2006 Chevrolet Cobalt LS Base from North America - All Comments

Started having problems with the radio at about 4,000 miles. Just goes dead including interior lights when it cuts out. A new glitch (that's what I'm calling the problems-glitches) is hard starting. The car turns over like normal, but takes a lot longer to start. The hard starting glitch started just about 200 miles ago. Last glitch so far is the steering. The steering wheel vibrates and you hear weird noises from under the hood turning a corner at any speed, left or right. This started at about 3000 miles.

The car is surprisingly peppy.

Cramped passenger/legroom issue for friends in back.

For a low-end, base model chevy, What can you really expect for $14 grand?!

Sell that car before it buries you so deep in repairs that you won't know which way is up.

Drove one of these as a rental for a week. Acceleration was surpring and it was okay handling. But it was built to the lowest quality standards possible and things were already falling off of it.

And you obviously didn't shop around as there are a ton of better choices for $14K, starting with the Scion xB which had 1 problem in the three years my family had it. Even the small Honda Fit has similar interior room and better gas mileage, in addition to significantly better quality.

And if you can move your budget up a few thousand, you can get a honda civic. I think that your cobalt is going to be problem ridden, but don't sell it because it has already lost much value in depreciation.

Pay no attention to the negative comments. As a mechanic, I can assure you the little Chevy you have is every bit as well built as the competition. The early models of any new car (including those "perfect" Japanese cars) will have minor glitches. This is only the second year for your car, and the "first model" bugs are just now being worked out. As for cars like the Yaris, Scion, Versa and Fit, your Chevy has TONS more horsepower, is much much comfortable and handles far better. As for the Civic, it has about the same power, but costs 6 grand more. For the money it costs you could buy a much higher quality, sportier vehicle such as the new Mustang. Even the incredibly biased Consumer Reports now rates Ford as just as reliable as Toyota and Honda (which really means it is MORE reliable). GM cars are just as good, and now come with a 100,000 mile warranty. As for resale, you paid 6 grand less for your car to start with, so in the long run you are still better off. Congrats on a really great American made car.

I see, so all the Cobalt reviews this site that talk about the same problems are just abberations? Please.

And Consumer Reports is biased? Its ratings are based on actually OWNERS reports. That said, I will agree their individual reviews are suspect, although they did call the Subarua WRX STI the best vehicle they had ever tested.

And any warranty means nothing if GM doesn't back it up, and I guarantee you that GM dealers aren't known for their Lexus-like respect of the customer.

American cars are throwaway vehicles, bought on price and price alone with the rare exceptions of Corvettes, Vipers, 300Cs, etc.

I purchased a 2006 Cobalt LS back in the fall. I left a review of it after only about a month and thought it usefull to comment on some of the feedback in this thread.

I drive an hour each way to work and home and have 8500 miles on the car now. As stated in the other thread I sold my 1990 Honda Civic when I purchased this vehicle. In general, I didn't have many problems when I owned the Honda and it had over 250,000 miles on it and still got 40 miles to the gallon on average.

I like the Cobalt. I haven't had any trouble with the vehicle or any interior problems such as the fabric tearing, the radio going bad, or funny noises. I have three young daughters that I drop off at school and daycare and they fit in the back with enough room for them, although it would be a tight fit for three adults.

Overall the car runs great, has excellent gas mileage, and is a comfortable drive. Again, I have not had any problems with the car, which may be why I am happier with it than some of the other buyers who left comments. It is a great car to drive back and forth to work on a long drive. As long as the car continues to run like it has I just don't understand why I should spend an extra $6,000 - $8,000 on a Honda or Toyota like most people in these threads state.

I have a 2002 Toyota Sienna that I bought used about a year and a half ago and I much prefer to drive the Cobalt than I would the Sienna.

Actually, being "disposable" has some great advantages. Many people I know prefer paying half as much for an American car, driving it 300,000 miles and "disposing" of it. At that point the much-ballyhooed "superior resale value" (usually a couple of hundred dollars) of the imports is of no concern.

