City

Hey everyone, I'm buying a new car in the next few days and the Cobalt has come back in my list of cars after finding out the GTO insurance was going to rape me like a mad gorilla. ...anyway, I'm thinking about getting either the SS S/c 05 or an LS Coupe from 05. Not sure yet (still have to find out what rates are gonna be for insurance and how much I can really afford right now and then there's the whole manual tranny in the city thing).

I'm going to the dealer tonight to talk everything over and I want to go in perpared, so anything you folks can help me out with would be wonderful and greatly appreciated.

1. Basically, whats the best price I can look to get on either car...the SS S/C and the LS Coupe?

2. Any problems...like big problems, not annoyances, to expect with either car? I don't think there are any but I just want to check with you guys.

3. How is the manual tranny in the SS in the city? This is going to be my daily driver commuting car and I need to know if it's going to ruin my life or not by getting the manual.

The number one concern in the final price...obviously I'd love to get the SS over anything right now but I also don't want to screw myself financially for the next few years. Let me know guys.

I'm going tonight at 7:30 to test drive the LS and see if they can find me an SS.

Chevy4Life85

just typed into your quote

City

There's a good number of SS's left in the tristate area near me.

Is GM employee the best I can do or is there more room to get the price down after they throw in the discount?

I know how to drive manual, just never owned a manual car before...so I don't know if I'm going to want to live with it considering all the traffic we have.

DanM

Lots of ppl love the manual and rag on the auto. I have a manual myself, but if I were in the city or in gridlock a lot like you are in some areas, I might go for an auto too.

You should look into an 06 SS NON-supercharged. 2.4L is more peppy than the 2.2, and you can get it auto! Plus you get the 17" wheels, all that jaz. By the time you add alloy wheels plus the sport package plus whatever else to an LS, it'll be about the price of a non-supercharged SS anyway, so may as well look at it. Unfortunately the SS/supercharged coupe only comes manual.

You probably won't get much below the employee discount on an 05. That's already pretty bargain-basement, doubt a dealer's gonna budge much on that, unless he's really scared that he can't sell them. And I doubt that.

Neither car has had any catastrophic issues yet that I'm aware of. Some ppl I guess have had minor hiccups, but you won't get a severe problem.

Permafried-

I went with the LS coupe in manual and love it...rides nice and is more than fast enough for me especially doing most of my driving in town. As for insurance to give you an idea, I'm 22 and my insurance on the LS is $208 / month (CAD) and would have been closer to $235 / month on the SS. I've had no major problems with my car in the first 5000km...I did have to replace a leaky gas cap and I have the same issue a number of other people have with the trim on the passenger side door but nothing major at all. I loaded the LS with everything and when it was all said and done after 15% tax it came to somewhere around $27,000 (bought it in May so no employee discount) so roughly $5200 less than the SS/SC would have been fully loaded.

As for the transmission, I live in a city of roughly 300,000 where they drive like they're 85 years old and this is my first manual tranny. Sure there's days I'd like to be able to press an almighty "engage automatic" button but love the standard and don't imagine I'd go back to manual. If you live anywhere near a very heavy concentration of traffic (never been to Brooklyn but I would assume this is the case) though you may want to look into the auto on the LS for the simple fact your legs are going to get awfully sore clutching again and again in stop and go traffic.

Also, you should take into consideration GM recommends high octane in the SS/SC for performance reasons so that will put an extra dent in your wallet per gallon (though nowhere near the ridiculous difference per litre we pay up here) and prices aren't going to get any better.

Other than that, take both out for a test drive and see which one you prefer I'm sure you'd be happy with either one.

Permafried-

c7015

Actually in teh SS manual it recomends 87 octane ...

I got my ss after tax and financing for the same price as your LS with the GM discount

City

You guys outside of NYC have no idea what insurance costs are lol.

The lowest I got quoted for the SS so far was 6,250 a year.

to shock everyone...my original quote for the GTO - not shitting you when I say this -12-14k a year.
First time being insured, 2 points on lic for minor violation, defensive driving course for rebate and awesome credit. Damn all of you 200 a month guys!

Keep it coming though everyone, the more input on this the better (i'm getting sick of being attacked by salesmen).

btw...06 SS auto is out of the question here, basically because insurance is really high and killing my choices, that's why I'm asking the lowest I can get on the SS.

HotSauce

(sorry to hear about the insurance problem, thats bullcrap)

City

Hey man, thanks ...I have been so depressed over this situation and damn greedy insurance companies since I heard about this. I'm gonna go tell our goat buds about everything once I figure out the car situation this weekend.

Hopefully, I can get a kick ass Cobalt though...if not I see Hyundai Elantra's in my future [Darth Vader]Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo![/Darth Vader]

R33P3R007

That stinks, on the whole insurance thing, I was quoted 178 dollars a month on a 06 ss/sc. I am 21 and it will technically be my first car. On my own insurance at least.

Permafried-

I know on the GM Canada website the car specifications list 87 octane but I swore the manual says 91 for the SS/SC...maybe I'll look at it again tonight to see if I'm totally missing something .

