Used 2008 Chevrolet Impala Consumer Reviews
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Not Perfect But I Love It Anyway
Andrew O., 01/16/2017
updated 01/23/2019
2008 Chevrolet Impala SS 4dr Sedan (5.3L 8cyl 4A)
13 of 15 people found this review helpful
Strange transmission problem- when starting up, occasionally car moves ahead slowly the drops into gear with a bang and lunges forward. Feels like have been rear ended. Great engine! Exhaust sounds good- lots of power- excellent acceleration. Door speakers cheap- tinny- failed and were replaced. Terrible blind spots from drivers seat due to very wide A pillars- dangerous! Stabilotrac very finicky- frequent messages that is not working but then seems to correct itself. Frequent evap. emissions message and sometimes have trouble getting inspection sticker but no one can find the problem. Occasional dash message that one or two TPM's are not working, but then day or two later all is well again. Two electric door locks stopped working a long time ago. In spite of all this, I get a kick out of driving this car because it has a great engine. Rest of car I would describe as fair. This is the last year of the Impala V-8's so the car commands a premium price when selling or trading, they still sell for $2000 more than the 6 cyl. models. Yes, there are still some of us out here who love our V-8's.
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Don't buy this car!
Jeff, 02/27/2018
2008 Chevrolet Impala LT 4dr Sedan (3.9L 6cyl 4A)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
Spend the extra money and buy something of better quality. Chevrolet has outdone themselves with this cheaply made car. I have owned this car for eight years and I bought it with about 30k miles on it. In the time I have owned it I have had every door lock fail, the heat door actuators stripped their gears and caused a loud knocking sound coming from the dash(I've replaced three so far). The electronic accelerator sensor has gone out. The transmission is going out right now. Many many oil leaks from various gaskets failing on the engine itself. I can easily say this car has cost me at least $10,000 in repair costs so far.
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Used buy value
stirfry1, 01/01/2014
updated 07/02/2018
2008 Chevrolet Impala LS 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
Bought the car one year old, now have 95,000 on it with no significant issues.
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No more
No more, 09/22/2010
2008 Chevrolet Impala LTZ 4dr Sedan (3.9L 6cyl 4A)
18 of 22 people found this review helpful
We bought this car because we wanted a sporty family sedan. The car looks great in the red with the large wheels but that's really the only upside. We've owned over 30 vehicles over the years and this has to be the worst. Problems started right away. Door locks stopped working, the CD player stopped working, the ABS/ traction control has had problems 2 different times. Of course now that everything is fixed it has a pretty substantial coolant leak. Maybe we got a lemon, but this car is truly a disappointment. I think we're done with GM. Our 06 fusion has been perfect through 80k miles and this car has serious problems with only 40K miles on it.
Run don't walk
dennis139, 01/22/2014
2008 Chevrolet Impala LT 4dr Sedan (3.9L 6cyl 4A)
8 of 9 people found this review helpful
We purchased this car with 50K on it. We now have 80K. Trans jumps from starts, both right side door lock stopped working, rear window connector burned, now head gaskets leaking, and trans lines leaking. Total cost of repairs is 4000.00 dollars. Car in only worth about 8K. Paint finish is poor, Would not purchase another GM vehicle.
Regret buying this car!!!
alsaims123, 02/19/2015
2008 Chevrolet Impala LT 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
17 of 21 people found this review helpful
Bought my impala used from carmax. Bought it with 29k on it in 2011 since buying it i have had to replace transmission with 42k then front and rear head gaskets before the 50k manufacturer warranty was up. Since then used the carmax warranty to get the rear window defrost wiring replaced. The warranty's are all up, scared to see what is next. Granted i feel lucky compared to some of the issues people have had to done to their impala. Still have issues with the cd player, driver seat doesn't go up and down like it should. Won't buy another chevy car again.
Bought with 11k Now close to 100k no issues
michaelvanity, 03/19/2014
2008 Chevrolet Impala LTZ 4dr Sedan (3.9L 6cyl 4A)
10 of 12 people found this review helpful
Only thing ive had to do to this car within the past 90k miles are oil changes every 6 months, I make sure to use the highest octane gas, And I only stick with one gas station, Shell being my choice. I have not had one probem thank God. And I plan on buying a new 2014 Impala, Love the new design. So heres how it add up. Me driving in San Francisco, I live here. Taking frequent trips to sacramento and reno. Lots of city driving. Things ive had done in terms of matience Oil Changes - Every 6 Months Reguardless of what meter says Best gas you can buy - IE most expensive tires changed twice. Brakes changed once. No Major Issues. Im going to stick with my Chevys.
