Are Sunfires fairly reliable & good to buy used?

[becscar]

I am wanting any info on how reliable are Sunfires? I am looking into buying a used GM car soon, and want as many specifics as possible about paricular cars. Have any of you Sunfire owners experienced any wierd starting issues not caused by a bad starter? I have heard it is something that happens to other GM cars. What causes it?
Overall are Sunfires a good buy when you only have $3,000 to $4,000 to spend?
Thanks for any help & advice!

[GTP Dad]

I guess you really like GM cars since you are looking at multiple models. Sunfires are as good as Grand Am's although they can have issues just like any other car. Of course they are Pontiac's version of the Cavalier!!!

[BlasZ24]

I think that they are a good buy used. I bought a 2000 GT about 6 months ago and it now has 175k km's on it and it has been quite reliable for me. I havent had any engine issues, I have only had to replace a couple of bearings on it, and there are some minor electrical system issues. But nothing big everything runs smoothly on it now. I also used to have a 98 Cavalier Z-24 with about 150k km's on it when it was totalled but it was a great car too no minor electrical issues with that one and no engine problems I had that one for 7 months. So yes I would say these are reliable cars and a good buy for how much they cost. Just be careful because these are the type of vehicle that a lot of people drive kinda hard so you have to be careful and really check it over before you buy one. Hope this helps you!

[becscar]

Thanks for all the info!
I do like GM cars, and I have pretty much narrowed it down to a GM car, now Ijust have to pick which type. That is why I am asking LOTS of questions. You know the phrase, once bitten twice shy....well we were bitten twice by Chrysler products, and had to sell our cars at low prices (TOO LOW) because we could not afford the expensive tranny and cracked head repairs (both common Chrysler problems) and now we have been bitten by LOTS of expensive repairs on our Ford. Funny, one day we were at the auto Repair parts store, and a man came by and said "Oh you have a Ford, that means Fix Often Repeat Daily" I am begining to believe that!
So I am hoping GM is our best bet. My family has always owned GM cars everything from Chevelles, Camaros, Cavaliers, Celebritys, Sunbirds, Phoenix's to Firenza & Monza's. They all seemed to be fairly relaible, so I am hoping I have the same fortune, but I am nervous. We can't afford another soaker car like this Ford has been. I want to make the BEST, most informed decision.
Thanks for all the help!

[mike2004tct]

Originally Posted by becscar

, and a man came by and said "Oh you have a Ford, that means Fix Often Repeat Daily" I am begining to believe that!
Thanks for all the help!

Followed over from the Cavalier site.

Here's some more;

Found On Road Dead
Fix Or Repair Daily

More will follow..........

[ragtopman]

I own both Fords and GMs and I must say if you maintain both correctly, they both seem to last a long time. As for the Sunfire, I bought it about 5 months ago with the intention of just keeping it for a winter car. Within the past 5 months, I've really come to like the Sunfire so much that I think I will keep it alot longer then just the winter. I have a 96 and I haven't had any issues with it at all except normal maintence (brakes, tune up, oil changes, etc.) I would highly recommend one, but do your homework first and check the car out completely before you buy it. The better the previous owner maintained it the better your chances of not having any problems. If you want to see the my Sunfire as well as my other cars go to www.cardomain.com/ride/816145 Good Luck

[becscar]

LOL those are some other good ones for FORD!

ragtopman--Thanks for your info about your Sunfire....glad to know it has been a good car for you. I will check out your car site. thanks!

[Meagan]

Heya

I have a 96 sunfire that I bought with 114000 kms on it, and have just rolled over 170000 kms this week (over 2.5 years). I havent *touch wood* had any serious problems with it, except as said before, regular maintenance and a thermostat (still dealing with that issue though). We even discovered that the original spark plugs were still in it when we went to change them this fall. The car has a slight knock in the engine, and I did find that quite a few sunfires I test drove did have this... what causes it, I'm not sure. The gas mileage is fantastic, and overall, I adore the car (much more than the Mercury 'Mistake' I owned previously!)

Good luck, and enjoy GM Rules!

[becscar]

Thank you for all the good info! I am always glad to hear about the cars with the high mileage running well still. That is good to hear!

[lildudeinacar]

I drive an 2001 Sunfire SE 2.2L 164,000 and runs like a champ, Mint condish

[dva2082]

Mine is a 1997, 2.2L automatic.. I got it in 2002 for $2500, had about 75,000 miles on it. Now has ~133,000 miles, still basically runs like new. I've done the regular maintenance stuff, and put in an MP3 player radio, but nothing else.

I love my sunfire. I'll probably get another one after this..

Chris