deal or no deal 2000 malibu for $2500 low miles?

DO NOT BUY THOSE CARS! They are junk. Electrical/mechanical problems waiting to happen. If you want an economy sedan that will be good on gas/easy on maintenance and insurance buy a Toyota corolla. You can find lots of them around $2000.00

Anything in this world is only worth what someone else will pay.

At that age and price range, mileage becomes irrelevant to me. I could care less whether that Malibu has 160k or 260k. What becomes important is what the seller has needed to fix, and whether or not they've fixed it. If they have kept up the maintenance, you should be able to get another two to three years out of that car without major issues. If they haven't kept up the maintenance, RUN.

I think I'd offer $1500-2000 sight unseen and with no inspection, but I'd be OK with $2500 if I had my mechanic do an inspection and he cleared it. I almost paid $5000 for a '95 Mustang Cobra, but the wiring work underhood was a mess and I figured it had flamed out or been stolen at some point.