not all of this applies to the Cavailer/Sfire but these are my complaints with the Cobalt/Cobalt Coupe. Do you want a 2 door or four door? Honestly get a Year 1 (05) Cobalt LS with a 5speed and call it a day, its a totally superior car. (Believe me, we almost bought a loaded Cavi before its demise, but instead got the balt this year and it was well worth it. I'm waiting for LNF SS versus the current LSJ myself in 08.)

the cobalt doesn't outsell the civic because it has too high of a beltline, not enough visibility, hard plastic materials inside and out, uncomfortable standard seats, lack of navigation, a four speed auto when civic uses a five speed, an "unrefined" CHAIN DRIVEN dohc ecotec, poor mpg, ho-hum styling outside of SS and SS-S/C trims, lack of proper cup holders, lack of storage areas, a 5speed manual instead of a 6speed manual in all trims, too much body roll, poor entry for putting things into trunk, no 'through' with the rear seat, not enough leg or headroom in back, decent but nothing special crash tests, too many gaps in the exterior, poor quality seals around the windows (and cobalts equipped with sunroofs), and the list goes on and on. Those are my point blank experiences that NEED improvement which I believe the 08 Cobalt will offer (not a 6speed auto, although thats NEEDED SO BAD!) Civic has the reputation, the quality, and the track record, plus new unique features, styling, mpg, etc. etc. etc.


What do you want? How much money do you have to spend, what are the top 5 priorities / things you value in a car, if you can answer these questions GMI will be much more equipped to help you out

CobaltSScrazy

EDIT: THERE IS A "THROUGH" PASSAGEWAY INTO THE REAR as it has a 60/40 folding rear seat.

 

Some 2002 models will have the Ecotec 2.2 which is a far superior engine and by eliminating the 2.2 ohv, you take away the car's major weak point.

They don't ride or handle the greatest. The interior is outdated and the seats lack support. But you won't find a better bargain for the money.

 

rust (by very front rockers, underneath of doors, rear doors by wheel wells and cradle), rear lower control arm bushings, strut mounts, HG's, muffler straps, exhaust hangers rust off, door jamb switchs get stuck, coolant hose by resovior on left hand side of engine bay chaff and leak, dahs rattles up front, rotors wear down easy, seen a few water pumps go.
recalls include a blanket over the PCM, relay for starter, replacment of bearing in the rack.
prolly missing some ****************

if you keep up on your maintance these beasts will last Quite a while. I agree the ecotec is a lot better motor.

 

rust (by very front rockers, underneath of doors, rear doors by wheel wells and cradle), rear lower control arm bushings, strut mounts, HG's, muffler straps, exhaust hangers rust off, door jamb switchs get stuck, coolant hose by resovior on left hand side of engine bay chaff and leak, dahs rattles up front, rotors wear down easy, seen a few water pumps go.
recalls include a blanket over the PCM, relay for starter, replacment of bearing in the rack.
prolly missing some ****************

if you keep up on your maintance these beasts will last Quite a while. I agree the ecotec is a lot better motor.

Just cause all this **************** happened to you dont mean it will happen to all cavaliers and sunfires, really the only thing that is bad on them is the front brakes and head gaskets on 02 -04, rust will happen depending on where u live and if you look after it or not, I live in BC and see very few rusty cavaliers, and its bad here in winter so basically joe blow up there did not look after his car.

Crazy is kinda right as the cobalt would be a better car, but his list of things wrong again is his own opinion and maybe he should buy a lame BELT DRIVE and invite a $1000 bill when you hit 100,000km as alllllllll timing belts on import have to be changed at 60,000miles or 100,000km.

over the Civic the cobalt also gives you auto headlights, height adjustable seat, mp3, block heater, information centre, more power, more torque, nicer interior, and exterior (personal opionin of course), much less to buy, the civic does not hold its value more.....if you factor in the extra you pay and the less options you get...anyhow I Would 1 year old cobalt as well..

the ho humm ecotec is a proven and one of the best engines, to be had, do some research for yourself...thats why its carried over

Crazy your an idiot who should really read and do some research b4 you post, cobalt has more leg and headroom then civic, the rear seats do fold down, on the civic coupe pass seat does not even slide forward and flip for rear entry, you haveto go thru the driver side to get in...god nevermind go read something. and SAFETY COBALT got the highest ever as did Corolla when equipped with side air bags.

Civic navagation???????? cobalt has on star and xm sat, civic has no NAV nothing or phone nothing

And yes the pursuit and Cobalt outsell the civic handily

 

Living on the east coast of canada, i can tell you all the problems ryan listed do exist....and are quite common also.

