I'm buying a new car and narrowed it down to an 07 Chevy Cobalt or an 07 Hyundai Tiburon - which should I get?

Question

Before you say American cars don't last, keep in mind my previous car was an '88 Cavalier - which my parents bought brand new in 1987 and then handed down to me - lasted me 19 years with 230,000 miles and had no major problems. This is why I'm considering the Cobalt, because I know Chevy puts out quality economical vehicles that can last until about 200K. Fords are out of the question; I've had 2 Ford cars, including a Lincoln, which both died on me before reaching 100K. I think the Hyundai Tiburon is a better looking car, and I'd rather have it, but I have heard bad things about Hyundais and I don't want a car that's going to give me problems around 40K. Honda Civics are cool and I know they last, but they're not as fancy and sporty as the Tiburon and the engine is too small for my liking. So, what would you pick, a Cobalt or a Tiburon?

Answer 1

I'm a Hyundai fan, so it depends on rather you want looks and warranty vs performance. The Cobalt SS is a fun car with nice performance and can be good looking with the right color/spoiler. A Civic SI is pretty fast and nice too. I agree that all those cars are quality.

Answer 2

The simple answer is that you need to make the decision yourself. I have worked in dealerships for more than 15 years. I am currently a parts and service director for Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Subaru dealer. Prior to this I was in a similar roles at a GM franchise. Ihave driven both vehicle and have had to service both vehicles. The truth is that these vehicle are very different from each other. Have you driven both? The Tib has more power hanldes better and if you buy it brand new you get a 10 year 100,000 mile power train warranty on top of the basic 5 year 60,000 mile warranty. The cobalt does get better fuel economy and has more cargo space. Also GM has increased their warranties over the last couple of years. I am not sure what their warranties are stated at now. They were 3 years or 36,000 miles in total, but that has probably increased over the last few years.

Both vehicles have their own appeal and problems. The Tibs biggest issue was that on the 03 model v6 standard it had clutch problems. You can find issues of this all over the internet. But, it was only a problem with the 03 model. All the other years have been fine.

If you do choose the Hyundai please make sure that you also purchase the Hyundai extended warranty. It is call HPP. HPP actually can extend your regular factory warranty out to be as long as your powertrain warranty. It will also alows you to have rental coverage while under factory warranty. Hyundai does not supply rental coverage while under basic or powertrain warranty. With the HPP however you are covered. The HPP contract has no deductable and is actually mantained by Hyundai not an outside company. It is valid at all Hyundai Dealers nation wide. Whatever car you buy I would highly recomend that you purchase that manufacturers extended warranty.

The other thing you might want to consider is that two of the three cars that you mentioned are asian market vehicles. The asian market vehicle are highly maint driven. If you take care of them they will last for a long time. Remeber also that the Cobalt is actually based on the older Daewoo chassis. Just a bit of info for thought.

Answer 3

Hyundai's quality is way above then GM product. I am driving 02 Hyundai Santa Fe V6. It has 130k miles on it. I never had a single problem yet! I vote for Hyundai. Cobalt has lower built quality and their options disaster. Hyundai... You can deal easily too! When you are dealing at Hyundai dealer, tell the sales man "if you give me $4000 dollar break from MSRP on this Hyundai, then I will bring the Survey soon as I get it by the mail and fill it up to ALL EXCELLENT (rating) right in front of you." Car companies send customer satisfaction survey to new owners but that survey is something really special for Hyundai sales people. 5 things has to be filled out by customer and it has to be all excellent out of excellent, good, fair and poor.
If there are four EXCELLENT and one Good, salesman still don't get good commision from the headquarter. Everything has to be excellent, because it is their policy from their CEO Mong-Gu Chung. They are targeting to be in 6th biggest automotive company in the world until 2009 and they are 7th at this point. They are targeting to catch the Lexus' service and quality. Bet on Hyundai and why don't you test drive both Cobalt and Tiburon? You will see the difference!!

PLUS HYUNDAI DOES NOT IMPORT THE PARTS FROM MITSUBISHI ANYMORE. THEY MAKE THIER OWN ENGINE THESE DAYS. 80S AND 90S THEY DID!

Answer 4

Anyone who would choose to buy a chevy over a new hyundai is an idiot in my book. Hyundais made after '01 have better reliability than all but 2 makes of cars, both MUCH more expensive than you or I could afford.

