Hoopster

After test driving a Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and a Cobalt, my son chose the Cobalt, so, we bought it for him last week. It's an ultra silver LS Sedan with the sport package, manual tranny and XM satellite radio. He loves it; the girls think it's "sweet" or "cute." He almost took it back when they called it "cute"

I wanted him to get another Cobalt at another dealer that was also an LS sedan in blue granite with the sport package, MP3/CD stereo, pioneer premium speakers and auto tranny. He wanted silver and the 5-speed. I just felt the A/T was more practical if he ends up married with kids in the next few years. It's a distinct possibility.

This car has some serious curb appeal; lots of interested neighbors. I paid $12,200 (+ tax and license) for it after the $1500 loyalty discount and $3700 in GM card credit. A good deal I would say.

Here are some pics (my son added the heavy rubber mats to protect the carpeted mats from snow/dirt - the pinetree air freshener is also an aftermarket accessory ):

JonyyB

Sounds like a sweet car for an excellent deal. Do you guys have any pics? We would love to see it.

And welcome to

Hoopster

We'll take some pics and post them in the next couple of days if it will quit raining/snowing here in Utah. However, after 6 straight years of serious drought, we can't complain about the weather. Learning to drive a manual tranny in the snow has been quite an adventure for my son, but, the last two days of rain have taken care of all the snow.

T type Z

OUCH!!! learning how to drive standard on a brand new car. Oh well gotta learn sometime. Hope he enjoys it. I dont think I oculd ever go back to driving automatic cars.

zstyle

I don't think it's that big of a deal, I learned standard on old junkers but tought my sister on her new cavy. I'm sure these transmissions will be taking a lot more of a beating from the rest of us than just learning would put on them.

osmose

3700 gm VISA??? the limit on the cobalt is suposed to be $1500

how old is your son,... that you're buing him a car, he can't drive a stick, .. sounds like he's 16-18 . then you tell him to get the auto cause he may get maried and have kids that's hilarious.

Hoopster

There is now a limit on the amount of GM credit you can apply to each car with the newer GM cards. However, I got my GM MasterCard in 1991 and, at that time, you could accumulate all you wanted with no per vehicle limits. They tried to get me to switch to the new card when it came out. I said no way! I used $3449 in accumulated credit when I bought my '98 Prizm and just used $3721 on the Cobalt. It was all totally free money to me as it was accumulated primarily through business travel expenses which were totally reimbursed by my company. I always pay off the cc balance in full every month. I have never paid a penny in cc interest, so I am taking GM's free 5% every year.

My son is 22 with quite a few interested female companions . We've just always had automatics so, he has never driven a standard. He's picked it up quickly though. I drove standards all through my youth so, I love the Cobalt. He is paying for the car, I was the negotiator/consultant/co-signer. We took the 0% 36 month deal as well so, we walked out of there having paid $0 for the car even though we would have paid cash on the spot to avoid interest charges. He'll pay the purchase price ($369 a month) plus pay me back for the GM credit so I can use it on replacing the Prizm + any other accumulated credit I may have when my 12 and 10-year-olds need a car for school in their later teen years.

s113

Congratulations!



I'm a 22 year old guy (23 on Thursday) who bought a new silver 2005 Chevrolet Malibu LT last week, but the Cobalt (or Pontiac Pursuit, if GM brings it here) may very well be my next car.

T type Z

yeah i guess it just sounds worse than it really is.

Hoopster

I've got some pics of the silver Cobalt LS w/sport package, but, my posting rules say I cannot post attachments. I assume that's what I need to do in order to be able to post the pics. Any suggestions?

JonyyB

Premium Members can post attachments in the forums.
You can host pics for free here: http://www.imageshack.us/
Or just email them to me and I'll host them for you.

zstyle

Cool, I never noticed that.

Hoopster

Thanks for the tip on pic hosting, JonelZ. I guess I should have paid attention to your signature line

avro206

Great looking car! Far better then the Mazda 3 which is too rounded.

I don't know why some people think the 4dr Coblat looks bad--looks pretty good for a 4 door.

Hoopster

I would have to agree with you. I do not say that just because the Cobalt is what we bought. Of the four cars we test drove, the Cobalt was - IMHO - wrapped in the best looking sheet metal. The Civic is just plain, well ... plain. The Mazda 3 is nice looking, but, I like the Cobalt better. The Corolla looks OK, but, once you get inside the cabin it's all very pedestrian although it does have the best rear seat legroom. The interior of the Cobalt (at least on the LS with the sport package) is very nice indeed. The climate controls are a bit too low to be convenient, but, other than that, it's a very nicely laid out interior. The Cobalt has certainly been an eye catcher since my son brought it home. A lot of that has to do with the fact that very few people have seen one, so, it's still a fresh look.

Although it will remain a matter of opinion, the Cobalt is a very nice-looking compact sedan.

JonyyB

I could not agree more!
Very nice car. It looks nice and clan in silver. Would you like to be the next “Featured Car” on cobaltss.net? What modifications do you guys have planned?

Hoopster

Sure, feature away! As to planned modifications, the usual suspects are candidates; stereo upgrades that fit and look nice, possibly wheels (although the stock machined aluminum are rather nice as is the Pirelli rubber), performance mods, maybe some tasteful and subtle body graphics. I doubt my son will want to do anything drastic and expensive right now. He still has to pay for the car first However, suggestions are always welcome for must-have mods.

zstyle

I agree also. The sedan looks a lot better in person than in pictures on chevrolet.com. I was actually really impressed with the car when I drove and LS w/ Sport Package a few days ago. I thought the only car that I'd like in the lineup would be the SS, but I was really impressed. The interior is very nice, and the Pioneer system pounds. There is absolutely no comparison to be made between this car and a cavalier, even base Cobalt vs. LS Cavy. It just exudes quality, style and solidity when placed beside a Cavalier.

Hoopster

The pictures on chevrolet.com *do not* do this car justice. In fact, we did a little Internet research before deciding which models to test drive. The Mazda 3 website is very well done and really gets you excited about the car with great pictures (including a 360 degree view) and information. The Cobalt was a courtesy addition simply because of my GM credit. I really did not think it would be a contender and the pictures on chevrolet.com did nothing to get us excited. Frankly, I thought the choice would come down to the Mazda 3 or the Corolla. When I asked my son to rate all four after test drives and narrow it down to two choices, he rated the Cobalt #1, the Corolla #2, the Mazda #3 and the Civic #4.

His reason for ranking the Cobalt #1? He thought it had the best looking interior and exterior of all the cars. I must admit, I was surprised by it as well, although interior-wise, I think I still like the Mazda 3 the best. However, I have always liked the Euro look.

Impavalier

Car is LOOKIN GOOOOOD!!! i like the silver a lot

Boost Addict

Wonder if those are the "titanium faced guages"?
and the car looks nice, great pics

DEI99662

Congrats and nice car.

Thanks for posting those pics.

RedCavyRS99

i really like the interior with the two tone never thought i would hmmm

Hoopster

The sport package description just calls the gauges in my pics white-faced guages. I don't think these are the same as the titanium faced gauges.

Hoopster

I took 17 pictures of the car; I posted only 8. The shots not posted are additional exterior shots, the engine compartment with the hood open and the trunk opening. If anyone wants to see the additional pics, just email me.