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Chevrolet Malibu Meet the Owners
Introduce yourself and talk about why you chose the Malibu.
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The car is a LS V 6 black sunroof.
I am happy with the 3.5 have some get up and go.
In the first 3.840 miles the car has averaged 25.8 mpg. My wife has never been a person that gets good mpg but we do track every gallon of fuel put in car.
Miles 12370
MPG 24.5
It's finally above freezing around here so it rained and cleaned some of the salt of the old girl. She looks alot better brown instead of white!
Does the parking brake lock the rear wheels only? You could try peeling out, that should eat up some rubber...
But seriously, I haven't had any problems with handling on my 02. It doesn't drive like a 3 series, but I've never noticed any drifting. Although the occasional crosswind does seem to push her a little bit.
I'm Bob in Richmond, VA. We have a 2001 silver Malibu LS we purchased new in June 2001. We currently have about 48,000 miles on it. Its been a pretty reliable car. Had to have the rotors replace just before warranty expired (no charge). Have had problems with front brakes making a squeaking sound when car is in gear and you press on the brake pedal. Squeaks even when you are at a full stop and you change pressure on the brake pedal without causing the car to move. Service dept said the caliper pins needed lubrication. Still occurs every now and then but not as much as before they were lubed.
I bought the car after test driving the accord and camry. I couldn't see paying the premium the dealers wanted, and even if I have to fix the reported manifold leak problem and replace an alternator, it will still be less money than buying the honda or toyota. As for resale, I keep a car for 10 years (due to the limited driving I now do), so I don't care about the resale value. For the money, the Malibu is a great buy!
After a horrible experience with two, yes two Saturn ION's that fell apart (decent chassis, yugo class build quality and interiors), I was ready to go back to Toyota or Honda when I read about the Malibu Maxx, and decided to give it a try.
Driving a Maxx several times, They proved tight and solid, rode well, quiet, handled decently, good fit and finish, have a very flexible layout - a very well designed car and a surprise from GM. Chevy dealers proved no match for Saturns' sales practices The price was misrepresented (Chevy decided on a last minute $300 hike), but at least the sales pressure was not the Persian bazaar Toyota and Honda practice so well. In the end I decided the Maxx was worth a little over the Invoice (dealers get other incentives as well).
So here I am, with a Maxx LS (the LT's extras didn't seem all that important), and so far, save for poor gas mileage (20 so far in mixed driving) it is proving a good vehicle. Fingers crossed this one will be a keeper!
Now do me (us) a favor, and detail the purchase price (in all the gory details, please) in the "Prices Paid" forum. I'll see you there, and look forward to it.
Thanks!
I am a long time GM owner having owned every model (mostly Oldsmobiles) except for a caddie. They all were not perfect, but I can say that the dealers and GM have always made the issues right for me.
Ed C
I still had the 1986 Cavalier, and another daughter. I drove the 1986 Cavalier to work today, and it continued to exhibit a tendency to stall. I saw an ad for discounted 2004 Malibus and Cavaliers at a dealer located nearby my workplace, so I went and looked at Cavaliers and Malibus. I was not attracted to the Cavaliers, and their passing will not be mourned. The 2004 Malibu LS, however, is a very good car FOR THE PRICE, and I was very strongly smitten with the car. So, now I have 2 Bu's, and I couldn't be happier. The 2003 has 8000 miles, and has been impeccably reliable. The 2004 has 120 miles, and I am giddy with delight.
Forward to a week ago today- I traded in the 1992 Toyota Corolla (140k miles, used replacement engine, loads of wear and tear, but running fairly well). The new car? A 2004 Malibu LT, with everything but OnStar, in the Navy Blue with neutral leather / ultralux interior.
It was also a showroom vehicle, and like the 1997, it was used heavily as a demo vehicle and / or by the dealership personnel (over 600miles on the odo at purchase). On the other hand, this one feels extremely well put together, and the materials feels as up-to-date to me as anything in the Camry's and Accords I looked at at the dealerships across the street, while still being a bit easier on my wallet. I did have a few delivery-noted items I had the dealership address, but I hope these turn out to be the exception rather than the rule for this vehicle. First was a driver's side headlight that was getting moisture inside (evidenced immediately after they detailed the car for delivery by a fogged lense). Second was a bad power mirror adjustment switch that really didn't like to be pushed to the right. Both were replaced, and so far everything else seems to be in perfect order.
One minor complaint on the new car's design though- the front seat headrests tilt far too far forward to be as comfortable as I think they could be otherwise. This would be okay, except they aren't tilt adjustable. I guess Chevrolet is having a problem getting the angles right, because the headrests on my 2003 TB have the opposite issue- they don't tilt quite enough for my satisfaction. Both would be moot points if the angle was adjustable (which I understand the 2002 Trailblazer seats actually were).
