Faults:

My blinker went out after about 2,000 miles. My dealer fixed it in a matter of minutes. No biggie.

General Comments:

I don't want to come off too strong and make it seem like this car is the best one in the world, but I used to drive a 1992 Honda Accord with more than 240,000 miles on it, so upgrading to a 2008 Chevy Cobalt makes me feel like I'm driving a Bentley. ;)

I bought the car late June 2008 and I've had it for about 4 months. I have no complaints whatsoever. It performs fantastic for a 2.2L engine and it gets great gas mileage (32+ avg, 28- with AC on). The Cobalt uses an Ecotec engine, so I don't have to worry about timing belt issues (there's isn't one).

I have the basic model, so I settled for no extras, but I must admit... power locks and windows would be nice. The LT model costs $2,600 more and it would have increased my monthly payment with $80. Some of you might think that's nothing, but I'm a college student so I try to squeeze every dollar.

The exterior is pretty sexy. I have a Coupe with the limited edition Imperial Blue metallic paint and it looks stellar when the light hits it. The head and brake lights are very vivid, so don't worry about visibility issues.

The interior is even sexier. The steering wheel feels great and seats are comfortable. The stereo (which is great by the way) console looks cool and it's very easy to get used to. I feel sorry for anyone that has to sit in the back though. I'm 6'4" and my head literally touches the roof.

The Cobalt is one of the most affordable cars on the market right now. Sure, you could get a little Toyota Echo or a Chevy Aveo, but they're pretty crappy. Trust me, I test drove both of them. I bought the Cobalt for $15K with an instant $2K rebate (which I used as a down payment) and then I put down another $2K which I had saved up. My monthly payment is $272 on the 5 year plan. Not bad.

Faults:

Both speakers blown. Interior trim peeling, paint on trim scratched off in places. Seats sagging. Strange noise from engine.

General Comments:

We rented a new Cobalt for a cross country trip. The car had less than 12,000 miles on it yet the interior was severely worn. The seats were already fairly worn out and sagging. The interior plastics were all painted with silver paint. It was coming off in places. The speakers in the stereo were totally blown, rendering the radio useless. Additionally, the engine made a nasty squealing/grinding sound when it was started in the mornings.

Perhaps those who rented it before us took it off roading or something. But still, to see that level of wear on a basically brand-new car is appalling. Additionally, the car just seems cheaply built. Lots and lots of flimsy plastic hardware holding things together. The overall fit and finish was pretty sub-par.

I understand that the Cobalt is going to be replaced with the Chevy Cruze. Hopefully it'll be better than this thing.