Why I chose a Cruze

968 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Mister_Goodwrench_18, Nov 1, 2015

Mister_Goodwrench_18

Discussion Starter · #1 · Nov 1, 2015

I doubt there is a ton of stories on here, but I figure I would put my down in type for the reason of just doing so. I am a Mechanic at a Steel Mill (Ferro Silicon Manganese to be exact) but I was laid off for a period and went to work for the local dealership as a tech. While there at the dealership I spent most my time doing recall work (Specifically Cobalt/Ion ignition switches) and I did top end rebuilds. One day lady brought in her Cruze RS, it had a check engine light on and lacked power. As I brought it into the shop you cod tell t was underpowered and made a **** of a hissing noise. To make a super long story short she had changed or had her oil changed in 16k miles. She had coked the turbo center section and melted the plastic turbo drain line. The oil I drained out of it, after being warmed up was like 15w40 being poured in the artic. Once I put a new turbo system on this car, I took it for a drive. My wife owns a 2012 Sonic, and the Cruze was so much nicer. More spacious, and very similar feeling. I always remembered the fun times working on that specific Cruze. I went back to the plant over a year ago, and me and my wife decided we need another car that's slightly bigger for when we have kids. So I went and talked to a salesman I knew, and he set me up with my 2015 Cruze. 1.8L 6 spd M/T. How I wish I could have found a 1.4 6 spd, he informed me that GM doesn't send many manuals around this part of Ohio as there is no demand for them. But they had one manual on the lot, with a 1.8. so I pulled the trigger. I have a few plans for it, mainly a magnaflow exhaust and a CAI of some sorts. But I have never been happier. The Cruze replaced the 1988 Chevrolet Cavalier I drove to work, which just rolled over 124k. I also just this weekend swapped out the factory oil for Royal Purple, as I am a firm believer in it. Anyways, my rambling is over.

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AZ007

· Registered

Joined Sep 26, 2014

90 Posts

#4 · Nov 1, 2015

My story is similar in some ways. I went to VW and said, "What do you have in stick and TDI?" The answer was nothing, so I went to Chevy (next in line because they're American made) and said, "What do you have in stick that gets good mpg?"

The salesman said, we have this worn-out Jetta that gets 32 mpg highway. I said "No thanks." Then he pushed a Sonic RS. I said "F No, I'm not paying an extra $3k for ground effects and shorter gearing." The Cruze LS was about the only other manual on the lot. I've been pretty happy with it. It wasn't the smartest way to buy a car but I could have done a lot worse.

Had zero credit history at the time so they charged me 12% interest. Paid it off in 16 months.