One more option: 2008 Chevrolet Impala

[Zero]

I have a thread below where I am considering the purchase of a Grand Prix, but I do have one more option, it's a 2008 Chevrolet Impala LS with a 3500 V6 under the hood with appx. 80,000 miles on the clock.

My family has owned several Impalas and Monte Carlos over the years, and all of them have been stellar, however, I know nothing about the 3500 series engine.

Again please enlighten me on the engine and your experience with this make/model vehicle.

Thanks again.

 

[gregk24]

Decent reliable engine if it has been cared for...Our uplander has the 3500 but it the non vvt kind. The one in the impala as vvt, so thats a nice benefit.

 

[NHHEMI]

My Sister had an 06 w/ the 3.5L. Same basic thing as that 08. That was a great car. I really liked it when I drove it or rode in it. The 3.5L has plenty of oomph( it isn't a race car by any means but does a good job )and it gets excellent MPG.

 

[JC1]

I always check edmunds for real feedback.

http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/impala/2008/consumer-reviews.html?sub=sedan

Regards, JC.

 

[dwcopple]

Sprint as fast as you can away from an Impala.

 

[Hermann]

In the spring of 2012 I rented a Impala. Dont know which engine it had, but the rest of the car was horrible. Darty steering with no feel, uncomfortable seats, horrid ergonomics and I could keep going on. Do as DW said Run Forest Run

 

[gregk24]

Yeah, the engine is where it stops, the rest of the car is pretty bad. Very bad transmissions, poor steering, overall lack of quality. I would go with the grand prix

 

[danthaman1980]

Originally Posted By: Hermann
In the spring of 2012 I rented a Impala. Dont know which engine it had, but the rest of the car was horrible. Darty steering with no feel, uncomfortable seats, horrid ergonomics and I could keep going on. Do as DW said Run Forest Run


Same experience for me... rented a 2012 Impala over Christmas vacation. Powerful engine, fast car... everything else sucked. Virtually no soundproofing, so road noise was horrid.

 

[bigt61]

My buddy has a 2008 Impala LT with 70k on the clock - he and his wife both love it. He gets 30mpg on trips and around 20 around town. Other than oil changes, he has only bought tires. I think it's still on the original brakes - they are older and drive it easy. Sweet car IMO, I wouldn't mind getting a used 2012 or so in a few years when my 94 Bonneville finally [censored] out.

 

[JimPghPA]

Originally Posted By: danthaman1980
Originally Posted By: Hermann
In the spring of 2012 I rented a Impala. Dont know which engine it had, but the rest of the car was horrible. Darty steering with no feel, uncomfortable seats, horrid ergonomics and I could keep going on. Do as DW said Run Forest Run


Same experience for me... rented a 2012 Impala over Christmas vacation. Powerful engine, fast car... everything else sucked. Virtually no soundproofing, so road noise was horrid.


+2 : We rented a 2012 LT Impala when our 2001 Impala was in a body shop being repaired from being side swiped front to back when a ball-joint broke on an old Mercury Sable that some young man was driving way to fast hit a hole in the road.

The 2012 LT had something like 100 more HP than our 2001 with the 3.4. It did have better tint on all of the windows, But the darker windows and the extra horse power and possibly better MPGs was where the story ended as far as plus side. The interior was cheap all black plastic, the seats were not as nice as our 2001, and you could not use the trany to keep the car at a decent speed while driving down long hills because the car decides what gear to down shift to when you select a down-shift, and it never gives you a gear that provides the proper constant brake required for long hills.

But the real turn off with the Impalas with the extra HP is the stiff suspension. Sure you can wind it up hills and down hills while going around sharp bends at speeds that would be brutal on the tires of the 2001. But the five seconds of enjoying a fast cornering car is not worth the constant jolts applied to your back by the stiffer suspension. If you have ever had any back pain in you life or anyone in you family who will be riding in the vehicle had back pain, stay away from these cars with the extra HP, because the stiff suspension that comes along with it to keep the car controllable is literally a big pain in the back. I was very happy to return the 2012 Impala to the rental agency, and get back in our plain jane 2001 with the low power 3.4 Liter and the softer suspension.

