quad

Hello Cobaltss.net. I am 18 years old finishing my last year in highschool, and i have saved up 10k (but my parents will help me if they need to) and i was wondering if you guys think a supercharged (06-07) cobalt would be a good first car. At this point it's really not looking good, because i have been reading some reviews and it just seems like there are so many problems with the clutch, steering, trunk raddling, ect. The reason i want the car is mainly looks, and i test drove my brothers friends cobalt (06 supercharged) and it drove great (in my opinion) so are the problems just blown out of proportion? or is chevy/GM really unreliable?

Any advice, opinions, tips are greatly appreciated.

thanks

cruzcontrol

In my opinion if you take care of the car, you'll good to go. You really have to look at the past owners and how they took care of the car. But when I was in your shoes 4yrs ago after a tour from Iraq and starting school, I bought the cobalt because it was brand new, came with a 5yr/100,000 mile powertrain warranty and I knew that if the car ever broke down for any reason I knew I didn't have to worry about it. Working and going to college, I don't really have a lot of time to work on a car and go through the hassle of not having a ride to school. If it wasn't for the power train warranty and the 3yr bumper to bumper at the time, I would have bought a civic si'09 sedan for reliablity purposes. Not that I don't like chevy or cobalts it's just that for where I was at that time in my life I needed reliability.

carstedt

iTrader: (1)

in all honesty their isnt that many problems with the supercharged ones, its the same with every car if you take care of it, it will take care of you...but as posted above it does depend on the other owner as well and how he/she maintained it. The cars are a blast to drive and scoot around in..be prepared for stupid comments though from people cuz their is sum hate against these cars until they see wut they are capable of. The cars in general are very nice and pretty reliable i think youll be more than happy with it and you can get alot of info from here to help you with anything as well

kikal8

iTrader: (1)

I feel that the LSJ cobalts (supercharged) are very reliable good cars. But there ARE a few issues that r common. Although none are huge in my opinion. Most cheap fixes and recalls or watever. The clutch, u wont have an issue unless the car has been beat to **** or u plan on modding the car a good amount. I wont go into everything but in my opinion, they r solid cars and r very reliable.

rectorc08

iTrader: (16)

Yeah the LSJ's are pretty solid to me. The only thing I've had to replace on it so far is an o2 sensor because I cut it on accident. Other than that, I have 101K and just put a new supercharger on it because I wanted to, not because it was shitty.

bluebalt69

Don't forget the lsj flex pipes.... Cracks all the damn time.... So you need some good mounts right off the bat. Other than that, no problems here!

rwperlaki

Mine has 111k miles on it and haven't had many problems i think its a great car better than most hondas i have owned

thedude411

iTrader: (1)

Only annoying thing about as/sc is the wheel hop. But engine and tranny mounts solve that for like 300 bucks or so.

carstedt

iTrader: (1)

u dont need and engine mount

Haven07

Very solid cars...I learned to drive a stick in my SS/SC. Had it a couple months and I know the first 2 weeks I put that clutch threw some hell, but now shes kicking strong.

Only downside I would say would be the insurance lol

06SS ALL DAY

since your at the beginning of your adult life im just gonna let you in on a secret... your car will treat you how you treat your car. idgaf if its a honda, ford, audi, chevy... as long as you keep the maintenance up to par youll have no issues. if you race your car all the time, your clutch, steering, and **** will start to rattle and fall apart rather quickly. if your a weekend warrior, youll separate those issues by longer intervals. if you race mehhhh once in a blue moon. more than likely nothing major will happen other than the normal wear and tare. but when its all said and done, when your buying a used compact sports car. your taking a shot in the dark like a chick you met a party and your wondering..... if i smash will i get crabs or wont i??

riceburner

iTrader: (66)

Yes, mine cracked after my first week owning it! however, GM fixes/replaces that for free, regaurdless of if you have a warranty. ask me how i know. after that, buy a better zzp downpipe and sell your brand new stocker

yes and yes. only a problem if you wanna spin the tires a lot

this. all in all, any usual problems are pretty minimal, all cars have them. really nothing has gone wrong in my car so far at 55k miles. i've upgraded a lot of stuff and i literally beat the **** out of her all the time. holding in strong and brings me miles of smiles. badass car 100%

07MetallicSC

iTrader: (16)

Subd for when I get home

kikal8

iTrader: (1)

Haha dont sell ur 07metallic!!!!

