I bought my Malibu brand new in October1998 (it is a 1999). It has been a great car overall. At the time of purchase, I was in desperate need of a car since my other car had broken down on me and was in disrepair. I was hesitant to by the Malibu, and my decision at the time was it was the least expensive car on the lot. I really did not want it, but it was basically all that I could afford to finance at the time. The car has been a great and reliable vehicle for the past 18 years. It still runs great, and other than the normal maintenance items like brakes and shocks, it has been mechanically sound. I have kept it in the garage for the duration of my owning it, and the body is still in really good shape. The car has always had really good pickup with the V6 engine, and it rides very good even today.