- UPDATE -

Well I am getting closer and closer....Here is what I know...

Build week / date - July 28, 2008
Pricing - MSRP - $31,725 (Excluding Destination Charge)

Now I just have to wait! Can't believe how impatient I need to be for my baby to be born!

LOL

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Hello All...

Well, it is now official....I put the order in this weekend. Other than the images attached I have no other new information.

Dealer is supposed to be giving me a call to provide me with an estimated delivery date. As of right now it is estimated between July and August....Quite a large delivery window but hey...I know more information will be coming.

Attached is the form used to place the order...I will be sure to update as I get more information.

Cheers!

http://www.chevymalibuforum.com/gallery/images/178/large/1_2009_Malibu_-_Order_Sheet_-_Page_1.jpg

http://www.chevymalibuforum.com/gallery/images/178/large/1_2009_Malibu_Order_Sheet_-_Page_2.jpg

Congrats! You'll love that car :)

How come you ordered the LT2 with the engine package instead of just getting the LTZ? What was the price difference?

There was a big price difference here in Canada (based on 08 numbers). However my main reason was the full leather interior in the LTZ. I am in the power tool industry and I am constantly needing the "throw" which will now be put things in the back seat of my car....Full leather would not be good for me, so in order to get the ebony (Leather/Suede) option I had to go to the LT2.

All in all I am really happy with what I ordered, and with the price difference I was already "stretching" more than I wanted to but at the end of the day I plan to finance this car and not lease and hope to have it for many years. So I was trying to find the happy medium for both.

All in all I am really happy with what I ordered, and with the price difference I was already "stretching" more than I wanted to but at the end of the day I plan to finance this car and not lease and hope to have it for many years. So I was trying to find the happy medium for both.

Excellent choice, Chad. Looks like you'll be our first '09 owner!:D

Thanks Pizza Man one more red one to add to the list!....I could be the first it all depends on when it gets delivered.

I must say one of the biggest reasons I went for the 09 was because of the bluetooth feature, as I said before, I do a lot of driving and having bluetooth will certainly be nice.

I hope you have better luck with the bluetooth compatibility than other consumers have. I have read many articles that consumers are not able to pair their handsets with car makers built-in bluetooth devices. This goes for Toyota, BMW etc. Since this is GMs first take at this, I hope they have learned from everyone else. I am not sure what the exact problem is, but success rates have been low!

I was disappointed with the 09s that they removed the turn signal side marker and the adjustable pedals! The side marker is an especially "classy" feature. I have many bluetooth headsets that work just fine while driving. That's one reason I wanted to make sure and get an 08.

I was disappointed with the 09s that they removed the turn signal side marker and the adjustable pedals! .

I did not realize these items had been removed for 09.

Yeah, I had noticed that some items had been removed back from an old thread talking about the addition of bluetooth.

I went through the website and noticed that there was a deletions section. Now in talking to my dealer it was noted that sometimes U.S. models have deletions that Canadian Models do not have.

Will have to wait and see what actually is still there. Although the telescopic steering wheel is a feature that I noticed I used (I am 6' 4") the telescopic footpedals I did not use....Wonder if they are going to delete both or just the foot pedals one?

The side marker was also a disappointing as I agree with most added a nice touch of "Class / Luxury" wonder if it will actually happen.

Now I just have to instil that virtue of being patient!

Congrats and thanks a friggin lot! I've had my car for a month now and it's offically 'the old last years model'....;)

Congrats Bro :) your gonna love it. :D

So you can't get adjustable pedals on any 09 Malibu, even as an option?

Thanks NotmyCar.....Sorry for making your car the old model. Let's just hope the 09's meet up with 08's.

So you can't get adjustable pedals on any 09 Malibu, even as an option?

Not sure will have to wait and see as more information becomes available, thinking I will email my dealer with some questions regarding the side turning signal light and the adjustable pedals.

Congrats Bro :) your gonna love it. :D


If the 09' is as good as the 08' and it performs as you all say the 08's do, I am sure I will be happy!

