2005 and Earlier Chevrolet Impala

gasoline

Last week my 2001 Impala also got scratched but by somebody who doesn't know how to drive. They scratched my left rear bumper when they were trying to leave their parking spot. The paints is all removed and to have it fixed I have to pay a $300 deductible on my car insurance for a hit and run.
That's just great I have to pay for somebodys screw up not to mention the hassel of going to the bodyshop and having them possibly scratch some other part of my car when it is in their parking lot. It just isn't worth driving a new car when there are this many morons on the streets.

americanflag

That's okay if the Impala is made in Canada, the stock - GM, trades on the NYSE and not as an ADR. By my definition, General Motors is an American company. They are also international in many respects, and that is okay. I believe they are still based in Detroit, USA.

americanflag

just having purchased a new car myself I can imagine how you must feel. Keep the faith!

bh0001

If that happened to me it would take all my might to not lose control of the car and "accidentally" drive up on the curb and "accidentally" remove some pedestrians from the sidewalk.

Kids these days need to be taught a lesson or two.

Oh great. I've turned into an old fart...at 37!
Brad

[Deleted User]

Darn kids and their loud music. It gets so ya can't even hear the TV when watching "Murder She Wrote".

b4z

The worst part of it is my car, like yours is navy so the damage really shows.
I prefer dark colors becuase they look more elegant and expensive to me, but this car does not stay clean. Even for 15 minutes.

In my younger days I probably would have pounded on the kid, but it was near a project and I think the outcome would have been very bad.

I can see the headline now, "Realtor goes beserk and beats 12 year old child." "Film at 11."

nosirrahg

Of course, for those too young to remember, the phrase "film at 11" was due to the fact that television news was shot on film (pre-videotape), so they had to wait for the film to be developed before they could edit it and put it on the air (at least that's what great-grandpa told me; that's WAY before my time!!).

drivinisfun

My '01 LS is Sandrift Metallic. Very good quality paint finish. As Garypen says, the paint is thick, sturdy and very shiny. After almost 2 years of ownership, the paint finish looks as good as new. I have no paint chips or scratches of any kind. I wax the car often so the finish still looks terrific.

Also the paint finish inside the door jambs, trunk and other hidden places is perfect. There is no primer or other visible imperfections from factory. However, one day looking at a Navy Blue Impala in my dealer I did notice what B4z is talking about.... premier visible in the door jambs, underhood, trunk, etc.

For some strange reason, it appears to be that Impala's painted in lighter colors (Sandrift, Galaxy Silver, White) have a much higher quality finish than those cars made in navy Blue, Black, Burgundy, etc.

Sandrift is very easy to keep clean and even when dirty it hardly shows. Try that with black or dark blue.

Night_owl: I hope your car gets fixed soon. Bunch of Losers and jelaous idiots galore!.

[Deleted User]

It was because the news came on at 11pm, as it usually does today. Stations that had news at 10pm would say "film at 10". The time and the fact that it was on film had no relation to each other.

Nowadays, they just say "story at 11", or some such.

hvan3

micweb:
Although I still love my Impala LS, if you happen to live in Southern CA, I"m willing to sell you my 2000 Impala LS with only 24K miles. It has everything but sunroof.

I"m not sure what car replacement I'll get. But with the way the stock market has rallied, maybe I'll get myself a new Infiniti G35 coupe.

[Deleted User]

FYI: A co-worker got a G35 recently, and he says it guzzles gas. Very surprising from a Japanese branded car, but it does.

nosirrahg

One thing on the paint issue, it has been noted that it appears the clear coat isn't applied to the inside of the trunk lid (and possibly the door jambs and such), which may be why it appears the paint is different on the darker cars in some hidden areas than on the ligher ones (the difference may not be as noticeable on the ligher cars than the darker ones).

garypen - The reason they said "film at 11" on the early news was because the film hadn't been developed/edited yet (assuming it was a late breaking story), so they'd tell the story, but couldn't show you the actual footage until the late news (I've taught "Intro to radio/tv/film" often enough to know). They don't say this now simply because everything is shot on videotape (no waiting), and if it's something late-breaking, they'll just go live to the scene.

b4z

You guys crack me up.

b4z

I am hearing 19-20mpg. about 1 mpg below the Imp.
But 60 more hp and a bunch more torque.
I wouldn't complain.

night_owl1

Thanks for the condolences. I'm gonna try fixing it with touch up paint and Lanka. It is on the rear quarter panel between the rear wheel and the bumper on the sheetmetal. I'll let you know how it goes.

mediumfry

Rackin' Frackin' Varmints!!!! -Yosemite Sam

[Deleted User]

In the old west, they'd hang the varmints if they keyed your horse.

drivinisfun

In the old west if you attempted to "keyed" a horse, I am sure the animal would bite your head off.

