Just as the title says guys, I am going to look at a used base model cobalt today MY05 and was wondering if there is anything in particular that I should be watching out for when looking it over.

c'mon guys im going to look at it this afternoon! i need some input....

 

Would suggest staying away from an 05, or at least from early model 05s (production month/year is on the door). I've had very few problems with my SS/SC but they were also produced a good 4 months or so after the base models came out.

I hear lots of complaints about trim falling off and little issues here and there. Check to make sure there's no thump when turning. Some have a thump when going over bumps, but that's a more hit or miss things. There are TSBs out for both issues, insist the dealer fix them.

Other than that - good luck!

 

I've not heard of any problems at all with the 05 Base models... just make sure the car hasn't been abused and you should be just fine.

 

So cool to see a girl giving a guy advice on buying a car. Really it is.

 

Well when it comes to cobalts I know absolutely nothing of them…my STI however I work on it myself i.e. adding aftermarket parts and what not…but I figure if I don’t know about that particular car…ask

 

It's mostly little stuff. Trim falling off, trim paint cracking/chipping, shift knobs coming off, auto shifters binding...typical first year minor issues. Mechanically it should be fine.

 

might not hurt if you can find out anything about its last owner.

 

This is always a good idea. Try and get the dealer to pay for a carfax report - sometimes they will if they think you may buy the car and you are insistant... It only takes 5 minutes to get one.

 

Hey guys thank you so much for you info! I'm actually going to be buying the car this afternoon... MyFast is going to be there with me though. I have done a carfax on it and is shows it has only had 1 owner, no accidents reported. But other then that the information is limited.

I can deal with cheap interior... and the shift knob falling off, that's an SRT-4 trademark.

The car is just going to be a daily driver, as it's time to semi retire the SRT from daily driving.

 

I have an 05 base cobalt. All i have is a/c and a cd player. I havent had any issues with the car at all. Jus the basic rattling from the cheap plastic inside. Other than that its all good.

 

Awesome to hear... thank you!

 

I had absolutely NO problems when I had my base 05......now my 06 2.4....that's another story.

Good luck with your purchase If you're really worried, have a trusted mechanic look it over

 

when i had my 05 LS with sport package,etc. no problems at all. the only thing i had a problem was the sunroof trim around the button poppin off once. i also had apparently "warped" rotors from the factory. i was gettin a knockin noise at times from the rear suspension. thats all. good car until some ******* hit into me doing 80mph in a 30. now im in a 2.4. total difference. enjoy the car!

 

Well I bought it.... then on the way home the CEL came on... so back to the dealers tomorrow, argh!

 

that really odd. let us know wut it was.

 

I fixed the CEL. On the DIC it was showing the oil life as 11%, but the dealer had said the just did the oil... so I checked the oil, it looked new and was full. Seems to me they just forgot to reset the DIC for the oil life, once i did that the CEL went away, thank goodness.

 

that rattling is not coming from the plastic inside, its actualy coming from the little ECM / TCM cover.

For whatever reason, it doesnt fit snug...its loose as hell.





As for the car, check the oil life see if its low or not, check the tires, check the dip stick for burnt oil..if it smells burnt..its been abused...if the tires are bad...its been abused... if the owner has a 16-17 year old son who's driven it.....its been abused x 2, Make sure the spare and **** is in the trunk where it should be. No sense in driving around thinking you have a spare when you dont.


Good Luck on the Purchase

and dont pay attention to my previous post, since i just saw you bought it.