$5000 Good MPG, good handling DD, what would you get?

[ZJeepMI]

I love my wifes cobalt, BUT..........

It's a 2007.. We've had to have the low control arm bushings replaced....twice
The steering column replaced....twice
Radio replaced....twice
Hood Latch....once
Remotes....twice

All under warranty thankfully.. Steering columns in those use a set of nylon gears that - well, are a horrible idea in my opinion for something that gets used as frequently as a STEERING WHEEL...The radio would stop understanding unputs of favorites (You'd want to change to Favorite #3 for example, press it like 5 times, and still nothing happen. Turn the car off, back on, it would work. She doesn't spill things in her car and keeps it very clean, so it's not like it's caused by someone spilling their redbull on it. lol)..... The lower control arm bushings are pretty well known. And the hood latch failed in the sense that the sensor thought the hood was popped when it wasn't. This caused the car's remote start to stop working as a safety precaution.

I love the Cobalt's - they're great cars, but when I place it's reliability to my Civic....

My Civic has 260k miles. For maintenance it has had 3 timing belts on it. Spark plugs, wires, fuel filter, distributor cap and rotor...

Parts that have failed:
O2 Sensor (pre-cat. Failed because of exhaust manifold crack)
Upper Control Arm (front. Was finally worn out at ~250k...so I replaced both uppers....)
Exhaust (Exhaust manifold cracked at probably 235k...)

That's IT. Everything else on my car, clutch included, is still ORIGINAL from the factory, aside from brakes, oil, and air filter obviously...

For that reason, every time I think about selling the car, I cannot. It is FAR too dependable and cheap to repair.

Example of cost to repair my Honda:

This winter I smoked a chunk of ice that fell off a truck and fucked up the header on it. Bent it upwards and is leaking now. Cost for my aftermarket replacement? $83 shipped to my door.

Wow that's super impressive for a car with 260k miles. Anyone know if the auto transmissions are any good in these cars? I prefer stick but wouldn't pass up a good deal on an auto if they're reliable.

I've heard that Cobalts have higher insurance rates, due to safety issues. Apparently there is a high percentage of personal injury claims compared to other cars. The Pontiac G6 was the same.

Oh, and the reason you're not finding many GSRs or Si Civics is that they are THE most stolen cars in Mi. On Xceedspeed, there is another stolen car thread every few days. So bare that in mind.

For the sake of it, here is my old '97 Ex.

The last picture I took of it. I had put OEM Si wheels on it, and I thought it was very simple and clean. Difficult to see though.

With a nice set of tires and a cheap set of coilovers, it was a blast to drive.

Holy cow that's a good reason to stay away from a GSR or Si. And that's a real sharp looking car, the civic's look really nice lowered a little with decent wheels.