Northstar

This guy's engine simply blew up basically. Had to have the whole engine replaced. I doubt it was a gas issue unless the dealership cheaped out and put regular in it, because it only took 3 days for it to blow up, IIRC.

Interesting they cancelled the turbo. I know someone who had the engine replaced in his turbo SRX a couple days after he got it (with like 100 miles on it).

They did end up getting the car, it's pretty nice, the leather on the doors and steering wheel help spruce up the interior a bit. It is also surprisingly quick around town, and the 300 watt sound system is pretty nice as well. One thing I did notice is that the heated seats seemed to take a little longer to heat up then most.

I wonder which Cruze they drove. I drove the first one my dealer got in and it had some weird shifting habits, but the ones I've driven recently didn't. I wonder if they have fixed the trans and CG drove one that wasn't fixed/updated.

Well, the dealer with the Cobalts sold them, and there are very few within a reasonable driving distance now, so that got thrown out. The Civic EX-L with 12k miles for $15.5k I found that was about 80 miles away was sold yesterday, so I found another EX-L in the Chicago area (about 2.5 hours away) that has 25,000 miles and was priced slightly lower. My parents are driving there right now and they are probably going to buy it. The NADA value is $18175 and the dealer came down slightly to $15299, so we're getting it for nearly $3k below NADA value (KBB value is $19585). From the pictures it looked like the Civic had brand new tires as well (had green dots on them). I'm really surprised both of the Civics were available for $15.5k or less. The next cheapest one within 250 miles was $17k, and when I tried to find an LX in an effort to save money, the cheapest was $14k. For an extra $1300 the EX-L made more sense. My mom, brother and I all thought the Civic was better than the Cruze in pretty much every way. The Cruze seat controls are terribly designed (you have to reach between the side of the seat and the B pillar to adjust the amount it is reclined) so despite the seat being power (Civic doesn't offer a power seat), it's actually harder to adjust the Cruze's seats. The Civic seemed roomier, perhaps because it's center stack and console aren't so wide and integrated together, which does make the Cruze interior look nicer. The rear seat is also more comfortable in the Civic. We also drove an LX Civic, so the extra bells and whistles on the EX-L will only add to that, plus it gets leather on the door panels, steering wheel, and shift knob, where the LX has hard plastic in all those places. GM definitely needs to work on refining the Cruze. The steering is too touchy, and while that is somewhat a good thing, the Civic's is nearly as responsive but doesn't lead to it feeling somewhat "herky jerky" like the Cruze. The brake and gas pedals are the same way. In the Cruze you can go from barely moving to being "thrown" back in your seat. The brakes can do the opposite. Perhaps you would get used to it, but the Civic's pedal feel yielded more linear increases in acceleration and deceleration. Overall, the Civic is simply a more refined driving experience, or as my mom put it "it is easier to drive." The fact that we lost out on the other EX-L, that they are hard as hell to find (there are only 30 2009 EX-Ls on AutoTrader within 300 miles, while there are 900 Civics within 300 miles), the great price, and the fact that the Cruze has no incentives here but apparently dealers near reg are offering close to $3k off all pushed us to buy the Civic today if it turns out to be okay when they drive it. We had already decided that there was no sense in buying the Cruze before the 4th or whenever the new GM incentives come out because if there's any money on the hood then we would get screwed by buying a few days earlier. So, not wanting to lose out on this deal as well, we decided not to wait on the Cruze incentives, if there even are any.

Does the trim on the door and dash line up nicely? I sat in one the other day and the fit and finish wasn't too great, and there was a large gap between the trim on the dash and the trim on the door. Specifically the air vent on the dash and wood trim on the door.

The $8200 figure was on a $20.8k Cruze with tax added on as well. Most Civics seem to have good resale still. That one is listed for $3k below NADA value and is much cheaper than pretty much any other EX-L I can find anywhere. Why they are selling it that cheap is weird, but it is certified and has a 7yr/100k warranty, plus Honda Care extended warranties are available and prices I've seen are about $1k to get the warranty extended to 8 years, 120k miles. For instance, the dealer about 2 minutes from my house has a 2008 LX for $15995 and it has 42k miles. That one is probably overpriced but still. Most EX-Ls were around $18k. What is it you dislike about the dash on the Civic? I thought it was bizarre in pictures and even when I was first sitting in the passenger seat, but once I got in the driver's seat and drove for a couple minutes I actually liked the pseudo-HUD that shows your MPH and remaining fuel. The Cruze is probably a little quieter, but the engine noise on both is pretty similar. I'd give the Cruze the advantage on design, both interior and exterior, and I think it soaks up bumps a little better. However, the Civic handles better and is much quicker, which are both probably a result of it weighing 400lbs less than the Cruze. Both vehicles have good interior materials, I'd probably give teh Cruze the slight edge, but I'd give the Civic a slight edge in fit and finish, and the EX-L may change some of the materials (door panels for instance) on the Civic. I guess I will find that out tomorrow. I think right now the Civic is probably in the lead, but neither of my parents have driven it and we are definitely waiting until the 4th/5th before deciding (current incentives expire on the 3rd), though I'm not sure how much the Cruze would potentially get on the hood. Around $1500 would be nice, I feel that it's probably about $1500 more than it should be. Getting the EX-L with 8 year, 120k warranty for $16.5k, which is the same price as 1LT Cruze with nothing but power seat, upgraded stereo, spare tire, with all the bells and whistles is pretty nice. Plus I guess you would want to get a warranty for the Cruze as well. Also, the Honda Care warranties can be resold (prorated) if you get rid of the car, and if you never use it, you get it all back at the end. I don't think GM has anything like that.