[Deleted User]

Perhaps electrified body panels would serve the same purpose. Innocent bystanders simply touching the painted surface of your car would suffer no harm. But, malicious little bastages that dug into the paint with a key, screwdriver, whatever would make contact with the electrified metal, in effect, biting their heads off.

crosley4

FWIW......... the General manager at work just leased an Infiniti G35 coupe. Actually his wifes car.

After 3 weeks he has only good things to say.

We looked at a Toyota Avalon before we bought our 2k Impala.

The Impala was a much better deal for the money. At the time the Toyota was coming out with new body styling, yet they were not dealing well on the old Avalon.

Don't care much for the New Avalon.

Can't wait to see what the "new" Impala will look like in 2004. That is the year of new sheet metal as I recall?

Our credit union sent new flyers about auto loan rates...... they had a yellow 2003 Thunderbird on the front of the flyer. My wife had that "look" in her eye.

((-;

Tony

spider717

I was wondering if the rear defroster and the radio antenna were connected? For the past month i had a notion that the rear defroster didn't work, but really didn't have any hard proof. I figured the radio worked fine so the thingy in the back window had to be connected. Tonight when i left work (at 1am) there was a small layer of frost and I now had proof the rear defroster doesn't work. So how are the defroster/antenna connected? And will they have to replace the whole back window to fix the defroster? Heh thats warrentied right?

[Deleted User]

Yes they are. For some reason (it probably saved 12 cents), the antenna and defroster circuits run through the same module before the rear glass. I had my module replaced. Didn't do any good. The reception and defroster still sucked. The odd thing is that the reception used to be sterling. Others with these problems have had the entire rear glass replaced.

night_owl1

Check to see that the connectors on the side of the defroster grid are attached. Someone had their car tinted and the company had disconnected the plugs and didn't re-attach them. However a lot of time had passed between the tinting and the use of the defroster so there was no connection between the two events.

The antenna and defroster circuit do go through the same module, but I don't think they are electrically connected. I'll check the service manual later.

b4z

We want pictures!

night_owl1

When I had that major hood damage, Macco was on the high end and they were going to "spot paint" the hood. I called my dealer and went to the body shop they use. Not only was it one of the lowest prices I was quoted, they painted the whole hood and it matched exactly.

Also avoid Earl Schieb. A friend sent his truck to be painted and they didn't even clean out the bed. Rocks, twigs and other small debris was painted right over.

How did they take off the moulding? And did it re-stick or did you have to use something else?

garyw

Ariella - a few questions with respect to the tail lamp covers.

1. did you buy them from dealer - how much?
2. how easily does it install over the Impala logo that is centered on the middle light below the trunk. Is it cut out in the shape of the logo or do you have to remove the logo?

Thanks...and get the pictures uploaded soon!!

garyw

That is what I was hoping you did. NAISSO is easily the cheapest. Did you pry the emblem off or use a blow dryer or...

Are you planning on upgrading to 17" rims? Personally, not sure if this is better than getting a lower profile tire. The stock tires look too old-person and fat.

What about Xenon bulbs?

Billet grill - I like the billet look but you can't keep the bowtie if you do it. I was wondering if you can chrome/paint the existing grill to achieve the same look.

b4z

http://www.cars.com/news/stories/110802_story_ap.jhtml

garyw

Last set of q's....what rims did you choose...and if the car is green then how does the black covers look or did you paint them green.

crosley4

As an old timer here in Phoenix.......LOL there are 2 or 3 Earl Schieb's still here. I am not too old. I arrived here in 1954.

I followed a 2001 Impala yesterday. It had a good sized hole in the left rear of the bumper cover. About 8 inches round.

Tony

b4z

You didn't see a sniper in the trunk did you?

johnclineii

THAT was a Caprice, not an Impala (old or new).

b4z

I have a line on a '89 Caprice 9C1 (cop car).
It has 134,000 miles on it and the body is straight as an arrow.
Paint is bad and can see the outline of the State trooper stripes underneath the repaint.
Guy is asking $1350.00.
I might buy it.

