If So, Why Are The Later Years Better

[shavdog]

I did a search on here but didn't find my answer....I am curious specifically why people say the later yrs are better...Can someone layout the reasons why....I read where the top mechanism is more of an issue in 2004-2005...are there electrical issues or other items to be aware of with the earlier yrs....I've looked at alot of ads and you can buy a 2005 with low mileage in very nice condition for probably 10k less than the same item in later years....someone is going to say ok.....one major repair and you are even on money spent....some answers would be helpful in my search...thanks.

 

[shavdog]

I did find alot of answers in a May 3 post.....should I buy a 2008 with high mileage or a 2004-5 with low mileage same price.......alot of good responses in that post...thanks....If I coud delete my orig. post I would to not take up space...thanks

 

[Dick Frederick]

My experience (Jaguar cars, Japanese motorcycles and cars, and American motorcycles and cars) is that there is a scale of early model reliability. The English are the least reliable and the Japanese the most reliable with Americans in between. The English often refer to a used car as having been "sorted," meaning that manufacturing defects have been identified and corrected. There is a reason for that term. On the Japanese end of the scale the first production item is likely to be as trouble free as the last.

The XLR was a low volume car, chocked full of gadgets that even in the best of circumstances are likely to bedevil an owner as time passes. The nature for this beast is that I would expect an XLR to follow more in the English tradition of early model reliability (and reliability in general) that the Japanese example.

Also, todays cars handle high mileage much better than the cars of by youth - the 1950s. Currently I have a 1997 Mustang Cobra with Ford's version of the Northstar engine. It has 271,000 miles on it, no engine work, no oil burn, and good compression.

My thoughts: Go with the later model, high mileage choice.

 

[pure zen]

We bought a 2005 with low miles.......only issue was the crappy GM CD player. Everything else worked
perfectly. I chose to stay away from the first year builds until initial bugs are worked out. JMO
Best road car I ever owned....

 

[shavdog]

Thats a nice looking 2005.....without causing a ruckus here, do you feel the negative talk about the earlier models is justified?.....thanks for the picture...

 

[pure zen]

I would respond more to your question,,,,but like you said....don't want to cause a ruckus

 

[shavdog]

Thats cool.....I noticed some lively discussions on here....I inquired about a 2006 in Tempe...at Auto Junction Benz....

 

[mickeytee]

as Pure Zen stated. 04/05 had a few issues unique to that year and some of them were repaired in later years But many people are totally happy with theirs. You can buy an 04/05 that may be in better shape and an 09 . you can also buy a lemon 06-09 if its not taken care of. If you search for parts you will find a lot of 04/05 part numbers that have been upgraded to the later year parts so gm thinks they fixed an earlier problem. Several 04/05 with over 100K miles locally with never a single issue. I personally think the later transmission is an upgrade.