Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
of your abs sensor,because you lose your abs brakes as well as your traction
cont. now the expenses kick-in. i own a 2000 imp.(63k) and starting to have
some prob.--2-tie-rod ends,rear shocks and the tract./abs sensor prob.
luckily,i found the prob. for the sensor--it was in the rear,broken wire in the
harness at the abs sensor--very happy--everything is working is back to normal,
for now.
I saw a nice article in an Auto Club magazine about the pros and cons of FWD, RWD, and AWD. Here's the link:
http://www.aaa-calif.com/westways/0305/auto/overdrive.asp
I've seen postings about AWD, and was surprised that there is a disadvantage to them--reduced gas mileage. Although it's only 1-2MPG less, that's a factor if you drive a lot and live in a pretty dry part of the country (which isn't this rain season, in the SW--37inches of rain). Then article also mentions when AWD and 4WD would be preferable.
Maybe something Edmunds might like to post on their website? I've seen the "Read Only" lists, but you have to go thru a lot of postings to get the information. An article would be nice.
does anyone happen to know where I can find a used auto dimming rearview mirror?
Thanks for any advice in advance....
It is working fine, but it may be better to not wait for it to fail and get a new one now.
Any thoughts?
Check out Advance Auto. They checked the battery and replaced at the store and I was on my way in about 15 minutes.
They said that since it was a safety issue, I could get a rental car at Enterprise for free (guess what I picked? An Impala!) I only put about 24 miles on the rental, since my part was in the next day. Had 6000 miles on the OD, so I had them rotate the tires too.
I didnt notice that my car rides a lot better than that rental car!
Thanks,
Frank
:confuse:
By the way, let's get folks to answer your questions here in the Forums so everyone will benefit from the exchange. Good luck.
From what I can tell the switch can't be repaired; a new replacement costs @ $90. When mine quit I was in a bind because I HAD to be at a presentation the next morning, and couldn't leave my car unattended with the window open...so I ended up running to Radio Shack about 8pm and buying a set of small jumper wires...if you remove the 4-window switch from the driver's door you can jump the wires to the corresponding connectors on the passenger door switch next to the bad driver's switch, and get the window closed...at least that's what I did...then I removed the switch so I wouldn't accidentally open it again, and bought/installed the new part at lunch the next day.
It's an easy enough part to remove/replace yourself (actually the night mine quit the only tool I had was a pocket knife with a broken blade, which JUST happened to fit in the screw heads in the armrest to remove the switch!!), so don't pay the dealer to install it by any means.
I als had to remove the battery tray to clean all of the acid up.
I am just about to ship my 1/2year old, mint condition 2004 Impala cross country. I love this car, I got just what I wanted (and more!). I have anxiety about damage during the shipment, but it's my best (probably only) option.
They drive pretty fast on those big car-shipping trucks. I need to empty the car completely because the vibrations from the truck going down the road can really move things around violently. Only factory installed items ok, license plates & spoilers have to be firmly fastened (I hope mine are, they're factory installed!).
I've arranged for someone to meet the car shipper at the other end at a GMC dealer, because I figure they would have a big lot for offloading. A win-win situation, because the sales manager of the dealership starts off with me in a good light, and I get my car offloaded and can get my car serviced near where i"ll live. Smaller town, few dealershps. I just had visions of a manager of a food store in a shopping center coming out and yelling at me to get that big shipping truck out of his lot.
Question--should I have the service dept of the new dealership look my car over after the car shipment? The car shipper release I have to sign says the shipper is not responsible to problems in suspension from vibrations (and any other damage, except a truck accident). My insurance tells me they aren't responsible while the car is being shipped--what you get when you buy low-cost insurance, I guess.
I wish there were another option than using a car shipper, but this is the way I need to go. My spouse already drove one car accross country, and it almost cost the same when you consider the flight back here and the days of hotel and food bills. We don't have a friend to drive it accross country, and our insurance would only cover people named on the insurance policy (yes, if a friend drives you home after a party, the insurance isn't in force if they get into an accident.)
Thanks! I'll probably be asking later about tips driving in snow. I have never been thru a real fall or winter.
Meanwhile we'll see what other Impala owners have to offer on the subject.
i did some checking, even on the www.DOT.gov website. I'm going with A to Z Auto Shipping. I have heard good and bad stories about auto shippers. A friend said his brother's car was parked under a car with an oil leak. when he went to use the wipers, the oil made a big mess. i think it's good that it's being offloaded at a GM dealer, I think I'll have it serviced upon delivery.