Worst car i have ever owned
Andrew, 09/06/2017
2008 Chevrolet Impala LT 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
10 of 12 people found this review helpful
These cars are very cheap but that is for a good reason. They are horrible unreliable cars made with cheap throw away parts. My car had 65000 miles when i bought it in early 2017. Since then i have replaced the starter power steering line (which still leaks) it has multiple oil leaks the transmission is slow to shift and when it does it kicks into the next gear. Motor mounts are made of glass everyone has to be replaced. Do not be fooled by the cheap prices these cars have on the lot. They're cheap for a reason
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2008 SS - Worst car I’ve ever owned
FedUp, 03/06/2020
2008 Chevrolet Impala SS 4dr Sedan (5.3L 8cyl 4A)
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
First of all, the engine is gigantic so you can’t reach even the spark plugs hardly without pulling it out. Next, there are sensors in each wheel hub assembly that go out all the time, but you can just buy and replace the sensors - you have to replace the entire wheel assembly bc the sensors are built in. The transmission has very commonly faulty pressure control solenoids. My final straw and reason for writing this is that after fixing 5 previous issues (mostly electrical), now my AFM lifter has collapsed and I can’t replace it myself since the engine is in the vehicle sideways. It will cost me $4k to fix, at which point I may as well just get a new engine. I am choosing to trade in this piece of garbage. Other issues: failure to start because of a fuel pump electrical short in the passenger kick compartment harness clip; erratic shifting; inconsistent engine shake; failing wheel speed sensor which disables Traction Control, ABS, and StabiliTrak; ECM failure; EVAP canister control circuit codes. ALL WITHIN 5 MONTHS. Only 140k miles and the car is falling apart.
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08’ Impala- Yr of the death trap-injury, defects.
ResearchGuru, 07/07/2018
2008 Chevrolet Impala LT 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
12 of 15 people found this review helpful
Well this is one of a very select few cars that has all the highly publicized dangerous, expensive recalls, defects and just plain issues that were fixed with others but left in the 2008 because “they’re not enough deaths from the defects in this YEAR” mind you the same problems apply, same part failures killed so many that millions of recalls were sent through... The notes on issues for the Death Trap Impala... All bad parts that were not recalled on 2008 Impala that are the same defects and parts recalled from all other males and models. Late year 2007-shift into 08 can be included as well as late year 2008-into 09. Front lower control arm suspension defects driver and passenger side-snaps causing loss of vehicle control extensive damage,possible injury or fatality.Older control arms have 3 holes placed across center, new control arm was changed to only have one center hole. Rear axle spindle rod and bearing driver and passenger side not supporting/staying aligned causeing rapid tire wear,less stable stopping, turning etc. potential to blow tires causing accidents. ALL suspension issues were ONLY recalled in police vehicles with the excuse that police accessory packages caused extra strain- that is not true ALL Impala models in these yrs have the same defective parts and upon reviewing accessory placement it was no where near changing or interrupting these suspension part defects. GM just wanted to limit how many they had to repair on their dime. Airbags and safety restraint system as well as seatbelt restraint system defects- Besides that the 2008 Impala uses the SAME TAKATA AIRBAG AND SEATBELT SYSTEM THAT IS DEFECTIVE AND RECALLED IN ALL BUT A FEW YRS LIKE THE 2008! GM states that it hasn’t caused enough fatalities but if you look at all i formation documented even just on the NHTSA sites it causes and has caused a number of very serious injuries and add this to a defective suspension system that does not hold up to impact- can’t handle any impact, seatbelts don’t lock and airbags fail to deploy. The injury’s sustained are life altering serious 4 week plus hospital and intensive care stay bad. 6 alone in June 2018. airbag issues/defects/recalls in all but 2008 defective airbag OCS algorithm (entire electrical computer system) defective frontal sensors, control modules. Damage to seat sensor (weight safety sensors, way to sense passenger airbag need) wiring as front seat frames/placement seat adjustment/movement may damage Presence sensor wires and module. Defective airbag inflator causing inflator tube pieces to cause injury to person when airbag partially deploys shredding sections and prevents proper bag inflation. All defective seatbelt issues also prevent airbag system communication and deployment so again, seatbelt safety features being defective, not holding you back then having a failed airbag has resulted in severe injury and death. Seatbelts have been threaded incorrectly and not attached properly causeing the automatic tensioning cable in belt retractor to break. Front belts not secured properly to anchor pretensioner mounts causeing them to pull away on impact. All preventing safety belt to lock to keep person from dash or other impact, also without the ‘locking’ safety mechanism triggered airbags do not deploy. Belts, clips etc also are not ‘latching’ clipping together properly when buckled do to defects causing the system to think no one is there for safety measures in the vehicle to activate. Many failures are associated with B-pillar clips as well as retractors (parts of safety belt assembly) being broken easily due to never being secured properly or screws not being long wide or plentiful enough to hold these important mechanisms in place. You have points of impact externally around the vehicle to activate car safety systems, however the internal components and modules internally are key to have a fully functioning safety system. seat sensors also keep them off when deadly for shorter or lighter people, children or when the seat is empty. Or turn them on when a passenger is seated. Of seat tensioners fail break or not even close to a proper position inticating your presence airbags may not deploy causing full impact to dash, windshield etc etc , if they do deploy they may kill you as you are not restrained at all. But from research the trend is if your seatbelt restraint system is defective at all expect to not be protected by anything other then the shell of your car. THESE ISSUES SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IN EVERY MAKE/MODEL/YEAR That used defective parts. they’re thousands of reports all over the internet. For way more issues then these that are defects.Why are some not being fixed? Because complaints aren’t always going to Chevy/GM or sent to NHTSA,documented in police reports or looked over by mechanics for causes and failures because the Magnitude of events overpowers your memory of airbag and seatbelt failure,damage/injury sustained from suspension support failures
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