Buying a Cavalier... what year?

[Jmrec100]

I will say, my chevy has been cheaper , err, less costly to repair than any of the imports I had. An alternator for I think I paid like $50 for it. Lifetime. Man, I remember my older corolla, $150 ! and that was several years ago. When my AC did work in my chevy, it wasn't the greatest. The heater, well, luckily, I live in Southern Ca. I get cold now on some of our so called cold days where it gets down to near freezing. LOL. Im a Chicago boy and remember -20 and below. This heater would just not do it.

I would buy another chevy with alot of checking on reliability. Unfortunately, a reputation is there . Maybe unfairly from previous years, but its still there. Been thinking about my chevy after writing these posts, mine in particular is serving me well.

[Shelby<3'scavvy]

problems with 95 [probably irrelevant]:
subframe rusted out and broke in half
started puked
there was a hole in my muffler [ok this was just poor maitenence at the least... ugh] and it started a fire in my trunk. slightly funny.
sensors go out. big deal.
everything is rusted holy crap.
engine leaks coolant.
at one time i was down to 2CYLINDERS thats like an effing motorcycle.
ect. its been fun.
oh and they have like the worst safety ratings ever.

[manicmechanix]

Originally Posted by Shelby<3'scavvy

problems with 95 [probably irrelevant]:
subframe rusted out and broke in half
started puked
there was a hole in my muffler [ok this was just poor maitenence at the least... ugh] and it started a fire in my trunk. slightly funny.
sensors go out. big deal.
everything is rusted holy crap.
engine leaks coolant.
at one time i was down to 2CYLINDERS thats like an effing motorcycle.
ect. its been fun.
oh and they have like the worst safety ratings ever.

You are complaining about a 14 year old car? A lot of imports don't make it that long. I don't agree that Cavaliers are unsafe or that they rust quickly compare to other cars in its class.

[Shelby<3'scavvy]

i disagree still. im no expert but i have looked at TONS of cars, top to bottom. all im saying is those are the things i look for before buying another cavalier, because they cause problems. i still love the car. cavaliers did not get many updates over the years, as you know there are only 3 gens. some people find this to be a problem, along with the safety rating. but its a cheap car, your right the comprable ones arent much better. im not dogging them by any means. but if you are looking to do exterior work watch the rust, mine was so bad i would have had to cut half the car off and start over, and that wouldnt have fixed the frame. but it all depends on where you live and who owned the car before you.

[manicmechanix]

Originally Posted by Shelby<3'scavvy

i disagree still. im no expert but i have looked at TONS of cars, top to bottom. all im saying is those are the things i look for before buying another cavalier, because they cause problems.

I don't know the problems you mention like the subframe breaking and fire in the trunk are basically un heard of for Cavaliers. For example a common problem that 95 Cav had was bad strut mounts.

i still love the car. cavaliers did not get many updates over the years, as you know there are only 3 gens. some people find this to be a problem, along with the safety rating.

Well see GM actually did update the Cavalier every year. They just didn't totally replace the entire platform. Japanese cars typically don't get update much, they just replace the whole platfrom every 4 or 5 years. This is why the later model Cavalier you get, generally it's a more perfected model. Yours being a 95 would generally be the least perfected.

I still don't know where you are coming from with the Cavalier not being safe for a car in its class. It's built quite heavy, with a long front end, heavy doors, and dual airbags. As far as rust the only place that Cavaliers of that generation tend to rust is right areon the pinch welds in front of the rear tires. The kind of rust you experienced seems like it was due to damage and never washing the underbody or repairing paint that was chiped off. Japanese cars will rust too in those conditions.

It's cool but it just doesn't seem like you are giving the cavalier a fair shake.

[mexiNAMEDsqueak]

03 cavalier with almost 97k. The main things that are going out are things that are supposed to be going out i.e. the shocks, struts and what have you. It's all about how you treat your car.

If you treat it how you're supposed to be treating a car it will continue to treat you right .

[J-Ri]

Originally Posted by manicmechanix

It's cool but it just doesn't seem like you are giving the cavalier a fair shake.

Nobody ever does.

I would like to see a 95 Corolla that isn't falling apart from rust that is driven above the "snow line". My dad has one that he keeps in the garage over the winter and washes it way too much when it is out of the garage, and even that is rusting more than my '96 Beretta was. Look at how many are left on the road. You rarely see an import more than 10 years old, compared to American. I'm not saying they're not out there, but the ones that still are are falling apart and don't run very good. My dad let me drive his Corolla when I was between cars in high school, and between a Cavalier or Corolla of the same year, I would choose a Cavalier. The only thing better about the Corolla is the interior is made of a softer material that doesn't crack as much and doesn't rattle or squeak as much as they age. I don't care about that. 99% of the time I have the radio cranked up and the windows down, so I never hear it. If I want a nice quiet luxury car, I'll buy a Cadillac.

As far as I know, Manicmechanix and I are the only two automotive technicians on here. We see all sorts of different cars. We don't just own a Cavalier and assume that imports must be better because we're not 100% happy with out Cavaliers. We work on a car, notice problems with it, and decide to never, ever buy one because of various reasons. And we both have Cavaliers. They're not the nicest cars, but $ for $, they're the best.

