Been driving Toyotas most of my life and I really considering buying my 1st Chevy. I wanted to get your opinions first so here I am.

I have a Scion and I'm now looking for a bigger car. Here's what happened.

4 months ago the wife's Camry was in a fender bender. Went in the body shop for 2 weeks and the loaner we got was an 2010 Impala LS. At first I wasn't enthusiastic about the car but about 3 days later it grew on me. I started to like the car more and more.

It was big and comfy. It drove really nice. Interior wasn't bad at all. Had plenty of space inside. It was a very quiet car with a decent stock radio. I liked the dual zone climate control since I liked it cooler and the wife wants it warmer. The gas mileage wasn't too bad for a large car. In the 2 weeks I've had it, I got 20mpg city and 28hwy.

The wife and I were sad to give the car back. Now I would like to trade in my Scion for one. But here's my problem.

The car costs around $25,000 for a new one. I have no problem with that. However, I am shocked at it's poor resale value. I can see used ones sell for $10,000 less for just being one year old with 22,000 miles. Anyone know why their resale value is really low? Would I be better off saving $10,000 and buying a used one?

I did research on the car and many people complained about the rear tires having bad uneven wear. They say it's because of poor rear suspension design. Also I found plenty of issues with the A/C and power steering.

I'd greatly appreciate any inside scoop on Impala owners of what I should look out for.

 

Welcome to the Forum!

I don't know why the resale is so low...

As for the wheels, all 4 wheels need to be aligned with every new set of tires if not more frequently. Most people don't do it. More often than not, they are not properly aligned from the factory.

 

welcome! all i gotta say is i'd rather have low resale than a sticky accelerater pedal but no i'd think you'd be better off finding a gently used one with low mileage and a year old. that way you still get a quality car for half the price. but my father has a 2005 Scion TC with 150,000 miles now. and no problems mechanically at all i'm very surprised. got it with 18k.

 

Bud, welcome to the forum and are you gonna get an earfull from me...good though. First off, I bought my 2006 Impala LT (3.5) with 23,000 on the clock. It's now got 60,000 on it and I couldn't be happier. Two issues have arisen and I'll address them with an open mind (I think). 1.The intermediate steering shaft is crap (was making noise when I got it) but is easy to repair and the new design is proving to be just that, good. 2. They're all duel fuel and I advise against putting E85 "corn squeezings" in there unless ya have too. My computer was "re-flashed" to work with the duel fuel thing but I think they come that way now. Drove mine on a 600 mile round-trip Monday and ran 80+ when we could and still got 28 MPG (it does 32 at normal speeds). The tranny fluid is synthetic so watch for the $10.00+ per quart on that stuff. By the way, I use Mobile1 (5W30) and always a new filter. As Brent said, the rear alignment hoo haa is is just that, BS. Curbed mine Monday and repaired bent tie rod and toe-in and re-aligned it in short order. A good shop can easily do this and don't let anyone kid you, these cars are tough and dependable (look cool too) even for a 60 year old like me. If you buy used, get a good shop to look it over for you. Get the fold-down rear seat if you can and remember there's no rear cup holders (at least not in mine). Canadian made and good stuff. Mine's white, but I just love the silver SS's.

 

Thank you guys for the welcome and the advice.

This is the one I'm looking at so please let me know if it's a good buy or not.

2009 Impala LT $16,995
23,605 miles
3.5L V6
Dual pwr seats, StabiliTrak, alloys
1 owner

It's at www.galpin.com
used inventory #MP1303

and tell me what you think, just don't buy it

 

We drove it from Los Angeles to Sacramento and we got 30mpg on our way there going 80mph. On the way back I pushed harder on the pedal averaging 95mph and got 28mpg. Very darn good for a large car.

I'm 34 years old and some might say this car is too old for my demographic but what can I say, I'm an old soul.

 

Hi BudDictman,

Welcome to the Chevy Forums.

Have you driven an Avalanche or full-size Silverado Crew-Cab yet?

You may want to check it out before you make a purchasing decision, if interior room is what you like...

 

I was told once that the reason the re-sale value is so low for the big 3 (chevy,ford,dodge) is because of the large rebates they offer. Someone can buy a brand new vehicle keep it for a year and then when the new model comes out they trade it in and with the large rebate they end up with about the same payment for a brand new vehicle and this floods the used car market. Not sure if that's the real reason but it sure makes since.