[kc650]

Hi everybody!

I've been thinking about buying a new Malibu for some time, but reading your comments in this forum over the weekend put me over the top.

I pick up my new car tomorrow.

It's an Red Jewel Tintcoat LTZ...and it's all your fault!

 

[mpoczobut]

Excellent! Welcome aboard! I hope you love your Red Jewel LTZ as much as I love mine!! Is it loaded?

 

[BuckyFan]

Do you need to go buy tomm? If not, I bet I could get you a supplier discount

 

[kc650]

Excellent! Welcome aboard! I hope you love your Red Jewel LTZ as much as I love mine!! Is it loaded?

The only "extra" it has is the Rear Power package. I didn't really want a sunroof, which would be the other major option.

Of course, as you know, the LTZ is fully-well loaded from the start. Mine's a V6.

 

[kc650]

Do you need to go buy tomm? If not, I bet I could get you a supplier discount

Cool! That's very nice of you. However, I'm actually getting this on my father-in-law's GM employee discount, which I think is a few more $$s off.

 

[DOACanada]

Hi everybody!

I've been thinking about buying a new Malibu for some time, but reading your comments in this forum over the weekend put me over the top.

I pick up my new car tomorrow.

It's an Red Jewel Tintcoat LTZ...and it's all your fault!

I think this is something we can handle you blaming us for! LOL

Enjoy - I don't get mind for a little while still....Ordered an 09'

Welcome to the Club!

 

[Pizza Man]

Excellent color choice, kc! Your new 'Bu sounds exactly the same as mine.

 

[Lee]

I pick up my new car tomorrow.

It's an Red Jewel Tintcoat LTZ...and it's all your fault!

We'll take the blame

 

[plgtx]

Our evil plan is working!!!

 

[FenwickHockey65]

Hell, at least you went with a Malibu and not a camry!

 

[kc650]

OK, I've got my new Malibu! And it's really great. It drives like a dream and the many features make me not want to get out of the driver's seat. If gas were any cheaper, I'd probably just drive and drive and drive.

For what it's worth, the new car came with only two minor defects (one can only be called an annoyance, really). I point this out becuase, over the years, all the new cars I've bought (mostly Chevrolets) have had a few things wrong--some minor and some major--that became apparent within a few hours of delivery. For this car to be this "perfect" says that Chevy has gotten really serious about quality.

The two defects are: 1) The driver's side inside door handle is missing the little rubber insert that should be in the bottom of it--the screw heads are visible. All the other doors have it; and 2) The rear shade (part of the Rear Power Package) has a crease in one corner when it's pulled up--not a problem, really, but it doesn't look very neat.

I'll keep you posted as time goes on, but so far I'm really pleased!

 

[DOACanada]

Congrats kc650!!

Seems like you are happy overall with it! Thanks for the insight and info.

Enjoy!

 

[Malibooboo]

Congrats - hopefully I'll be doing the same come August.

 

[Pizza Man]

Congrats - hopefully I'll be doing the same come August.

Doug, you are the most cautious buyer I've ever seen!

Come to my house, you can drive my 'Bu and inspect it all you want. Of all the cars I've ever bought, this is the first one that I cannot find anything to complain about from an overall quality point of view. Even my Honda had a flaw.

My only disappointment is the lack of chrome wheels on the LTZ.

 

[Malibooboo]

Doug, you are the most cautious buyer I've ever seen!

Ironic, since in my younger days I used to buy new cars every 3 years or so (some new, some used). My Avalanche is 6 1/2 years old and my GP is 5 years old.

I think 10-15 years ago my cars would start having major problems at 50-60K miles, which cost a lot in repairs. Now GM makes their vehicles much more reliable so that I can keep them longer past the warranty. And now they have the great power train warranty that eliminates the anxiety factor about keeping a car for many years. On my GP I'll be going on to my third set of tires soon - I've never done that before.

 

[FenwickHockey65]

Congrats on the new Malibu!

Ironic, since in my younger days I used to buy new cars every 3 years or so (some new, some used). My Avalanche is 6 1/2 years old and my GP is 5 years old.

I think 10-15 years ago my cars would start having major problems at 50-60K miles, which cost a lot in repairs. Now GM makes their vehicles much more reliable so that I can keep them longer past the warranty. And now they have the great power train warranty that eliminates the anxiety factor about keeping a car for many years. On my GP I'll be going on to my third set of tires soon - I've never done that before.

We get a new car every 4-5 years or so. Each of our cars generally stays with us for around 15 years before being replaced. Our old '89 GMC Safari SLT is still around and kicking with over 300,000 miles on it from what we've heard.

 

[USA1fan]

Ironic, since in my younger days I used to buy new cars every 3 years or so (some new, some used). My Avalanche is 6 1/2 years old and my GP is 5 years old.

I think 10-15 years ago my cars would start having major problems at 50-60K miles, which cost a lot in repairs. Now GM makes their vehicles much more reliable so that I can keep them longer past the warranty. And now they have the great power train warranty that eliminates the anxiety factor about keeping a car for many years. On my GP I'll be going on to my third set of tires soon - I've never done that before.

That's funny. We used to be just the opposite- buy a car, then keep it for at least 6 years. But each of our past 5 or so has been kept no longer than 2 or 3 years. This new 'bu is gonna go back to the old trend though (knock on wood), so long as nothing forces us to trade out.

 

[kc650]

Well, this sure seems like a car one could keep for quite a while. As was mentioned earlier, the 100k warranty gives some peace of mind. I've had mine for nearly a week now, and I'm very impressed. Fit, finish, ride, power, features--they're all there. It's great!

 

[DOACanada]

kc650 - Happy to hear you are enjoying it! Anything you would comment on that really stands out in your mind?

 

[kc650]

kc650 - Happy to hear you are enjoying it! Anything you would comment on that really stands out in your mind?

Well, there are several things I like, of course, but if I had to pick the most striking aspect of this car (vs. other new car experiences I've had), it would be quietness. I've never been one to really complain about road noise, etc.--after all, all cars are quieter than they once were--but this one is the quietest I've ever driven. That includes all makes, from Cadillac on down. We took a 100-mile road trip this weekend and I couldn't believe how quiet the ride was on the interstate.

Another thing I've noticed is related to something I AM a stickler about: The effectiveness of the air conditioning. I've set the auto climate control on 71 degrees and it has worked flawlessly. The ACC was the main reason I chose the LTZ over the other trim levels (call me spoiled, because my previous vehicles--a '96 Bonneville and an '03 Trailblazer--had it), and I have been pleased to discover that it works very well. In fact, on my Trailblazer, I never was completely satisfied with the warm-weather performance of the "auto" setting and found myself overriding it a lot in the summer just to get the interior cool. I'm not having this experience at all with the Mailbu's system, so far at least. I know the performance of the A/C has been a concern of other posters to this forum, and while I can't comment on how well the manual system works, I can say that I'm very happy with the automatic one.