I do believe Shelby<3'scavvy may be right about the Cavalier having one of the worst safety ratings. When I bought mine, my mom researched the safety ratings and begged me to trade it in. Maybe it was equal to other compacts, maybe it was just lower than full size cars and trucks. I don't know, and I'm not going to bother looking it up. The way I see it, it's either a fender bender and I'm fine, or a few extra safety points is the difference between being permanently injured or dead. Maybe some people would prefer the first, I don't. Don't run into a brick wall at 55 mph and you'll be fine. Also don't remove the crash bar to make room for an intercooler... but that's another topic

[chuckfnf]

ill tell u now friend, cavs are all the same from like 96 to 02 so really it doesnt much matter

[MattyWiggles]

I own a 1998 2.4L Cavalier LS and for my first car and I'm fine with it. It really depends where you live/drive, how you drive and the roads and such. During the winter I had problems getting the doors to unlock. I kind of wish I had power locks, but at the same time I have less to go wrong without the power options. Within 3 months of me buying my car(had 108,000 miles) my water pump blew which costs a pretty penny if you bring it to a shop. I learned the hard way that the 2.4L is a pain to work on. I still have a feeling though they caused it though since I swear my radiator reservoir cap was lose, not sure about that though. Another problem I have is for some reason now when my A/C is off, I hear a grinding sound from the belts(or so I believe anyway). It isn't a horrible problem, but the sound gets annoying over time. I also blew the valve cover seals from flooring it so now oil drips onto the plugs and fouls them up over time. My fault though. Besides that though, the car is fine to drive. the 2.4L has enough power. The steering is worse then a Civic, but I never had problems with it. For a first car or just something cheap to get you buy, the Cavalier isn't a bad option. Just know you have to take care of it like any car and it will get you to where you have to go.

[mexiNAMEDsqueak]

My personal opinion is 03-05 ecotec. I have an 03 cavalier with crank windows as a daily driver and love it.

Be nice to it though, I'm starting to see it's key for preventing future headaches.

Make sure you flush transmission, change oil and brakes regularly.

A car will be as good to you as you are to it.

[SteveFord26]

Originally Posted by J-Ri

Cobalt SS? I almost bought one when I ended up buying my Cavalier. Probably would have bought one if the dealer salesmen weren't such a-holes, or if they could answer very simple questions about the car. There was also no way for me to even test drive one without traveling hundreds of miles, and they gave me absolutely no confidence that they could even order the right configuration for me.

The only problem I've had with mine is the synchronizers for 3rd and 4th going out completely. Gonna have to double clutch and/or 1-2-5 it for a while. I think I can blame that on the previous driver since it would crunch gears a bit downshifting into 3rd no matter what I did when I first bought it... that scenario just didn't come up on the test drive

3rd and 4th gear went in mine also... WHat did you end up doing with that??

[J-Ri]

Originally Posted by SteveFord26

3rd and 4th gear went in mine also... WHat did you end up doing with that??

I bought a used trans from an '05 Cavalier w/ 50k miles and dropped that in. I'd suggest you replace it soon. Mine started making a really bad rubbing/clunking noise, probably related to what was broke/bad. If you do it yourself, just start a new thread and I'll give you a bit of advice... don't wanna clutter this one up.

[03cavPA]

Originally Posted by manicmechanix

The kind of rust you experienced seems like it was due to damage and never washing the underbody or repairing paint that was chiped off. Japanese cars will rust too in those conditions.

cough -- Toyota Tacoma frames -- cough

Originally Posted by mexiNAMEDsqueak

My personal opinion is 03-05 ecotec. I have an 03 cavalier with crank windows as a daily driver and love it.

Be nice to it though, I'm starting to see it's key for preventing future headaches.

Make sure you flush transmission, change oil and brakes regularly.

A car will be as good to you as you are to it.

Agree. 03 ecotec here, runs like stink. Change oil and filter every 3k. Keep an eye on coolant. Put tires and brakes on when needed, brakes before they're needed. Easy maintenance. Replaced exhaust from cat back for less than $100.

I've put 30k miles on mine since I bought it in 05, runs great, and cost me far less to buy than a comparable "import".

Not knocking imports, but they're really not God's automotive gift to the world, any more than any others, contrary to what people will hype. That's my opinion, nothing more.

Picking up a 2000 Cavalier tomorrow with 96k on it. Thing is in mint condition and I'm not afraid to take it out and drive it wherever I have to go. It's good basic transportation.

[wafrederick]

The cavaliers are good cars.I know a guy that has one,last time I knew it had 196,000 miles on it and it still runs great with no problems.The 2.2 Ecotecs do break timing chains once in a while and the head is junk when it does this.I have replaced 2 of them so far because of this.Rich,a friend of my father's has a head with 25,000 miles on it.The bottom end went out because of neglect out of a Pontiac Vibe.Do not have the transmission flushed,you will have problems and regret it.A transmission shop I know very well can prove this,do lots of valve body cleanings and rebuilds

[Slig]

Everyone has different experiences. My last car was a Toyota Corolla and the engine failed at 94k miles. I bought the car at 72k miles and it was nothing but problems until it died. Now I drive a 2001 Cavalier with a 2.4 and it has had various issues but it's still going strong with nearly 138k miles. I'm actually fairly convinced I'll be buying domestics for a while.