2008 cobalt with 250k

1/4 million

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Hello all,
Here is a little bit about my Cobalt. 2008 LS 5sp base the only thing I have is XM radio
Purchased May 26, 2008 with 4 miles on the clock. I purchased it to be a DD for my 200 mile daily commute. My thought was that this car would be a throw away in about 5 years. The car now has 250,000 miles on it and still running strong at 7 years old. the only things I have had to replace so far are the drivers door handle twice, the front speakers, the turn indicator switch, ignition switch (the key was stuck in it) fuel pump, and at 248,000 the flex part of the Cat gave out. That is it. Less than a month after I bought it I was sideswiped by an uninsured driver in Austin, it still bears the scars from that, at that point i decided it was just a car, and I did not want to get attached to it as I usually do. I really did not treat this car well I changed the oil 2 times a year if it needed it or not and I did not wash or clean the car until 2 months ago other than a few cat claw marks on the hood the paint is almost like new and the interior cleaned up nicely. This little car keeps amazing me after I replaced the cat DP with a ZZP Cat free DP it pulls way better than ever. I have learned that if I get up to the speed limit as fast as I can I get better MPGs. I found this out at about 94,000 miles so I have been driving this thing hard for the last 156,000 miles my usual shifts are around 4-5,000 rpm. I am still rolling on the original brakes and clutch, although the brakes have about 25% life left. It has outlasted my F250 Powerstoke, that died at 213,000. It is the longest I have ever owned a car. It is not the coolest car I have ever owned and it is not really a comfortable drive with out an armrest but now that the time to replace her I find that I am really kinda attached to it. If it is still going when my 11 year old starts to dive he will learn to drive the Cobalt because I think I am just going to keep it and use it as a back up. I am afraid the replacement will never be as reliable.
 

YelloEye

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I'm happy to hear stories like this, congrats.

You can get an armrest to drop in there, my LT had one.
 

1/4 million

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Thanks,
Well here is another story for you, the same day I bought my car my wife bought a 2008 Malibu LT2 with the 2.4l we had that for about 4.5 years and put 167,000 miles on it with only a brake job and new cat needed. Traded it in on our Suburban LTZ and the dealer that bought it from us sold it for $10,000 three days after they bought it.
 

1/4 million

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Long time since I have been on here.

Just wanted to give an update. I still have the Cobalt still my daily and has 305,000 miles on it finally did the brakes at 255,000 and the wheel bearings and shocks/struts at 290,000 my 11 year old son is now 14 and he will learn to drive this standard in the fall. I thought for sure this car would be replace by now but no she keeps holding on.

300k.jpg
 

coethecoe

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Nice story, thanks for the read. Even though this thread's like 2 years old, haha :D I have a lot of reading to do and so much to learn. :)
 

roosterk0031

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I passed 210,000 miles a few weeks ago, 09 LS XFE coupe. Still original brakes, but have already done both front wheel bearings. Life time average of 40 mpg.

I generally shift 2,500-3,000 sometimes skipping 4th. It's not how you accelerate nearly as much as how you don't brake to get good MPG.
 
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coethecoe

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Congrats on 210k miles! And great thing that you're still here, 2 years after the original post, haha!
 

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