Ready to buy my first Sky

Captainmorgannc · 10-29-2012, 12:50 PM

Hello everyone,
I am currently in the market for my first sky. This will be a daily driver for me, but I do have another car for hauling stuff. I wanted to ask the experts about what to expect form the Sky.

I have been trying to do research on the dependability of the Sky. The reviews online seem to be all over the place. Do you sky owners thinks that this is a reliable car. About 3 to 4 times a week I have a 150 mile commute round trip. This commute killed my sebring. Will the sky handle this ok?

Also what should I look out for when looking at these cars. Are there certain red flags that I should look for when going over a used car before I buy it?

Thank you for any information that you can give me. This is a beautiful car and want to make sure I get a good one.

LeloSKYLANM · 10-29-2012, 01:28 PM

Best of luck, you won't regret it ! There are lots out there that have been well cared for, just make sure to have it completely checked out by a Saturn certified dealer.

09SkyGuy · 10-29-2012, 02:46 PM

Bought mine in Feb. Just passed 10k miles to date – you can see I LOVE driving it ; )
Aside from a dealer mishap with my driver side door, no issues at all.
Driving it from CT to Florida next month. There goes another 2k : (

Try and get bone stock, preferably Red Line, low mileage, etc. Check under the Fenders too... might have lifting crack(s). I think most people who buy a Sky treat it with kid gloves, so chances are you'll be okay. And don't rely on CarFax alone... ask to take it to a mechanic, or better yet, like Lelo says, a Saturn/GM service tech, for a once over.

Good luck! and ENJOY!!!

carnut122 · 10-29-2012, 07:50 PM

I've had mine about a month now and I don't regret buying it at all. Get a low mileage Redline. Putting down the top for the ride home from work has helped my stress levels immensely. I still hope to be driving this car until they put me in the old folks' home (or sanitarium

).

gladmaker · 10-29-2012, 08:53 PM

Had mine about 2 months now. Found a pristine '08 with 3,700 miles. I now have 8,700 miles on it. I sold a Goldwing motorcycle to get it with no regrets. I agree with the advice to buy bone stock and Red Line.

Elff · 10-29-2012, 11:29 PM

Im over 35k
Very reliable and mine is heavily modded

**lllfly** · 10-30-2012, 05:56 AM

150x3 will kill any car.
Just buy it your have lots of fun.
When your done with it. We need.parts.
Post pic.
LLLFLY

SeattleSky · 10-30-2012, 09:21 AM

I bought mine this past spring with 26K miles on it, and now have 34K miles without any problems. I've been using it as a daily driver but as things start to get wetter here I've been using it less. If you have much rain where you are at, you'll want to change the OEM tires to something that performs better in the wet. The stock Goodyears are very poor in the rain. In fact overall this is not a great wet weather car just due to the fact that it is low and you have poor visibilty and tend to get lost in the spray of the cars you are following. Other than that, it's a fantastic car and you won't regret your decision one bit!

Captainmorgannc · 10-30-2012, 11:33 AM

Thank you for all your responses. Is there a list somewhere about what the changes are between models like the difference between 2007 2008 2009? Also what what kind of gas mileage can I expect holding 75mph on relatively flat interstate? Also if the drop in MPG worth the extra power of the redline? Thanks!

nomead · 10-30-2012, 11:57 AM

I bought mine new expecting it to be my daily driver and used it that way for ~3 years. I had a relatively brutal 5x65 mile round trip commute - up and down the southeast expressway (The Big Dig) - and put ~70K miles on the car while I did that. This was in all weather: sun, rain, snow (w/snow tires).

I've had zero problems with the car as a commuter - very reliable. It is my "turbo decompression vehicle" - a great way to relieve the stress of the day so I'm human when I get home.

For the last ~2years I've retired it from that rat race; today the car has >80K and I've been putting about 5K on a year. This year I took it down the NASSM in Asheville NC (from Boston,MA) with a group of folks and put about half of this year's 5K on in a single long weekend. Still very dependable.

Only problems I ever had with it were related to bad electrical connections in the sensors added when I had the GMPP installed.

Every car is going to be different, much depends on how well it was taken care of and how well you take care of it. I expect to be enjoying mine for many years.

Bogie · 10-30-2012, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captainmorgannc

Also what what kind of gas mileage can I expect holding 75mph on relatively flat interstate? Also if the drop in MPG worth the extra power of the redline? Thanks!

You should get 30mpg or better flat at 75. I believe The RL gets better mpg than NA at steady state cruise. RL has a smaller engine. Boosted.

An often unheralded beauty of the LNF is it was designed to deliver both low end torque and relatively high HP for performance as well as high fuel efficiency at cruise. The kappa platform, being the first to host the LNF, is one of the first (if not the first) production vehicle to deliver this dual performance/efficiency capability using a small displacement boosted engine with a lot of performance tech. It produces the highest specific output of any North American make production car....ever. Only recently eclipsed by the GenIII Ecotec. If you include the GenII GMPP tune (there isn't one for the Gen III yet), I believe (someone will correct me if I'm wrong) the kappa still holds top position to this day.

Captainmorgannc · 10-30-2012, 01:07 PM

What are the differences between the 2007 2008 and 2009? Can not find much information on this. Is there anything worth getting one year over the other?

40rty · 10-30-2012, 01:32 PM

From what it looks like, there were slight modifications throughout the years. I know for a fact that different OS's were installed on the ECM's from the 07,08,09. You also had creature comfort features on the 08's as an option and standard in the 09's like Bluetooth. I also know that for 2007 the cars came with a different diff bracket than the 08 and 09's.

Other than that there wasn't to drastic of a change the years the cars were in production.

NYRhockey23 · 10-30-2012, 04:48 PM

Driving 30k miles a year will kill any car, and Sky parts probably aren't as easy to get as most other cars.

Mine has 72K miles in 6yrs (Dec will be 6th yr) and has been trouble free, but also put a lot less wear and tear than you will.

nomead · 10-31-2012, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 40rty

From what it looks like, there were slight modifications throughout the years. I know for a fact that different OS's were installed on the ECM's from the 07,08,09. You also had creature comfort features on the 08's as an option and standard in the 09's like Bluetooth. I also know that for 2007 the cars came with a different diff bracket than the 08 and 09's.

Other than that there wasn't to drastic of a change the years the cars were in production.

'08 had an issue with braking when the engine was cold and first started <searching> check Sky Redline recalls and technical bulletins - it was subsequently covered by a TSB discussed in that post. That thread is a great resource for this sort of question.

'08 also began TPMS (tire pressure) and I think they got instantaneous MPG in the DIC.