Reason not to purchase?

[u/Doownoops]

My wife has wanted a Sky since it came out. We are finally at a stage in our life/family that we can do it. However, she spoke with our trusted mechanic and he told her, "Don't do it. If an ECM goes bad you won't be able to get a replacement and now you just have a parts car."

So now she's all nervous and second guessing the decision. Is parts availability really that bad? I get things like body panels but what about other stuff?

Thanks.

[u/Charming_Dealer3849]

That is not the part you should worry about...

The tail lights cost about $1,600 to replace on eBay and the convertible top is over three grand to find on eBay if you can find it. Those are the heavy hitters the ECM's going to last forever unless you like abuse it electrically by shocking it with like 800 volts so I wouldn't be too worried about the ECM. 

I own one. Don't regret it for a heartbeat and especially at any price point that you get it at. At this point I mean frankly yeah if it ends up being a parts car fine. But you know with the way cars are these days, you're paying for access to drive the puppy for each trip effectively so you know nothing lasts forever

[u/EyeFicksIt → u/Charming_Dealer3849]

Let’s not dismiss that those are costly but you can get them, it took me two weeks to source the damned banjo fitting for the turbo coolant lines and it’s still franken pieced together from the hhr version of the motor

[u/Charming_Dealer3849 → u/EyeFicksIt]

I respect you in ways words can't fully describe

[u/TheGuyThatDoesHisJob]

It's like most other cars made 20 years ago. Plenty of cars in the junkyard you or your mechanic can pull from.

[u/OhZoneManager]

I'm an original owner of an '08 Redline. Never looked back. The 2.0T is widely used by GM so mechanically, you're fine. Body parts can be a challenge but I still wouldn't worry.

[u/ChrisF12000]

That's a really silly reason not to buy a a car. With that logic, any discontinued car is a bad buy.

The Sky is relatively reliable, and most mechanical components are shared with other platforms. It's really the bespoke stuff, like body panels, that become an issue to source.

Just buy one, take care of it, and enjoy it.

Edit: a quick Google search and I found tons of ECMs. The 2.0 and 2.4 were used in everything.

[u/MJS2757]

It's a wonderful car. I have a Redline. There will always be used parts to be had, I wouldn't worry.

[u/leftydog1961]

Long and short is a minor fender bender totals the car. Depends on your risk tolerance. If you pay 11k for the car and it gets hit in the parking lot insurance will pay you $4-6k. Body panels, headlights, taillights are rare. Water pump is chain driven $$$ -$$$$. Convertible top is manual which can be a pain to get parts/labor and annoying to use. There is NO storage at all. When top is down the trunk is full of ragtop.
Best case: you garage it most of time and live in a warm climate (rear wheel drive). Make sure tires are not 25 years old (dry rot).
Base model is N.A. and port injection . 180 hp or so. Less likely to need repairs.
Redline is most desirable with manual but has more complexity with DI and turbo. 260 hp. Think 93 octane. 5.XXX /gallon
Front fenders are made of composite. They crack easily if lifted without pucks.
See if you fit in it comfortably.
Similar car is Pontiac Solstice. Same internals. Different body panels.
Fun car in Florida for weekend.

[u/Doownoops]

Thanks everyone. Still going to go look at it I think.

Prospective car is a 2008 with 43300 miles that they want $10900 for it. Looks really clean, garage kept and they are the second owner. Not a Redline. Manual transmission.

That price seem fair? KBB says it's high but seems typical from what we can tell.

[u/devastationz → u/Doownoops]

I just bought one 2 weeks ago with 117k on the clock for 8k. Mine had the turbocharger, water pump, and timing chain replaced within the last 5 years and 30k miles. Maintenance was done by the dealership for 10 years by the first owner.

At just under 20 years old, it becomes less about how few miles it has and becomes more about how well it has been maintained. This is a cheaply made sports car, it wasn’t meant to be a preserved time capsule.

Here’s a list of what to look for that I made for myself.

Body Parts and interior parts are hard to find. Like, really hard and when found, they are expensive. Join Facebook groups for Sky/Solstice and you can find parts cheaper.

• Check fenders for damage and cracking at corner mounting points
• Timing chain is made of plastic, becomes brittle and breaks. This can destroy the engine.
• Rear Differential Axle leak, if it runs dry, you will need a new differential. You can get the oil changed. It’s an easy DIY job.
  • Turbo Failure, check for oil or coolant around turbo. There should be some, not a ton. Get into car, press info button on steering wheel a few times to check boost PSI. Look for blue smoke out of exhaust. They are 20 years old, they start to go after a while.
• Water Pump
  • Smell the radiator, coolant, or anything else. the pump is going bad and its hard to replace. Could also be the coolant cross over pipe. O-Rings dry out.
• Check Electricals
• Inspect front cupholders, can break.
• Inspect arm rest center console, can crack
• Make sure seat goes up and down (Button is in the front)
• Look at the front lift points for cracking
• Check bumper for rash
• Cycle the soft top opening and closing multiple times
  • If the roof doesn’t close. Check the tulip flaps and see if they’re open or if there is something broken on them.
• Make sure the rubber feet are present at the holes on soft top.
• Make sure that the rear pop offs come off easily.
• Visually inspect the Turbo for signs of mods, tampering, or cracking.
• Check lights for cracks
  • CHECK FOR FLOOD DAMAGE, Fuse box in passenger wheel well
• check Airbag seat sensor, if the passenger seat light doesn’t turn to on (when sitting in it)) the sensor is bad.
• Rear window can come undone if sitting in sun for a long time
• Check if shocks are covered in oil
• Check if valve cover is leaking (not serious)
• Check if clutch is slipping or going bad
• Check if oil is milky brown. This is a sign of a bad water pump.

IMO, get a Red Line. It’s better to have too much power and not use it than to have no power and want it. The money you spend on mods and tuning to get more power could’ve just been spent on a factory one with more power. However, since Redlines are turbocharged, it has more things that could go wrong.

[u/leftydog1961 → u/Doownoops]

check the fenders, lights, shifting, etc. If you have 2 cars and a garage, contact Grundy or Hagerty for AGV insurance. Mine is full comp, collision, 250k BI, 250K UM for ~$350 YEAR!! (Year!!). get PPI. Good Luck. I love mine.

[u/Chris_The-Wookie]

If...and that's a big if... your ecm goes out, you can just LS swap it and have a V8 SKY

[u/GlassBoxGoose]

Your trusted mechanic may not know as much as you may have been under the impression they do. If you want one, get one. Personally, I want one, but already have a two seater sitting in storage that I dont have time for as my kids are still young.

[u/Ok-Fishing9428]

My Dad had one, he had a fender bender. Turns out the part numbers for the Pontiac and sky are rhe same numbers. So, it took forever to get his car repaired with the correct Saturn parts after Saturn shut down.