Hello,

I've been looking at buying a "new to me" car thats fairly cheap and gets pretty good mileage. Naturally my exploration has lead me here. I'm still looking at other possibilities but the Cobalt SS seemed to grab my interest. I've been in one before when I was trying to convince my old roommate to get one and my friends and I all piled in one and took it for a test drive. Naturally it wasn't the best experience being that there were 5 of us in there making it feel super slow. But the interior seemed pretty nice and I'm sure if there was less people it would have felt peppier.

Any who, I've noticed that the resale value on these cars has dropped significantly compared to other cars in its class which makes it seem like a pretty good value at the current time. I've never been a huge FWD fan, but because I'm looking for a cheap DD I'm sure I could make an exception.

Heres my questions. I'm sure they are probably answered somewhere, but since I have multiple ones I will just simply post them here...

1) Whats the verdict, supercharged version or turbo one? Which one are people liking better? My math would lead me to believe the SC one is better since I could save about $5-6k since they are older.

2) Is it worth it to get GMs Stage 2 kit or just buy an after market setup?

3) Reliability, any common problems I should be leery of?

4) Any other car recommendations which would be similar? $10-15k, good mileage, reliable, peppy...

Thanks in advance,
The New Guy

 

1)IT ALL depends on your liking of turbo or supercharger...
2)stage 2 is worth it but you can get better stages and tunes that GM
3)These cars are pretty reliable i never had problems with either my old SS/SC and my current SS/TC,just the sunroof motor messed up once
4)why ask which cobalt is better then ask what other car to get...no wonder this thread got a few views

 

I <3 My Cobalt!!
Compton ehh? Your near me, If you'd already have a Cobalt I wouldve wanted you in our SoCal crew
Ok here goes....
1) If you like the supercharger whine go SC. If you like to sneeze go TC
2)Yes if you want the warranty the kit gives you. and No cuz you'll still be slow :P
3)Only problem is normal wear and tear. Had a few recalls. Never has it left me stranded!!
4)A Cobalt! We need more on the road.

 

Welcome! No doubt the Cobalt SS is a fun DD. I used to own one (07 Cobalt SS/SC) and it was a fun car (nice handling, nice performance), lots of great memories with it. Here are my opinions on your questions:

1) Whats the verdict, supercharged version or turbo one? Which one are people liking better? My math would lead me to believe the SC one is better since I could save about $5-6k since they are older.

Very true. While there is no doubt the SS/TC is a better car stock and even mildly modded, you will save a decent amount of money going for a SS/SC and you can use that saved money for mods. I would bet most on this site would vote for the TC just because of the seen potential those things put out (impressive) but with some work the SS/SC can be an amazing car nonetheless (blower upgrades to turbo swaps).


2) Is it worth it to get GMs Stage 2 kit or just buy an after market setup?

In my opinion, I would skip the GM Stage 2 kit. You have to remember the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act -Link= (Magnuson) -, which states unless the aftermarket part causes the problem *directly*, your car can be modified however you want and the dealership has no right to void your warranty. You will save a lot of money piecing together your own kit or picking up one from OTTP -Link = ( - Over The Top Performance) - or ZZP -Link = (Cobalt & Ion) -, they are both vendors on this site and very nice to deal with. One thing you have to keep in mind is once you start modding these cars (and this goes for any car) you will always want more, so be smart when you are looking to purchase something.

3) Reliability, any common problems I should be leery of?

For reliability, you'll hear different from everyone but I can proudly say I had no major issues whatsoever. Besides the occasional rattle and squeak like most GM interiors have I actually didn't have one single issue. I also had a pulley drop on the SC, 42lb fuel injectors, GM Stage 2 belt, Tune as well as other mods and happily averaged 32-33 mpg (when I didn't get on it lol) so needless to say fuel economy was a plus.

4) Any other car recommendations which would be similar? $10-15k, good mileage, reliable, peppy...

Well, at the moment as much as some guys on here don't like it, this is my DD:






YouTube - Mustang GT Driveby/In Car/Rev (UPR O/R X Pipe, Borla Stingers)

I picked this up about half a year ago with 70k miles on it, 1 owner and in virtually perfect condition... for only 6k, and yes that was out the door completely at a dealership. Now the reason why I chose this was a few reasons, I've always loved Mustangs, the aftermarket is huge for these cars, and aside from what some say these are very reliable as well (plenty of guys on the mustang forums are still running strong 100k-200k miles).

I'm not at all trying to tell you to buy a Mustang lol, I'm just giving you an example of deals you can find if you take the time to look around. I see your price range is 10-15k and to be honest, that will get you a lot, take your time and look around, I bought my Vette (1 owner, no accidents, clean title, always garaged, 29k miles) for 17k a year ago and that's not too far off your price range (see below).





But anyway, the Cobalt SS is a great DD, it is a fun car no doubt and there are awesome deals on them out there but seeing that you are not sure if it's the one for you, I would definitely take time and do a lot of research so you end up with the "one" for you. Like I said 10-15k is really a decent range to look for cars in. There are MANY options out there but you have to make a decision what is most important for you:

1. Do you want to spend 10-15k on a car and nothing else?
or
2. Do you want to spend less than 10k on the car and spend some money saved up on the mods?

Any american made car will usually be very reliable if taken care of, plus if something does happen to go wrong they will be cheaper to fix since they are domestic. Searching for a car is really time consuming (or at least it is for me), and it's one of those things where you want to do it right and do it once. So good luck in your search and this will be my un-biased answer some of the fellow Cobalt guys probably won't like haha but I'm just being honest. I guess I kind of got to show off my cars a little as well (what are car forums for anyway?! lol) but they were for examples purely so you can see what I got for what I paid. Good luck man and I hope that answers your questions!

 

Thanks for the suggestions. You definitely come from a standpoint similar to mine! lol

Here's my current ride... The Cobra, not the Camaro.


Its a beast, but I'm looking at getting something with a little better mileage then a Mustang for daily use. I actually was going to buy a Z06 prior to the Cobra but after driving the 2 it was an easy choice. The Cobra can be modded so easily and pulls like a freight train!

Anyways, I'm probably looking at going the 4 cyl route. I first was looking at used Yaris's but realized they are kind of a lot, considering they don't have much to offer. Cobalt SS's seem to be priced about the same and offer a sportiness to them.

Thanks for the replies guys, keep em coming!

 

Oh man, well why didn't you just say you were a Cobra owner lol. Love that color man and no bs they are sick. I was actually contemplating picking one up to have with my Vette but decided to just keep it cheap and stick with a GT, if I got the Cobra I'd go crazy with the mods (KB and Whipple =FTW). What's all done to it if you don't mind me asking?

But on the topic, if you are planning on going with a 4 cyl the Cobalt is a great car. I had the SS/SC for almost 2 years and I can say I enjoyed it. It's definitely no V8 but it's still a fun car nonetheless. They are cheap to mod and the engines are great. If I were you I'd check out those websites I posted earlier to get an understanding of the aftermarket. These cars can be made fast and still remain reliable all while getting 30+ mpg with ease.