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2000-2011 Chevrolet Malibu
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Bought a '04 'Bu today. A dark blue LT with just about everything. Price was below the "TMV" and about 300 above invoice cost. They even gave me what I wanted for my trade-in. A very nice (and short) stay at the dealership.
Taking it from Dallas, TX to AZ on Friday with the family. I'll let you know how it went after I get back.
Thanks everyone for the opinions and insight.
Don
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Does it also come with hide-a-way 4 wheel discs to confuse the testers at Edmunds?
I would recommend you reread any number of comparos on this site. There definitely seems to be a certain slant to their views.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
snaab : Great pics thanx. Just like the one I saw last week.
ab348 : I won't say the editors are anti-GM, but I do think they are very pro Honda, Toyota and VW. Those 3 can do no wrong.
The Edmunds comparo is full of good info, but it's a case like writing qualifications for a job to match someone you want to hire. I could make a few changes in the criteria, correct the disc brake blunder and have a more charitable position on design and rate the Malibu up around 3rd or 2nd. Remember, this is a close group. Even Edmunds said the last place finisher had redeeming qualities.
And what about the fact that the Malibu V6 gets better mileage than the compitition's 4's. Oh, yeah, this is a comparo of 6's.
But this would screw the odometer. If you have 50,000 on the odometer, it may mean either 50,000 kilometers or 50,000 miles (which is 80,000 kilometers, by the way). How would people ever know, especially if you kept switching your computer from miles to kilometers?
Unless, of course, the odometer automatically changes also, every time you switch the speedometer...Does the odometer change?
And, in any case, you can fool a prospective Canadian buyer by showing 50,000 on the odometer and claiming it's 50,000 kilometers, not miles (which is 80,000 kilometers). Up until today, I'd be very easily fooled by a dishonest seller, since I'd have no clue you can switch speedometer and odometer (if that's the case) from miles to kilometers and vice versa
When you look at the grading, the Malibu looses a lot on braking distance and interior fit and finish.
Braking distance with the production 4 wheel brakes will be much better. Interior fit and finish on an actual assembly line produced model will also be better.
Things like the feel of the electric steering, engine performance and materials used will remain the same.
I'll take the purported electric steering shortcomings for the fuel and steering fluid savings and the improved reliability gained by using an electric engine over a fluid pressure system.
Note that while Edmunds says the 'Bu 6 did not track test as well as the Altima and CamCords, real world results were great. Do family car owners spend more of their time on the track or out driving in the real world?
Materials finish are not going to be on par in a car that sells for thousands less than the top two or three.
I think they were happy with the model they received. No-one wants a blue blooded American to overcome the mighty Japanese. That would be too gut-wrenching. Notice how Edmunds didn’t mention how GM works with UAW, thereby increasing the costs of production, while still having a vehicle priced well-below most of its competition.
I agree with all of you that the Bu deserved to be a higher place. In general I always found Ed. to be un-biased in comparos. This is disappointing.
1) They are incompetent
2) They didn't care about the Bu and were much more interested in the VW, Honda and Toyota entries.
Perhaps a little of both but I suspect the second. They were given 10 cars and would have preferred to just have 5. It's a shame but while I don't think the Bu is number 1, it's better than 7 as a (to use their words) "Family Sedan" where value, utility, quality and refinement are key.
Still, edmunds isnt a force to be reckoned with. They have plenty of details to finesse before I will hold their auto journalism in high regard. For me, I look at CR for reliability and "cars as point A to B" evaluations, and Car and Driver for the way cars make people feel.
~alpha
4 wheel discs will stop much better than the recorded time for the disc/drums. Interior fit will be better on a car made with the laser guided production line equipment as opposed to being bolted on by hand pre-production.
Who know what else may not be the same pre-production/production.
These would have upped the point count for the car. Without seeing Edmunds' points from a test of the Malibu you can actually buy, it is hard to say where the car would have placed.
I do agree with Alpha on track numbers though. The G6 is going to be the Epsilon track hound (well, along with the 9-3, of course).
alpha : Edmunds needs to clean up it's reporting before I'd ever take it's reviews seriously. JD Power is best for reliability IMO. Some CR samples are too small and it's based on it's subscriber base only.
rctennis3811 : If this wasn't a FAMILY sedan comparo I might agree with it a little more. For families on a budget (most), Malibu should be higher on the shopping list IMO.
CR has a much larger suscriber base than the TWO JD Power Quality studies that consist of 40,000 owners in survey groups. That, and CR allows you to review trends and reliability data for a make over the course of many years, and lets you form your own conclusions. Up until recently, JD Power didnt even disclose info for cars that were lower than the industry average. I take both into account, though I feel a clearer picture is portrayed by CR.
~alpha
Be happy with the #7 finish. It really is about right.
even if the MARKET and PRESS were that generous, it still hasn't dethroned the Honda.
p.s. the MAzda3 would have placed higher.
