Faults:

My dad gave me this car when I got my driver's license, and with it he gave me a file of repairs that is about a half inch thick.

I haven't read what the repairs are exactly, but I do know that there have been engine and break repairs.

In the past year:

I have paid for more than one realignment.

The serpentine belt tensioner broke when I was driving it two miles from my house, which made the belt ride off of the pulleys, causing the engine to overheat and and the transmission started to go.

The engine has started making a rather scary vibration when I am sitting at stoplights- a mechanic told me it was either bad spark plugs, wires, or a cracked motor mount.

My power steering decided to stop working one day, but the car can still be driven by someone with moderate arm strength. A mechanic told me it was a hose that broke and let all the power steering fluid out.

Seats are torn in places where there should have been no reason for them to.

Air conditioning was very weak last summer.

Every now and then the car makes the world's most annoying hissing sound, usually when I don't have the A/C on.

General Comments:

This car is a lot of fun to drive and the engine supplies ample power.

I could not ask for a smoother transmission.

Nothing feels particularly luxurious about it and all of my friends have told me it is comparable to a Honda Civic.

The dash is made out of some sort of plastic that has a really cheap look to it.

Like most Chevys, this car heats up really fast in the winter.

Overall, I would seriously recommend that anyone looking at a potential 1997 Chevrolet Malibu to buy should see what else is out there. It's fun to drive, but is very unreliable and is not particularly stylish or luxurious.

So, with everything else that's out there, I am not too sure why anyone would buy this car.

Faults:

Alternater at around 30,000 miles.

Belt bracket at about 35,000 miles.

Key ignition at about 37,000 miles.

A lot of other problems with this car.

General Comments:

I was given this car by my 72 year old mother who bought this brand new. It had 22,000 miles on the car when she gave it to me and was only 3.5 years old, and it had been kept in the garage all the time. If I had know then what I know now, I would have taken a pass on the vehicle. It has been a constant source of problems, one after another. And even after pouring thousands of dollars into this car it still has front end noise coming from the wheels somewhere. I would recomend staying away from this car. We kept it for a couple years for my mothers sake, but we are getting rid of it as I write this. My recomdnation is avoid this vehicle, it is cheaply made in so many ways.

Faults:

The engine blew gasket's spilling antifreeze all over the engine and ground.

Alternator had to be replaced at approximately 60,000 km.

Electronic computer had to be replaced and is still not functioning properly.

The air conditioning randomly either works or doesn't work. This is related to the electronics failure noted above.

Trim work is falling off.

Brake line on front passenger side corroded through causing total loss of brakes.

General Comments:

You are much better off to buy a Honda or Toyota. This vehicle will cost you a great deal of money in the long run, especially given the 1998 model only came with 60,000 km or 3 years of warranty.

GM showed no interest in my feed back on the vehicle. It would appear they are only interested in one time sales, because given the performance of the Malibu I purchased I will never buy any GM product again.