1998 Chevrolet Malibu LS review from North America

After the car was two years old, the pulsing of the brakes became very noticeable. They didn't brake smoothly, but instead caught, stopped, caught, then stopped, all in quick succession. The dealership replaced the rotors (under warranty), though it didn't seem too long before a faint pulsing could be felt again. It eventually became obvious, especially when hard pressure was applied to the brakes. I didn't take the car back to the service department to have the rotors reinspected, which I regret now that the warranty is finished. The pulsing wasn't terrible, more of an annoyance, though it definitely existed. Last week I paid $300 to have the brakes fixed (I'm not sure if this required new rotors, I have to check the service statement). The brakes were squeaking quite a lot, though at 58 K miles they could be expected to need new pads, this is not out of the ordinary. The brakes now decelerate real smoothly (no pulsing), hope it lasts a long time, if not I'll complain.

Two of the tires (Firestone) which came with the car wore out at 22,000 miles. When my dad expressed surprise about this (at the dealership), the service rep made a comment that I might be a bit heavy on the gas (I do admit that this is a peppy car, with good get up and go, and what he said wasn't completely untrue, though the man who said this has never been friendly to me. When I've gone to this dealership for oil changes, the other staff is quite pleasant, but this particular man seems uptight and a bit arrogant.)

The driver's seat belt often gets loose, floppy and twisted. I have to unwind it & feed it back into its belt slot every so often.

My last gripe is that the clear plastic covering of the CD player was not inserted cleanly. This is the covering where the song track number, etc, shows. It seems there was some sort of paper that the plastic came on. It probably should have been removed, before assembly. But it appears paper got lodged under the upper corner of the CD cover. It's not a clean appearance. There are white paper-like fibers coming from behind the cover's corner. It appears someone may have tried to scrape them out, as the corner is rough, like it was gone over with a tool, destroying what should be a clean, smooth edge. The CD player came this way with the car. I don't think I would have let it pass inspection at the factory.

Except for the bad (pulsing) breaks (from easily warping rotors), and an annoying driver's seat belt & CD, I truly like and enjoy this car. The brakes cost me $300, but other than this the only other cost I've paid (except for the routine oil and filters changes) were $300 for the 60,000 miles maintenance (just performed, 2OOO miles early) and $100 to have the brake fluid changed. Thus, I'm not so sure about the brakes and rotors, but actually, $700 total in 58,000+ miles is not so bad. If the rotars go out again, I will not be happy and will fight it, but right now the car's record seems quite acceptable, in fact it has been a down right fine, enjoyable car. It is very comfortable, has good acceleration, strong engine, good handling, is nicely laid out both inside and out, and is a very handsome in appearance (mine is a nice metallic dark green). I have to be honest, I am not racist at all (I've been to Asia a number of times, speak Japanese, and some of my closest friends are Asian), but I'm tired of all the same Hondas and Subarus (the new trendy car, so very out doorsy and hip!) driving around. I also am a bit tired of the people in their Lexus with the gold plated emblems on the front and rear, such as middle aged woman in her e cream 4WD wanna-be Lexus who was tailgating me while I drove the speed limit down a road where horses and their riders cross (excuse me, there's a reason for this speed limit you arrogant, clueless, Nordstrom shopping spree happy idiot). I would much rather be driving this Malibu than most of the imports out there, unless they came from Sweden (I know, GM owns Saab while Ford has Volvo - I know my cars) or are a Jaguar (which I'm FAR away from being able to afford). A BMW or Mercedes would be nice too, though I find Mercedes to be a bit disappointing now days. They seem to have lost their distinctive flavor and elegance. They seem rather generic now, nothing too elegant about them, rather their designs seem somewhat characterless, morphing into a colorless, boring form. They've lost their grace and beauty, now seem plain, though certainly not cheap (overpriced & running on their laurels - don't think taking over Chrysler was such a good idea either).