2003 Chevrolet Impala Base 3.8L V6 from North America

Summary:

Who needs a luxury car with a ride like this?

Faults:

Windshield wipers were misaligned when I bought it, used car dealer took care of it.

Gas pedal will be sticky when I first get in the car. It has done this since I got it. Pop it loose and it is fine. It doesn't bother me, but drives my wife nuts.

A seal came loose by the firewall and allowed rain water to fill the passenger floorboard. Took me a while to figure it out, but a glass shop told me how to fix it - no cost.

Transmission was slipping at about 100,000mi. I was several hours away from home and had a Chevy dealer change the fluid and filter. It straightened up. Seems I let a maintenance item slip by me.

General Comments:

This was the first car I bought that was not at least 10 years old and is still the only one. It has been a very reliable automobile, my worst problem was my own fault.

This car will hold its own against much sportier models. I test drove an Eclipse Spyder and was less than impressed by comparison. I firmly believe I would have left it eating my dust (there is plenty on my car to eat). The car corners well and handles snow and ice like a champ. I was plowing snow with it one time trying to get home and it never gave up.

I only have 3 arguments with the car.

1. The bucket seats will cut off circulation in my legs on a long trip.

2. Transmission will occasionally slip if I am "goosing" it.

3. Considerable road noise.

Also, I put a K&N filter in it and gained one mile per gallon. I get 28-30 on average. Just replaced the plugs, I hope this goes up a couple marks.

In closing, this is a great car. It is a lot of fun to drive, great styling, a great stereo, and I believe it will go 200,000mi easily.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th May, 2007

5th Sep 2008, 12:59

UPDATE:

Thanks for the suggestion, I tried it once and it eventually did it again. I just decided not to worry about it.

I recently replaced the Bridgestone Turanza tires that were on the car with a set of Hankook Optimo. The road noise is gone and the ride is even better than before.

The idler pulley froze up and put my wife on the side of the road last winter. New pulley and drive belt - no big deal. The car now has 135,000 miles and is still going strong.

2003 Chevrolet Impala Base 3.4 from North America

Summary:

Stylish, reliable sporty police car with useful features for a decent price

Faults:

So far nothing went wrong with the car.

I'm only concerned about coolant "Dex-cool" because I had to add it twice over 6 months of ownership. It simply disappears. I had it checked at the dealer and it was not a problem with the cooling system and any signs of leakage. For now I just keep an eye on it.

Printing on buttons on the steering wheel was partially worn off, but it does not bother me.

General Comments:

Very quiet and comfortable ride however after a long trip around 10h it made my back sore.

It has a great highway mileage around 7/100km. In the city is worse around 13.

The interior is not the best. I can see some glue popping out on a dashboard. Unless it is not a luxury car and expensive I think it is acceptable.

Besides, so far it is a reliable car with nice features like ABS and Traction Control for a decent price.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th April, 2007

6th Mar 2008, 22:32

Updates: The car is still running, however, I had some problems.

What went wrong? Power steering leaked - 300$, Replaced both rear spindle rods - 400$, Lubed steering I-shaft - 100$ and of course replaced intake manifold gasket set - 800$ - common thing for GM.

Other than that, It is OK. Odometer is at 102 000 km.

4th Jun 2009, 23:27

Since the last update nothing went wrong - surprisingly ;-)

As I was really fed up with the car just about 1.5 years ago, (wanted to trade it), now I cannot say anything wrong about it.

The only thing that bothered me it was the problem with ABC and traction control. Once I fixed the problem for $100 at the dealer, but it came back. I did lots of reading about it and decided not fixing it again. In result, after 5 months the problem fixed itself after the visit at oil change. But it did not take long to come back again. Then after the next 6 months till present time (about 6 months already) - what it'll sound funny it fixed itself again after the visit at oil change. I think that the problem is typically electrical and it doesn't make sense to go to the dealers because they always say that something is wrong - simply rip off.

My odometer is at 125 000 km.