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2000-2011 Chevrolet Malibu
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Comments
I did look and you don't know what you are talking about.
I looked at them both and went with the Malibu. Much better value then the CamCord.
2007 Camry
True Cost to Own* $39,704 view details
Total Cash Price $25,635 view details
Average Cost per Mile* $0.53 compare similar vehicles
* This is a 5-year estimate (based on 15,000 miles per year).
2007 Malibu
True Cost to Own* $37,020 view details
Total Cash Price $22,638 view details
Average Cost per Mile* $0.49 compare similar vehicles
* This is a 5-year estimate (based on 15,000 miles per year).
How's the Yota Kool Aid?
Hey Andy, if you buy cars my way, find me a 05 Camry with 10,000 miles, ALL the safety and comfort features my Mailibu has. What would you pay? That'll make that per mile cost gap alot wider. So feel free, drive the Camry, spend the extra money. I'll stick to my tried and true cost saving plan.
How about another example...purchased a 82 Malibu station wagon in 95 for $2500. Was in exceptional shape and was my family's daily driver for 9 years. In that time we put on about 100,000 Kilometres and it cost about $1000 in repairs/maintenance consisting of a rad, heater core, alternator, tires, muffler, brakes. It never let me down and has been driven by my 18 year old for the past 2 years, and still is driven every day. Its still a smooth riding and quiet car to drive, unlike imports of that era. I can give many other examples of my smart and low cost car buying/ownership. And I dont live in Arkansas.
Anyway, its been fun, c'mon back anytime :P
Even if Consumer Reports does have six million subscribers (I don't have the figure), that makes up perhaps 3 percent of car owners in the U.S. Could you do a valid survey by hearing from only 3 percent of car owners? Absolutely -- you could, in fact, do it with far fewer people than that. But only if you do one of two things:
1. Get a true random sample. That means people do not choose to participate, they are contacted completely at random and asked their opinions or experiences with cars. In getting a true random sample, you do not even use a phone book, because that isn't a true random sample (not everyone has a wired telephone listed on the phone book).
2. Use a scientifically-selected sample, where you choose a certain number of car owners from every demographic group, different areas of the country, representing all ages, races, income levels, etc.
A survey that readers of a certain magazine tear out of that magazine or receive in the mail and send in if they feel like doing so is neither of those things. It is statistically invalid because the survey is neither random nor scientifically-selected, and Consumer Reports readers as a group clearly would have numerous characteristics that would make them different from the typical U.S. car owner.
All this doesn't mean Hondas and Toyotas aren't good cars. I think they're fine, and they give many people good service. But in my opinion, Consumer Reports' perceptions of them are inflated because of the inherent bias of their reader group, which has pre-conceived notions about the quality of those makes of cars.
much better than Garbage Motor's Kool Aid.
And for the 4 speed tranie crack. These are for the most part flawless trannies. Unlike the 07 6 minus 2 speed Toyota Camry trannie. And you call the Malibus drive train unrefined.
I haven't even touched on the Camry sludge monster engines yet.
Oh yeah, let's drop the confrontational, personal pot shots. We don't have to be friends, but common courtesy is preferred.
I think I've said it before but I chose what I did based on research, many, many test drives of many cars, safety ratings, and price. I'm not dead set on GM and in fact I came very close to purchasing my 1st import. I loved the Nissan Altima and will be looking into those again in the future. Another I almost went for was a 06 Hyundai Sonata but in the end it was just too many $$.
I dont think I "settled" and am very happy with the Malibu and would like to tell people who are confused about what to buy, as I was, that it is a very nice car to drive. It continues to impress me and others daily.
I'm sure all of us Malibu owners will be more than happy to share what we learned through our research and first hand experience as owners so hopefully we can get back to that and play nice
how good is the fit and finish?"
It is excellent, as good as it gets in the industry
as good as it gets in the industry that's absurd. one example: check out the cheap black unfinished plastic housing the exterior mirrors on the malibu and then look at an accord.
"how do the doors sound when closed including the trunk?"
Again, excellent, solid and better when compared to many asians.
not compared to honda and toyota it's not. you'll notice a difference between a malibu and an accord with the door closing test, especially with the trunk.
"how refined and responsive is the engine when pushed?"
True at the wheels rated HP and response is great. The asians measure HP at the flywheel so take that into account. GM may look unrefined but the old pushrod engine has many decades of refinement. It's solid and simple, nothing wrong with that.
horsepower is measured the same way for these vehicles. you're not being honest if you think the malibu's engines are at the same level as those from honda, nissan and toyota.
"how well is the transmission matched to the engine?"
GM has always been good at that, the V6 propels this car quite nicely, to the surprise of many asian car owners as they once again get a view of the back of it pulling away from them.
factually incorrect. the altima, accord, and camry will easily overwhelm a malibu when it comes to pulling away.
"how well does the suspension handle the road at various speeds?"
The suspension is great, being based on the 9-3 it always gets good reviews for handling.
probably the biggest improvement from the last malibu, but the suspension floats more than an accord over bad payment.
i'm not saying anybody is an idiot for getting a malibu. for a lot of people it makes a lot of sense. the malibu is simply not at the same level as an accord or camry.
it's not a matter of perception either. the industry considers these cars the standard bearers in their segment.
perhaps it's because in those days those cars sold in much much higher numbers than the japanese cars. the japanese cars in that era were pretty much exclusively in the economy segment.
