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Comments
Also, leather and sunroof are LS options. They don't come standard.
Although a wise man once said "you get what you pay".
Probably the only foreign car that the Malibu competes with now is the Galant. Maybe the Sonata. Which is part of the problem with the Malibu. All of the foreign companies have really stepped their offerings in the past 3 years which is why I am critical of the 2004 Malibu which in my opinion doesn't go far enough.
But the current model is a good value but it sales have dropped over 30% in the past 3 model years.
The $6,000 price difference just adds to the difference and value for the $.
Case closed.
I put very little merit in the JD Powers numbers. I could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. I just don't see the correlation between Initial Quality and Long term reliability and customer satisfaction. Considering that most people keep their cars for 3-4 years and not 6 months, I would think long term reliability and customer satisfaction would be more important esp. if you are dropping $18k for a car. To me, their sampling is too small, 55,000 owners for automobile sales in excess of 16 milliion. Reminds me of the polls. If this was a computer or any other electronic device then I can see the importance of the first months of ownership. If you are a typical driver that amounts to 3000 miles. Hardly a way of determining the overall experience of a car. Plus you are still dizzy from the new car smell.
If you want a true indication of how to compare the Malibu to the Accord and Camry without any subjective surveys or opinions, take a look at the sales numbers.
For 2002
Camry - 410k units
Accord - 400k units
Malibu - 182k units
The Malibu sales have continue to decline over the past 3 model years while the Camry and Accord have increased....even with the Accord and Camry costing $6000 more (which they don't but that is another argument). I can understand the Accord and Camry outselling the L-series, Subaru, Galant and Mazda 6 since they have a larger dealer base then the aforementioned cars. But There is no reason for them to dominate Chevy like this.
Remember, you get what you pay for and value is not everything in the automotive industry. You need more then a good price to move cars. If that were the case we would all drive Hyundai and Kia and never step on the lot of VW and Subaru. Many reviewers think the Accord is a tremendous value even costing $6000 more then the Malibu.
I also have a Malibu LS (2001 with 28k miles). I think it is a good buy and good value. But it is not as good a car as the Camry or Accord, even with the $6000 difference. If it were, the sales numbers would be better. If these cars were comparable with the $6000 difference that you mentioned, The Malibu would sell 500k units easy.
Again, the award is nice because it shows that GM is making strides in improving quality. But it still has a way to go.
I think I posted this earlier, but no one responded. Anyway, what is the difference between the Check Engine light and the Service Vehicle Soon light? Also, is it possible to add keyless entry on a 1997 Malibu WITHOUT power locks? I know it's fairly cheap and possible on other makes / models, but I'm unsure how it is with the bu. (My advisor says I would have to go the after market way, but I don't think she knows ALL of her facts.)
I am taking my bu in tomorrow to get a few things done. 1)My Check Oil lamp on the instrument cluster has been burnt out since I've had the car. 2)The glass that covers the instrument cluster seems to have had water spilt on it, and spotted the glass. The only catch is that its on the opposite side so I can't get to it. It's extremely frustrating when I'm tying to drive and have to look for a few seconds really hard to see how fast I'm going. My GM service advisor says it's going to be about $160 because the entire dash has to be taken apart. Oh well. I'll report back on how the service was. (Usually, in the past my advisor has been really helpful, but lately she's been a pain.)
About shutting off DRL's: I see no need to shut them off. A few times they have saved me an accident, I believe, especially the 2+ times I have went to change lanes on the interstate and almost slammed into the side of someone. The only thing that made me avoid the accident(s) was the brightness of the other drivers DRL's in my side-view mirror. The only time I kind of hated them was when my alternator went out. I think they were the things that made my car die. I shut everything else down and tried to rev the engine at stop lights, but ultimately the engine died.
I also need advice: I have 3 things wrong with my car (other than the ones stated above): 1)Rear sway bushings need to be replaced, $80. 2)Sensor in coolant tank resivor sticks and trips the light on the dash $80 as well. Finally, the passenger side air vent (the one that lines up with the door) is cracked in half and very difficult to use. This has also been broken since I've owned the car. It's irritating because it rattles on the highway. So my question is in what order should I have these things fixed and how much do you think the air vent thing will be to get replaced? None of them impair the driveability, but they are all nuisances. (The sway bushings squeak if anyone sits in the back seat.)