07MetallicSC

iTrader: (16)

If he wants an LSJ at a cheap price with hella mods on it he'd get a steal buying this one!

My take -

I bought the car brand new off the lot with 12 miles on it. I now have almost 98,000 on her six years later. Its been a hell of a car. Ive driven it hard, over 50 passes down the dragstrip, runs down the highway, street races, and back country roads driving. But ive also maintained her well. Flushed cooling system once, flushed tranny and blower twice each, mobil 1 synethetic every change, with new plugs every change and in that respect shes never had an issue with me other than the clutch and axle went at the same time which was weird. And one day she ate half a spark plug. Never figured that one out either. But shes been modded within the first two weeks of ownership. Ive been happy, consider it a good purchase in life, and Did it mostly to be outside of the norm of hondas, vws, and subarus in my area. Surprised alot of people. She gained respect. I love it. Wish it had a bigger aftermarket but it is what it is.

BTW - shes looking for a good home!

Vander Nars

iTrader: (5)

The cobalt ss supercharged has an ecotec engine and gm/chevy make really good and reliable ecotec engines, the car is a performance verison of a cheap car so u wont be getting high quality interior and **** like that, u are pretty much getting a strong engine and transmission inside a cheap body so expect some issue but all minor stuff that if the owner was responsible adult would have taking care of. They have a recall out for the steering so just simply take it to chevy to have it fixed but mine has never went out and Iv not had the recall done either, never heard of the trunk raddling. The clutch issue i believe has to do with people not knowing how to drive a 5 speed. The only reason issue u will notice is the ic pumps go out after 40 or 50k so most likey its dead and need to be replaced. ZZP sell the pump for 100 bucks and I have a video for how to check it if u need it, also the trans mount can be a bit sloppy so upgraded mounts are nice and cost as much at 300 or less depending on what type of setup u go with.

Aleksey

iTrader: (6)

get ss/tc

quad

After carefully reading through all of your comments, it seems clear that everyone is satisfied with their cobalts.. and i think i will be too! I was considering an 08 civic, but the looks just dont appeal to me, looks like ill be checking out some balts!

thanks for all your help guys, really helped me with my decision making.

CobaltItaliano

And for 10 grand you shouldn't need help from your parents on getting one. You can find a mid-mileaged one with some mods on it for around 9 grand. Just gotta shop around and do research. Don't forget to factor in insurance. An 18 year old with a FI'd car isn't going to be cheap

bratboy90

iTrader: (7)

Meh, if I had to buy a car again...It wouldn't be a Cobalt. Now for spending under 10k and making 13's in the 1/4mile I'm happy.

Next car will be V8 and RWD. These boosted 4cyls have their own set of issues. LOL

Whining-devil

iTrader: (1)

i got my ss/sc when i was 16 in HS. this was over 5 years ago and since then ive spend almost nothing on maintenance because nothing has gone wrong yet on it. i would say it is very reliable.

jHarris8822

I had a problem with the stock clutch in mine after buying it used, so after having it for a week i went and had a stage 2 clutch put in. No problems with the car at all since them lol

TommyTwinCams

If you find Cobalts don't float your boat either, it did have a sister car everyone overlooks. The Saturn Ion. The coupe has 4 doors (rear doors are suicide clamshell doors) and the same basic thing as the Cobalt but with a slightly lighter weight, plastic body panels, and different front strut towers. The 2.0L Supercharged was available in the Saturn Ion Redline, which was made from 2004-2007. The only oddity about the Ion that isn't everyone's cup of tea is the center mounted cyclopian gauge pod.
Ion Redline:

serega12

iTrader: (1)

That.

SUKXOST

Selling a white TC!
https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/comp...315whp-288285/

Too bad you're so far away though.