~alpha
That's my point. Edmunds didn't feel the need to add that in and most families who buy a sedan do.
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If they are willing to pay more to get more, why don't they all buy a Maybach??? Hey, you get more!
The Malibu base price so seriously undercuts that of the Cam/Cords that it puts people in the real world who could not have afforded a car in this class a chance to own one.
I don't mean to pick on you, but what you said sounds very elitist. People buy what they can afford, its basic economics the lower the price, the higher the demand.
you're one of the real gentlemen on this board, no matter how childish and out-of-line people are. I detect an increasing amout of animosity lately, particularly from the other camp that doesn't think highly of the Malibu. Disagreement is fairgame, but the rudeness is uncalled for and not elite-like.
drwilsc:
I completely agree with you--this thing called auto journalism has everything to do with preconceived notions! A few years back, there was a PR thing held by Hyundai. They wrapped up their Sonata (which I think is a very fine car, particularly stylewise) and Camry so people couldn't tell what make they were driving, and most people came away prefering the Sonota. The morale of this story is not that Sanota is necissarily better than Camry, it's that people are very much influenced by their perconceived notions.
exalteddragon1:
I second. We are an example of people able to afford a car that otherwise couldn't thanks to the Malibu. I came freshly out of graduate school with zero saving, actually negative savings. My new job with a less than 30k salary was enough for us to buy a Malibu. To me, "value" was at least 85% of the equation not 20%. "What about resale value?" You might ask. Well, if you can't afford the higher initial price to bring the car home, what resale is there? Value will continue to be a big factor after I get that 85k job, although not to the same extent.
The bottom line is this: If you can truly appreciate the engeering superiority of the Accord or whatever, and think it's worth the thousands of dollars' premium, by all means go ahead and enjoy it. For the average Joe or Jennifer who rarely makes a turn at above 15 mph speed and does't know the difference between OHC and OHV or does't care, he or she would be doing himself a favor to testdive the various vehicles and find out for himself what he likes better.
Regarding the Sebrings braking being 4 ft. shorter than the top rated Camry: Sheer stopping numbers, as someone noted, are NOT customarily the evaluation point when auto publications rate braking. WHY? Because modulation, control, and feel all play significant roles in braking. If it werent this way, why would anyone want to bother with ABS? We all know that cars w/o ABS, can, on dry pavement, skid to a halt in a VERY short distance. However, not being able to steer, lacking control... is a big issue, and thus, such short stopping distances, while empirically awesome, mean comparatively little.
dindak- you say "Not considering price, yes the car is a 6-7th. Factor in the the value / price and I think it's a lot closer to the top."
But edmunds.com includes 20% of the final rating as price.... I DONT understand your point.
People. Its ONE comparison. Its not even a good publication like CR or Car and Driver. Its NOT a big deal!!!!
The 'Bu is a good car, a good value, and the right car for many. But, just like the Accord, Altima, 6, Camry, etc.... not the right car for everyone.
~alpha
tamu2002 : Thanx. Malibu isn't the best car, but I think it's one of the best values. Many of the people trashing the Malibu have not even driven one which is the funniest part.
alpha : $3500 difference between the Malibu and the Accord tested. To me that is a MUCH bigger factor than Edmunds is making it out to be when buying a car. Maybe $3500 is nothing to you or some others here, but for a family on a budget it's a lot of groceries. Add in the higher insurance, gas bill and the difference grows. Consider the likely discount from $23400 in the Bu is likely larger than what you will get off an Accord and it's a very big difference. I realize it's not always possible to measure this stuff, but there is no doubt the Malibu is a screaming deal (for a very good car) in the sedan world.
There's a couple of things in Edmunds that bother me, but are probably inevitable.
(1)Folks with more money trash cars they wouldn't buy because they can afford better. BMW owners belittle Acuras and Acura owners belittle Nissans and Accord 6 owners lord it over Malibus.
(2) self appointed "experts" who would never own a particular car spend way too much time on model boards telling us owners what trash we drive.
I still am waiting for more real owners to discuss this fine car. Many don't like the looks, But we've had several unsolicited favorable comments on the styling including one from an attractive young woman at a 7-11. My wife is so pleased with the new Malibu (had two of the previous generation) that she has begun to question the need to follow the plan for a CTS in two years. The gas mileage and performance are incredible.
Since I still can't understand why non-owners spend so much time in this discussion being critical, I can only assume they are jealous.
Thanks.
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2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Only problem that I am going to have the dealer look at is a rattle in the headliner above the front passenger seat next to the sunroof. Otherwise the car ran really well. Great mileage, very good handling at 75mph, and very little road or wind noise.
Heading back tomorrow before getting ready to head off to Iraq. New car was for the wife since I am going.
Many thanks to everyone for the hints and opinions.
Don
Thank you