How many people in here like or hate their 2000-2005 impala?

[BNaylor]

The poll portion of this thread has been closed. It has run long enough but the thread will remain open.

Note: Closing this poll makes it impossible to vote. It however does not stop people from replying to the thread.

[crazy Jim]

Originally Posted by micali

just put good rotors and brakes and you won't have any issues. I've replaced mine and they are better than GM. I like and dislike the car. Looks great but all these stupid problems. All the cars seem to have the same thing wrong with them.

makes perfect sense, since the manufacturer uses subcontractors who are low bidders. Also think about the volume of products these subcontractors put out to supply GM; 60,000+ Impalas a year with, what, 8 years on the current model. That would be 480,000+ Impalas. Add to that all the other cars that use the alot of the same parts, several other cheverlet models, just as many Pontiac models and a coupla Buick models. That works out to millions of products put out be these companies so you are bound to have the odd issue crop up from time to time. You say they should have the issues worked out? GM, to appease the buyer, or least make them want a new car has to change the model up from to timt time. This requires new parts to be made and thus new issues to occur. I think they are doing quite well in the quality dept.

[rbolduc]

If my 2003 Impala (3.4) was anywhere near as reliable as the other GMs I've had, I'd probably say it was "OK". It was purchased new, maintained by the selling GM dealer, and has been a complete disappointment from a reliability standpoint.
Before the warranty ended (all covered) it needed:
a new block heater
a new dimmer switch
a set of tranny cooler hoses
two intake manifold gasket sets (at precisely half the mileage of my previous Buick)
a new rad cap
noise emanating from the dash was deemed "normal" and not repairable

After the warranty expired, (just recently), it's needed the steering shaft lubrication for the "slip-stick" condition, yet ANOTHER set of tranny cooler hoses (they leak at the crimps), a brake job that means all 4 rotors get replaced. The rotors on the 99 Century were good for one turning, so I don't buy the "they're all like that". Over an inch of water collected in the passenger front seat footwell, when, as I discovered, the weathersrip under the front cowl fell off. This is not even secured in place by adhesive, it's friction-fit, abysmal design. The passenger side temp regulator will not reliably control the temperature, it locks at hot or cold regardless of setting.
One good thing about it though, it's my last General Motors product.

[crazy Jim]

sounds like you have had some bad luck. I, on the other hand, have had very good luck with my '02 Imp. I guess that off sets your one bad vehicle. I have owned many GM vehicles and overall have had very few problems. I believe that the owner/driver has a lot to do with the problems they have with a vehicle. I take very good care of my cars (driving and maintaining) them and have excellent luck with them.

[rbolduc]

I can assure you this vehicle was looked after. Were it not, the dealership would have used any possible excuse to get out of the warranty obligations. My 80's Malibu went on to 2002, it doesn't go that far in Canadian winters unless you know how to look after it. All the required maintenance on the Impala was done by the dealership to ensure that warranty would stay in effect. I'm still trying to figure out out how a block heater fails unless it's simply shoddy parts to start with.

Obviously as displayed in other forums, the degration of quality emanating from GM (originating with management decisions) is not isolated to this particular vehicle. If they were so reliable, and the company so willing to step up to the plate when blantant design defects arise, then there wouldn't have been all the talk of "possible bancrupty" a short time ago, the customers would be flocking in.

[crazy Jim]

driving styles and habits weigh heavily on how well a vehicle fairs on the road. meanwhile;
judging by all the GM vehicles on the road, I'd say the cutomers are flocking in. Your block heater is just one of about one million made by the sub-contractor. Obviously, at some point on his manufacturing line somebody missed something and that particular defective part made it onto your vehicle. GM is not going to stop evrything to try and appease one cutomer, they will continue pumping out millions of fine automobiles to everybody else while you sit and stew. Theres no skin off their back if you dis-own them. Meanwhile you will go purchase another mass-produced vehicle from Ford and one of the much touted Japanese consortiums and eventually you or one of your new found foreign car owner friends will discover that other manufacterers have similar issues when it comes to building and selling millions of cars.

[rbolduc]

So the three sets of tranny cooler hoses required with less than 38,000 miles because they all failed at the crimp are because:

a) I drive like a maniac
b) They were simply "sample anomolies"

To quote Seinfeld, "I don't think so"

I'd put option c) in there, but hey, I'm going to keep it civil.

Gee, even the dealer agreed that it wasn't abuse because he replaced the first set under warranty, no charge.

My 80's Malibu that was in reality driven a lot harder still has it's originals. Yes, that sure is a puzzler isn't it?

[crazy Jim]

seems you've had a stroke of bad luck with a bad batch of hoses, so far all my lines are good to go.
I wonder how many people have had issues with their tranny lines...out of the millions that have been made?

[rbolduc]

That's enough, it's off thread at this point. It's "like or hate the Impala".

I like the product as conceived. As executed, I don't.

It's made with parts that were selected based solely on bottom line, with no thought to longevity, serviceability etc, which is the direction GM has elected to go.
My advice to people buying GM is get the best deal you can, read the fine print, follow the owners manual service requirements and keep your receipts. With the new warranty you'll be covered for 5 years. Before you buy, look at depreciation figures, how much it'll be worth at the end of that warranty.

Finally, another Impala example: (Yeah, and this is "Normal" too, uh-huh.)
hxxp://www.autosite.com/content/research/forums/index.cfm/action/Posts/fid/2983
I suppose people must be just making this stuff up.

[crazy Jim]

[quote=rbolduc]It's made with parts that were selected based solely on bottom line, with no thought to longevity, serviceability etc...
Pretty much the way industry works, usually the low bidder gets the job. When/if they get too many complaints the contract will then be pulled and given to the next lowest bidder..

[rbolduc]

It's your money, folks.

[net_kitten]

I had a 2002 LS that I purchased brand new. A few weeks ago a Dodge Ram made me thankful the trunk was as ginormous on the thing as it was. Ram hit me and shoved me into a hyundai, no front end damage to my car and none to the hyundai but the trunk of my car took a beating and the car was totalled.

I had somewhere around 75,000 miles on it and no major problems.
There at the end I kept blowing a fuse in the cigarette lighter and then it wouldnt work at all. There had been some sort of clunk sound in the left front for quite a while as well. But other than that I had no complaints and loved it!
I can say when I was sitting at a red light and a Ram came crashing into me full speed, the car did exactly what I had hoped it would do in terms of safety, and I wasnt hurt.

[crazy Jim]

chalk up another one for the happy GM owners

[pepsi314]

My 2000 is a total lemon. Lots of the things I'm reading here have happened to my car. Driver's window switch lowers the window, but won't raise it. Air bag light came on after slamming my brakes to avoid someone running a red light...$210 later, the mechanic finds a soda can under my seat that hit the sensor. Months after that, the car sometimes doesn't start. No click click in the ignition, absolutely nothing to indicate the car is even trying to start. This turned out to be a faulty ignition switch that was causing the car to only have half the amps it needed to run (something like that)...ignition switch replaced. Now the car sounds like an airplane when I drive it. It's so loud, people think they're in a truck. I have no idea what this problem is, but I'm sure it won't be cheap. Oh, and the emergency brake light comes on when I turn a corner. Not the brake, just the light. Brake fluid is full.

I will never own another Impala.

[smac61]

Wow.

I'm coming to this discussion late but I traded in my 2004 LS in for a 2007 SS just the other day...

Only problem I had with the 04 was heated leather seat went out on the drivers side and a broken passenger wiper (my fault but covered under warranty)

Gotta say, the '07 is nicer than the '04 in several ways but then I loved my '04 so I guess I'm easy...

Later,
Sean