I baught a 2004 chevy classic. Its an awesome car i love it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Yeah you really cant hang your arm out the window but oh well. It is basically a malibu. They came out with the classic (1997 to 2003 style malibu) and the new square malibus in 2004. Not sure why but it can be a pain if you need an air filter or something. But its mainly
2003 parts. I could care less. Its a chevy and not a ford. I love it and for all you people that say they have or had one and there are things wrong with it then you either dont know how to take care of cars or if someone had it before you they must of abused it. But its a chevy and shouldn't have to do to much maintnance to it. Chevy Girl for life
I have to agree. I had to go to Upstate New York, on business in Oct 2005. Rented a Malibu Maxx w/3.5. Overall it was a very nice car. As you mentioned, I could not comfortably hang my arm out the window. The digital info display was completely washed out in the daytime - looks great in the dark though. I hope the engine lasts more than 2-3 years.
Since then I had to go to Dallas, Texas. Rented a Tail Blazer. It was ok. Nothing special. I COULD hang my arm out the window though. I hope the engine lasts more than 2-3 years.
Rental car companies are turning in cars sooner than they did several years back. Some are barely a year old when there sold and some are sold when they get 12 to 15,000 miles on them.
For safety reasons many rental companies have removed identifiable decals from the cars to cut down on tourist being targeted by theives.
Hi there Chevy Girl. I saw your longer post on the Malibu newsgroup. I bought an '04 Chevy Classic with 30K miles on it on Nov. 26, 2005. Overall I'm quite happy with it, though I have a few nitpicks I've mentioned on the Malibu group, mainly the lower-than-advertised fuel economy.
To respond to a few points you make in either or both of the messages:
All Classics are former fleet cars, either business or rental. Most of the ones I've seen are rentals; mine was a Hertz rent-a-car at Newark Airport. Of course there's no way to tell how they were treated by the folks who rented them; that's why the resale value of a Classic is so much lower than a mainstream Malibu and why you pay much less for a used Classic. (Relatively speaking; the Classic is not exactly a bargain-basement econo-box.)
Brake issues are often mentioned as a common problem with Malibus. Knock on wood, I have no complaints with the brakes on my Classic thus far, though I've not yet had a panic stop. Some drivers of other makes, especially imports, seem to feel that GM brakes feel "spongy." I traded in a Saturn for my Classic, so I'm used to it.
2a. I do not have ABS on my Classic; in fact, I've never seen or read about a Classic that had ABS, even though it's on the options list. Truth to tell, the only option on that list I've seen with any frequency is the power seat. With the Classic, one is pretty much EXACTLY like another, apart from the color; even there choices are limited.
Did the dealer charge you for replacing the rotors? I hope not. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that's covered in the 3 year/36K mile warranty. Brake pads would not be covered, usually, but I think rotors would be.
I have not had any problems with the windshield. That strikes me as a fit and finish issue from the assembly plant, though if so one wonders why no one who rented the car complained about it. Again, did the shop that fixed it send the bill to GM, or at least did you send them a copy of the bill once you paid it?
The original Eagle GA tires are no good in the snow unless they are nearly new. That's not a slam at Chevy or GM or for that matter the tires. The Eagles are good tires in the summer, on dry pavement or in light rain and they are excellent on long highway trips---exactly what you expect from upper-mid level touring tires.
The problem is that most "touring tires" don't grip well on snowy, slushy or deep-water-covered roads. More and more new cars are being fitted with touring (for mid-level sedans) or performance (for sportier sedans and coupes) tires. You get more comfort and/or performance, but trade treadlife and traction. My pet theory is it's a conspiracy to get more people to switch over to snow tires in winter....
....Which is what I did. (I live in northeastern PA, foothills of the Poconos. Winters are bad enough to make driving dangerous at times but 'not' bad enough for winter road maintenance to be a top priority; worst of both worlds.) Four days after I bought the Classic, I swapped the Eagles for a set of Kelly Magna Grip snows. Cost $300 but it's been worth it. No complaints about how the car's handled this winter. Not at all sure I would say the same had I kept the Eagles on it. If I keep the car long enough I will probably get a set of Goodyear TripleTreads, but they ain't cheap.
All Classics have the 4-cylinder Ecotec engine. That's the only difference between an '04 Classic and an '03 Malibu. (Maybe the '03 Malibu had 215/60 tires, too, while the Classic has 205/65.) The reason seems obvious: Fleet buyers want the cheaper engine and most folks looking to rent a domestic mid-size at the airport are satisfied with the 4-cylinder.
6a. Of course the smaller engine is supposed to be better on gas, but please don't get me started on that....
That would probably explain your milage issues, as my personal experience has been that the save car with a smaller engine generally tends to get lower milage. At least when it comes to 4 vs 6 vs 8 cylinders. I know this is not universal, but it seems to apply in most of the situations I have seen. My 89 RS Camaro with the 5.0 v8 gets better milage than an aquaintances v6 model of about the same year. I think it has to do with the smaller engines tending to be geared lower and needing to stay in lower gear ratios longer to get acceleration and such.
Yep, ditched my 03 LS after 9-months. And I bought it brand new. Historically I keep cars ~10 years (plus or minus a couple). The Malibu sure skewed my average.
i've had mine for 10 months and i havent really had any problems with it. it is the best car i've had. i've just had minor problems no big deal every car has them
Your 1st sentence doesn't square with your last sentence.
No "every" car does not have minor problems. In fact, most cars these days rarely have any problems during the first 10 months. In fact, I can't remember having any warranty work done on the last 4-5 cars their first 10 months of ownership (except the Malibu, that is). Heck, some of them *never* needed any warranty work.
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