I believe the side markers were just renamed (this same topic came up on the GMInsideNews forums), and that the cars will all still have them. The adjustable pedals seem to be gone though. I've been hoping to find an 09 on the lot locally to see, but it'll be a little while before those actually start showing up. I'm especially curious as to what's taking up the space where the pedal adjustment control is now.

If you can't get the pedals, then I'm really happy that I bought an 08, because I'm 6'5" and it makes the car so much more comfortable to drive.

If you can't get the pedals, then I'm really happy that I bought an 08, because I'm 6'5" and it makes the car so much more comfortable to drive.

I agree... I'm 6'4" and the pedals make a big difference for my comfort as well as the people that sit behind me. When i bought the car i put the seat where i felt most comfortable and then got in the back seat to see if i could fit. Amazingly i could!!! No other car i test drove i could do that! Love this car!

Aside from the heated seats, the adjustable pedals were the biggest reason my wife wanted the Mailbu. She is very short. The Malibu gives her the ability to position the drivers seat at a safe distance from the steering wheel. She then extends the pedals for a comfortable reach. She loves it.

I agree. I love the telescoping wheel / adjustable pedals. I get in, set the seat so that the (other than steering wheel / pedals) are at a comfortable distance, then adjust the steering wheel and pedals to match.

Geesh, You all are stating to make me regret getting an 09'. Will have to see what the end result is. I am 6' 4" also, and although I didn't think about it too much till now the adjustable pedals were a nice thing to have so I can position the seat approiately.

Well, I guess I am keeping my fingers crossed now, I will give me a dealer a call when I get back to Canada. ( I am in Eau Claire Wisconsin right now.) See what he has to say.

Thanks for all the positive feedback so far, it looks like this is going to be a great club just like my current GP club is!

Cheers.

I can get by without adjustable pedals, but it sure adds a level of comfort that you can get it just right. Also, my wife could use the pedals, since there is 8" of height difference between us and she ends up being pretty close to the steering wheel.

I stand corrected about the side marker lights. A recent post on the GMInsideNews forums seems to indicate that the Malibu is losing those too (Aura keeps them).

The JF4 Adjustable pedal option may be a late addition for 2009 models. I called Chevrolet Customer Assistance (CCA) to ask as they are a very big "nice to have" when you're 6'6" and the wife is 5'. Sure it's only a bit under 3" of pedal travel, but that plus the telescoping wheel and seat adjustments allows the shorter drivers to keep the airbag and wheel out of their chest and have a normal driving position and the taller drivers to have a few more inches of legroom without putting the seat back. CCA had me on hold for a long time as they searched for an answer to my question. When they did return with an answer, it was that they were removed for engineering reasons and may return after a redesign is completed.

Given the 2008 and newer 'Bu's have the same dashboard underpinnings of the 2004 to 2007 models, I'm not sure what sort of engineering would be needed. As someone noted, I wonder what they will do with the button spots now or will they just use the blanks that LS models get now?

When the 2004 new bodystyle Malibu debuted, adjustable pedals were on all model trims. In the 2006 design update the LS trim lost these even as an option, LT moved to optional (i.e. pay extra), and LTZ had them standard. Chevy de-contented the Malibu a lot as they made it a fleet staple.

One other irritation that exists even in the new 'Bu is the infinitely variable fan speed control or lack thereof except on the highest trim level. Given the rheostat to control this must be pretty cheap and the fan is the same in models with and without infinitely variable speed based on my comparison of 2005 LS and LT models, it speaks to cheapness in not offering minor upgrades like this to win over consumers looking for value. While many of you may think I'm nitpicking and that the 1-2-3-4 speed standard fan speed adjust on LS and LT models is just fine, having two with the infinitely variable control proves otherwise in real world use. The gap from speed 2 to 3 is pretty wide and you get a rush of extra air on 3 compared to 2 - the fan speed ratio is very abrupt in this change of setting. Anyway, just my $.02 :)

BigBee 60 - WOW thanks for the info....Certainly looks like I need to make a call to my dealer and ask some questions.

