1997 Cavalier, Are my brother's concerns legitimate?

[Bad_Brad]

Lets get straight to the point. This car has a few quirks and I'm interested in your opinions concerning them. (155,000 miles, replaced head gasket in '09, new used tires in '10, and the passenger door is falling apart because the plastic rivets that hold it together suck)

1) The brakes lock. My brother's opinion is that I would die if I ever needed to brake quickly going 50+ on the freeway. My opinion is that anti-lock brakes (ABS is it?) won't stop my car from sliding on snow/ice or hydroplaning and I don't believe there is anything inherently wrong with just pumping my brakes. BTW the only time I've ever experienced the brakes lock is while driving on snow which I say has happened about a dozen times in the two years I've been driving it and only on residential streets.

2) The car pulls slightly to the left when I apply pressure to the brakes. I have no clue what could be causing this or whether I should care.

3) The car pulls slightly to the right when I apply pressure to the gas pedal. Same as before, I have no clue what could be causing this or whether I should care.

My brother's overall opinion on this is that fixing whatever needs to be fixed isn't worth it because the cost is going to be "too high" and he proposes that I trade it in before things get "really bad".

Should I be taking what my brother says with a grain of salt or could their be some truth in what he says?

[consultIII]

If it was just a pull while braking I would suspect deteriorated flex lines, seized caliper, leaking wheel cylinders etc.. In conjuction with the acceleration pull however worn components may be changing alignment geometry under braking and acceleration forces. Sounds unsafe.

Have a suspension check performed.

I have driven a number of these cars and they to were prone to rear wheel lock-up; especially with slippery road conditions. Not sure why?

[Blue Bowtie]

Check the lower control arm bushings. They wear, causing thrust angle changes on braking and acceleration. I just replaced a set on a Cavi about a month ago and the owner remarked that the car never drove like that since she owned it. The thing was all over the road, and someone had gone to the trouble of replacing struts, mounts, and a steering rack when all it probably needed was $30 worth of bushings.