As for the price, I was a little annoyed that I'd payed full price for the car when the promotion started a month and some after I'd bought it...but not much I can do about it and I'm loving the car so I guess it doesn't really matter anymore. Plus my interest rate of 3.9% over 5 years is basically nothing so that pushed me towards buying the car when I did. I was going to push for 3 or 4 but figured having the extra money every month if I went for the 5 year would be nice.

If your SS is fully loaded that means they shaved more than $5000 off after taxes from the $32,xxx.00 it would have cost with taxes before the promotion started. What kind of interest rate did you get on the finance of the SS with the discount?

As for the original post about insurance, that's absolutely insane what they want for the car. The highest quote I saw here for the SS/SC was $4900 / year and I don't think any insurance agency would have actually enforced that...I'd be driving a smart car at the amount they want for a car in your area !

Permafried-

c7015

2.9 for 4 years 3.9 for 5 ...I did 5 ...

and I am positive its 87 in the owners manual ...when the dealer gave me my free fillup I was not happy when they pu tin 87 so I made the guy stop and add 91 but he looked it up after and it says 87 .. I still use Gold anyway

that sucks about missing the deal ..I missed the $500 free gas which I was somwhat dissapointed about

City

Yeah, the high insurance thing is just something I have to live with being from NYC. fvckers

Permafried-

That's nice that GM gave the same interest rate even with the employee discount. I expected them to slash prices and increase the interest rate to make up for it but customers are really saving money then with the discount and the same interest rates.

The preferred price card really comes in handy especially with the rising gas prices especially since I always filled up at Petro Canada before anyways. On average I think I've shaved off almost $10.00 / tank when it's right empty...normally for 36 - 38 litres it's somewhere around $8.00. 20 cents / litre makes more of a difference than I first thought it would. Guess even though I missed out on the discount I'm still saving a good chunk of money for the 2500L that the card is good for.

I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much a year just to insure my car. I guess if you have no choice though and you really think the car is worth it I'd say go ahead. Hopefully I didnt miss this in one of your posts but how much less a year is it for the LS over the SS? Your insurance being as high as it is would be one of the major factors for me prior to making the purchase of either one but I guess you're used to it .

Permafried-

City

Should only be about a $500 a year difference between the LS and SS.

You never, ever, ever get used to it...it just goes away a bit when you turn 25.

Hopefully I can get a good final price on the car, cuz I really don't want to drive some used POS

Permafried-

In that case I'd just take both cars out, figure out your monthly cash flow for both the LS and SS and make your decision based on that. I looked both over heavily and did cash flows, maintenance costs, etc. and decided the LS was more realistic for me especially if I decide in a moment of insanity to take out a mortage on a house in the near future .

Like I said, I'm sure you'd be happy with either one just depends on what you're looking for in the car. I basically needed a car which could get me from A to B which was visually appealing and had a lot of room to mod if I decided to. Regardless if I leave it stock or mod the hell out of it I'm sure I'll continue to be nothing but happy with my LS. That's just my opinion though .

Good luck with the test drive, let us know how it goes.

Permafried-

MichiganMike

Dude! That is like getting raped on insurance! I am 34, no points and I live in Michigan, just outside Detroit, and my insurance is $400 every 6 months for full coverage with my base model. 12-14k a year, for ****'s sake that's high.......2 car payments anyone?

Taro

Its funny how the insurance rates are so drasticly different all over the continent.
I pay 3750 a year for my LS coupe. Thats with two small speeding tickets. My LS was 19500 CAD with everything but sunroof and leather. Thats with employee pricing and i got the 20 cents of gas card as well. So i think i made out pretty well.

ToxicPoison

Not to get off topic here, but why would you want a car in NYC?
I love NYC, but I would never own a car if I lived there (I'm from CT originally so I've spent alot of time in NYC)

That being said, I now live in downtown DC..the traffic is nowhere as near as bad as NYC, but driving my SS around town is fine. The stop-and-go doesn't wear you out as much as it does on other cars.

Hope you get this all worked out!

City

i want a car because I've always had one since I started driving, I love cars and on top of all that I work 20 miles away with no way to take the train to work. So I need a car.

btw, the test drive was cool. I drove a ls coupe, it was nice. Def. a nice ride yet still had responsive steering, etc. I still would rather have the SS though.

I think though, I'm gonna get a cheap used car for the next year or so, so that my insurance can calm down a bit. It's not what will make me the happiest but it is the smartest thing to do right now...god this is a hard decision

Everyone that chimed in...thanks a lot guys.

Evilfrog

I had the same problem as you did. Only I was quoted almost 200 more for the SS than the GTO. Dont really know why the cobalt is more than the GTO; but i think it has something to do with the fact that kids drool over our cars.

But i didnt want to pay the extra $200 a month for payment; plus the gas prices. My choice was made easier buy the fact that I have a RWD V8 already. And the car was looking for was to replace my Cavie as a DD.

Ill sell you a Cavie; its faster than the LS Colbats

Good luck with your search.