Dumb Question: Ever buy a daily driver just for the drivetrain?

I've been thinking lately about what car I want to replace my Mazda 3 when it's time. I've had it for almost 4 years, and it's got almost 100k on it, and while it has been a great car, it's been boring me to death.

While my latest car interest of the week has been a 2.0T AWD Cadillac ATS, one thought was to buy a car like a 2005-06 Pontiac GTO with a 6MT and drive it until it gets ratty, and then pull the drivetrain and insert it into a future project car. Basically, I'd be driving around a drivetrain for a few years.

Dumb idea? Am I a genius? What do you guys think?

Genius.

Plus a GTO is an awesome car.

Honestly I've thought about it, but it needs to be a lower value car. Or else you're better off selling your DD and buying the same drivetrain separately. Or something that can be parted out with high demand parts.

A GTO MIGHT fit the bill since Pontiac is no longer. You need to really think about its likely residual value after X miles and years. Consider the drivetrain drivetrain you want may get cheaper or more expensive in that time too.

Frankly I think you'd be better off buying a busted up car for the $$. Can still part out, lower cost of entry due to salvage title, etc.

The only bad things about the GTO is its looks, weight, and hilariously small trunk space. US decided the gas tank was dangerous on them and moved it to take up all of the trunk space except an area about the size of a golf bag maybe a little bigger. It's got one of the nicest GM interiors produced with comfy buckets. Stock shifter is sloppy as hell.

The interior of the GTO is 100x nicer than my C5 Corvette. But thats the only thing it does better. Fortunately you can't see the outside from the inside.

I did this with my '92 Mustang GT - bought it intending to turn it into a Factor Five. Never did end up building the Factory Five, but I enjoyed driving the Mustang in the meantime

If you have any questions about the ATS, just let me know. Mine's the 2.0T AWD/Auto, but some of what I know should carry over to the RWD/6MT.

I sat in a GTO exactly once, at a new car show about 10 years ago. From what I remember, it was comfortable inside, but I didn't like the gargantuan steering wheel. It didn't feel at all like the other cars GM was offering at the time. For instance, I also sat in a Cobalt SS with the non-Recaro seats. I hated it.

My price point would have to include financing, and rates for stuff that old can be tough to get in the lower range. Also, I bet insurance on these cars is high, because parts are drying up and the fact that it's a V8 2-door.

Loved my GTO. Fabulous interior for it's time, and some of the best seats of any car I've owned. The styling is boring, but not ugly or anything, so not a problem for me. And the powertrain, of course, is the bees knees. It even handles sorta-kinda pretty good considering it's mass. But it's more of a grand tourer than a sports car anyhow.

In reply to dj06482:

Oooh! Someone on here that has an ATS! I've been looking at these a lot lately. I've specifically been looking at the 2.0T AWD Performance package. How do you like the car so far? Is CUE as annoying as people say it is?

The whole time I owned my e34 540i 6-speed I kept thinking how nice that drivetrain would be in an e30.

Yes, and it worked out well for me. I needed a Ford 302/T5 with all the fixings for an E36 track car. Finding motors here in DistMarVa is too weird for words. Wound up buying a Foxbody, driving it for a while, and then pulling everything I needed for the swap. With what I made selling the roller, it turned out to be a very fair price for the parts I needed.

I'd be strictly looking at 2005-06 GTO's, BTW. They look slightly better than the 2004, plus they have the 6.0 LS2.

Other thing to consider is that I drive A LOT. I put 25k/yr on a car, and I'm not sure doing that in a V8 powered beast is a good idea for my wallet. Also, doing that in a 10-year old car that they no longer make a lot of the parts for might be an invitation for bankruptcy. Again, this might just be a dumb idea.

In reply to SilverFleet:

seeing the amount of travel, you want an accord V6 with the intent of swapping the lump into a miata down the road.

I've seriously considered picking up something with a SC'd V6 (T-bird Supercoupe, Grand Prix GTP) to tool around in for a while until the D's PRV gives up the ghost and swap the SC'd engine into it.

In reply to SilverFleet:

If you're going to try and finance a GTO, might as well start looking for a different car already. I've yet to find a lender that will touch a vehicle made by a "dead brand" without an exorbitant interest rate; that also includes Saturn, Mercury, Saab, Suzuki, etc. I briefly looked at the Kizashi but nobody would touch the damn thing so I moved on.

captdownshift wrote: In reply to SilverFleet: seeing the amount of travel, you want an accord V6 with the intent of swapping the lump into a miata down the road.

