Used Car of the Day: 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS

by Tim Healey

Published: September 11th, 2024

used car of the day 2006 chevrolet cobalt ss

We continue the cheap wheels theme with today's UCOTD: A naturally-aspirated 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS.

This one is cheap because it has serious cosmetic issues -- dents, bad paint, and rust. It also has over 220K miles on it.

But it is a stick-shift, so there's that.

Plus it appears to run and drive well enough that the seller uses it to commute.

If you'd like to check it out, click here for more.

[Images: Seller]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 26 comments

ToolGuy on Sep 13, 2024
Do you know who else had an SS?

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Bouzouki on Sep 13, 2024
It is easy to pick on GM in general, and the Cobalt in particular, due to the infamous ignition key cylinder issue/recall. And yet, back in the day, even Consumer Reports commented how it was "fun to drive" and every Cobalt should drive like that--though CR noted was expensive (around $20k base, $22-24k MSRP typical sticker). Car and Driver road tested one, with a mildly positive review, but not a rave. I need a car in late 2006, when my boss informed me I was losing my company car, as I would not be travelling for work. I wanted an inexpensive car with a manual trans. I drove a plebeian used Cobalt. I actually liked it. I came back, and was told I should not have driven that car, it was sold. But I liked the car, and started looking for a used one. So I went to another Chevy dealer. He had no manual trans Cobalts, new or used. No wait--he had this yellow supercharged SS. I could drive that. He unburied it (it had been sitting). It had the optional Recaro seat package. The car was a blast! If GM made a front-drive Camaro with a V8, this is what it might be like. I didn't like the color so I left. Then I found Car and Driver's first "Lightning Lap" test, circa 2006. In short, the Cobalt SS Supercharged that some here mock was FIVE seconds quicker than an 06 VW GTI. FIVE SECONDS! Even more impressive, it was a fraction quicker than a ... Mustang GT 5.0. A car with an extra 100 horses. So I looked and found a red one I generally like (options-wise. It needed the Recaro seats--best car seat EVER!). I had no problems with it over 4 years, 50k other than sliding into a curb on a snowy morning about a month after I bought it, causing about $2k of damage to suspension bits (the rim was gouged, but remained round! The tire was reused. The control arm and bearing and 1-2 other items needed replace, but car drove like new). I ordered some snow wheel/tires and put them on afterward. It was a good car in general, and a great-DRIVING car. The steering, shifter, exhaust note, power, engine smoothness. It was hard to believe this was a GM vehicle.... The back seat was big--but the ingress/egress was awful. I had too many cars at the time So I sold it after four years, one of the few cars I regret selling.

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