 

I drove a 96 Cavi for 75,000 hard miles before I was hit by a drunk driver a few years back, it was a 2.2/auto. I never had a problem with it. It had 104,xxx miles when I wrecked it and it ran just as good as it did when it bought it with 29,xxx. I am deffinatly a Cavi fan, now my GF had a 98 Cavi, 2.2/auto and it had 80,000 very easy miles, but it was starting to have some engine trouble when she traded it for her GTP, may not have been serious trouble though, I dont know. I think it was drove to easy .
My advise is, get a Cavi and drive it HARD!!!:drive:, but watch out for drunk drivers, they reek havoc on Cavi's (but I did walk away without a scratch after t-boneing him at 55mph, and then getting hit in the rear. so they seem to be pretty safe too. IMO)

 

"unrefined" CHAIN DRIVEN dohc ecotec

I like that instead of a rubber belt...
I got some miles on the good old timing chain.
You don't like you're cobalt???I here of clutch to ground+power=problems...

 

believe what you want there Maxx but i work at a pretty big chev dealership, i see tons of these J bodies come in and out and that is what i see go wrong with almost all of them. and thoughout the years we've owned 3 of them. So i think i got a pretty good idea of what commen problems occur.

yes the weather is a huge factor, because in a different province where they dont use so much F'ing salt on the roads.. the things related to rust that i listed is probably fewer. like the hock puck bushings that seperate.. the salt and moisture plays a huge factor.. they are also commen on Impala's, ventures, grand ams

 

Just cause all this **************** happened to you dont mean it will happen to all cavaliers and sunfires, really the only thing that is bad on them is the front brakes and head gaskets on 02 -04, rust will happen depending on where u live and if you look after it or not, I live in BC and see very few rusty cavaliers, and its bad here in winter so basically joe blow up there did not look after his car.

This is true, it does depend on geography, the driver, etc. In Metro Detroit, MI, I haven't seen many/any 2002+Cavi's with rust, corrosion, etc. but I'm not very qualified to speak to that matter, maybe someone who works as a mechanic at a dealership could be of more help.

Crazy is kinda right as the cobalt would be a better car, but his list of things wrong again is his own opinion and maybe he should buy a lame BELT DRIVE and invite a $1000 bill when you hit 100,000km as alllllllll timing belts on import have to be changed at 60,000miles or 100,000km.

I'm not kind of right, I am right, the Cobalt is a superior car in every way. Yes its my own opinion and my own critique of our own 2 door Cobalt 2006 LS w/ 5 speed (which is slightly clunky and unrefined in a 1-2 shift also. Furthermore, the Reverse should be to the left of 1, its below 5. Bad design, waste of my time. ...and no I didn't mean to rhyme )

Belt drive engines are quieter under normal but especially WOT acceleration, I just drove our Cobalt like 30 minutes ago, and that thing you can hear chain clanking away. Its not a 1000$ bill either, its a 350-500$ bill but again it varies depending on geography, if you know someone or not, and your engine. Yeah its soooo lame that every japanese compact uses one and those cars outsell the cobalt handily and for the niche ones that dont (see Mazda3) they always win the head-to-head compros.

over the Civic the cobalt also gives you auto headlights, height adjustable seat, mp3, block heater, information centre, more power, more torque, nicer interior, and exterior (personal opionin of course), much less to buy, the civic does not hold its value more.....if you factor in the extra you pay and the less options you get...anyhow I Would 1 year old cobalt as well..

Nicer interior/exterior, YES thats YOUR opinion:lmao:. Civic has MUCH higher resale values, it comes with more features already included in the car, justifying the higher base price (whereas the cobalt we have has roll up windows, manual door locks, manual mirrors, etc. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C for any car in 2006/2007). Maybe a one year old Cobalt, you might be right. But who in their right mind buys a car for one year and then sells it, oh yeah thats right, maybe a Dealer or someone who had an unexpected life circumstance come up. IE: unique experience. Most people would lease a car if they planned on selling it if bought in one year, or may keep it 3-5 years which in that case, resale of the Balt goes down the toilet. You get what you pay for, and outside of SS-S/C, Balt has gotten owned in just about every area since the redesigned civic came out. YOU ALSO GET LESS FUEL ECONOMY, and last time I checked this was supposed to be the compact/economy car class.

the ho humm ecotec is a proven and one of the best engines, to be had, do some research for yourself...thats why its carried over

Its not one of the best, its durable but unrefined and doesn't have not nearly as big of aftermarket than a Civic/Rolla. It doesn't offer class leading fuel economy, and its noisy relative to the other 4cylinders in its class (though this is due, correctly, to the chain driven setup.)

