So far, little has gone wrong with the car. The brakes were initially grumbling, but seem to have smoothed out. There is some sort of whistling noise near the gas and brake pedals, typically in colder weather. We have taken it to the dealer, but as is often the case, they cannot replicate the problem.
I have seen that many people are dissatisfied with their Malibu. I can say that so far I am not dissatisfied, although I have only owned the vehicle for 9 months. I have taken it on long trips and while I am not rough with the vehicle, I expect it to perform, which it has.
I will add updates as my ownership progresses. Hopefully GM has corrected their problems with the 2003 and future models. They have redesigned the 2004 models in appearance.
For the cost of the vehicle, there are a lot of features that are typically only offered in more expensive vehicles. There is a lot of power in the V6 engine and it is a quiet, smooth ride. It looks attractive and has a comfortable interior design.
My older vehicle is a Pontiac 6000 with 320,000km and very little maintenance over its lifetime. I hope that my 2003 Malibu will age as well.
Since my last post, details have come to light regarding problems with the lower intake manifold gasket. Getting the gasket changed outside of warranty, despite seemingly obvious indications of a poorly designed, defective part, is exceedingly difficult. The cost of having the gasket replaced is close to $1000CAD. There are several class-action lawsuits in progress, including one across Canada.
Due to my experience with the dealer regarding this issue, I will never buy another GM product. It's one thing to have a defective part - overall, the car has performed well in the past 3 and a half years - but it's another to attempt to avoid responsibility. In fact, in my opinion, the dealer was very deceptive and intentionally unhelpful.
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