P.S. - The guy who I bought my car from was the same guy who repaired it after it was totaled. He must not have been a very good painter because I have owned the car 1 yr. and the paint is chipping EVERYWHERE VERY QUICKLY (especially around all of the door handles). Should I take it to the dealer to be repainted (I'm thinking quality here, and I would like to stay under $800) or should I take it to like Maaco or an independent?
Sorry, one last question: My dealer said that to drain the tranny fluid and replace the filter would be $250. It's so expensive, I was told, because the tranny uses a "wire filter which costs more than the average paper filter in most vehicles". So I purchased a Fram tranny filter kit from Checkers for about $30 in hopes it would cut my costs, but inside the filter looks like paper, not wire at all. Was I lied to at the dealer or did I get the wrong filter? Or is there wire that I just can't see in the filter?
Anyway, I would appreciate any response from anyone. Thanks a lot - Jeremy (97 bu, White, 61K miles)
I simply state that for the category and rating covered by the J.D. Powers survey, the Malibu DID DO Better. That can not be refuted. And the size of the survey sampling is actually quite large compared to many other surveys. Definitely within the margin of error.
I did not say that the Malibu was a better car for longevity. I am sure the Accord and Camry will last longer. However, most people never keep a car anywhere near as long as its lifetime (i.e. the miles you listed). My Malibu could be at the bottom of the ocean at 182,000 miles, as could either of the others listed, as far as I and most are concerned. But, for value the Malibu has the others beat for about 100,000 miles or so.
As far as sales, the decline is partly due to the poorer quality of the first three years of Malibu production. But another big reason is the poor marketing effort by GM. They primarily advertise their trucks and have spend less on the Malibu than just about anything else in the last 3 years. As far as the general public's perception of the differences between cars, I would only put limited stock in that, and it would definitely not be the main thing I would go by to purchase a car.
Check Edmonds,com for an excellent and fair review and discussion of the Malibu. I agree the Malibu is not quite the car that an Accord or a Camry is, but it is close for at least 100,000 miles, and definitely a better value for the $ spent.
I would like to see Chevy put that extra $1000 - $2000 into the overall quality of the car. A little better quality for the interior parts, a bigger gas tank (14 gallons is ridiculously small for this segment), sturdier seats, disc brakes, better braking system, thicker rotors, etc. Once you do that then you have an American Car that is now just as good as the imports regardless of the price. There's nothing wrong with the ride or handling of the Malibu. It's ride is on par with the Accord and it handles better then the Camry. It's just those quality items that take a few months to a year of living with to discover. One example is the reclining lever for the seat backs. I'm terrified that one day this thing is going to break off.
Hopefully the 2004 Malibu addresses some of this.
Paint job: I would take it to an independent painter. That's what a dealer will do any way not unless they have their own shop. You may be able to get it done for about $800. It won't be the premier paint job but it will hold up for a few years.
Transmission fluid and filter: have an independent shop do the tranny fluid replacement. You should be able to get it done for around %150-$175. $250 is too much. Remmeber this is not a super sophisticated car. Most garages can do this basic maintenance job. Save yourself some money.
Hope this helps.
I'm sure someone else can chime in with a more complete explanation of this because I'm sure their is more to it then what I explained. But at least that can explain how they are keeping their heads above water even with the rebates and 0% financing.
the combination of impala and malibu tends to do ok as a combination in the segment, however, the Malibu getting its butt handed to it on the sales charts, when chevy has more dealers in more markets, is Amurchan, etc., there is really no excuse for Chevy's mainstream offering to not at least match Camry and Accord sales and to do that they must STEAL sales from those other two cars.
And making an 'American' flavored sedan won't get the sales. The mainstream chevy sedan must have all the same persona and look and feel and reliability of the two Japanese leaders to steal sales from them.
That includes
-OHC powertrains
-tight body gaps and interior assembly gaps
-mellow inoffensive style
-good interior plastics
-smooth control actions
-firm, comfy seats
until Malibu gets that, no dice. that's what the market is buying. going against that and continuing to make cars with the 'GM flavor' won't get the job done.
2004 bu may correct some of this. I do like the interior design (except the cheesy looking shifter). still no OHC v6, rear discs, or good styling.
of that 182,000 bu sales, how many were to fleets? subtract fllets and rentals and honda and toyota each may have a 3 to 1 or more margin on the bu.
