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Comments
BTW, I would KILL for a new Jetta or Golf. But heard they have had some quality problems too. I drive 100 miles a day for work, so need something I can constantly depend on for transportation.
Wouldn't touch VW or Korean. They may be better but I think they both have a way to go still.
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The only complaint I have is the around town mileage which I think should be a bit better. I try an keep the a/c off, but it doesn't seem to help much. Most of the driving in this car is in the city so I really notice.
I have a 99 Malibu LS and my fiance has a 2000 Cavalier LS. Both cars are sweet. Upgrading to a malibu is a good choice. Despite the problems with the early models ( 97-98) my 99 has been flawless. The 2000 models are even better. If you go for the LS you will have a quieter ride since I believe they are insulated a bit better. My fiance's Cavalier rides nicely and it's very comfortable for the money we paid but you notice the plushier, quieter, smoother ride the Malibu can offer, either car is still a great choice. Good luck!
As for the Malibu, don't think you will go wrong. It's a great car and you'll really like the V6.
$10,000 trade in for the cavalier is kinda around the low end. Maybe 12,000 is ok. Why do you want to trade the Cavalier? Is it just to upgrade to a mid size? If there is nothing wrong with the Cavalier then they should offer you more. Either way you will end up with a nice car. Can't go wrong with the smooth V6 and the quietness of the Malibu. Good luck!
PS: They might have purposely left out the rear defroster since your car was for Texas but then again you have humidity.
Also, why not keep the Cavalier until next year? You will get a much better trade-in on it and reduce, if not eliminate all together, yor negative equity.
When the car is turned OFF and turned ON again the running lights will remain OFF until the car is put in gear. At night all the lights come on except the fogs. The fogs are considered auxiliary lights so they are not part of the main lighting system so you need to turn them on separately. What you are seing is completely normal. Enjoy your Malibu, it will give you a lt of joy, great car indeed. Good luck!
Read a magazine folks!!!
You guys made three horrible car mistakes
1. American
2. GM
3. Chevy
MISTAKES WHICH ONES ARE THE THREE BETTER CHOICES?
SECONDLY,MALIBU I CAN TELL U REALLY LIKE GM CARS
AND VOCUS REALLY DON'T.I ONE THE OTHER HAND AM
TRYING TO DECIDE ON A CAR.I ALWAYS NOTICED THE
CAVALIER JUST WASN'T CERTAIN.I JUST RENTED A SUNFIRE WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE WAY IT RIDES.I'M JUST TRYING TO DECIDE BETWEEN THE SUNFIRE OR CAVALIER.CAN ANYONE BESIDES VOCUS OR MALIBU HELP?
(JUST KIDDING).MAKING A DECISION HAS BEEN VERY
DIFFICULT FOR ME.THIS WILL BE MY THIRD CAR.I
PRESENTLY OWN A 93'FORD ESCORT WITH 84,000 MILES.
WITH ONLY MAKING WEAR AND TEAR REPAIRS TO CAR.I JUST WANT A CHANGE.NOT SURE IN THE DIRECTION.BY THE WAY VOCUS,MY GIRLFRIEND PURCHASED A BRAND NEW
99'MIRAGE LAST YEAR WITHIN A MONTH'S TIME HER BRAKES GAVE OUT ON HER HAD SHE HAD A BAD ACCIDENT.
I'M NOT COMPLETELY KNOCKING THE CAR ON JUST HER
EXPERIENCE BUT I BET SHE WILL.
brownsugar: I won't tell you the Cavalier is the greatest small car in the world, cause it's not. It is however very reliable and full of goodies normally found in more expensive car. Things like traction control, ABS, A/C ect. We have a leased 99 which we took over from a friend a few months ago. I have no real beefs with the car and for basic cheap transport, you won't go wrong.
1) Magazine mean nothing
2) People are not lemmings
3) Both Nissan and Ford are nothing to talk about.
You must really fall for those silly commercials where Nissan crosses out the "COMPACT" part and plays some popular tune to make it look like they are hip. You are way to funny man. No need to dispute your comments, they show plain ignorance. After all, someone who goes by the magazines obviously can't think for themselves.
On the positive side I got a cheque from GM today for my 96 2.2L engine head gasket out of warranty repair. They did not cover the cost of the cracked cylinder head so I'll have to fight for that I guess. I wonder what year they managed to fix this problem. Maybe in about a year. '97 owners will get the same letter I got in the mail about the defect.
Personally, I went for the Sunfire because it has character. I also considered the Civic and Corolla, and test-drove the Civic. However, I couldn't stand the gutless engine and the bland nature of the car. This is not to say that I think the Civic is a bad car, but it just lacks character and is a "cookie-cutter" car. The Civic does a lot of things very well: quality, ergonomics, fuel economy to name a few. I feel that it's a perfect car for those who just want to get from A to B and who think that a car is a car is a car. However, it just doesn't distinguish itself in terms of performance and styling, and the pricing can be a little difficult to swallow. Those are probably its only disadvantages.
Btw...that dashboard creaking is extremely annoying...altho I'm glad to see that it wasn't just mine doing it.
I have discussed this with G.M. Customer Assistance today and of course their position is that even though they are aware of a wide spread problem, a problem that they have told owners up through '96 is covered for 7 years or 100k miles, my car is not covered - what a surprise.
At this point I am thinking small claims court. Any similar stories or experiences out there?
Fortunately, we're not out of that 7 years / 100k miles phase, yet. And as a matter of fact, the car goes in next week to have it fixed.
One thing I will say is that we won't be buying another Cavalier. We've not had any problems with ours (knock on wood) and it's done quite well for my wife (so far), but with all of the stories that are out there, we just can't afford to take a chance.
We did, however, recently buy an 2000 Impala (we have a baby on the way soon) and are loving it. I know that the price difference between the two is astronomical, but we are quite happy with the purchase.
Other than that, I've had no problems whatsoever. Just normal routine maintenance. My previous Cavalier was a '91 and was going fine at 130K when I traded (hah, not much value there) it in on the current one. From what I've read so far, it seems I've been lucky!
I am a owner of a 1998 Chevy Cavalier in
midnight black color. 56,000 miles. Unfortunately, I have had many problems. Let me list them:
-AC broken
-both power windows will not rool down
- transmission blew at 30,000 miles
- engine block needed replaced
- battery dies every 4,000 miles
- poor build quality
- breaks squeak
- Engine rattles sometimes
- radio fuzzles
As you can tell I am a unhappy owner. I also own a
Toyota Corolla and it is a much better 4 door car in my opinion. Chevy needs to make better cars
cause it is pure 100% junk!!!!!!!!!
Oh, and fastfoodman, I'll tell you why high school kids drive Cavaliers. 'Cause they're decent cars and they and/or their parents can afford them. 'Nuff said.
The Va investigator says that often Auto companies will either ignore or rebuff their requests, hoping, since this is in essence a small claim, both the State and the angry consumer will just "go away". He told me that if this happens, I should take it to small claims court, where often, to avoid adverse publicity, the Corporation will offer to settle before the case comes up.
If anyone owning '97 and later year Cavaliers with the 2.2 liter motor has had similar problems, please post them.