well im in the market for a new car and ive been looking at the wholesale and trade ins at a local GM dealer and there is a 1997 sunfire 4dr 5spd with 205,000 (they dont keep anything on the lot with more then 200,000 unless its a high end car) so its going to be going to the wholesalers sometime in the next month. its in there books as a trade in and is listed as $51 (a "dollar" car. the 50 bucks is to take it to aircare) so at most it will be sold for $2000 CND. im wondering if its a good vehile to buy and keep for a few years (im needing something to drive around daily and also do a 500KM drive there and back maybe twice a year.)

im wondering what problems i should be looking for when i go to take a closer look and what i should listen for on the test drive.

I'm assuming that's 205k KM and not miles. I don't know much about the cavalier/sunfire myself but i can offer some general tips on looking for a used car. Do some research on the car (check out the cavalier/sunfire AF forums for example) and see what typical problems these vehicles have and what current owner like/dislike about them. when you are more familiar with them make a checklist, checking out problem areas first and then all the other stuff, inside and out, under the hood, check fluid levels if possible, etc. before the test drive. during the drive listen for any noises made by the suspension and the steering, check the brakes to make sure the pads are in good condition. after the drive check everything AGAIN especially underneath for possible leaks and such. Also have a second vehicle on your mind if this one isn't what you expect. I was shopping for an outback back in the summer with a blazer/jimmy second on my list and the outback i tested wasn't trustworthy suspension-wise and steering-wise so i tested out a blazer which was a LOT better than the subie so i went with that. A carfax report or something to confirm previous history will be useful also. I'm sure there's more things people will chip in that i haven't said; there is a lot of things to look for when buying a used car. I have gone through the process only twice and doing all this helps A LOT. Good luck!