Chevy Malibu 2008 model

[NCatron]

So I'm in the market for a new car, and I test drove the new '08 Malibu yesterday. I must say it felt pretty damn good for a midsize sedan with a 4 cylinder.

Has anyone bought one of these yet? Any strong opinions one way or the other? I'm actually leaning towards buying it, and the salesman told me I could get it for ~$17k (base model) without my even twisting his arm. Probably helps that the HIGH was below 0 that day.

[St. Lou Stu]

Originally Posted by NCatron

So I'm in the market for a new car, and I test drove the new '08 Malibu yesterday. I must say it felt pretty damn good for a midsize sedan with a 4 cylinder.

Has anyone bought one of these yet? Any strong opinions one way or the other? I'm actually leaning towards buying it, and the salesman told me I could get it for ~$17k (base model) without my even twisting his arm. Probably helps that the HIGH was below 0 that day.

I ihave a Saturn Aura which is on the same platform as the new Malibu and it is a very nice vehicle for the cost.
Mine has the 3.5l V6 though.

Drive both, the Malibu and the Aura and let the vehicle and price make up your mind which you buy.

[Puffin Fresh]

We had a 2005 malibu, so not the current style but the one right before it.

The thing test drove like a dream, but put 1000 miles on it and it totally changes. The thing was crap. Needed new rotors at 10K miles, new suspension at about 14K, new engine mounts at 14K (which was the actual problem, but they said the suspension needed replaced first, I don't know if the suspension actually needed anything), lots of clunks and sounds, etc.

I wouldn't go back for anything.

Oh, ours was a 3.5L as well. GM can build good cars, but they use crap parts and therefor the quality suffers.

[NCatron]

Originally Posted by St. Lou Stu

I ihave a Saturn Aura which is on the same platform as the new Malibu and it is a very nice vehicle for the cost.
Mine has the 3.5l V6 though.

Drive both, the Malibu and the Aura and let the vehicle and price make up your mind which you buy.

Well I have $1k of GM Card bonus, but I can't use that on Saturn, so the Malibu would be my first choice.

[White97Jimmy]

The Malibu looks like a good redesign. It won Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show this year.

[dantzig]

The new Malibu has almost nothing in common with the previous models except for a few styling cues. The GM Epsilon platform really shows its European roots and it a huge step forward for GM. My coworker's Aura and the new Malibu are impressive enough to consider buying a domestic car. I think it's worth checking out if you're in the market for a FWD mid to full size vehicle but I would be forced to go with the V6 model due to the sluggish performance of the 4 cyl. version no matter how smooth it is.

[Stog-a-Boy]

Just got home about an hour ago from test driving one for my mom (although she didnt come with us). We were looking at the LTZ which is about $28k. It's a pretty sweet car, but there are no incentives. The Impala on the other hand was also about $28k and had a little over $6k in incentives. I dont think we'll buy either one but I sure did like the Malibu.

[Puffin Fresh]

Originally Posted by dantzig

The new Malibu has almost nothing in common with the previous models except for a few styling cues. The GM Epsilon platform really shows its European roots and it a huge step forward for GM. My coworker's Aura and the new Malibu are impressive enough to consider buying a domestic car. I think it's worth checking out if you're in the market for a FWD mid to full size vehicle but I would be forced to go with the V6 model due to the sluggish performance of the 4 cyl. version no matter how smooth it is.

Just to make sure the OP knows, my 2005 is also the Epsilon platform I believe. I know it was the european platform. We had the 3.5L V6, which was powerful enough, be way underpowered compared to my old nissan maxima with a 3.0 liter.

In fact, our hybrid altima pulls at least as strong as the Malibu did.

Stog-a-boy, I haven't been in one of the 2008's, but my malibu test drove like a dream, then it turned into a nightmare after about 1000 miles. I'm on my 3rd new car personally (others were all used), and the malibu thus far is the only disappointment so far. Of course, our Altima is only at 9K miles so far, so time will tell. In fact, our malibu was my least favorite of even the used cars I've purchased.

I will say this, the new malibu looks nice. And even the previous generation was a huge step forward from the crap they put out in the late 90's and early 2000's. I just think the corners GM cuts come through over time.

[a2vr6]

Car looks pretty nice, side profile kinda like a BMW. Too bad I am not a big fan of most domestic cars.

[FN in MT]

Take a look at my new thread "lambo and my old cruiser".

I had an Impala w/Police Package for about a year. REALLY liked it. Previously I'd had Crown vics for several years, the Impala was my last cruiser before retirement in April of 2007.

The 2008's may be different but other than some initial battery issues (batts died in cold weather) the 2006 and 2007's were great rides.

FN in MT

[RPB67]

Good car Greg.

We now own a Pontiac, Buick GMC Dealer. If you asked me about a 4 cyl midsized car five years ago I would have said.

But now the 4s are 6s and the 6s are like 8s. The Malibu is one of Chevys #1 sellers. I would go for it. Its a good reliable car.

[NCatron]

So it turns out the salesman totally lowballed me. It appears that the absolutely best I can do is 19k with a lot of arm twisting. I think Chevy is actually on to a good thing here. If you can't get a discount, it must be a good car, right? If you give 3k cash back, it must be hard to sell. It's a game of perception, and I think it just might work.

So anyway, based on that price, for only $900 more I can get an Equinox with a V6. Think I'll just do that.