Yes, I was disappointed in the number and type of major and minor problems with the 2007 Impala including two electronic issues that each required 3x fixes to stay fixed by only 3,000 miles. Reliability was downhill from there until I traded it at a mere 7 years with 54,000 miles which, in my book, should have been merely well broken in rather than a repair money pit. Despite that, it was a pleasant car to drive; frankly more comfortable and pleasurable than the 2014.5 Camry I bought 6 months ago. On the other hand, my brother owns an Impala (2005?) which has given good service without the array of headaches I had with mine.
I was tempted to get another 6 cylinder Impala as the new one is darned nice except for too small a rear window. But I narrowed down my choice, making some compromises and trade offs in choice, to the 4 cylinder Camry based on several factors:
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Budget: anything priced beyond what I was willing to pay to buy, maintain, insure, and pay the taxes on I didn’t even test drive with just a few very tempting exceptions.
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Reliability ratings not just for the current year model but looking at the pattern of reliability going back at least five to ten years. Consumer Reports is a very good source for looking at historic reliability ratings by each year although with some time and digging there are additional sources on the internet worth looking at for additional points of view.
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I kept an open mind about test driving AWD, both the full time and selectable, about CVT transmissions, turbo engines, compact cars, mid-sized, sedans, hatchbacks, SUVS, wagons, and so forth. I literally thought outside the box in terms of the box on wheels a car is and truly experimented with and tried out vehicle variations I’ve never seriously considered before. I made a point of looking at how I have always used a car, in what ways that has changed over 40 years, and being realistic about what my needs and limitations both physical and financial are apt to be in the future.
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The track record with GM vehicles my family has had. Despite finding GM cars comfortable to drive, my parents’ 1983 Olds, my 1987 Olds, and my 2007 Chevy all suffered from multiple problems even when new and often required having the same problems repaired over and over and over again. As a matter of personal safety, I decided to try a car make with better average reliability.
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I ended up avoiding any vehicle choices that were first year redesigns or known last year of a model being retired from the maker’s line up. Although I didn’t mind the way some CVT transmissions performed I chose to stay with a traditional transmission in a make/model with a good track record as being less expensive to repair if that happens. I chose to avoid turbo engines for now as many of them are new to the cars in my price range and having problems with the computer programming for those turbos. That said, I still almost bought a Honda Accord, despite a first year’s CVT transmission and first year’s redesign of the engine, because it had such superior suspension, acceleration, handling and steering compared to other cars I tested. The deal breaker on the Accord were the miserably uncomfortable seats and that several of them I looked at all had some rather sloppy welds and big gaps between body panels compared to other cars.
Keep in mind that some GM models have non-hybrid start-stop engines introduced only 2 or 3 years ago. GM is already retiring that engine and replacing it with a more traditional engine in several of those models (Chevy Malibu and Buick LaCrosse) due to both lackluster sales and high rate of problems. So you might do well to avoid that specific engine and make certain you have a different one if you do decide you want a GM vehicle.
Bottom line, I personally do not advise against a GM car but I’d suggest you think about how long past warranty you expect to drive whatever car you buy, how often you are willing to spend time at the shop for more than standard maintenance, and how important overall reliability is for whomever in your family will be driving the car. Since car fleets such as rental and government agencies so heavily use GM cars, they can’t necessarily be a bad choice. But you will most likely experience more problems requiring more time consuming repairs than with some other make/model choices and you most assuredly will experience a much higher rate of depreciation which is an important factor to consider unless you plan/expect to drive the car for many years. Currently, most GM vehicles have a much higher percentage rate of depreciation in the first three years than almost any other make. (Although one other very popular car, the Honda Civic, has a significantly high depreciation rate in just the first year which suggests to me that many people decide quickly that it is too small or otherwise not what they thought it would be and trade it after only about 1 year.)
Now, all this lengthy diabtribe aside, I am NOT mechanically knowledgable. Most of what little I know I have learned over the past dozen years reading here on the forum and asking an endless array of questions of those who are mechanical experts. So pay attention to all the replies to your question and note the several trends which answers fall into, both pro and con for GM. There is a lot of valuable information in the collective wisdom here. The final answer of what is best for you will depend on which risk factors matter the most for you, how you will use the car, how long you plan to drive it, etc.
Good luck and happy car hunting!
Marnet
…still reading, still learning…
