Love my new Aveo 5 but need some reassurance.

[Aveo5Lover]

Hi Everyone,

This is a great forum. Glad to be a member. It is a nice source of information on the Aveo. A month ago I bought a 2009 Aveo5 LT at CarMax. The car only had 10,540 miles. CarFax said it had only one owner. It is in immaculate condition. I guessed it might have been owned by a little old lady (or man) who never drove it. It was driven less that 2,000 miles per year. It is silver with charcoal/black interior. It is an automatic with air-conditioning, power windows and door locks. It has nice 15 inch alloy wheels. They only options I wish it had is the leatherette seats and the rear spoiler. I don't need a sun roof. I had one once and never used it. Otherwise I love the car.

I also own a 1997 Ford F-250 4WD Long bed Diesel truck with 300,000 miles on it which while incredibly useful gets atrocious gas mileage. I could fit the Aveo in the bed of my truck! My commute to work is 60 miles round trip so the Aveo is far more practical and a lot more fun to drive. I love the go kart steering and the fact that I can park it anywhere. I guess the Aveo is a poor man's Mini. Despite its reputation I bet the Aveo is more reliable than a Mini.

I have been getting 27mpg for mixed city/highway driving. I was hoping for 30mpg but 27mpg is still a huge improvement over my truck. My monthly fuel savings alone will pay for the Aveo.

So why am I seeking some reassurance from fellow Aveo lovers? Well, because so many people just trash the car and make fun of me for buying it. It seems just about every review of the car is negative and at best lukewarm. Top Gear's review was particularly harsh. Then when I read all the problems people have had with their Aveos it scares me. I purchased a 5 year/100,000 mile warranty so I should be protected from major repair costs. Still, it is upsetting to read about these people who bring their car to the dealer over and over and their problems never get resolved. I've never had an especially high opinion of Chevy dealers to begin with based on past experiences.

I realize that some of the problems, such as the timing belt issues, are on the earlier, 2008 and older Aveos. In the first month I have owned it I have experienced two of the common Aveo issues. The driver's side door lock cylinder fell into the door. Also, the air-conditioning compressor quit. Both items were repaired for free under warranty. I have read that the 2009 and newer Aveos supposedly have issues with the car suddenly losing power. The engine either cuts out completely or there is a sudden dramatic power loss and the owner's then limp home driving very slowly. It is an intermittent problem that the dealers can't explain or fix.

So despite knowing all these things why did I buy my Aveo? I love the way it looks. I love the interior. For a small car it is very roomy and comfortable. I love the features. The six speaker stereo sounds great. I love the way it drives. The price was right. It gets good gas mileage. I rationalized that Chevy has sold a lot of them. They can't all be bad. There are probably plenty of happy owners. Usually the owners who have had serious issues are the ones who complain on web sites. Still, I'm leery. I hope my Aveo is reliable. I plan to stay on top of all the normal maintenance.

I have been conducting an informal poll. Every time I see an Aveo owner in a parking lot I approach them and ask them if the like their car. So far I have asked six owners and all of them have had nothing but positive things to report. One lady had a 2004. The car had 150,000 miles. She gave it a name and said she adored her Aveo. She said she never had any trouble with the car despite taking it on long trips all over North America. That was nice to hear. Unfortunately, she didn't know if her timing belt had ever been replaced. I told she better check right way with her mechanic otherwise she is on borrowed time.

The Toyota Yaris may be super dependable but the thing is so ugly. I would like to hear from all you happy Aveo lovers. Tell me how dependable your car has been and that I made the right decision!

Not sure how to do this but I am going to try to attach a picture of my baby below.


I

[Aveo5Lover]

By the way, my car has a metal thermostat housing. Maybe Chevy started using metal ones in 2009? They recommend the timing belt be changed by 100,000 miles. I probably will change it at 80,000. Anything else I need to worry about? Should I proactively change the valve cover gasket or wait and see if it leaks?

I love my Aveo and want to keep it for a long, long time.

[EAD15]

By the way, my car has a metal thermostat housing. Maybe Chevy started using metal ones in 2009? They recommend the timing belt be changed by 100,000 miles. I probably will change it at 80,000. Anything else I need to worry about? Should I proactively change the valve cover gasket or wait and see if it leaks?

I love my Aveo and want to keep it for a long, long time.

The 09 timing belt does not have a reputation for breaking early, unlike the earlier models (I'm at 99700 miles, myself). The 27mpg sounds about right for mixed, especially since it's an automatic.

I would wait on the valve cover gasket. I would almost never suggest replacing parts that are working fine if they are not due on a service interval (again, 99700 miles, original gasket)

[dgoody88]

I have had my car for two years now. Its a 2010 with 54000 miles. Love it. Never leaves me stranded and I have never had a problem with it. Dependable lots of room and efficient

[camopaint0707]

the aveo sadly only gets about 30mpg which is terrible compared to other cars of it's size.

[fbc]

You also have to be a little more explicit about the model you are referring to. The Aveo model has been placed on the Daewoo T200 T250 and T300 models which are actually sold as the Sonic here in Mexico.

I own a T250 and it very reliable, I've never really had any problem worth griping about. But if I had to be forced to do so, it would be rattle of the windows while going over any bump and going over cobblestone is a symphony of rattles. This just becomes more evident as the car gets older. I would assume its from the wear from dampening material en the doors??

I would otherwise ignore the bad reports and judge the vehicle by your own experience. Yes the mileage of the vehicle is not great compared to other vehicle in its class, such as the Toyota Yaris which is just about the best mileage of any vehicle in its class. There are other hybrid vehicles now which get even better gas mileage, but those are usually expensive and fall way out of the price range of what most people would consider economical.