Well ladies and gents, it’s been two years plus 3 days and 25,500 miles since I picked up my baby. I figured it’s a good time for a recap:

Power train / Drive train
Car is still going strong, no problems with the main components. Engine is trouble free and runs as it ran when I first pulled out of the dealer’s lot back in 2003. Tranny is good as well, the notchyness is gone long time ago for the most part of it, and I am now left with that mini “sporty notch” which I love. The vibrations in the shifter especially at high rpms are awesome - I am loving it. Gates are precise, and I think I have yet to mis-shift due to inaccurate or awkward gate position. Clutch is good, not so stiff anymore (maybe I just got used to it). No chatters, no grinding, and overall, drive and power train are great! (knock on wood). Service wise - didn’t do anything other than oil changes. I think that all these checks and “top offs” are a rip off. A car with such low mileage should not have these sorts of problems. Besides, worst comes to worse, it’s under warranty. Oil changes are provided free of charge by my dealer, so actually so far, other than a set of new front brake pads (which I DIYed with Ducatiguy’s help ), this car has cost me $0 in maintenance thus far. Gas consumption on this car sucks (Gee, Breaking news… ) but I think of it as the price one pays when buying a grand touring performance car. IMO, if you want 30 MPG, go buy a Corolla…

Exterior

After two years, the car is still sexy, unique, and “one of a kind”. Even though the coupe has been out on the roads since 2003, I still get the occasional comment, stare, gawk, and what not…
I was able to keep it free of any dings scratches and other exterior defects mainly due the fact that I am (like most of you) pretty **** with it. I always park in the next galaxy..., never let anyone wash it for me, no automatic car washes, no free dealer washes, etc. I try to wax it once a month and wash every other week, if not every week. In the two years I have owned it, no one else drove it – not even my wife! (Well, that’s because she can’t drive manual… ) Probably, the only exterior defects that she has are the unavoidable rock chips from road debris, but I guess there isn’t much I can do about it… not at this point anyways. Still riding the stock Michelin Pilots. Probably have another 2K-3K miles on them and then I think I’ll get a set of Avon Tech M550 A/S. I figured no point to get a dedicated winter set since it will probably be my last winter with her anyways. If I get a dedicated winter set now, I will still need to purchase a new summer set next year – I guess it’s just not cost effective. I heard some good reviews about these tires so I decided what the heck. Brakes wise – just replaced the original front Brembo pads with a set of HAWK HPS. The performance of these is just as good if not better, and the brake dust amount is almost non-existent! The rear pads have some 30%-40% still left on them, at which point, I’ll swap those for HAWKs as well.

Interior

Surprisingly, my interior is holding pretty well. No scratches on the console, paint chips, or anything like that. I do however, have a problem with the driver seat left bolster – the leather has been cracking for a while now, regardless of my quarterly interior overhaul with leather conditioner. The dealer has offered to repair it, not replace it. However, they did say that the repaired bolster will not look stock again but rather less stretched. For that reason, I decided to leave it alone for now. Other interior imperfections include the little rattles here and there (just like everyone else here). But again, for the most part of it – it’s ok. Definitely could be better, but… I’ve seen worse.

P.S.

The BOSE SUCKS!

List of problems / fixes I’ve had over time

* Window motor/regulator dead - had to be replaced.
* Squeaking from rear axle - TSB applied (rear parts ordered and replaced).
* Rattling from rear parcel shelf - TSB applied (Foam added).
* CD changer skips songs (all CDs) - Head unit replaced.
* Leather on Driver's seat is cracking - Hasn't been addressed yet.
* Cannot fill Gas tank all the way up - TSB applied.
* Navi acting up, losing orientation and map disappears at time - control unit replaced.
* Navi is still acting up (after control unit has been replaced) - hasn't been revisited yet.


All in all, like I mentioned above, for the most part of it, the car is great. Yes, I had a few problems here and there (as you can see in the list above), but I guess the beauty of this car and the way it handles the road make me a bit biased. As things appear to be right now, I’ll keep her around for another year or so, and maybe replace her at that point; depends on what the market will have to offer (maybe a 2007 G Coupe hmmm – maybe a redesigned one?)

And finally... a pic of "Genie"

 

I have to concur with all of your assessments. My car pretty much falls under the same status in each category.

 

Hey Dan, she's looking good as always, keep up the good work.

 

great looking car and glad to hear you're **** with it. nothing worse than seeing someone with a nice car and doesn't take care of it.

where did you get the rear spoiler if you dont mind me asking?

 

Thanks bro.

The lip is from UnlimitedTuning AKA UTR

 

Wow... 2 years and only 25,500.... Looks good!

I am at 21,000 @11 months

 

Nice review DAn. Glad your still satisfied with the car. I'd have to agree with you in terms of overall satisfaction of this car. I definitely enjoy driving it still. Whenever I drive other cars I always miss my coupe seats. We'll see whats up for 2007 and see if its possible to get the same car 3 times in a row lol...

-Vin

 

You have an awesome dealer!!! I have almost no foam left in my side bolster as I vacuumed most of it up! Been like that since i hit about 6K and the dealer wouldn't do a thing. I know of people with bigger ***** then mine and dont have the same problem now is mine a daily driver so I dunno!

Nice recap, it probably sums up 90% of us here!

 

great write up Dan... I am coming up on a year and still love it... Wish it had pontoons on it this week though...LOL

 

Daily driver?? What happend to the expo? I thought Monique was a spoiled biotch that only came out when the weather was good.

-Vin

 

Time for a new dealer bro?

 

EDIT - I meant it's not really a daily driver. Just weekend toy!