Accord = same problem as the Mazda 3, which is boredom. Also, I don't particularly fit well in a Miata.

SlickDizzy wrote: In reply to SilverFleet: If you're going to try and finance a GTO, might as well start looking for a different car already. I've yet to find a lender that will touch a vehicle made by a "dead brand" without an exorbitant interest rate; that also includes Saturn, Mercury, Saab, Suzuki, etc. I briefly looked at the Kizashi but nobody would touch the damn thing so I moved on.

That is a valid point. I do have some connections at a few local banks and institutions that might let a weird loan slip through the cracks, which is what I'd be depending on. But yes, most banks won't touch one, let alone a 10-year old one.

I stumbled across a 1980 something Chevy Sprint Turbo for sale the other day and my first thought was whether the 1.0L 3 cylinder turbo engine would fit into my Mini or not. The guy selling it seemed very proud of the rarity of the car and probably would refuse to sell it to me if he knew what I was planning. I'm not buying it nor even trying to, but the idea did cross my mind.

Tom_Spangler wrote: The styling is boring

Never got that complaint when these came out. The original '64 LeMans was considered a boring old man's car when it was new and the GTO was just a LeMans with some badges in a styling sense. So, in a way, it was a faithful homage to the original in that respect.

I like the idea of making your existing car less boring: [URL=http://s265.photobucket.com/user/derekrichardson/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_24.jpg.html][/URL]

I own a 2003 Jetta TDI, so... yeah.

SilverFleet wrote: In reply to dj06482: Oooh! Someone on here that has an ATS! I've been looking at these a lot lately. I've specifically been looking at the 2.0T AWD Performance package. How do you like the car so far? Is CUE as annoying as people say it is?

So far I like the car a lot. We considered selling it because right now it's an extra car, but decided to keep it after a low-ball offer from CarMax.

Ours is the 2.0T, AWD, Auto Standard model. Only options were remote start, sunroof/moonroof, and heated front seats. We bought our '14 early this year as a left-over. I skipped the CUE, as I saw a lot of complaints about it.

Pros:
- Good power and fuel economy (requires premium) - roughly 30 MPG highway.
- Not obvious it's a turbo, spools up quickly
- Power everywhere in the RPM range
- Ride and handling balance is perfect, it corners well and doesn't beat you up on awful roads.
- Brakes are fantastic
- Overall comfort is really good, and the car is very quiet on the highway

Cons:
- Power delivery is good, but not inspiring (the car is capable, but doesn't egg you on)
- I'm a Luddite, and prefer knobs and buttons for my hvac/stereo controls (touch controls work OK, but I still shake my head at them)
- Engine sound is a disappointment
- Sport mode doesn't do much, I keep it in Tour all the time
- Automatic is solid, but nothing special. I considered adding the optional paddle shifters, but rarely use the manual mode as it is. Paddle shifters are included in the higher trim levels like you're considering.
- No streaming Bluetooth without CUE (ridiculous on a car that stickers for $40k)

Oh, and buy your ATS used (or lease). They depreciate like a rock for the first few years. No sense taking that hit yourself.

I sort of did this with my current DD, a '98 Camaro. The drivetrain was 100% what sold me on the car, fell in love with the LS and I figured if I ever balled it up it could become a swap donor. Some days I actually kind of wish that would happen.

As for GTOs, a college buddy of mine has had one for probably 4-5 years now and loves it. Its his DD, though I don't think he puts a ton of miles on it - he also has a mini van and 3rd gen T/A. I think he's getting around 20 for fuel mileage, I remember it being a bit worse than my Camaro when we were comparing. Hands down the nicest interior of any GM product I have ever been around, bar none. Insurance was significantly (about 50%, IIRC) higher than the Camaro when I checked before buying it (was sorta cross shopping GTOs). I think you're fairly limited in terms of tire width on them as well, if auto x or race tracks are in your plans. Its been quite a while since I've actually driven it, but we're actually planning on taking it down south on a road trip to the Charlotte NASCAR race in about a month so I should get some seat time then.

As for financing, have you tried a credit union? Mine claims they will finance basically anything worth over $3k book value for as low as 1.49%, though I can't say I've really put them to the test on that, aside from the 16 year old Camaro.

In reply to dj06482:

There's no way I'd buy a new one. I'm seeing used 2013-14 2.0T AWD Luxury models in the low $20k range around here that stickered for above $40k! I'm waiting a little longer until the Performance models fall a bit before making a move.