Crazy your an idiot who should really read and do some research b4 you post, cobalt has more leg and headroom then civic, the rear seats do fold down, on the civic coupe pass seat does not even slide forward and flip for rear entry, you haveto go thru the driver side to get in...god nevermind go read something. and SAFETY COBALT got the highest ever as did Corolla when equipped with side air bags.

I was talking about my own experiences in the Cobalt, objectively, and I've been in Civics and guess what the back seats are much more comfortable than any seat in an LS cobalt, and my head didn't hit the rear windshield/window like in the Cobalt. Its not just about overall space, but USABLE space. Civic sedan has more usable room than Cobalt sedan everyday of the week, ever been in one? I have. As i edited in my last post, yes they fold down 60/40 but you have to flip the seats down, there is no "through" passageway to the rear like in a Bonneville, a minus IMHO and there is no rear armrest and rear seat passenger visibility is nill, very unappealing in the balt. I'd rather be in a Fbody rear seat. Also, I wasn't talking about equipping the car with every option, much less the air bags, most crashes are NOT side impact, FYI. This is a moot point Maxx, furthermore, this guy is talking about a used Cavalier, no side impact airbags to my knowledge and how many buyers get them on regular cobalts, my gut tells me not too many.

Civic navagation???????? cobalt has on star and xm sat, civic has no NAV nothing or phone nothing

Oooh wow, onstar whoop dee doo, guess what? I'd rather just have my cell phone and an extra set of keys given to my parents. XM, what a deal breaker! I'm not sure if Honda offers sirius or not, but if that decides whether or not you purchase a car, well... to each his own I guess. I'd call you a Dillweed, but I'm not into the whole name calling thing. Its the first sign that your argument holds no water. Umm, where have you been? Do some research M.Maxx, civic offers navigation, mp3 playback capability, etc. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/MediaNav/articleId=107281/firstNav=Gallery/photoId=21242

if that link doesn't work check this, and read the article, the Civic is superior to cobalt in just about every trim except SS-S/C. Read this then talk: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=107281#18

And yes the pursuit and Cobalt outsell the civic handily

LMFAO!!!:lmao: "After selling 7 million Civics over 22 years, the company is shifting the Civic's U.S. market focus from baby boomers to Gen Y-ers."

CobaltSScrazy

 

Why should Reverse be forward and left of 1st and not below 5th? You want to go backwards, so move the stick backwards. Always feels strange to put the stick forward so I can go back.

 

Some 2002 models will have the Ecotec 2.2 which is a far superior engine and by eliminating the 2.2 ohv, you take away the car's major weak point.

They don't ride or handle the greatest. The interior is outdated and the seats lack support. But you won't find a better bargain for the money.

My Cav has the OHV 2.2 with the automatic. It's the second one I've bought. Acceleration is adequate, nothing more. At least you dont have to rev the heck out of the engine to go unlike the new Corolla I drove last week. The seats may not be all that supportive, but they are definitely comfortable enough for the long drives I take. I can easily go 3+ hours without problems. Can't say that about more expensive cars.

 

I can easily go 3+ hours without problems. Can't say that about more expensive cars.

But not all more expensive cars... I've done full days of driving and not even felt the slightest bit uncomfortable (though of course getting out and stretching your legs a bit and taking a whizz is necessary)

 

I also wouldn't rule out the 2.4 if you came across a good deal on one.

As for Maxx, your posts might be taken a bit more seriously and more respected if you came across as less obnoxious and arrogant. You replies remind of how I used to post on message boards... when I was 16. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and facts, but try to be a bit more considerate.

 

Honda offers XM radio on their vehicles.... It also offers satellite navigation.. Spend 5 mins on honda's webiste and it tells u everything

But please god, please don't tell me someone said the cobalt is a better car then the civic :fall:

 

Honda offers XM radio on their vehicles.... It also offers satellite navigation.. Spend 5 mins on honda's webiste and it tells u everything

But please god, please don't tell me someone said the cobalt is a better car then the civic :fall:

Put it this way cool, its amost as bad as a fordboy praising the Focus (from 2002 :lmao: SVT, LOL):

From MalibuMaxx:

"over the Civic the cobalt also gives you auto headlights, height adjustable seat, mp3, block heater, information centre, more power, more torque, nicer interior, and exterior (personal opionin of course), much less to buy, the civic does not hold its value more.....if you factor in the extra you pay and the less options you get...anyhow I Would 1 year old cobalt as well..

the ho humm ecotec is a proven and one of the best engines, to be had, do some research for yourself...thats why its carried over"

This too:
Originally Posted by MalibuMaxxSS
And yes the pursuit and Cobalt outsell the civic handily

CobaltSScrazy