A request, please.

[Corry]

...I'm am doing research on getting a new (or 1 year old) car. I want to do LOTS of research and make sure I make a good decision. At the moment, the cars I am looking at the most are the Chevy Cobalt, and the Saturn Ion2 3 door coupe. (heavily leaning toward the Chevy at the moment). So, I was wondering if anyone here has either of those vehicles that could possibly give me a little review. I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[Big Mike]

When I was looking for a vehicle at the beginning of this year, I checked out some brand new Cobalts, just in the showroom...not a test drive.

I was not impressed, especially with the lower end packages. It felt poorly made, the layout was boring and just felt wrong. The door open handle inside was too small etc.

Of course....That's just personal preference, so go see for yourself.

 

[ShutteredEye]

I don't have any experience with the chevy cobalt. However most GM products that my family has owned have been less than reliable. Saturn is made by GM too.

My wife's family has two Saturns. And IMHO they are clods of junk. They have an SL2 and a L sedan both. And they are just literally falling apart. The SL2 is on its 5th (yes, FIFTH) radiator. It is the same age as the Mazda Protege my wife drives. The Mazda has 50K more miles on it, and it is in near pristine condition.

I wouldn't wish a Saturn on my worst enemy.

Have you looked at Honda Civics or Toyota Corollas? They should be in your price point, and will be BIG time more reliable.

 

[photogoddess]

I'm going to throw my 2 cents in. I've driven nothing but GM vehicle for years and I'm not impressed at all. Any GM vehicles in my future will be of the vintage or hot rod variety from back when they actually knew how to put a car together properly. I'm looking at replacing my GMC truck with a Toyota 4-Runner. I've been driving Malachite's Toyota Tacoma truck and have been extremely impressed at the quality, ride, gas mileage, etc... If you're going for a total budget car, look at the Hyundai Elantra. My neighbor has one and it's well put together, zippy, roomy, comfortable, quiet to drive, gets awesome gas mileage, has a great warranty and ahem... was $12k new. :cheer: If our lifestyle didn't require something with 4WD, I'd buy one myself.

 

[Corry]

Thanks for the input. As for the Saturns, so far, I've heard absolutely nothing but good things about them, so you saying that surprises me a bit. As I said though, I'm leaning much heavier towards the Chevy, so far. I do plan to test drive, and I actually might tommorrow, even though Erik can't be available to go with me. If I like it that much I can always do a second test drive when he is with me! I do know that there are probably a few others that are a bit more known for reliability and what not, but I do kinda wanna go for a nicer looking car at the same time, so that's why I like the Cobalt so much. I dunno...I've got time...I could very well change my mind tommorrow! I want to save some more money so I can have a nice down payment so I can have lower monthly payments. Thanks for the advice, again! I've been reading reviews online all night!

 

[hobbes28]

I'm going to second the Honda/Toyota suggestion. In terms of investment, it would be a much more worthwhile one because of costs associated, e.g. repairs, gas mileage, and even how long they last.

If you're already decided that it's going to be either one of the two up there, I would just go for the one you like the feel and drive of better because they're both a GM.

 

[Varthlokkur]

I own a 2006 Saturn Ion 3 and love it. It a fun car to drive. Its peppy ( I can chirp the tires in 2nd gear). Its got great handling. I highly recommend it. I have driven it for 3.5 hours straight and it is comfortable. I got mine with Anti-lock brakes and traction controll which are wonderfull if you live where it snows. Go with the premium sound if you can it is much better then the regular sound package. It replaced a 97 Saturn sw2 that went for 90,000 miles without any real issues.

I rented a Cobalt for a weekend and thought it was fine just nothing special. Go with the Saturn. In my opinion its by far the best choice.

 

[bace]

I third the Honda/Toyota recommendation. Reliable, economical and think of all the modifications that are available for a Honda Civic...

No but seriously, my Dad's a Mechanic and has been for over 25 years. Don't buy a GM....or a Ford. They make some beautiful lookin machines, and every once in a while they make'em strong and they last for ever (I say that cause someone is gonna defend them soon), but mostly they just make'em because they can sell'em.

Get a Honda or a Toyota. My friend just bought a used Acura 1.7TL.(Luxury Honda Civic) I drove it the other day and my god was it a sweet ride. She picked it up for $10k. I'm pretty sure it was a 2002. Did have quite a few clicks on it, but I don't think I've ever seen a Honda die before reaching 350K km. Aslong as it's had regular oil changes and sh!t.