Thanks everyone for your info, it is helping me out a lot!

I'm a bit jealous. If I can ask, how much did you have to put down on it? Also, how are you handling pricing? Did you agree on a price when you ordered or will you negotiate when it arrives?

Ordering a 2009 is one of my options if I go with the Malibu, but I've never done it before. If I go with the Malibu, which is likely, I'd love to order it to minimize wait time, but I would assume that ordering without an agreed upon price would put you at a disadvantage from a bargaining standpoint, because you have already pretty much committed. Any thoughts on this? Am I just flat wrong?

-Shane

I'm a bit jealous. If I can ask, how much did you have to put down on it? Also, how are you handling pricing? Did you agree on a price when you ordered or will you negotiate when it arrives?

Ordering a 2009 is one of my options if I go with the Malibu, but I've never done it before. If I go with the Malibu, which is likely, I'd love to order it to minimize wait time, but I would assume that ordering without an agreed upon price would put you at a disadvantage from a bargaining standpoint, because you have already pretty much committed. Any thoughts on this? Am I just flat wrong?

-Shane

Shane I would have to say it depends on the relationship you have with your delaer. For instance in my case, you are correct I am ordering it "sight unseen" and "pricing unconfirmed" what we did was base it off of the 2008 model the only real inclusion I put on the 2009 was the bluetooth feature as this was a major selling point for me, and actually it prevented me from buying other than GM as I was looking at other manufacturer's that had bluetooth. I know to some this may seem trivial basing your decision on bluetooth as there are other aftermarket options available but to me I didn't want the hassel and liked the idea of having it covered under warranty.

Now my deposit was quite modest $500 CDN, as I have a really good relationship with my dealer, and we both agreed that pricing would be negotiated, his open remark to me was if I don't like the car, or the pricing comes in way out of control, he has no problem refunding me the deposit. I didn't do anything "extravagant" persay so he said he would not have much problem moving my car if I decided to walk away. As we all know it is a hot seller and he was quite happy. Also, he confirmed to me that I was the first one at his dealership to order a 2009 so he knew that it was going to be tricky to get much of anything hammered out, and respected the fact that I wanted to wait to get exactly what I wanted. Now the other incentive for me to order an 09' rather than buying off the lot, was the $500 discount GM will give me for ordering versus buying off the dealer lot. GM pays the dealer $500 per malibu (I think most other vehicles also, although I think the amount may be different model to model) to inventory the car on their lot. So when you buy a car "off the lot" from the dealer they keep the $500, when you order GM gives the $500 off the price of the car because the know that the customer will be picking it up in a couple of days upon the dealer taking delivery.

I guess ultimately in the end it was a lot of little things that made me decide on the 09' versus buying off the lot. Ultimately I am in a pretty open deal, but it will take a lot of "bad" things to happen for me to walk away from my order.

Hope this helps you out.

Cheers

I heard side marker lamps were still on, but under a different name on the order sheets...
We'll find out for sure when the '09s start arriving at dealers.

FenwickHockey65...

Hopefully you are correct, I would certainly like to have this option on the 2009. It is certainly an option that I really liked on it.

Cheers.

FenwickHockey65...

Hopefully you are correct, I would certainly like to have this option on the 2009. It is certainly an option that I really liked on it.

Cheers.

Scratch that, I've seen the '09 Malibu, side markers are gone. :(

Well I guess you win some and you lose some, not a deal breaker for me by any stretch of the imagination.

Well - Let's hope there is some other "treat" that has not been noticed yet. LOL

Well I guess you win some and you lose some, not a deal breaker for me by any stretch of the imagination.

Well - Let's hope there is some other "treat" that has not been noticed yet. LOL

I'd say that that "treat" is the fuel economy boost with the 6 speed automatic. :)

Bump - Update On Page 1

hmmm.... Malibu built on a Monday (July 28th).... have to watch the QC LOL!!

Thankfully or maybe not....Apparently that is the build week, it may no be indicitive of the actual build date. (Crosses fingers)