My friend is looking to get rid of her 2004 Trailblazer and looking at getting an 04 Malibu due to high rising gas prices. With it being nearly $4/gallon in Michigan. She ends up spending about $80 to fill up her TB a week. She is looking at getting this car, 2004 Malibu for sale She will be getting 9,xxx for her TB and her payments will be about $278/month, she will be getting the car for 10k if she decides to go with it.She did say that interior was VERY clean but there were a couple of scratches on the windshield and a little yellow haze on one of the headlights.

Is there anything that she should watch out for in the future or is there anything that would point her towards another car? I have read reviews on the internet about the '04 Malibu's and they said nothing but good things. Does anybody have any personal experience with these cars and if so, what did you like and/or dislike about them?

Thanks a bunch,

-dan

my family had one as a rental car before, base model 4-cylinder. it was a very nice car, to tell you the truth. my parents currently have a G6, which is one in the same, and it's also very impressive.

not really one in the same as the g6, (built on different lines) but a nice car none the less, reliable

Good cars....they can take a beating...I have a 04 and an 06 Mailbu in my family....both have been good so far....


Boring to look at though.....

278 a month for payments? 80 dollars a week on gas come to about 320 a month. depending on how long shes gonna be paying for the malibu. so figure in th 278 a month for paymentd and what ever the cost is to fill up the malibus tank, i would say she should continue with the trailblazer. (if its paid off) why try to save money on gas just to have another car note

AZ24Ncav wrote:278 a month for payments? 80 dollars a week on gas come to about 320 a month. depending on how long shes gonna be paying for the malibu. so figure in th 278 a month for paymentd and what ever the cost is to fill up the malibus tank, i would say she should continue with the trailblazer. (if its paid off) why try to save money on gas just to have another car note

She is paying $80 every four or five days on gas right now with her Trailblazer and her payment is around $300/month. The Malibu gets good gasmileage and it might take $80 to fill up, but she will be filling up less often. She ows around $13,xxx on her Trailblaxer right now, so that $278/month is with a roll over + trade in value + gap insurance.

She is pleased to hear that they are reliable and I think that is going to be her car of choice. Thank you to those that stated their opinion

-dan

I'd say Ok, since it's a four cyl, the v6 engines are junk.

03ecols 5 spd wrote:the v6 engines are junk.

My mom just passed 85k in her 3100 '03 and it has yet to have any major problems...

*knock on wood*

The 04 mali's engines don't suck. The 4 banger is an Ecotec, the 3.5 is basically a 60 degree V6, but hasn't got the problems with the LIM gaskets that the 3.4's had.

I'd go with it. The $10K for the car combined with whatever the TB's depreciation, will be a big bite in the ass, but until gas prices let up, she's better off. Plus, the Mali's are pretty low maintenance.


You can get the yellow out of the headlights, and the windshield scratches can be fixed, just be sure to get a full mechanical inspection and all that... the only other thing: flush all the fluids, and change all the filters it's the best couple hundred you can spend on a used car.

my mom had a 2005 malibu maxx with the 3.5 and buy no means is that motor junk. at idle you couldint even tell it was running and the power it had off the line and passing people was really good. it also gave good gas miles. only reason she sold the car was because she wanted something awd and so she bought a 2007 equinox LT AWD.

It will have the 4banger and from what she said, it had some pretty good pickup, a little bit less than her Trailblazer. She does realize that she will be kicking herself in the ass with the depreciation, they quoted her at $9,xxx for the Trailblazer. She should get the Malibu by the end of this week at the latest. I'll keep you guys posted.

-dan

so shes rolling in right around $4000 to get the new car? am I reading this right? If thats the case, sorry, this does not make sense. Instead of keeping the TB and using that 4k for gas, shes using it for a new car and THEN paying for gas. It might seem a bit cheaper now, but in the long run, its not. Assuming I'm reading this all correctly.

Well, maybe junk was a bit far, but they are "high maintainance"
At some point during the life of a V6 engine of that breed, it will require a lower intake gasket.
As far as displacement vs. output, well thats not so hot either
Fuel economy, well not the best.
Maybe I was not far off after all

Spitfire2332 wrote:so shes rolling in right around $4000 to get the new car? am I reading this right? If thats the case, sorry, this does not make sense. Instead of keeping the TB and using that 4k for gas, shes using it for a new car and THEN paying for gas. It might seem a bit cheaper now, but in the long run, its not. Assuming I'm reading this all correctly.

Think of it this way ...

310/month just for the payment
Approx 300/month just in gas
_________________________
At least 610/month

Assuming that she will be using 1/2 that amount in gas

280/month for the Malibu
Approx 200/month just in gas
_______________________
At least 480/month

But now, she is looking at a cobalt, if they can't get her the price per month that she wants, then she is going with the Malibu.
Here is a link to the cobalt that she is looking at Cobalt LT I personally don't know what the hell she wants, just like every other woman, she can't make up her mind, lol

-dan

Right, so as I said, it might be cheaper now but in the long run its not. Off the bat shes down $4000 no matter how you look at it. Total monthly payments might be cheaper, but shes getting a new car note and extending it. But it does give her some immediate and short term relief though, but thats about it.

Spitfire2332 wrote:Right, so as I said, it might be cheaper now but in the long run its not. Off the bat shes down $4000 no matter how you look at it. Total monthly payments might be cheaper, but shes getting a new car note and extending it. But it does give her some immediate and short term relief though, but thats about it.

I agree but it's her money and she can do what she wants with it. She decided to go with the Silver Cobalt LT. 302/month w/ gap plus trade-in. Not too bad if you ask me, especially since the Cobalt only has 15k miles on it. Not to mention, I will have fun with the ecotec Header and exhaust here we come

-dan

You know times are bad when people are trading in Trailblazers for Cobalts.. lol oh well.

Side note. I like how they tried to make the cobalt loaded with a ton of options lol. Look, it has "# 4-Wheel ABS" and "Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)"!! So it has 2x ABS for that extra stopping power.

Quote:

Watching you parade around my bedroom in a thong was a little like watching sea lions mate.

I must disagree lone wolf, Those trucks are a really bad for mpg, and have tons of probs, recalls out the arse.
They are a pain in the mess to work on too.
Cobalts on the other hand, have few problems, easy to work on, and get good mpg.
I'll take a trailerblazer 4wd over a cobalt when the snow piles high tho!