Anyway. If you're gonna go with one of the two, I think the cobalt looks kinda rad. They're both GM so they're both gonna suck in the long run anway. Might aswell get the better looking one atleast.

 

[Aoide]

I'm going to jump in on the Toyota bandwagon. You may be set on the Chevy, but at least go take a test drive of a Toyota (or Honda) and see what they have to offer. Test drives don't cost you anything.

I guess it depends on what you want out of a car. If you are going for style and looks then stick with the Chevy. But if you are going for long term reliability then go with something like the Toyota or Honda. I wouldn't recommend the Hyundai for that very reason. They are really beautiful and have great initial quality, but their total cost of ownership (how much do they cost over time) is not great even with their big warranty.

I know what you are going through and I will disclose that I am biased towards Toyota because I had a Toyota Camry (hand me down car... I don't have the money for a Camry) and just bought a Toyota Corolla. But I looked at everything out there for what seemed like years, researched everything but always came back to reliability. I want a car that is going to run and that I can count on. So I guess you need to think about what kind of car you want.

Ok and I can't resist. My new friend.

 

[Corry]

Haha...thanks everyone. I am heavily biased towards GM, cuz I grew up in a very GM family. So, I know GM quality, pretty much, but mostly for older vehicles...My dad and my older brother are the only ones who have had newer GMs, and neither of them had any problems.

You guys have to remember one thing though...I have a tight budget, so even though some of the cars you are naming are only slightly higher than what I'm looking at, that slightly higher puts it out of my budget.

I do plan to do lots of test drives though, so I'll put those on my list to try, and maybe I'll find a good deal somewhere.

 

[bace]

Corry, even if you got a used Honda with like 30k miles on it, you'd still be better off.

Older GM's were built well. Newer ones are all plastic and computers, and where did computers come from?




...Japan.

Buying a brand new car is just silly anyway. Leasing a brand new car would be a better Idea. That way it's under warranty for the three years you're leasing, and then after the lease you can get another brand new one.

If you're gonna buy....buy used. You can buy a used Honda or Toyota that looks and drives brand new. You can even get used Honda's with warranties these days. Certified Manufacturer warranties too.

But yeah. If you GOTTA do the GM thing...get the Cobalt.

 

[Corry]

Wooohoooo! Just got a call from a dealership not too far away..I had requested dealer quotes on the Cobalt last night. We talked for a while trying to figure out what car/options would be best for me. He didn't even know I was looking at the Ion, and he mentioned that as a possibility, too. They have an '05 Ion there on the lot. So...I am going now to get ready, and I'm gonna test drive both of em! I wish Erik could be here to test with me, but as I said, if I like em, we can test em again. Maybe I'll drop in on a few other dealerships and check our some of the ones you guys suggested, if I get a chance.

 

[Corry]

One more quick question...I'm considering going with a manual transmission, but I do not yet know who to drive stick. Is it too terribly hard to learn?

 

[clarinetJWD]

I wouldn't recommend the Hyundai for that very reason. They are really beautiful...

Huh? never thought I'd hear someone say that... :scratch:


I agree with you with the reliability thing, though. Don't buy Korean cars, there's a reason they're cheap.

 

[mygrain]

Honda, Toyota, or Nissan is the only way to go if you want the most for your money. Those things will last forever and when you are ready to sell them to get a new one you'll get a better resell price due to reliability. Trust me- I've had a Honda, 2 Nissans(1 is what Robin is driving right now and the other was my very first car- that thing had over 140000 miles when i got it and 200000miles on it when i sold it and it ran for another 2years after that until dude stopped changing the oil in it and killed it...I also put it through living hell...roof top surfin, 360's in the middle of fields, jumping hills, it was even rolled once...minor damage..hehehehe), 1 Mazda(my truck...it says Mazda but it's actually built by Ford and which I think is why the engine light is on, the clutch is about to go, and I replaced the timing belt about 8 months ago), and 3 dodge/chrysler(ALL JUNK!!!).

BUT if i had to choose between a saturn and a chevy... ummm... i'd still go Honda... there is no point in getting an auto for looks when you are on a budget. Yeah its cute and all, but what good will a cute car be when you are broken down on the side of the road and stuck with a $1700 repair bill? Also note that a lot of mechanics don't like to work on saturns for some reason and you'll probably have to take it back to dealership to have it worked on.

But like the Bace-man said, American cars may look nice and have jumbo engines and sound like a freight train but you'll be lucky to get one worth a damn unless you get a classic.