I wonder if I would get better service if I tell A-Z that i'd give a good online review for them? I told A-Z about the bad review to on a competitor at www.ripoffreport.com, and they said that it could be a competitor doing the bad review. They trust the bbbonline. The bbb online states that their record began in '96, and i don't see any complaints for A-Z since '03. They may have had complaints, but none posted there.
All questions to A-Z were fielded to "Barry," who may be a "closer." But he seemed pretty open about answering any questions.
At some point, you just have to take a leap and decide. Wish me luck! I'm going to TN! :shades:
When I drove it off the lot and onto the main road, it drove and handled great. The 06 has the new 3900 V6 engine. I did notice that the feel to the steering wheel was different too. It didnt have that thick leather feel that my 01 has. The radio/cruise controls mounted on the steering wheel are different too. All radio/CD controls are on the right side, and the cruise controls are on the left. It took a little while to get use to how the controls worked. The volume control has two spearate buttons for hi and low where you push the buttons towards you from the behind the steering wheel without having to take your palms off the wheel. This was different. I didnt like the radio display. All the preset radio stations are displayed continously from left to right in one column. Whatever preset you choose puts a bright box around the station ID. I didnt like this new display. The radio in this car had only AM and one band FM, no XM. The sound wasn't all that great either. I had to boost up the bass level by three notches beyond center, where on my stereo in my 01, my bass setting is set at center. Chevy added a tweeter mounted on the left and right pillars too. This was a great idea, but for some reason I just wan'st impressed on the overall sound of the system. I also noticed that I had to reach a little farther to get to the controls on the radio then what I would do with my own car. This was uncomfortable since I wasn't familar with the controls and my eyes were going off the road trying to learn what knob did what. Of course in time once you become familar with everything, it would take no effort to control all the features.
Overall I drove the car for about 10 miles at hi way speed and city speed. The car handled great, and at one point, I decided to park the car off road and take a better look at the exterior. What I noticed is that the new 06 Impala resembles a grown up Cobolt & Malibu. Very similar tails and headlamps. The trunk lid at the bottom has this silver chrome plate that goes from the left tail lamp to the right tail lamp. It looks nice, but in time will become scratched and ugly. It has the big gold bow tie center on the trunk lid too. There should be an option where you can have the bow ties removed from the front and back. I never liked them. Well I got back in the car and drove to the dealer where when I drove into the parking lot, I saw my 01. Of coure the 2000 to 2005 Impala's have their own issues, but comparing it to the new 06 makes my 01 LS far more superior. Will I ever buy the new Impala ? I dont think so. I wasn't really happy after getting out of the car.
You give a very thorough description of the sound system but not the engine's performance. Any better than the 3.8L? Smoother?
A lot of auto critics say that this new Impala has a way better interior with tighter fitting parts and better quality feel to the materials used. Why do you think the older impalas are better?
I have driven many a 01-05 Impala and I can't see how you can say this. The new Impala interior is superior in every way and is not "cheap" by any stretch of the imagination. The reason I did not buy an Impala in the past was the horrible interior.
Maybe you like the old fashioned look interior, but that is another story.
As for the car over all, no doubt some features will have changed, but I doubt you will find many people who will agree the old Impala is "far more superior". New cars have more power, better interiors and better driving dynamics.
The 06 that I drove did have the 3.9 like I originally mentioned, not the 3.5. I took pictures of the 06 outside and in, and took pics under the hood too. I wish I was able to upload a few of them here, but I guess its not to be. I did mention in my original post how the car handled great. Yes it had power, and any power difference between my car with the 3.8 and the 06 with the 3.9 was not noticeable at all. The 3.9 was not supercharged.
Hopefully many of you here soon will test drive the new Impala, and post your feelings and opinions.
Best Regards.
As far a durability goes, it can stand up to anything that the Japanese are building (Again, I would know. My 4 yr old LS has 135,000 trouble free miles on it). With choices of a potent 240 hp V6 or a ground pounding 303 hp V8, it has plenty of poop! It has great trunk space, decent interior room and it is nearly silent inside at speed.
In short, it is a better car than the Accord, Camry, Kia Sonata, and many others. These ARE the Impala's competition...not the 325i, the A4, the W8 Passat, and the like. Chevy is, and has always been, a mid priced, mid market car. Chevy has never been a "genuine wood trim" brand.
