Faults:

Water pump, starter, idler pulley, power steering pump, blower motor, and blower motor resistor all replaced between 120,000 - 150,000 miles. I don't consider this bad given the age and mileage it had, and all were pretty inexpensive to replace or repair.

The last issue that made me get rid of it was the sub frame rusting at about 178,000 miles. At that point in time, the repair exceeded the value of the car. Everything else was functioning normally, though.

General Comments:

It was a great little car that was cheap to buy, own, and run. I can't complain about the issues that happened after 100,000 miles, as they were small and expected. I put around 70,000 miles on it, and had no issues that interrupted trips. The rusting sub frame was a safety concern, and that happened at nearly 180,000 miles in a snow state. Could it have been a quality issue? Maybe. But at that mileage, major failure of some sort is expected for a cheap car, and I have to say, it wasn't mechanical. It actually still ran just as well as when I bought it.

Overall, I wasn't disappointed. It performed well enough, was comfortable enough for a road trip, could fit a decent amount of luggage, and was overall a reliable car. With only expected replacements of wear parts, I could never complain about repair costs. Gas mileage was decent for a V6 at that time, and I still see plenty of these driving around to this day. It had a few nice touches, like a slide-out cup holder to the left of the wheel, automatic headlights, and two 12v outlets in the front. The styling wasn't bad. Clearly not exciting, but smooth and inoffensive, on par with the Corolla of the same time.

Faults:

Intake leaking - intake gasket replaced.

Hesitation, surging - replaced camshaft sensor.

Hesitation, surging, loss of power - replaced coil pack.

Hesitation, surging, loss of power - replaced crankshaft sensor (both of them).

Leaking exhaust - replaced extended pipe, muffler and tail pipe.

Hesitation, surging, loss of power - replaced catalytic converter.

Rusting out near gas filler.

SES light on - replaced oil pressure switch.

SES light on - replaced crankshaft sensor.

Noisy brakes - replaced front brake pads and rotors - three times.

General Comments:

Intake gasket poorly made - has nylon in it, which melts during usage.

SES light comes on very often, and has false problems, such as theft system and restraint system.

Faults:

Blower motor.

Power steering pump.

Water pump.

Starter (damaged in a flood).

TPS (damaged in a flood).

General Comments:

I only paid $400 for this car. Nothing was wrong with it except the power steering pump and water pump. A friend just didn't want it after a divorce.

It has been a great car. It's never left me stranded, never refused to start, and has only required mostly basic maintenance. I'd definitely do it again.

No, it's not the best of the best, but it's never let me down. Best $400 I've ever spent.

Faults:

Quality: the poorest quality of any car that I have owned!

Manifold leak, motor leak, transmission sucks, brakes suck, A/C doesn't work, power steering got loose, spring in front broke. Shock replaced twice.. Muffler and pipes disintegrated in 2 years by corrosion!

The Malibu must be the worst car on the road ever!

Faults:

Control unit flicking on and off.

Low pressure switch went out.

General Comments:

I have not had any major things go wrong with the car so far. The car still runs very strong, and I have only had issues with the AC control. It keeps shutting on and off on me. The issue is either a loose connection or the panel is bad. I will be taking it off and looking at it soon.