Never thought I would be satisfied with a car that could be purchased for $24,000. I finally decided that with new job cause I had to pay for all car expenses I wanted something more economical yet roomy. Intially looked at Chevy Impalas (cause I wanted something with good gas mileage and all of the SUV's I considered were in the 15 to 20 mpg range. Almost bought a Chrysler Pacifica for $29,500 (a loaded one listing for around $37,000 with Nav & the whole bit) but finally decided against it because the very poor visibility while parking/backing up & was afraid of the poor gas mileage. Even though rated at 17 to 22 or so I found out too many people only getting around 15 around town & only high teens on highway. Liked the Impala with the $3000 rebate but even though truck was large still had a small opening. Was walking out of the Chevy Dealer & they asked me to look at the Maxx. Didn't like it at first but changed my mind after test drive when I saw how peppy it was (anything was better than that dog of a Buick RVD with only 185 horses!). The flexibility of the seats that move forward 7 inches, fold down completely, etc. Plenty of room in there! Got a loaded one with everything except Nav system for $25600, less discout of $1600 for a net of $24,000. Instead of the $1000 rebate they were offering I opted for 0 financing for three years. Cannot believe I got everything I wanted in a car for only 24g. Even got the dealer to add Satellite radio (one you have XM radio spoiled for life) and 5 oil changes.
Have had the car six weeks not and have put on over 5500 miles. I would say gas mileage has averaged approx 27 since the day I got the car. Obviously with all the driving I do mostly highway miles. The lowest I have gotten so far is around 23 with mostly city driving. Once even averaged a little over 30 mpg on a trip to Montreal (I live near Providence, RI) Only one complaint, and I am a sticker about such things. Have been rather spoiled by good "trip computers" on cars and the one in this vehicle for average gas mileage is not very accurate. Had me on one trip averaging 35.7 mpg when on that trip it did get a little over 30. on average is shows gas mileage around 2 to 3 mpg more than actual. And, it keeps repeatng the same numbers. 27.3 then jumps to 28.4, and 29.7 and 30.2 etc. Never anything in between. Next time I go back for service am going to ask them to replace it. Anyone out there had the same experience??
I welcome e mail's to discuss this vehicle occking@aol.com
Still getting great gas mileage--I wonder when broken in (if not already) does the mileage even improve. The signal for low fuel goes of to early when there are still upwards of 3 gallons in the tank.
Long-Term Test: 2004 Chevrolet Malibu
Me and wife just picked up a 2002 Chevy Malibu LS yesterday. We love the Malibu it has 24,000 miles with the remainder of the GM Warranty, Burgundy color, sunroof/moonroof (don't know really what the difference is?) fog lights, factory spoiler in the trunk (which gives it the sporty look, alloys (not the cheap hubcaps), daytime running lights, CD & Cassette system with the RDS feature, the only thing missing would of been the leather interior.
We got for it for around 12k, I think we got a decent deal. I will be posting pictures of it real soon. I'm an Oldsmobile Aurora owner, listed here in the Oldsmobile Club also.
Javi
Http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg
still a very happy Maxx LT owner!
have you got the 04 sedan or the Maxx....what kinda of problems are you are you having with the car...share with us..the problems you are having....and remember the lemon laws do work..at least here in VA .....best of luck
sorry to hear about the problems....you might want to post this one over in the problems and solution discussion forum..as well..for more help
But anyway, thats such a terrible thing to do and I really hope its fixed cheaply. They really do a great job with the fixes, you should not even notice when its fixed.
Thanks
Thanks
Here is the first review I have seen on the model...nice review for the mid-size comparision. Doesnt appear to be any changes in the options lists packages...
Nice article from Car and Driver
e2helper "Chevrolet Malibu Owners: Problems & Solutions" Jul 13, 2004 11:45am
I bought my 04 LT in Nov. 03, after my 2000 Impala LS was totalled while parked in front of the body shop. Oh well. Have been very happy with the new LT, once I got used to the size. Now have 7100 miles on it, and have had two episodes of power steering failure. I see on the problems board that others have had the same problem. I have to get it over to the dealer to be checked out before I crash it in a turn. We'll see what happens. Nice to meet all of you.
#04-02-35-009 NOISY STEERING COLUMN, LACK OF POWER STEERING ASSIST, DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES C0460 AND C0545, STEERING WHEEL MOVES SLIGHTLY BY ITSELF
They will likely replace your steering column