Comments like: "The headliner material felt that it would tear easily"..."Chevy went out of their way to cut costs any which way they could"...are assumptions.
You also said: "The car handled great. Yes it had power, and any power difference between my car with the 3.8 and the 06 with the 3.9 was not noticeable at all." Are you kidding? The "06 LTZ (240hp V6) kicked the pants off my '01 LS!!
Now, in fairness, you also said: "My opinion is what I felt initially seeing the new 06, feeling it, and using it. Sorry that we don't agree, but just because I didnt like it and you do, doesn't mean that everyone has to feel like I do. Different tastes, different expectations, all makes for interesting conversation."
Now, that I can agree with!
(The saved money presumably went into Volvo levels of safety, the Haldex AWD system, the CVT transmission, and pricing the car in the mid to high twenties instead of mid to high thirties).
If you want all this stuff as it used to be these days, you are going to have to move up to Lexus, Acura, Infinity or Cadillac. And you will pay for it.
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
While I was there getting the car repaired, I noticed they had a Black 2006 Chevy Impala SS with the 5.3L V8. The salesman asked if I wanted to take it for a drive - I told him I would love to. I think the salesman was itching to take it out also. As they put a plate on it and my family packed in, the salesman asked where we were going on sight seeing. We told him and he drove us out about 20 minutes away to find our next stop. We then switched and I got to drive it the 20 minute trip back. WHAT A SWEET RIDE!! As you accelerate you can hear the mellow rumble of exhaust. The engine is as sooth as silk. There is no perceptible difference in the number of cylinders being used as part of the "Displacement on Demand" system as it switches from 8 to 6 to 4 cylinders. As we just idled along the back roads, we could not tell it was running in 4 cylinder mode. The window sticker listed I think 24 - 28 mpg for mileage.
Reality set in when we finished the trip. The dealer gave us a quote for our 2001 Impala LS with 54000 on the clock. They offered us 7000 for our Impala and took that off of the window sticker of the 2006 Impala SS. They said we would be one of the first people to own one on the Eastern seaboard. Although it had lots of options, 8 speaker BOSE sound system, sunroof, leather seats, heated seats, XM radio and of course the 5.3 L V8, I could not go for the deal. Maybe another one will come my way.
The emissions warranty took care of the catalytic problem and I was on my way free of charge after just 1 1/2 - 2 hours at the dealer!
Main reason I stopped looking at the current Impala when we bought last was the poor dash. This car to me seems far superior. From what I have heard about the drive, I can't imagine I would be disappointed when I do test one.
I don't always go with the flow. I am a critic. We all know major improvements were made with this new car over the last generation Impala. Improvements were made in power, quality, fit/finish, brakes, etc. Why? because car analysts and critics continually pointed out the weak spots of the model 00-05. GM listened. If too many people keep saying all positives about this new car, then change will come a lot slower when it has to. For too many years the big three never listened to the public, they made cars that they believed we wanted. Today US car manufactures listen more to the public about change then ever before. They have to. I believe the new Impala will do very well, even better then the 00-05 models. I, like a few others thought that maybe they didn't go far enough. Some indicate they believed the LTZ/SS car should have climate control, underhood/glovebox lighting, etc. As options maybe (moveable peddles, or memory seats/mirrors for the LTZ/SS) The 2007 might ad a couple of these features to keep the car fresh. If car analysts, car testers & critics, don't keep pointing out changes they would like to see, the competition will blow right by! 2006 Impala. Thankyou GM for finally listening to people who like changes. If no one ever complained about their cars we would still be driving black model T's.
In the meantime, "my car" is sitting on the showroom floor as a static demo. I am letting the dealer show it, but no test drives! I did drive it last week. It's nice, very nice. It has "professional image" without being pretentious or showy. It also has great entertainment value when one drives it.
It also has one other thing that some of the competition doesn't have: It has the elusive "oooohhh factor." People see it, recognize what it is, check out the fit and finish and stand there and say: "oooohhhh!"
I reeeeally that!
How long is the lube lasting in your Impalas?
Is this the normal rate?
I read in another forum a GM mechanic saying that the new revised ISS are also coming back for repair. That is why I will opt for the lube.
You would think the 06 Impalas would have this problem fixed but knowing GM probably not.