[Tripower455]

Originally Posted by Ben M.

I never said it was a fact. It was my experience with two different dealers. One gave me a $36k price and the other wouldn't budge from $34,995 (and I wasn't allowed to drive at either one). One of the two had a "market adjustment" tagged on to it as well and I wasn't about to pay for that. Is it a factual re-telling of EVERY DEALER out there? Doubtful. Is it MY experience? Yes.

And I don't know about the rest of of you, but $35k for a car is a lot of money. I'm not that old (under 30) so I can't afford that kind of car payment based on the average Joe's salary. If it was $10k less, I could swing it, but the prices dealers were charging when I looked was too high for me. I don't give a hoot about how much of a "deal" it is for $32-35k, it is priced outside of the range for people like me (young and not well off) to be able to afford. The same thing killed off the Trans Am with my age group as well.

Unlike most people I have talked to, I have reasons for not owning this car that doesn't relate to the styling. It's purely a matter of cost.

Well, you're not getting into a powerful V8 for a sticker price of $25k. Even the V8 Rustangs are into the low $30s when you add all the stuff that the GTO (or even TA's) came with, and then you still have essentially a 2 seater. When the F bodies were still around, you could've gotten a Formula for low to mid 20s (I ordered my '01, and paid less than $23K for it) or a Z-28 for even less.

You can definitely get a new GTO for less than $30k. Check out some of the "Fleet Sale" guys, who will sell at $100 over dealer cost. That's how I bought my Formula since I had to order it. Unbelievably easy (I only left the house to mail the check and to pick up the car at a local dealer. I used Lafayette Bay Fleet Sales. Great guys) and I saved over $3k compared to what any of the local thieves would give me the car for. I bought the GTO off a local lot, but it was already there, and the timing was right. It was late '04, and they weren't moving. I actually didn't think I was gonna buy one, since I was firm in what I'd pay and what I'd take in trade (I didn't want the hassle of dealing with all of the 16 year olds test driving, but not buying, my 6 speed Formula). I was very surprised when it only took me getting up to leave ONCE. I didn't even have my heart set on the car, and liked my Formula, so it was no big deal if they wouldn't meet my price. I've been happy with the car, and the only things I don't like about it are the lack of trunk space, and rear seat access.

The trunk space is the biggie, and has me contemplating getting something else. The rear seat access is a pain in the ass too. Since there's no room in the trunk, it'd be nice if the passenger seat either folded further forward, or at least reclined flat. This way, stuff that wouldn't fit in the trunk could at least go on the seat or I could get it into the back seat. If I want to go jam with friends, I either have to bring a 1-12 speaker cab, or take the passenger seat out to fit the 2-12. If the seat folded further forward, I could get the 2-12 in the back. Same with my RC planes. I could get several more in there if the seat moved further, either way.

Other than that, I have no issues with the car in 30k miles. It does feel like driving a 4 cylinder after driving my '66 though!