Style, comfort

Quality

I have owned this car for 6 months. It had 33,000 when I bought it and now has just over 48,000. I have mixed feelings regarding the quality. Before the warranty ran out both taillights and 1 headlight were replaced due to moisture. The dealer also replaced a strut because of a loud poping noise. While on vacation in Florida the fresh air switch began jumping back and forth when the AC was on. Not a great feature when its 95 degrees and your in a dark blue car! Chevy refused to repair the problem eventhough I was only 500 miles out of my warrarnty.(Keep in mind at this point this was only 19 months past the date of its original purchase) When I mentioned that Chevy ask me to take it back to the dealer and let them diagnose the problem. For a fee of 59.95. Doesnt take a genious to figure out that the switch was bad! Needless to say I didnt have it fixed. Now I am experiencing more annoyances then problems. The theft light comes on while driving, the hazard light switch begins to click at its own free will, I usually have to crank the engine longer than normal when starting the car in the morning. (Once it took me about 10 minutes to start). Overall I have mixed feelings. I like the look of the car, but am afraid that the theft system is going to foul up and I will be stranded. I bought this car because I owned a 93 S-10 that had 185,000 miles on it and ran great. Since my dad works at Ford I catch alot of grief for this purchase!

Similar Products Used:

85 Celebrity 92 Tempo 93 S-10 97 Thunderbird 97 Probe 98 Contour 00 ZX2 01 Mustang

Reliability when costly repairs are not needed

Brakes, Brakes wear out at an unacceptable rate! Wheel bearing units need annual replacement!

I bought the Malibu in 1999 and I've had to replace the front wheel bearings twice. This is a costly expense for me especially since this is mechanical defect to the vehicle. General Motors should take some responsibility for this defect and assist owners in replacing the wheel bearing units. I also had to have the starter replaced at an expense I could not afford.

Value Comfort Economy Power Fold down rear seats

Depreciation Poor reputation for reliability

We purhased the full-optioned V-6 2000 Malibu in Sept 2000. It is serviced regularly and has had only two repairs; the intake manifold gasket at 45K miles and the A/C recirc button at the same time. Fuel mileage in heavy Atlanta traffic is 24-26 mpg and on the highway is 30-34 mpg. As of 78,000 miles it uses no oil. I have the trans and cooling system serviced at 25,000 mile intervals (once per year) and the fuel injectors cleaned annually also. Brakes last about 30,000-35,000 miles. The Firestone Affinity tires were noisy and handled poorly in the rain so at 35,000 miles I upgraded to Yokohama Avid T4's. They lasted 40K miles and I put another set of Yokies on a few weeks ago. To date the car has been an admirable performer. My engine "knocks" (actually a loud tick) at start up and disipates after a minute or so of warm up. I changed to Mobil 1 5W-30 at 20,000 miles Good sound system, convenient auto on headlamps, comfortable ride. One comment: I notice a number of reivewers who purchased used Malibu's. These cars do not respond well to neglect. I intend to keep the car for at least 5 years and have been better about maintenance than most because the Chevy dealership is on the way to work for me and has a no charge loaner program.

Similar Products Used:

Buick Century (1984)

None--My 88 cutlass had more power/handled better and and had less repaires and it had 200K on it!!!

Everything I will never buy a Chevy again

Car is a piece of Crap! I have had the car 3 years now and have had nothing but problems. Brakes/brake lines/alternator/ water pump/power windows--you name it.

Looks good, smooth ride when it runs, at least the cd player works for now

everything else

This car is crap i was impressed for bout 2 weeks, had good powed, looked good, smooth ride, but then the water pump, went then the brakes, then some other little thing that i cant remeber what it was called and now today my car just revs when in drive so i have to drive the car in 3 i am pissed. This car is total and compleate crap i am going to drive this piece of sh*t into the water and go find my old 89 mazda 626 and drive that it was 100% a better car.

power handling

maintenance cost

I have a 2000 Malibu and have been nothing but pleased with it. I take the car in for service every 3,000 miles. I have had to have brake work twice and am told by the dealer that every 15,000 - 20,000 miles is normal for this vehicle. I did recently have a leaking lower manifold gasket which was an $800 repair job. I appealed to my dealer who informed me that because of my excellent maintenance history, Chevy would pick up the repair cost. I only had to pay a $100 deductible. (I might add I have 38,000 miles on my vehicle and the warranty is expired). Overall, I am very pleased with the Malibu and suspect that those owners that have had problems are probably abusive to cars and don't maintain them as recommended by the manufacturer.

BRAKES SUCK

PIECE OF CRAP!! This car almost killed my wife today when the brakes QUIT in the rain. I had new rotors installed about 6 months ago and new brakes of course.

Good styling

Everything mechanical

This is the worst vehicle I have ever owned. I've spent over $2,000 repairing the radiator, water pump, brakes, hub assembly, and heater fan. I've replaced the alternator three times, and there seems to be no solution to the front end noise. Mechanically, this Malibu is a wreck. This is the second Chevrolet I've owned and, I've had terrible service (and huge repair bills) with both of them. I'm going back to Fords.

Similar Products Used:

Chevrolet Celebrity, which was as bad as the Malibu. Ford Taurus and Ford Mustang, which both gave me excellent service.

Lots of rooms

The car has had nothing but problems since we have bought it so far I have replaced the brakes 3 times the igniton switch and cyclinder twice. The dome light works when it wants. I will never buy another one it has spen more time in the fix it garage then I have driving it.

have owned this car for 2 yrs now, have spent over 2000.00 in repairs, radiator leaks,oil leaks,breaks and the abs light comes on frequently. great body style and roomy interior but i feel as though gm should send all owners a rebate for the hassles that have been endured by these costly repairs, and if you haven't had problems just wait, YOU WILL !!!!!!!!!!