Before buying my last vehicle I test drive both the Scion and the Cobalt. There simply is no comparison. The Cobalt I drove was faster (WAYYYY faster), smoother, quieter and actually looked like a car. The base engine in the Cobalt is like a Chrysler hemi compared to the Scions. I also learned later that there had been a recall on the Scions for defective airbags. That's NOT a comforting thought!!

I suggest the poster who suggests that "disposable" means that American cars last 300K miles should read the American car reviews here.

American cars have been, are, and always will be crapshoots. That's why you'll see rave reviews about a model and and equal number of reviews saying it's the worst car ever.

What it really comes down to is some sort of misplaced patriotism. Just because a car is "American" it must be better somehow, forget about reality. I guaranteee you if the Cobalt was built by Hyundai or Daihatsu you would not read glowing reviews here because it was not "American".

And Not every Japanese brand is brilliant, either. One must be very careful when buying a Suzuki or Mitsubishi.

Our family has owned Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Volkswagen and a number of GM cars and trucks.

The Toyota was a good car, but more complicated (and therefore expensive) to work on.

The Honda was not as reliable as people seem to think, and had a major engine failure at 90,000 miles.

The Mazda and Volkswagen (both bought used) were total disasters. This may have been due to previous abuse, so I'm not attacking the brands as such.

As for the GM vehicles, they were the most reliable, most comfortable, least expensive to maintain, and felt very solid and well built. In my opinion the quality of our GM vehicles surpassed that of the others.

We now own a 2001 Pontiac and a 2003 GMC. Both are still showroom condition and neither has ever required a single repair.

I've driven the new Cobalt and absolutely love it. I think it's better than anything the competition offers and it's a real bargain.

Funny, I've owned BMWs, Mercedes, Toyotas, Hondas, Subarus, and a Chevy Aveo (made in Korea) and NONE of those cars had any problems describe by the original poster, and certainly not within the first year of ownership.

The Cobalt is a "bargain" for a reason.

I suppose the poster of comment 12:13 didn't keep the cars mentioned for very long. With the possible exception of the Toyota (which is now rated as on an equal footing with some American brands in reliability) none of the cars noted in the comment are exactly notorious for being reliable.

We've bought 14 new vehicles since 1972. We've owned 3 Chrysler products, 8 Fords and 3 GM vehicles. Not one of them ever saw the inside of a service facility except for oil changes. Most were driven at least 100,000 miles, one 240,000 miles.

Where the idea that domestic vehicles aren't reliable comes from I have no idea. It certainly doesn't come from owners experiences in our case. People who are easily swayed by ad hype shouldn't advise people on choosing a car. The facts show that domestics are just as reliable as Japanese or European makes (moreso than European ones actually).

Oh my, it seems this forum has turned in to people taking sides and looing all ability to be objective. Most of what I have read is purely anecdotal and full of prejudice.

I work hard for my money and when I go to purchase a new car I really could care less where it is built, for example the most popular GM models such as the Grand Prix, Impala and LaCrosse are all built in Canada as well as many of the GM and GMC trucks. Does that mean the Impala is not an American car? Get my drift, the automakers take a global view of the world as should the consumer. Which product is the best value for my hard earned money. None of these companies be it GM, Ford, Toyota or Honda etc, would ever make a money decision without first asking 'what is best for us' as a consumer we all should do the same.

BTW I recently purchased a 2006 Cobalt LT in April and love it! It has currently just over 10K miles and I am very happy with it. I traded in my Hyundai for my Chevy, see I think globally just like the large automakers.

Virtually ALL modern cars made in Japan or America are dead even in reliability. The Japanese makers charge more because of the popular myth that their cars are better. European makes have not been as reliable as EITHER Japanese or American cars in some time now. Before making unfounded statements people should have something to base their opinions on.