I haven't posted here in a while because we have been trying to get some time to get out and look at some vehicles. We are looking at replacing my wife's Audi A4 with a bigger vehicle. I have read a lot about the Malibu and had the chance to talk with some owners of the 08+ Bu.
Well yesterday we managed to get some time to go out and look at a few cars. The car is going to be for my wife and she hates dealing with dealers. We looked at a VW Passat and she didn't like it, we looked at a Camry and only spent maybe 5 minutes at that dealer before she walked away. Went to the Chevy dealer and looked at a LT1 Malibu on the showroom and a LT2 Impala. She really liked the Malibu over the Impala. So we spoke with a salesman and they asked several questions to help decide what we wanted to take on a test drive. One of her concerns is that she loves the Quattro (AWD) System in her Audi. So the test drive on Saturday was to get her behind the wheel of this car so she could see if she liked the FWD vs AWD that she has now. It was snowing out so the roads were sloppy and snow covered. We would keep the A4 but it is just too small for us with 2 kids. I can't fit in the Audi with the two car seats in the back as I am 6'4". After talking with the salesman we decided to take a LT2 on a test drive. The one we drove had the V6 with 6 speed and steering wheel shifters. She liked the car a lot and didn't have an issue with it being FWD rather than AWD. She even said she doesn't want to look anymore and she wants that 09 Malibu. I am going to insist that we drive a 4 cylinder and a 6 cylinder back to back to get an idea what she would want.
So on to my questions:
1. Are there any maintenance differences between the engines? Are they both timing belt or does the V6 have a timing chain?
2. What are the benefits to the 6speed over the 4? She doesn't care about the steering wheel shifting. She has it now on the A4 and never uses it.
We are kind of up in the air on if we will get the V6 or 4 cylinder. I know the V6 will be more peppy but it is more expensive and gets worse mileage. It isn't like I am going to put a hitch on the Malibu. I have an Avalanche that I drive and that is was we use to pull trailers. I think the 4 cylinder is something like $1000-2000 cheaper and gets something like 3-4 MPG better. If there isn't much difference in maintenance I think it will come down to the test drives.
Well yesterday we managed to get some time to go out and look at a few cars. The car is going to be for my wife and she hates dealing with dealers. We looked at a VW Passat and she didn't like it, we looked at a Camry and only spent maybe 5 minutes at that dealer before she walked away. Went to the Chevy dealer and looked at a LT1 Malibu on the showroom and a LT2 Impala. She really liked the Malibu over the Impala. So we spoke with a salesman and they asked several questions to help decide what we wanted to take on a test drive. One of her concerns is that she loves the Quattro (AWD) System in her Audi. So the test drive on Saturday was to get her behind the wheel of this car so she could see if she liked the FWD vs AWD that she has now. It was snowing out so the roads were sloppy and snow covered. We would keep the A4 but it is just too small for us with 2 kids. I can't fit in the Audi with the two car seats in the back as I am 6'4". After talking with the salesman we decided to take a LT2 on a test drive. The one we drove had the V6 with 6 speed and steering wheel shifters. She liked the car a lot and didn't have an issue with it being FWD rather than AWD. She even said she doesn't want to look anymore and she wants that 09 Malibu. I am going to insist that we drive a 4 cylinder and a 6 cylinder back to back to get an idea what she would want.
So on to my questions:
1. Are there any maintenance differences between the engines? Are they both timing belt or does the V6 have a timing chain?
2. What are the benefits to the 6speed over the 4? She doesn't care about the steering wheel shifting. She has it now on the A4 and never uses it.
We are kind of up in the air on if we will get the V6 or 4 cylinder. I know the V6 will be more peppy but it is more expensive and gets worse mileage. It isn't like I am going to put a hitch on the Malibu. I have an Avalanche that I drive and that is was we use to pull trailers. I think the 4 cylinder is something like $1000-2000 cheaper and gets something like 3-4 MPG better. If there isn't much difference in maintenance I think it will come down to the test drives.