About my dealer visit: They ended up charging $141 to clean the lense on the dash which wasn't bad. It now kinda feels like a new car since I haven't seen the cluster very clearly since I've had the car. I had asked my service advisor to also replace the bulb on the "Check Oil" light, but she must have forgot. I didn't notice @ the dealership because it was running when I picked it up. She didn't charge me for the bulb replacement, but that means if I want it replaced, I have to pay $141 more to have the dash taken apart AGAIN and pay $$ for the bulb. I guess I can always check the oil the old fashion way.
I am excited for the new 2004 Malibu! If I could save some $$ I would love to get one, but I'm graduating at the end of this year and $$ for collage will be top priority. I guess I'll have to stick with my car for 4 more years. I really don't understand why people are dissapointed with the '04. The whole car is an improvement over the current generation. The only thing that bothers me are the rear drum brakes. I haven't had trouble with mine, but disk brakes are so much easier for me to change myself. Hopefully the new gen won't have rotor trouble. By the way, what is the advantage to having an OHC engine over our current pushrod engines in the bu? I have 61K on mine and the only problem (if you want to call it that) is that it's kinda noisy when it idles. I walked passed a brand new bu in a parking lot the other day and it was soooooo quiet compared to mine. I was very envious.
Anyway, thanks again for the advise. I appreciate it.
Jeremy
I am keeping my current Bu till it drops dead, and then GM would have to improve design, if they want my money again - no way I am driving the new Bu
Our replacement tires are the Dunlap A2 Sport. They are a world of difference, and very good on wet roads. The difference has been night and day. They are highly rated by Consumer Reports and in the Tire Rack surveys.
Bcmalibu: I think the front of the new bu's look awesome. It seems that GM is trying to make the grills of all Chevrolets look alike, kinda how all BMW's have the "kidney grills". The back of it looks a lot like the new Cavaliers which sucks a little, but still it's an improvement (IMHO). I think my favorite part of the entire car is the new radio and HVAC system. It looks really sophisticated and no other Chevrolet's have the same equipment (yet). I'm so glad they didn't toss one of the RDS radio's in the new bu. Those are hideous! I'm also psyched about the options of traction control (available only with ABS) and the 2.2 Ecotec engine. My grandfather rented a Saturn L200 with the same engine, and although not as peppy as our 3.1 V6, it still had decent power and better MPG. I also think the Ecotecs will be more dependable than any V6 GM can build. Like the Saturn L200's with the Ecotec, I wish Chevrolet would offer the '04 bu with a 5-speed.
Anyway, thanks for your response!
Jeremy
My biggest diasppointment with the 2004 Malibu is that it is not keeping up with its competition. This car is suppose to be an "import fighter" and targets the Camry, Accord, Altima. On paper it comes up short. The 2.2 L 140 hp would have been great 6 years ago but everyone else has stepped up the horsepower. Plus that engine works fine in the L Series which is clad in plastic but will have to push an extra 200 pounds with the heavier Malibu. And the V6 is 195 hp which is fine but not when everyone else is over 200 hp. Also no rear disc brakes will be offered. The braking system is a definite weak point in the current model and that shoudl be standard if they aresaying this is a value leader. Styling? It looks OK. It would probalby grow on me once I saw it. But I'm not into flashy cars so I can pretty much live with anything....other then the Aztec.
Those are my personally feelings. I have not seen one yet nor have I test driven one. That is just my read based on the information I know. Nor will I be in the market for one for several years.
Living in Dallas, I don't see too much snow. But, oddly enough it was a snow day (the only one in the last 5 years than actually left snow on the ground for more than about 10 minutes) when I replace the tires. The Dunlap SP Sport A2's did very well. Here is the Tire Rack site for the High Performance All-Season tire table that lists the A2:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey results/hpas.jsp
The reviewers gave it a 7 of 10 in snow. Overall, the A2 was number two in the list. It has been a great tire for the 3,000 miles we've put on them, about equal to the Michelin MX4V Plus tires on our V70 Volvo. Those are also good, but too expensive.
Spratt1, let me know if your feelings change about the A2's.