It's a $5k difference. The Cruze is $8200 after GM card and money from the Maxx, the Cobalt is $3200. The Cruze is a much better vehicle than the Malibu. We drove the Malibu and were thoroughly unimpressed. Yes, you can fit more people and stuff in it, but it's terribly slow and loud and it's way overpriced in terms of MSRP. The $3000 rebates make it competitive price wise, but that doesn't discount the fact that it's an inferior product (at least compared to the Sonata). I don't personally like the looks of the Civic sedan, which is why we drove a coupe, but my brother doesn't mind the look. We found this one about 80 miles away, and my aunt lives there so she can check it out for us if we decide to buy it. Great deal though. 12k miles and fully loaded except NAV for $15.5k is hard to beat: http://hondaofillinois.net/Preowned-Inventory/2009_Honda_Civic_Sdn_SPRINGFIELD_19XFA16929E008818.aspx We'd only owe $5k (that's $3200 savings over the Cruze) and the only thing that the Cruze has over the Civic is that it has a power seat (you can't get one on the Civic for some reason). Still it has alloys, leather, heated seats, sunroof, and a better stereo than the Cruze, plus it's Honda Certified so it has a 7yr/100k powertrain warranty. Probably going to drive the sedan at the local dealer tomorrow.

Also this one, which I assume was a dealer demo or something because it only has 800 miles. 2HGFG1B60AH535356

reg, can you link me to those lease rates? The dealer said with nothing down and no first month payment the Cruze is about $320 a month for 39 months. Seems ridiculous.

So I've been searching used cars this evening and found an 09 Civic EX coupe with only 8000 miles at Carmax for $13495. Seems like a great deal if everything is okay with it. The VIN is 2HGFG12839H535350. TIA

I suppose leasing is an option, but the car is probably going to college with my brother and I'm not sure that it would be in great shape after sitting outside on a college campus for 3 years. I also forgot to mention that we got $10.5k for the Maxx, so we have that to put down for the car in addition to the $3500 GM credits. So, the Cobalt we found is available for $16k, the Cruze I don't think we'd get much off of it (might as well wait til Jan 4th to see if it gets any incentives. So after factoring in tax and such, the Cobalt is $3200 after GM credits and the $10.5k for the Maxx and the Cruze is $8200 after both as well. So, is the Cruze worth $5k more? is the question. And also, we need to consider used cars at $16-17k and compare to the Cruze. With that in mind, I poked around on eBay and found that you can get low mileage, used 2010 Civic EXs for around that price. That means some bells and whistles that he is used to like a sunroof, and perhaps leather and heated seats (Maxx had all that). We went and test drove a LX coupe (dealer didn't have any EXs), and I have to say besides the somewhat odd interior styling, it blows the Cruze away. It accelerates more quickly, handles better, the Cruze may ride smoother, interior materials are just as good, and the seats are better. The digital speedo is odd at first but really makes sense and isn't bothersome as I thought it would be. We still haven't bought anything, and the parents haven't driven the Civic to compare it themselves, but I think it is significantly more refined than the Cruze.

We drove a Cobalt Sport (2008, local dealer didn't have any new ones left) and a Cruze 1LT today. Still not decided, but probably leaning towards the Cruze. We don't like the idea of a bare bones LS because it's only about $1700 less and lacks power seat, Cruze, bluetooth, and some other stuff that's nice to have. Where are the lease deals you were talking about? Any links online? Also, how can the dealers be offering them for $2k off? MSRP is only $500 or so more than invoice, IIRC.

Do no Cobalts have ABS standard? The 2LT I found for $20k and got a price quote of $16.2k on this morning (before GM credits) had ABS included in some 2LT package. And a $19,335 1LT I found doesn't seem to have ABS on the window sticker.

Interesting. Did the door panel still have cloth inserts then? On eBay it appears with leather you get faux leather on the door panels, and with cloth seats you get cloth inserts. I think the only one with leather was like $22k anyways, so it doesn't really matter because leather isn't worth $2k. EDIT: just noticed the picture, which appears to have cloth inserts on the door panels.

Was the 2LT still cloth interior? Sometimes when you get leather the door panels get different material.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Olds, here's one of them on ebay, MSRP is $4K more than the price here (I found it on their website): http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LT-New-2-2L-155-horsepower-4-Doors-Air-conditioning-/330494965965?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4cf308f8cd DF: So the 2LT is significantly nicer? We found a 2LT in the Chicago area (about 2 hrs north) that has a sticker of $19995. If we could get them down to $16k before GM credits (same deal this other place is offering but on 1LTs), do you feel it is worth an extra $1k over the 1LT?