The Tib is a wicked ride, and you can't get more performance for the price. Trick that baby out and you'll have the hottest ride on the block.

Do yourself a favor before you decide. Register (no worries it's free) at http://www.hyundaiperformance.com and ask your question there. See what a great car you could be getting.

Good luck with your decision.

Answer 5

Former Chevy owner current Hyundai owner. Had a '68 Impala ,'74 Vega , '78 Monte Carlo and a'81 Chevette. Bought my first Hyundai in '88 and have not looked back. Yes the early Hyundai's had a lot a problems but they have improved immensely. Current owner of a'01 Tiburon and have not had any problems with it. Previously owned an '88 Excel and a '94 Excel. Dealer and/ or warranty company made any necessary repairs . Traded them both in with over 120,000 miles on them. Dealer wants to please you. Great follow up & survey after each service visit.

Answer 6

i would reconsider the Honda civic,, more particularly the SI model while it on paper it appears to be a slightly smaller engine, it is slightly quicker than the tiburon (though not as quick as the ss cobalt) with the I-vtec system, it also safer more reliable and was motor trends car of the year for 06, they have never picked a Tiburon or a cobalt/cavalier for that award and thats deffinatley with good reason,,,,, i forgot to mention to youll also get better gas mileage with the k-20 2.0 liter,, then the eco-tec supercharged or the tiburons v-6

Answer 7

Personally it is up to you what car you get, But i would go with the Hyundai because the cars are bery reliable as I have had many in the past. The car also very nice, looks exspensive, but is a great price that they are selling it for. The car also has great features, such as alloys, cd player with ipod lead, climate control and loads more. You can get the engine size up to more than a 2 litre. To see more visit the hyundai website. Pick the car you want not what anyone else tells you to pick.

Answer 8

I am a hyundai mechanic and i've seen cobalts come into our used dept. which we inspected and fixed. And I personally would take the tiburon over a cobalt any day and wouldn't even hesitate on doing so. I have reasons far to many to list just the scale weighs toward the tiburon.

Answer 9

To be honest with you and I know I'm going to catch flack from a lot of people when I say this but Kia's and Hyundai's are NOT what they used to be. I'm only 22 and when I was 18 I wanted a new car so I went out and bought an 03 Chevy Cavalier and although the car ran fine and I never had any serious issues with it, the car was WAY over priced and I didn't know what I was getting myself into. The Cavalier was a two door car but it was perfect for me or so I thought, about a month after I bought the car I found out I was pregnant and then two months later I found out I was having twins. I kept the car but when my daughters got here it was such a pain with the car seats taking them in and out of my tiny 2 door car, it was miserable so I decided I was going to try and trade it in for a bigger car. Well when I went back to the same place I bought it from only about a year or so later the car still in perfect condition aside from the couple thousand miles I put on it they told me they would give me $6000.00 if I traded it in now mind you this car was brand new when I bought it in 2003 it was 2004 with 2400 miles on it and I still owed GMAC $17,000.00 and all they would give me was $6000 for the same car I still owed $17000 on so I couldn't trade it in the negative equity would kill me so I had to keep it and pay for it well I paid on it for a while longer but my daughters were getting to big and too tall for the car their feet were starting to touch the back of the seats in front so I really had no choice but to cut my losses and trade it in but I definitely was not going for another Chevy they were a complete rip off so I ended up going to Kia and getting a 2006 Kia Sorento they worked with me on the trade in value for my Cavalier and they lowered the price of the new truck for me so it wouldn't hit me too hard. If you would have asked me 4 years ago if I'd buy a Kia or Hyundai I would have laughed at you but they have truly stepped their game up and you can't beat the warranty, 100,000 miles you wont find anybody else who offers that type of warranty. I know a couple people who drive Hyundai's and they love them, Chevy on the other hand you always here about how they ripped somebody off so I say stay away from Chevy the Cobalt is nothing other then a new version of the Cavalier because they stopped making them I guess they figured we give it a new name and new look we can scam these people for many more years to come. Do Hyundai their prices are better and you can't beat the 100,000 mile / 10 year warranty!! Good luck in whatever you choose!!

Answer 10

I have an 06 Tiburon and I love it!! It looks sporty but without the high price tag. I now its early but I havent had any problems. It drives well, pretty good gas and Ive never had more compliments than with this car. I like the feel of it and how low it is. Its takes corners well and fits in tight spots. Good luck