Thanks, Jeremy
The Malibu and its Affinity tires did ok as far as I am concerned. There were times during the drive that I felt as if I were handling a boat more than a car, as there were sizeable areas of standing water on the road, and I could feel the car hydroplane when I hit one of them. The Malibu tracked good thru these pools, and it was easy to recover from any sideslip. I am sure that there are better tires out there, but for an OEM tire, with a UTQG of 500, they seem to be a good all around tire. A softer, more aggressive tread would be better for performance driving, but replacing tires every 20K miles can be a drain on the wallet.
When it rains hard like this, I slow down. We had some clown in a big SUV pass us at one point. I was doing about 55 MPH, and he seemed to be doing about 75. About 5 miles further down the road, another cloudburst hit, and I was back down to about 40, when we came around a curve, and noticed the taillights about 50 yards out in some farmers field. I had the wife call 911 on the cell phone, and let the sheriffs department deal with that idiot. Maybe he had high dollar performance tires on his Escalade, but they are no substitute for common sense.
They have performed excellently for us for 3,000 miles. I'll let you know later. A friend of mine has had them for 10,000 miles and still says they are great.
If you want to see some real horror story reviews on tires, read the ones on the Affinity tires. About 50% say they are the worst tires imaginable.
Jeremy
Insofar as the dent is concerned..that should be left to a good body shop. Once the metal is stretched, it almost never can be fixed without bondo/sanding and repainting of the entire panel. If its not too deep a dent, many body shops that specialize in hail damage use a method that works pretty good. First they heat the metal with a heat gun, then apply dry ice. The heating softens the metal and paint, then the quick application of dry ice causes the metal the shrink..often removing a minor dent with little or no damage to the paint.
I would definitly check with a couple of body shops first. The times I've tried to fix a dent have wound up costing me more to fix my screwups than if I had taken it to the shop to begin with.
One more thing, do not waste $19.95 for one of those dent removers advertised on TV. Trying to use one of those things on a dent will almost certainly add $200 to the repair bill at the body shop.
ps: I think it was probably caused by my new neighbor that just moved in this weekend. Maybe I should go talk to her, that'll be a entirely different situation...
They will provided small bottles, pens, and even custom spray cans of custom mixed paint (based on OEM Paint code) and its much better than the oem nailbrushes at the dealer ) See website for testimonials, and more info. Couple the above touchup paint with the Langka blob remover ($20) at www.langka.com and you have a great way of matching the color perfectly and removing the "touchup paint blob" for considerably less than a shop would charge. I touched up a couple of rock chips on my hood and b-pillar and you'd be very hard pressed to find them.
Also, I had a few scratches on my car which I fixed with a bottle of touch up paint from my dealer. He also told me to use a scratch remover after I apply the paint (after it dries) because the paid tends to clump up. I used the paint on a few spots including a small part that was beginning to rust. Was I supposed to cover it up? A few people told me its better to leave it untouched. What do you think? Anyway, I think it would be much better for anyone to spend $5 on a bottle of touch up from the dealer than to go to Wal-Mart and get crappy paint that may not hold up, IMHO.
Jeremy
I've decide to change the sensor on the coolant surge tank on my own, instead of paying the dealership $80. To do so, you have to drain the surge tank and remove the tank from the vehicle. While I'm at I figured I would just flush the entire system and refill it. There in lies my problem. Does anyone know how I would begin to drain the system and the procedure to refill it? I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you in advance!
Jeremy
Like many of you, I too was disappointed with the performance with the OEM Firestone Affinity tires. I had them replaced with the Dunlop Sport A2 series and boy, I can't say enough good things about them. They offer a MUCH smoother ride, better handling in ALL weather, and just look much better than the Firestones. The only drawback is the wear, attributed to the soft rubber. I probably have 25K on these tires and I'm already putting replacements on the radar (I'll probably get 35/40K out of them). Attribute it to Oklahoma City temps these days of 100+ or the fact I ran them on the German autobahn for a few months (I'm military). Be that as it may, these are excellent tires that not only compliment the car's looks, but improve the performance.
So, for all of you disillusioned Affinity owners...slip a set of these Dunlop skins on your car and enjoy the ride.
Dave
Is it true that there is no fluid dipstick and is hers a problem that anyone has had?
Thanks.
Bill
One last thing: I don't have a keyless entry or security system on my car.
Jeremy - 97 bu
Does anyone have any suggestions? Also I have a tip: check your p.s. fluid everytime you check your oil. Its really easy and IMHO probably saved my steering system.
I'll let you guys know what the dealer said about the fluid and if there was any leak.
Jeremy - 97 bu