, it has generally been a reliable model. I'm not aware of any significant issues.

I don't think CR ever rated it a recommended buy, but I believe that was mostly for performance (or lack thereof).

Here is a link to the JD Power report on the 09 G5.

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/Pontiac...Coupe/ratings/

I double checked KBB and you are correct, it seems like a pretty good price.

Now as far as motivating your son to get his butt in class and move on to some education that will enable him to actually afford a nice car like this on his own someday.....................that is another discussion. So, yes, I think an 09 G5 is a pretty nice car when you are only making $8 an hour.

[TOMS1SS]

They are okay. No a lot of thrills for sure, but solid for basic transportation.

[v6sonoma]

My friend had a cobalt which is basically the same car. Good fuel economy, decent ride, nothing special but it was very reliable. Warranty might not be a bad idea if he plans to keep it for a long time. Overall they aren't as bad as CR would have you believe.

[cam62]

Originally Posted by Number 3

Now as far as motivating your son to get his butt in class and move on to some education that will enable him to actually afford a nice car like this on his own someday.....................that is another discussion.

Yup.. that could be an entirely new thread. I'm a big advocate of joining the military. I did my stint and if nothing else, I learned self discipline, served our country, had a chance to grow up a bit while still having fun and independance, saved some money for school and saw the world. A career in the military wasn't for me but I'm a much better person beacause of my time in the service. But if he doesn't choose to go that route, or get his butt in gear and start going to classes, then come summer I'll probably start to charge him full room and board.

Sooner or later (hope it's not later), he'll realize I'm trying to help him, help himself. Not just being a dick of a parent