Faults:

Transmission was throwing a code when I bought it. Turned out to be the torque converter. Changed it for $600 and has been fine ever since.

Had to replace ignition coils once at 100k miles.

Window motor needed to be replaced.

General Comments:

I love the looks of this car. I am constantly getting comments how good it looks.

I really like the roominess of the interior in the front seats. I am 6'4" and my Firebird is the only car I can stretch my legs comfortably in.

Gas mileage wise, I get 22mpg around town and I have gotten 32mpg on the highway doing 65-70 the whole way, with 100k miles on the engine.

It's pretty quick for a V6, however the V6 Firebird with the performance package is quicker due to the gearing, which I do not have.

The W68 appearance package looks amazing!

Faults:

The roof on my 2001 Formula started to blister with about 10,000 miles on it.

I have always garage kept this car, and always kept it washed and waxed.

Now it's gotten to the point where I'm going to have to have it fixed, because there are many more.

I didn't even bother with notifying GM because of the poor response I've gotten in the past.

I've been more than disgusted with them over the years because of their poor service. I bought this car brand new, and approached them more than once about a stinky cat. problem, and was told more than once to change the brand of gas I use. I know they're having a cat. problem, but it's like pulling teeth. Their arrogance has continued even after they took my hard earned money in a bail out.

General Comments:

Overall I like the appearance of the car and enjoy driving it. It's real fast and handles well.

It can be a little noisy inside, but that's why it has a monsoon stereo.

Faults:

The reason I am posting this is to educate people on GM's customer service practices.

I bought this car off August of '01, right off the show roof floor. I seldom drove it over the past 7 years as it now has 3,000 miles on it.

Last year I noticed what looked like a paint defect in the roof panel behind the T-Tops. I found this strange, since I had never seen it before, but since it's plastic, I knew it wouldn't be rust.

I had the car outside in the sun this spring, and the minor defect grew into large blisters. Some of which had ruptured and began oozing some sort of solvent.

After doing some research on the Internet, I found that many many other F-Bodies between 1998-2002 had this same problem. I also learned that it is a problem that GM is well aware of, and was replacing roof panels at their discretion. Some were 50% cost to the customers, some were free. This repair requires replacement of the roof panel, which for a t-top car is in excess of $800.

I figured with the extremely low mileage of my car, that GM would surely do SOMETHING for me. NOPE! I got the call today from the bum of a service manager. The GM "district manager" said that I had too old of a vehicle. I would have to pay for the repair 100%.

This is one of three GM vehicles I have purchased over the past 7 years, and after many battles over defects in my '07 Silverado, I'm done with GM.

General Comments:

I always wonder what this car would be like if I had driven it daily over the past 7 years. With a engine so noisy, I wonder if it would last 100,000 miles.

I enjoy driving it though. Tons of power, good handling, good fuel economy (24 m.p.g. on the freeway, with 325 horse power) but in typical GM fashion, the horrible quality and uncooperative service overshadows the good.