My dad owns a '88 Caprice that is in awful shape.
we are probably going to sell it for $5-600.

johnclineii

Chevy Ready With More Impalas:

http://www.edmunds.com/news/regularnews/articles/78177/article.html

pluto5

I have an 03 LS on order and would like to know your experience with the OEM tires (Goodyear Eagles?) and whether you found it necessary to replace them prematurely due to poor wet traction.

johnclineii

I have a 2000 LS. I did NOT replace the Goodyears prematurely. I really wish I had. The Goodrich Tiger Paws that were my first replacement set (around 46,000 miles) were awesome, but the last 5,000 miles they were on the car they got very noisy and started hydroplaning.

At 89,000, I put Dunlop A2 Sports on the car. The car handles far better, is quieter and even seems to ride more luxuriously. I had previously used this same line of tires on a 98 Grand Prix GTP. I am VERY happy with them.

pluto5

this_is_nascar

My Goodyears gave out on my '00 Impala LS at 35k. Plenty of meat left, but no grip. Went with FireStone FireHawk SH-30's. Great tire, especially in the rain.

pluto5

I would be satisfied with 35K miles on the Goodyears; question is whether I should replace them when I pick up the car. (Tirerack has so many good choices.)

spider717

Do you know if the people who had their windows replaced now have working rear defrosters?

regulator75

That the passenger side windows take FOREVER to defrost/clear up? I spoke to an old mechanic at my dealership and he told me that "it is normal"

I honestly believe that there is an issue and that it is just not safe. I will be going in on Thursday so they can try to fix the problem.

I will put the defrost on high and there is little air coming from the passenger side defrost duct. Hmmm, normal I don't think so.

hvan3

What do you guys think about the SSR Concept Truck? If it's price accordingly (uner $30K), I may get the SSR over the G35 coupe. V8 vs V6. Plus, the SSR has more storage space than the G35 coupe. Hopefully the SSR will use regular unleaded gasoline. Do you guys think the SSR is a chick magnet? LOL!

I'm stuck having to use my GM card rebate points!

atbear

What do you think about your GM Card? I'm curious because I just applied for one last week.. is it as good as any other credit card, and are the rebates it gains you worth anything?

hvan3

Heck yeah! The GM Card rebate saved me $3700 on my Impala LS. It took me 7 years to accumulate $3700 though. The new policy has a cap on how much you can redeem your rebate points...so check with GM card.

I've done some homework on the GM Card vs frequent flyer mileage card. The 5% rebate you get for using the GM Card is the best card all around. The trick is to pay off the entire balance, and never have to pay interest on carryover balance.

pluto5

There are gold and blue GM cards, and they have different rules. Was confused earlier by this board until dealer showed me the rules. If you keep cars a long time you're probably better off with the gold card.

hvan3

Heck yeah! The GM Card rebate saved me $3700 on my Impala LS. It took me 7 years to accumulate $3700 though. The new policy has a cap on how much you can redeem your rebate points...so check with GM card.

I've done some homework on the GM Card vs frequent flyer mileage card. The 5% rebate you get for using the GM Card is the best card all around. The trick is to pay off the entire balance, and never have to pay interest on carryover balance.

kcwolfpack59

I use it for every purchase I make if it is a convenient swipe. It is easy for me to accumulate $40 to 80 a month. Every time I use it I dream about a next gen. Impala. Gm card's customer service is first rate. I have been with them since inception, Oct '92. I have used it to buy a Monte with 1800 off their best deal. Tell them you have a card right before they calculate the final price. They reduce it right there at the dealership, so you dont have hassles. Since the selling price of the car is reduced, you pay less sales tax. Incentives are good on the Impala now, and a High sport LS is sounding attractive.

charts2

This car will debut at the International Car Show in Detroit early January 03'

b4z

On the Impala is now $3000. $2000+1000.
Local dealer is advertising invoice minus 3K in rebates.
Thats about 5K off a typical 25-26K Impala LS.

While this is great if you are buying. This is really bad if you are selling.
Can't see this being a good thing for the American based auto industry.

pluto5

Don't forget the GM card rebate. They can be for up to $3,500 with the gold card. GM seems to be doing quite well with the rebate strategy. If you max out the rebates you can get an LS for about the price of a Civic and you will be much safer IMO and you don't have to worry about some lowlife stealing it for overpriced parts.