2008 Chevrolet Impala - NOT IMPRESSED

[StevieC]

Hey,

Just thought I would share my experience of riding in a 2008 Chevrolet Impala for the day with a co-worker.

My co-worker bought the Impala in August and it now has 22,000KM (13,750 Miles) and it already has problems and I wasn't really impressed with the quality of the car build, the fit/finish and the leg/head room.

For a car that's a mid-sized sedan it's very tight when it comes to leg/head room. My legs were very uncomfortable and my head was almost touching the roof, not to mention I had to rub my head against the sloped part of the roof when getting in/out and I'm only 6'2" ?!?

The cars check engine light was on, and I asked my co-worker and he told me that it's an intermittent problem that the dealer can't seem to solve and it has something to do with the transmission. I said after only 22,000KM? He shrugged and said that after the 6th time to the dealer he gave up!?!

The car materials for the most part were pretty good although the plastics around the steering column looked very cheap.

The Door hinge in my door looked loose or not put together well because the part that was bolted to the body was moving around when the door was swung.

The decal on the side of the car that says "GM" was slightly crooked and the fit/finish on the seems outside and inside the car weren't even in all spots and/or tight.

The car rode nicely and the seats were comfortable and the engine was very quiet and I was impressed with this.

I think they still have a long way to go, if the company still has a company left!

IMO just another reason why they are in the state they are in, because they need to fix these problems.

 

[firemachine69]

IIRC, this is the last year of the Impala.

 

[BGK]

The current Impala is primarily a rental/fleet vehicle. If GM survives, it's replacement should be a much better vehicle.

 

[defeated]

Originally Posted By: StevieC

The cars check engine light was on, and I asked my co-worker and he told me that it's an intermittent problem that the dealer can't seem to solve and it has something to do with the transmission. I said after only 22,000KM? He shrugged and said that after the 6th time to the dealer he gave up!?!

That's unacceptable! Has he tried a different dealer?

 

[OVERKILL]

We had one as a rental last year (or was it a Malibu?) and the plastic surrounding the shifter would pop up...... Though dash finish was substantially better than the Yaris my buddy had as a rental.....

 

[bullwinkle]

No lemon laws in Canada? If they'd tried that here in Ohio, 3 attempted repairs in a year for the same problem, the factory would be forced to give you you money back. I had a prototype '03 Vibe that was bought back that way-they couldn't stop the CEL on that one either!

 

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
No lemon laws in Canada? If they'd tried that here in Ohio, 3 attempted repairs in a year for the same problem, the factory would be forced to give you you money back. I had a prototype '03 Vibe that was bought back that way-they couldn't stop the CEL on that one either!



We have a "review panel" that does jack sh*t for the consumer. Elsewise, I wouldn't even have a Yaris in my possession.

 

[StevieC]

REPLYING TO ALL THAT READ:

Let me also mention that this in no way affects my view of all of the BIG-3 and that I want nothing more than to see them do well. I just thought that I would share my experience in a newer GM vehicle and what I liked/dislike and why I think this may be affecting GM's quality perception. Please don't turn this into a Japanese/BIG-3 bashing thread, as this isn't my intention...

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: defeated
Originally Posted By: StevieC

The cars check engine light was on, and I asked my co-worker and he told me that it's an intermittent problem that the dealer can't seem to solve and it has something to do with the transmission. I said after only 22,000KM? He shrugged and said that after the 6th time to the dealer he gave up!?!

That's unacceptable! Has he tried a different dealer?



Yes he tried another one after the 4th visit and they couldn't figure it out either.

While he looks after his cars, he's not really mechanically inclined so he doesn't remember what the code was and I didn't want to be questioning him too much...

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
No lemon laws in Canada? If they'd tried that here in Ohio, 3 attempted repairs in a year for the same problem, the factory would be forced to give you you money back. I had a prototype '03 Vibe that was bought back that way-they couldn't stop the CEL on that one either!


We have Lemon laws, but I don't think they would be this strict... I will suggest it to him, as I didn't think about this at the time.

 

[cp3]

They do still have farther to go. I love my G6, best GM I've ever driven but it still has typical GM issues. Blower motor and resistor before 110k? They're on the right track though, the epsilon platform used for the G6 does not feel like a GM.

 

[mrsilv04]

I can't tell you how many Impalas that I've rented in the past several years.

My opinion is that it is a good quality full size sedan. Nothing spectacular, nothing fancy. But it gets the job done, and gets really good gas mileage while doing it.

When I'm walking through the airport rent a car lot, I'll usually walk towards an Impala and take one. No surprises.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: firemachine69
IIRC, this is the last year of the Impala.


Really?

What will it be replaced with?

 

[StevieC]

The 2009 Bankrupt! J/K I heard it was the last year too... What will the Cab drivers drive?

 

[HM12460]

i rode in one with a car dealer buddy of mine to the auto auction. iirc, it as an 2006 with the 3.9. i liked it, thought it had a lot of power and rode nice. very comfortable too. then again, i'm used to driving junk so most any decent late model car would probaly impress me.

 

[artificialist]

Recently a 2007 Impala came in. It had around 60,000 miles, and the water pump was badly leaking.

Unacceptable!

 

[peterdaniel]

Big Deal.. My company has a 2006 Honda Element. It rattles, check engine light comes on every other week, wipers have failed and it has 80K miles on it... Yeah its been driven.. but that doesn't explain the cheap materials inside, the plastic around the steering column being all mismatched etc..

Toyotas have horrible seats, head gasket issues, paint problems, etc..
\Mercedes and VW have horrible electrical problems. Replace the brakes lately on a BMW?? Try 900 dollars because by design they wear down the rotors as well as the pads.

Nissan? Great engines and transmissions, cheap and garbage interiors

They all have problems... but for some reason, companies like Toyota can do no wrong, yet they have the most recalled cars... Hmmmm...

 

[aaxb970]

I haven't had any problems with my 06 Impala. Smooth ride, good gas mileage and lots of power. Did the impala have power seats? I am 6'1 and if I adjust my seat all the way back I can almost touch the pedals. I have lots of head room, not as much as a SUV but quite a bit.

 

[StevieC]

Manual seats

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: peterdaniel
Big Deal.. My company has a 2006 Honda Element. It rattles, check engine light comes on every other week, wipers have failed and it has 80K miles on it... Yeah its been driven.. but that doesn't explain the cheap materials inside, the plastic around the steering column being all mismatched etc..

Toyotas have horrible seats, head gasket issues, paint problems, etc..
\Mercedes and VW have horrible electrical problems. Replace the brakes lately on a BMW?? Try 900 dollars because by design they wear down the rotors as well as the pads.

Nissan? Great engines and transmissions, cheap and garbage interiors

They all have problems... but for some reason, companies like Toyota can do no wrong, yet they have the most recalled cars... Hmmmm...

Many engines and transmissions that were used in the 1995-2003 Sentras were total garbage.

The Toyotas that get head gasket problems are the ones with an iron block and aluminum head. Most of those engines have been out of production for years... Not that it helps anyone with their car.

Nearly every German car has brake rotors that last the same as the pads, however, you can go to an independent mechanic and get them all replaced for far less than the dealer. Mid grade pads and discount rotors work fine on those cars. The only case where that is not possible is if your car came with drilled/slotted rotors, and using conventionally finished rotors is not an option.

Don't think that American cars are excluded from this idea. The GM cars that are just Opel vehicles with different labels, such as the caddy Catera and Saturn L-series also had those fast wearing rotors.

Many Korean cars have had short lived rotors too.

The Toyota Corolla and Matrix are built in the same plant as certain Pontiac cars. Maybe that causes a problem?