Not everyone thinks they are measured the same way.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0508/17/A01-283759.htm
"Altima, accord, and camry will easily overwhelm a malibu when it comes to pulling away."
I and other Malibu owners know that to be not factually true based on real-life, in-car road experiences.
As for the Accord/Malibu comparison, I've done it, drove em, researched em. I guess I like the North American feel on a car and GM for cost of ownership in my experience cant be beat. I dont place too much importance on exterior mirror finish. My top criteria was safety and cost of ownership combined with a solid feeling fun car to drive. The other great things I got in the Malibu turned out to be a big bonus.
The only car I liked better of the 3 you mention is the Altima but cost of ownership is higher, safety rating is lower and based on owners' comments, they have a high incidence of problems. As far as handling, yes, I loved the Altima! Cant say the same for the Accord or Camry. And if I had wanted to go into debt for twice as much $$, I would've chosen a Sonata, not one of those.
If you follow the forums on the new Malibus, you'll notice there's really only one major problem that comes up and it's been fixed. Other than that EPS problem with some 04's, most other complaints you see are trivial or rare.
But anyway, there's a new topic started, Malibu vs Camry. This should be carried on over there.
Maybe Karen can rename it to Malibu vs Camry/Accord :P
unless you live in an alternate universe, the malibu is noticeably slower than the japanese cars i mentioned. this is not a matter of opinion. of course the malibu has more than enough power, it's not lacking in this area. it just has an agriculture sounding engine.
what is a matter of opinion would be you thinking the malibu is a fun car to drive. who am i to tell you what fun is.
if your top criteria for a car really was safety and cost of ownership combined with a fun solid driving feeling, then you wouldn't be driving a malibu. the fusion and accord fill that need much better.
as for your mirror comment, i was just pointing out ONE example of why the malibu is clearly not leading the industry in fit and finish.
JD Powers is a trusted unbiased source on automotive and financial evaluations and has determined the Malibu, Regal, and a couple other GM cars to be tops in longevity with the 3 year 50,000 mile reliability evaluation.
A lot of people sit home and watch way too many commercials and believe everything they say or see, thus they are biased, predgidice, or ill informed. Their perceptions are hard to change, and they usually end up paying more in the long run on their foreign cars from those who I know or have been acquaintances with.
John
and you don't see how your comments can come accross as putting you in this light?
buyers of honda and toyota vehicles tend to be more educated, more informed and have more income than your average buyer. yet you know better.
this so called ignorance and perception problem would have to go well beyond CR. it would have to entail almost ALL of the auto media. how well did the malibu fare in Edmunds' last comparison test in which it participated in?
As far as JD powers, the GM cars that did well in the longevity survey were cars that had old designs. They should have the bugs worked out. those cars even did well in CR reliability ratings, just not so well in the road tests.
the malibu is a solid family car. it's not the world class car that lutz had promised however. the thrust of my comments is this: the camry and accord are higher quality vehicles and the people who drive them were not hoodwinked into buying a perception.
However your vehicle doesn't have wiring for XM "given-away". The factory XM receiver would be located in right hand side of trunk. with antenna coax cable running up under headliner to antenna on front part of roof which requires holes in roof for attachment.
This doesn't really asnwer your question but I am pretty sure that dealers wouldn't get involved with trying to install factory parts and most likely you would be looking at some type of aftermarket XM receiver with an FM transmitter to radio or something.
By the way, look up the car company that has the best-educated buyers in the United States: Saab, a GM division.
I'm sure people who drive Saabs are highly educated, but are they really the best? You mean it's not Audi, the car i drive?
Saab sure must of insulted its buyers when they came out with that vehicle (can't recall the name) which was essentially a subaru clone.
Are Saabs the best? That question pre-supposes that there is some way to determine the "best" car. However, there is not; "best" in this context is a vague quality that has to do with how closely the product matches up with what a person wants from it.
I don't have any information on it, but I'm sure Audi attracts a high-income, well-educated buyer. But look at all of the bad press Audi got several years ago when the whole bogus "sudden unintended acceleration" (translation: inept drivers pushed the wrong pedal) scandal erupted. In this case you had the media maligning a very good car (the 5000) and company in the name of the story. Similarly, a lot of the popular media "facts" given on cars these days are garbage.
That's why I don't go for the Honda/Toyota hype. They're fine cars, but nowhere near as good as the media would have people believe. Plus, I see a strong anti-domestic car bias in much of the automotive press as well as the mainstream media.
i can't speak for the camry, but the accord really is an unbelievably good car for the price.
as for the prius, it's an engineering achievement but not much of a rationale choice. i wonder if it's possible to see a hummer and prius together in someone's driveway.
For basic trasportation, comfort and safety I am not willing to spend over a certain amount. Thats why I consider what I got a good bargain. Over a period of 5 years the amount we will save on the financed portion of this vehicle along with fuel savings, etc. as compared to a higher priced vehicle are substantial. It all figures into the cost of ownership.
I have an '06 Civic that has been in the shop so much I am now in arbitration to get my money back. It is the worst new car I have ever owned. Needless to say,I don't think much of Honda either.
Education doesn't have anything to do with it.
Thank you.
When was the fuel tank replaced and why did they think this was the problem?
he, he, he....not these days
My S10 with over 130,000 miles has never been touched. My mechanic friend said not to worry about the Chevy V6 engine because the timing chain rarely stretches to the point that it will cause any issues or just plain come off.
If your vehicle has cruise control does cruise control work?
Yes, the cruise does work?? Why?