Cavalier value?

[surferfletch]

I was surprised to see the price for the entry level Cavalier Coupe. It's advertised for about $10,700. It seems like a good value to me. I've been driving a '96 VW Jetta that I got for about $12,000 in 1997. The 2.2L DOHC engine is bigger than my 2.0L and produces a bit more HP, 140 vs. 115. I'd expect the handling to not be as tight, but I haven't driven it. I have three questions:
1) How many miles before the 2.2 starts burning oil?
2) How many miles can I put on the clutch if conservatively driven?
3) How do you like the suspension?
I need an economical way to get from house to house for work. It'll take a pretty good deal for me to get out of my VW.
Thanks for responding!

[cavispeedracer]

my girlfriend just bought a 96 jetta gls stick with the 2.0 engine. I drove it and was impressed with the comfortable ride - but not very zippy and attractive. I own a 97 cavalier z24 stick with the 2.4L engine. I have aftermarket sport tuned suspension as of now, but stock it was decent, not as good as the jetta though. Her jetta gets about 23 MPG and my cavi gets about 26 MPG with the mods on it too. I got 150 HP and its really zippy - but designed to get great gas mileage too. I'd definitley go with the 2.4 over 2.2 - less problems, more sporty, and an overall much better build in my opinion.

After driving the Jetta and the Cavalier, I think the Cavalier Z24 is the much better bang for your buck - but if you like your Jetta and the suspension and comfortable ride, I would not convert over to the Cavalier. One plus is that the Cavi has a glove box though, lol. Damn Germans.

[surferfletch]

The power and styling of the Cavalier does beat the Jetta. I went up to the dealer to take a look last night. I wonder about the durability of the drive train. My 2.0L has 144K and pulls strong, consuming very little oil between changes. Seat covers with large rear pockets make up for the lack of glovebox...strange!

[cavispeedracer]

my cavis got about 120k on it - I'll admit it, I take care of the maintenance and whatnot, but its raced and sometimes ran pretty hard. Hadn't had any mechanical problems beside replacing the waterpump back at 100k. I heard cavaliers also have bad power windows - but I have crank windows so I dont have to deal with that. Overall, comparing to other cars I've owned, this is by far the best. I strongly advise you test drive one and research more about the Z24 at www.edmunds.com from other consumers.

Also, happy to know the Jetta is running strong at 144k. My girlfriends is at about 80k right now and there hasnt been a problem with it except the motors for the windows keep breaking........ also ill have to tell her about that seat cover thing, cuz she has all her crap around the car even tho that trunk is so damn big she never uses it.

[surferfletch]

Thanks! I've only had to do one window in my Jetta, but 2 so far in my Rodeo with a third one ready to fail. I'd rather have manual windows!

[01Cavy]

Manual windows huh? I'm trying to convert mine to power...just can't find the door panels/switch to do it.

[cavispeedracer]

i wasted 500 bucks on manual windows with my grand am...... im done with power stuff. its garbage after its like 6 years old and keeps breaking. I keep my power locks cause ive never had a problem with that. But power windows/sunroof is a real pain in the ass.

[01Cavy]

I've never had a problem with power windows. I still like them for now!