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blakkmajik -> New '07 Impala Owner...What should I know? (4/20/2008 6:12:55 AM)
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Hey all.
Just a little backstory. I had a '99 Sub that I purchased in '06. It had about 115k miles on it. But I figured, it was a Chevy truck, and I was buying it from a used car dealer that was well known for selling good cars, so I figured I was good. For the past two years, it was running great. I did eventually get the dreaded "crazy needle" problem about a year after purchase, but I knew my gas mileage, so no problems. However, I ran into a problem that warranted immediate attention. Like I said before, I knew my gas mileage. So, I went to the gas station and it topped out at 6 gallons. What?!?! So, I run the truck a couple of days, and try to get more gas, same thing. I decided to take it to a dealership the following Monday. Before I went to the dealership, I tried to put gas in it again and this time, it took a whopping 3 gallons! I knew there was no way in h e double hockey sticks that this tank was full.
So, I get my fiance to take the car to the dealership, since I made the appt. for 9am and couldn't take off work (she doesn't work at the moment). They only charge $50 for a full diagnostic, which I thought was a great deal, since the dealership back home charges $60 per hour. So, around lunch time, she calls me with the bad news. My baby is sick, and on the verge of breakdown. I get a laundry list of problems from the mechanic, ranging from bad sparkplugs to a leaking radiator. I had NO IDEA that there was so much going wrong under the hood! The final tally was around $2500 to fix it, or I could spend around $4k for a new engine. Oh, and this doesn't even count the $300 to drop the tank and figure out why it would only take a few gallons at a time.
So, as much as I loved my truck, it just wasn't worth it. The horrible gas mileage, the cost of repairs, etc. was just too much for me to handle. So, that pretty much ruled out the new Silverado, and any other SUV.
When I knew I was going to have to buy a car, I easily decided on the Impala. I have been impressed with the Impala since the '96, which was the first one I really, really wanted. I didn't really like the bodystyle of the "new" Impalas, but the look kinda grew on me the past year or so. The model I chose was an '07 LT with about 32k miles on it. Looks like the previous owner was a bit of a road warrior. So obviously, I decided to buy the extra protection, which should keep me safe another 68k miles, or 4 more years.
I'd like to know, are there any serious problems associated with Impalas in general? I know the model I have is fairly new, so I don't expect to find out a lot of information specific to the one I have. But, are there problems that arise with the "newer" models?
And if there are "Impala problems" that I should look for, are there preventive measures I can take to avoid them, outside of regularly scheduled maintence?
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