Hey everyone. I was looking at purchasing a 2005 GXP for a really reasonable price. The only thing stopping me is the amount of Miles. It'* around 130k. I was wondering about the life span of these cars and if I should look for anything specific that may need to be done to the car before I go ahead and purchase it. In the pictures I have seen online it looks really clean and hasn't been in any accidents. Thanks.

Many here think that the GXP'* Northstar engine has a high failure issue and is super expensive and technical to repair. I would stay away from a GXP with over 50k miles unless I personally new the original owner.

BTW- welcome to the forum.

the only way i would buy one of those is if it was under 50k miles and it was going to be a summer weekend cruiser type car. with a backup daily driver.

The 2005 GXP has the Northstar engine in it. Having a N* engine is like dating a beautiful woman ... excellent performance and something you want your friends to see you with, but high maintenance and it'* a sure thing she is going to dump you some day.

That was just so wrong, but so true!

Well I bought my 2005 GXP in October 2012 for 12k that had 67k miles !!! So far I have had to replace the passenger side wheel hub and the tires because I believe the previous owner probably scraped too many curbs !!! I also changed the sway bar links and the car drives straight as an arrow !!! My only other thing was the fog light bulb and I had to jack up the car with a low-profile jack which I use for my Corvette and pull off the wheel as mentioned on the internet !!! But the engine and transmission work great for blowing by rice rockets and others who think this car has a 6 cylinder engine !!!! I saw one of cars when it was new and have wanted to get a used one but not too many available until now !!! I've already had 3 cars :2 Pontiacs and 1 Buick that needed the plastic manifold junk changed so I was ready for something else !!!

Good Luck !!! Wayne

Good Luck Wayne, open you wallet as here come the bills.

You know this sounds like my story! Bought mine in Oct 2011 with 63000 mi,
pearl white she is and a beauty at that. As another person wrote, they are like women...expensive and will dump you some day.

I'm kinda picky, so first I replaced the spark plugs, changed the motor oil, trans fluid, anti freeze, air filter...etc just like new. Then all the problems started, first at 72000 a COP went bad. So I did them all so I would not have to replace them one at a time. Then it was the anti-freeze bottle as the level sensor was sticking and its a one piece assembly. Then Intake plenum loose and valve cover leaks, so I replaced the gaskets. 90K mi there was the front engine mount. Everything was good for a while but now at 122K miles on the clock the white smoke from the exhaust at first start when cold. Can you say NorthStar F'in head gasket!! After 13 years and they still could not get it right they should have been sued!

You know for a nice car this is a realy sad story, had a '95 Olds with a 3.8L that I only had to put gas in it and change the oil for 295K mi but then I traded old realiable for the GXP

Doug,

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with your GXP. Your post indicates your were very proactive with maintenance and yet that has not prevented an increase in maintenance issues, the latter a very expensive one.

Well my GXP is off to the NorthStar hospital at Midwest Cadillac for major surgery on the head gaskets and reseal of the bottom end. Dr Joe will be using the specialized head studs from Carroll Cadillac in hopes this will put an end to the old head gasket issues. While things are opened up he will also be replacing the front engine mount and oil cooler lines.

Can't wait to get her back on the road but in the mean time I'm getting by every day to work by driving the Stealth TT

New head gasket, Carroll studs and some misc pieces and the GXP is back on the road again for now running like new. But the big question with the GXP'*... whats Next??

The word on the street for those planning to buy the NorthStar GXP, figure into your budget the cost of the head gasket replacement between 100K and 140K miles. But once its repair you'll