So you may or may not have heard that my brother was in a car accident and the Maxx was totaled. Anyways, because of complications over who is getting this new car and when (my sister's Alero is on its last legs), we haven't been able to narrow it down much until recently when my sister decided she should probably try to wait until spring to get a car (save money for down payment). Anyways, there's a dealer that we can get a new Cobalt 1LT at for $11K after discounts and $3500 GM card credits, so this is quickly becoming an option. My parents didn't want to buy anything too expensive because my brother is going to college next year and they would rather he not have an expensive car at college. If you've had a Cobalt or have driven one extensively, please let me know what your thoughts on it are... it would be a steal and provide a decent college car that my parents wouldn't have to worry about fixing because it has a warranty. One problem is finding one locally (the deal is 120 miles away), though there is at least one used one on a lot around here we could drive.

I had the exact same thought as Olds ("oh, the car must be FWD") before I started reading, haha. I remember parts of dreams, but there are always missing parts. I had some really weird dreams this summer, mostly on nights I would get absolutely hammered drunk.

Can GM card credits still be used on Saabs?

Well folks, the Maxx is totaled. Parents are stressing, haha. This is an idea, and like you point out, I have found that compact cars aren't much of a used car value. There aren't many rental car agencies around here, though. He's about 6'. He sat in the Cruze and was plenty comfortable. My parents did want to buy something bigger simply so more than a couple people can fit comfortably in the car, like they could in the Maxx, though. Yes it is an EXT, and it is definitely overkill, but we do go on trips where it is still nice to have. The idea behind that was then my mom gets something a bit nicer rather than giving my brother a car when he's going off to college next year (he goes to community college in town now). Too old, and I doubt they let him get RWD with the snow here and he's never driven anything RWD for any long amount of time, much less in snow. Perhaps the best buy on eBay right now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cadillac-STS-2007-STS-V6-LOADED-SUNROOF-NAVI-CHROME-NO-RESERVE-/150524566846?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item230bf69d3e Of course the price could go up, but the auction has been going for 6 days and there are no bids. And with their $3200 in GM points, my parents could buy this for $7700: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-Manual-2-2L-155-horsepower-4-Doors-Rear-defogger-/330490482997?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4cf2c49135 That would be a new car they wouldn't mind buying for him; if it gets beat up on campus then it won't matter much, and they will actually make money when they collect on the Maxx (probably $10-11K).

So my brother was on his way to school and someone ran a stop sign. The Maxx is likely totaled, and an estimate of $10-11K is probably what it is worth. We don't get the official word until Monday, however. So, what newer (preferably 2006 or newer) are available in the $10-12K price range? We have also looked at possibly just giving my brother my mom's Trailblazer and using the money from the Maxx to buy her a new car; we went test driving quite a few cars yesterday. Anyone have any ideas here? He doesn't want a truck or SUV unless he's forced to take the Trailblazer.

I drove a Cruze 1LT on Friday with the 1.4L turbo and 6-speed. It drove quite well. I really liked the interior as a whole, pretty nice materials for the price, seats were very good, very roomy too. I could fit pretty comfortably in the back seat after adjusting the front seat to my driving position, and I am 6' tall. They didn't have a 1.8L model to compare, but the general manager said that it is noisier than the 1.4L. My only complaints is that the transmission seemed to shift a very often when decelerating, and I thought that the shifting could have been less noticeable/smoother. Pickup was surprisingly good and the car feels quite solid. There was another 1LT that was sold (they only had 2) that was almost exactly $1k more and added leather, heated seats, and alloys vs. the cloth seats (not heated) and steel wheels on the model I drove. I would definitely spend the extra $1k for what you get. Unfortunately I was not able to drive it because it was sold.

I don't recall one, but at the same time I was too busy trying to get out of the backseat because I couldn't stand tilting my head way to the side in order to sit back there. As for the "damned if they do, damned if they don't" crowd... GM could have gone an entirely different direction on the concept vehicle too. It is possible to have the car be good looking and function. The A5 proves this.

Sat in one today. Let me just say it was a huge turnoff. The dash and center stack area is okay, but everything else was pretty terrible. Seats were awful, both in terms of comfort and leather quality. Button/lever to release seatback to allow access to rear door seemed like it was about to break. The backseat was apparently designed for midgets. I realize the rakish roofline contributes to this, but ugh. I'm only 6' tall and I had absolutely no chance of sitting comfortably back there. If I was 5'6 I may have fit. Rear visibility is atrocious. I thought the Camaro had no rear visibility. The CTS coupe makes the Camaro seem like a greenhouse. Couldn't believe how difficult it was to see out of the rear and sides of the car. This was a $49K example. Had NAV, roof, all the creature comforts. But for $49K, with only two use-able seats (and the two use-able seats having terrible support and bolstering), I'd have to pass. For $49K, I'd either go with something like a Corvette (since the CTS coupe may as well only have 2 seats) or go with a low miles, certified M3 coupe. Perhaps an A5 as well. I was coming right out of the GTO, so maybe the seats aren't that bad and just suck compared to the GTO's seats (like most seats do), but I was just really turned off by the interior despite the beautiful exterior.