 

[JimPghPA]

If ALL the roads you drive on are extremely smooth with no pot-holes, or asphalt patches, then the tight suspension of the LT might be OK. But if the roads you drive on are like anything here in Pittsburgh, then stay away from the LT.

 

[dishdude]

A couple years ago I had a 2011 as a rental. I didn't think it was bad. I wouldn't buy one new but if I could find a low mileage, well maintained unit that was a good value I'd consider it.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: Hermann
In the spring of 2012 I rented a Impala. Dont know which engine it had, but the rest of the car was horrible. Darty steering with no feel, uncomfortable seats, horrid ergonomics and I could keep going on. Do as DW said Run Forest Run


Agreed!

I rent regularly. I now avoid Impala's if at all possible. May be a stone reliable car, but they drive exactly like the awful handling land yachts from the '60's.

 

[oilmaven]

I had a 2008 Impala LT for about a year. I picked it up used from a local dealer with 21,000 miles. It turned out to be a former Enterprise rental car. The 3.5L in that car blew its head gaskets at 60,000 miles...fixed by the dealer under warranty. I later received a $100 certificate for an Enterprise rental from a lawsuit settlement for owners of these cars (think there might have been other GM models included) due to an agreement where GM deleted ABS brakes and side airbags (the airbags were standard otherwise) at the request of Enterprise to save a couple of dollars. The cars were sold to unwitting customers (like me) without advising of the deleted safety equipment. The car got good mileage but I agree the ride was a little stiff and there was a "flat spot" at takeoff (along with an instant shift to 2nd gear...apparently for fuel economy) which made city driving difficult. All in all, I was unimpressed enough to trade it in after a year or so for my Suzuki (which although not sold here anymore is the most reliable car I've ever owned so far...and a top-rated model for safety).

A lot of these GM models also had issues with the "intermediate steering shaft" defect which has a habit of failing out of warranty (about a $500 fix).

GM has some fine cars now but the experience left me tainted regarding GM ownership in the future...and I will never rent a car from Enterprise again.

 

[dwcopple]

Went swimming at my sister's yesterday and my brother in law bought a '13 Impala program vehicle with 9K on it. Paid $16,800+tx for it... even after I warned him NUMEROUS times that he'd regret it.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: dwcopple
even after I warned him NUMEROUS times that he'd regret it.


I am sure he realized long ago (like all of us on this site) that your opinion about GM is obviously skewed and he tuned you out long ago.

 

[dwcopple]

even though I have every bit of evidence to prove, as many others do too in this post, that these cars are garbage???

 

[Hermann]

Originally Posted By: dwcopple
Went swimming at my sister's yesterday and my brother in law bought a '13 Impala program vehicle with 9K on it. Paid $16,800+tx for it... even after I warned him NUMEROUS times that he'd regret it.


May God have mercy on his wallet after the warranty expires

 

[SteveSRT8]

Yep. Utter garbage. All GM products suck badly!

Now for the rest of the story if we're past the usual brand bashing.

Our local Sheriff's Office has had nothing but Impalas for years. They are so bad that they routinely ran 200k miles without major repairs and had service records that, in the opinion of the lead mechanic at the County shop, were nearly as good as the (GASP!) CVPI's they ran for a decade before them!

I would agree the dynamics are terrible, but I feel that way about most wrong wheel driven cars. They are cheap, both to buy and insure. What do people expect?

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: dwcopple
even though I have every bit of evidence to prove, as many others do too in this post, that these cars are garbage???


These cars are NOT garbage. You may not like them but others do and I am one of them. Excellent vehicle in my experience. A vehicle with some actual room that gets awesome MPG.