Dear Car Talk:
We inherited a perfect 2007 Pontiac G6 convertible with 26K original miles, and have enjoyed all the fun of driving. It’s not our primary vehicle, and Pontiac’s are no longer in production, which may be part of the problem.
We have been careful not to put the top up and down too often. You guessed it, now the top won’t work!
The top was stuck in the closed position, then we recently purchased a new battery and it retracted to the down position. Now, it’s stuck again! We inquired at a few dealers who want $800-$1000 just to look at the car, without any answers upfront. Any ideas? I fear your advise is to dump the car,or leave it in our garage with the top down, like we have been!
Marianne
Stop that. The dealer obviously doesn’t want to touch it. That’s why they said $1000. Call around to local independent shops or a convertible top specialist and see who will work on it. It IS 11 years old and parts are only stocked by agreement for 10 years. It is a dead brand but GM may still have parts used in newer cars. But don’t be surprised if the mechanic says… I can’t get parts to fix this.
We are not sure what to do, likely try to close the top, and sell it “as is”. Rate the car as blue book “good condition” minus $500?
Good condition with a faulty convertible top, I don’t think so. Call several convertible shops before you decide anything .
I work on retractable hardtops, diagnosis is $100. If you are being quoted $1000 to check out the problem they don’t want you to bring the car in, perhaps they don’t have a technician with the skills necessary to repair these.
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We live in the bay area, is there someone that can be recommended to evaluate the car?
Cadillac offered a retractable hardtop, the XLR, you might find a Cadillac dealer that will work on the car. Buick offers a complicated convertible, perhaps a tech there will take on the repair.
Some people suggest to check the “Mechanic Files” on Car Talk but in my area those are misfit shops and 1/3 of those went out of business years ago. Body shops send their work to the dealer, you need a professional scan tool to view folding top faults and data in those modules.