[backpacker3]

Originally Posted by The Other Andy

I see them fairly often, actually. I really, really want to like them. Unfortunately, my ex-gf's Cobalt SS soured me. Piss poor materials, horrendous panel alignment, electrical problems all over the place (dead guages, intermittent interior lighting, etc), the usual GM issues of the time.

It (and the few others I test drove) did drive pretty nice though, and it's hard to argue with the XFE's numbers. Plus, the two door Cobalt looked pretty good (four door was an afterthought, and looked/felt like it). An example that's mostly intact today would be hard to pass up, especially at the prices they're going for.

Certainly a massive step up from the Cavalier.

I disagree that advertising (or lack thereof) was the XFE's biggest problem. Wasn't this only available in a stick? Those don't exactly sell all that well here. Plus, a car like the Prius gets great milage with all the luxuries that people want. A stripped-down economy car is a harder sell, especially back when loans for nicer cars were easier to get.

Cavaliers and sunfires have pretty good reliability though so was really that much better? I might be biased but I think cavaliers and sunfires just get a bad rap because of the drivers who own them. Think about it, the majority of people who have them use them as beaters and do t really take care of them but they continue to run. Kids just getting there licenses get them as first cars and you all know how well they care for there cars. My sunfire was originally owned by a friend who sold it to my aunt it was driven all around as a commuter car but properly maintained and cared for and now that I have it there aren't any issues with it. Considering the original cost it's worked out to be a pretty good deal and it hasn't needed any repairs or anything other than just regular maintenance. So if you experience was that bad with the cobalt then I'll stick to my crappy old sunfire any day at least everything works.