2003 Chevrolet Impala Base 3.4L
Faults:
-Front Brakes; 2 times.
-Constant squealing while braking.
-Warped the Factory rotors two times.
-Battery died once for no apparent reason.
-Factory tires tend to squeal while turning. There the "Tiger-Paw" Brand..
It doesn't bother me enough to buy new ones..
General Comments:
I bought this car Nov 2004 with about 32k miles, for about $12,000. It was a rental in its previous life.
It was a choice between a 03 Toyota Celica GTS, 02 Jetta or this car.
After test driving the Celica and my lack of experience with Jetta, I picked the Impala.
Faster than the Celica and cheaper to insure than both.
As far as the brakes go; I know I drive hard, my friends can vouch. I still believe the factory front brakes (rotors and pads) are not the best for the weight of this beast.
So I went and installed High Perf Pads and slotted & crossdrilled rotors@ about $275. I left the rear wheels alone.
Not a hint of problems since!!!
My battery died once in a parking lot after about 15 min of listening to music (not loud). Theres a system in the car that disables accessories when the battery gets too low. I think it tried; my whole dash flashed a couple times before it died. I had it jumped, had battery checked. It checked good..
Whatever???
I hope in no way that it sounds as if this is a bad car; because its far from it.
-Highway miles MPG are better than great
Drove from Dallas to Chicago, Averaging about 500 miles per tank.
-City miles suck; about 215 miles per tank.
-I can fit myself and 4 full size adults with the greatest of ease!!
-The trunk is a monster!!! I can probably park a Kia in it. :)
-I previously owned a sporty "looking" Saturn (R.I.P) before and managed to get pulled over about once a week.
The Impala is like invisible to police. I've only been stopped/chased once (I didn't see them behind me) ; doing 115 MPH on the highway. I had that one coming.
- The factory stereo is actually really good.
I had an amp and twelves put in anyway using the factory head unit.
Sounds even better now.
Nevertheless!!! I plan on keeping this car until I turn 23, when my insurance goes down. I'm 20 now.
---I have another survey on a 1996 Saturn SC1 "An American Honda", I was younger, but I still drive just the same.
Overall I'm truly happy with this car and hope it stays that way for a while...
I will update periodically!!!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 25th August, 2005
4th Nov 2007, 14:25
Another update: 76,000 miles.
- Still alive and ticking, ticking like a time bomb! For sure have a loose/sticky lifter, took it in once; was told they couldn't do anything about it until it blew up. Makes the car sound cheap and old when giving it gas. It's pretty much a beater now. Afraid to drive it the 12 hours from Louisiana (military) to Chicago (home).
- I'm pretty sure my catalytic converter is clogged again.
- Since the base model does not have ABS, after slamming the brakes managed to destroyed all four tires with less than 17K miles on them.
- lost all four hubcaps.
- Don't want to put any money into it seeing as I can't wait to get rid of it.
Waiting for my credit score to come up a bit. Will definitely get rid of it by April 08'.
Was eying a Hyundai Sonata, changed my mind after test driving. Not sure what I want.
26th Mar 2009, 13:12
Last Update:
Traded her in Nov 08 @ 87K miles. The engine noise was just too embarrassing for me. I used premium synthetic oil the entire time, but still the lifter noise continued to get worse.
Also, apparently a common issue was standing water on the passenger floor. Very true! After the fourth or fifth time I was fed up. The interior smelled like an old wet basement.
The good: Paint, body, grille, lights and outside in general look like the day I bought it. After the dealership cleaned it and put it up for sale, the interior cleaned up very well. For a second I forgot why I got rid of it in the first place.
Nonetheless; my new baby, 06 Grand Prix GXP is keeping me content.
20th Nov 2005, 23:20
-Update-
Had catalytic converter replaced @ 53k on 18 Nov 05.
I noticed a rattling exhaust sound @ about 46k and kept getting worse until I could'nt stand it anymore.
Is covered under the "Federal Emissions Warranty" up to 80K miles. Didn't cost me a thing. Accelerating sounds a lot better now.
It has to be done at a dealership though. Midas said they couldn't touch it by law if still under warranty.