I have to agree guys in saying get the 05 vs an 04/03 due to the number of problems with the 03 I had. Nobody should have to go through what I went through with my 03.
I looked at an 05 today. The sales guys all gathered in a crowd as I drove up in my 04.5 Nissan 350Z Roadster. I can just imagine what they were saying, but I really didn't care since I was there to only LOOK at the 05. (Dang, that guy that really expects his 03 SSR to be driveable is here???) :cuss
I looked from front to back and side to side. I could not find much difference (if any) on the outside of the SSR that would make an 05 stand out from an 03/04 SSR (color choices excluded). The one big difference was when I lifted the engine hood. That was a GREAT improvement. No struggling with the hood to lift it and no flimsy prop rod to hold it up. A great improvement on the SSR!
The 1SB engine cover was a bit bigger on the 05 due to the LS2 6.0L engine. The engine cover still flops around and rattles like crazy. No real change there.
The EPA gas mileage ratings on the 05 were still listed at 15 City / 19 Highway. I could never find that information out on the chevy website. That's great if the bigger engine still gets the same mileage.
I would suggest anyone test driving an 05 to check the HVAC blower motor to see if on setting "2" whether or not the darn "knock-knock-knock" noise has been fixed. It would also occur on setting "1" as you rev the engine as well. There was a TSB for this problem but it only stated a fix was being worked on for future release (03/04 problem). That one drove me nuts with my 03.
Anyone that has actually test driven an 05, how smooth was the engine idle of the LS2 6.0L? The 5.3L engine in my (former) 03, bounced around so much that it felt like an out of balance washing machine at times (but that was "normal").
If there are truly plans to revise the door side panels in mid year, I might wait until mid 05 model year before buying one. (If I were in the market again). Plus waiting a bit might cause the Chevy dealerships to wake up and realize that an 05 is not as "special" as they think it is (you know how dealerships think anything new-and-improved demands MSRP or over).
It cost me a crap load of money to trade-in my 03 SSR on my 04.5 Nissan 350Z Roadster. If I had waited one more month it appears others are buying 04 SSRs for what I was able to get in trade for my 03 SSR. The prices are falling rapidly for 03/04 SSRs. I don't know if my 03 SSR was truly unique in all of its problems, I have to believe that otherwise the other SSR owners are in for a crap load of issues. I really hope that is not the case. I love the SSR concept, style and feel, just not the particular 03 SSR that I owned. I must say, that my 04.5 350Z Roadster has been a dream compared to my 03 SSR. I've had a couple minor squeak/rattle issues with my 350Z Roadster, but the real difference was that the Nissan service department actually listened and FIXED the issues. OMG, if the Chevy service department or GM specialists were anything close to that level when they worked on my former 03 SSR, I'd probably still have it today.
The best suggestion I can give to any potential SSR owner is to arrange for a long test drive. That will allow the engine / tranny to fully warm up. The fully warmed up tranny is when my 03's 1st-to-2nd gear shift problem would show up. Play with all of the guages and features of the truck before you buy. (That's true for any new car test drive).
I hope to one day to return as a SSR owner, but that's probably not going to happen for another year or two. :mad Good luck everyone.
What color?
