04-05 Malibu Classic General Thoughts?

I'm may be looking at an 04 and 05 Malibu Classic with 14k and 19k miles respectively.
I believe they are 4 cylinder models.
I'm curious how people generally feel about these cars.
Are they generally reliable?
When they break, are they relatively inexpensive to repair?
Is there a laundry list of things that will almost certainly break before 100k miles?

I have an 04 Aveo that has been mostly trouble free and when repairs are required they are generally not too expensive. On the other hand I have an 05 Pontiac Bonneville GXP and repair costs on this are generally insane. And there seems to be a huge list of itmes that go by 75k miles. So, I'm looking to give up the luxury for something more economical.

I've seen those go alot of miles when maintained. The only thing that jumps out at me are the strut mounts get an annoying creak when worn, mostly when cold. Not a big deal, just noisy. If the price is right, I think you'll be ok.

According to the information I have available to me, the 2004 and 2005 Chevrolet Malibu had the option of the 3.5 liter V6 engine. On the higher trim levels of these vehicles, the V6 engine was standard.

In my opinion, if the vehicle is well maintained a person should be able to drive the vehicle for quite some time.

Michelle, GM Customer Service (assisting Sarah)

Actually it is called a Classic, not Malibu anymore. I to believe they are all 4 cyl.

Comparing repair costs by comparing an Aveo to a Bonneville GXP, is like comparing fixing a Timex to a Rolex....gee, they are BOTH watches....

This thread refers to the CLASSIC, not the regular Malibu. The Classic is similar to the '97-'03 regular Malibu and only came with a 2.2L 4-cylinder. Judging by all of the problems with the '97-'03 Malibus on this thread (which gets tiring at times), I'd be wary. Probably much better values out there other than these 2 vehicles in question.

I have an '04 Classic with 148,000 miles. The only problem I've had is the front wheel bearings needed replacing at about 40,000 miles (a member of the forum said the factory bearings are junk) and the cigarette lighter is dead. I have heard of many problems with the Passlock system, but have never experienced one myself. My car starts every time, runs great and still gets 28-30 MPG on the highway. I like it.

As always it seems like luck of the draw, but generally with reasonable treatment I think they are good cars. most of the ones I see look like they were rode hard and put away wet meaning a lot of people don't seem to take good care of them.