Should I buy a Cavalier? Couple questions before I do...

[LiquidCell]

Alright, this guy I used to work with has a (in nice condition) 2000 Cavalier (4 door). Here is what he said it has:

-New engine with 30,000-35,000km
-100,000km on the body
-Dual Exhaust System
-Aftermarket headlights/taillights (don't really care but whatever)
-Tinted Windows

My question is, are Cavaliers reliable? do they have alot of mechanical problems? I know he used to have a full aftermarket stereo (****** sony xplod subs but w/e) and he had his alternator die on him a couple of times, I am guessing this is because of the stereo and he didn't have a battery/capacitor added onto it...

He also had a problem with the tires before, I don't know what the problem was, I am going to assume that it was his alignment...

I am going to check it out and hopefully testdrive it on friday @ around 5pm-6pm

Any advice on if I should get a Cavalier or not would be appreciated!

Thanks
-Dave-

Also, the LOWEST quote that I got using kanetix.ca (don't know how accurate these quotes are) was from Certas, without collision they want $275.00* (gonna guess the star will rage from $25-$50 higher than what they're quoting), so I should expect the quote to be anywhere from $275.00-$325.00/month

[dasaylay]

Get him to show you some receipts for the new engine, where it was done, but also, why would a new engine be needed for a 6/7 year old car so soon?

[saku]

at the first place, drive the car to chevrolet local dealer and do a complete inspection. It will cost you $80. They will tell you how good is the engine and its components. I, myself did the same checkup last week at 3rchevrolet, who recommended me to change timing belt and steering components. I used their report to negotiate the price with the seller. Hope it helps.

[VivienM]

Don't get a Cavalier, unless you think your life (and that of your passengers) is worthless. The Cavalier is a complete death trap - for example, go to hwysafety.org and look at the post-crash test pictures. Probably the least safe car on the road. Also, you may want to look at that series the Toronto Star did a few months ago about this drunk driver who killed a couple of people: it's not a coincidence that the victims were in a Sunfire (same as Cavalier)...

I like GM. They make some decent things. The J body (Cavalier/Sunfire) is NOT one of those.

[bluedcfive]

Alright, this guy I used to work with has a (in nice condition) 2000 Cavalier (4 door). Here is what he said it has:

-New engine with 30,000-35,000km
-100,000km on the body
-Dual Exhaust System
-Aftermarket headlights/taillights (don't really care but whatever)
-Tinted Windows

My question is, are Cavaliers reliable? do they have alot of mechanical problems? I know he used to have a full aftermarket stereo (****** sony xplod subs but w/e) and he had his alternator die on him a couple of times, I am guessing this is because of the stereo and he didn't have a battery/capacitor added onto it...

He also had a problem with the tires before, I don't know what the problem was, I am going to assume that it was his alignment...

I am going to check it out and hopefully testdrive it on friday @ around 5pm-6pm

Any advice on if I should get a Cavalier or not would be appreciated!

Thanks
-Dave-

Also, the LOWEST quote that I got using kanetix.ca (don't know how accurate these quotes are) was from Certas, without collision they want $275.00* (gonna guess the star will rage from $25-$50 higher than what they're quoting), so I should expect the quote to be anywhere from $275.00-$325.00/month

no, dont buy it

[Pipes]

All depends on how much money he wants for it. If it's cheap, and you get it checked out by a mechanic, go for it. It's one of the cheapest cars to insure and maintenace for it will be among the lowest as well, since parts for them are dirt cheap and plentiful. But ya, definitely get it checked out and ask for receipts. A new engine at 100k is not normal for any car.

[stevethewheel]

Although you didn't mention the price I'd stay away from this one.

Any car with that much of a story is someone else's accumulated trouble waiting to fall into your lap.

[GuiltySpark]

2000+ engines are quite reliable. They are old technology (ohv) but are pretty stout. I'd REALLY look into the engine replacement. Get receipts. get a mechanic to look at it and see about a warranty on the work/engine.

If this isn't very cheap, pass. My fiirst thought with a replaced engine is that it was abused or otherwise not taken care of....not nescessarily the case, but a definite de-value to the car.

[LiquidCell]

the guy wants $5000.00 even for the car...

Thanks for the advice, and yes I was going to get it taken to a mechanic. He said he does have the receipts for the engine and all of that, he works @ GM (Answering e-mails all day) and I am guessing he got a deal on the new engine and all of that since he works for GM.

Thanks again...

[Whitedart]

the guy wants $5000.00 even for the car...

Thanks for the advice, and yes I was going to get it taken to a mechanic. He said he does have the receipts for the engine and all of that, he works @ GM (Answering e-mails all day) and I am guessing he got a deal on the new engine and all of that since he works for GM.


Personally, I would pass on this one. Any car that has needed an engine replacement at 65-70 k was likely really abused.

Cavaliers are not known to be a reliable car to start with, and with the mods done to this one, I can also see electrical problems arising. Spend the funds to have a good mechanic check it over before purchase and follow his advice.

[LiquidCell]

I was looking @ a used car dealership called MuradAutoSales...

Saw a 2001 Sunfire there that had 107,000km...

Price was $5990+PST&GST, might check that out... not much for the colour (beige) but I'll see...

[cipher]

Cavalier's are cheaply made from cheap materials...I would never buy one...especially a used one. The one you describe....

-New engine with 30,000-35,000km - He did enough damage to the engine to need it replaced...most engine should last more than 6 years...
-Dual Exhaust System - Most likely this guy thinks he's got a performance vehicle...and has abused the hell out of it.
-Aftermarket headlights/taillights (don't really care but whatever) - definitely a ricer....and ricers are not kind to their cars.

DON"T BUY IT!!!!

[Toronto]

Don't buy a cavalier. The price can be found even cheaper than $5000 if you look though. When I was looking for a car, Cavaliers were all really cheap. The salesman told me because they start to break down around after a couple years. Very unreliable.

[galanz]

Cavalier's are cheaply made from cheap materials...I would never buy one...especially a used one. The one you describe....

-New engine with 30,000-35,000km - He did enough damage to the engine to need it replaced...most engine should last more than 6 years...
-Dual Exhaust System - Most likely this guy thinks he's got a performance vehicle...and has abused the hell out of it.
-Aftermarket headlights/taillights (don't really care but whatever) - definitely a ricer....and ricers are not kind to their cars.

DON"T BUY IT!!!!

+1, I was just about to post exactly the same thing.

[baboo]

Don't buy it. For 5k, it's not worth it.......

[kcorscadden]

Big question is why was the engine replaced after 65 to 70,000km? The Cavalier's are garbage cars, but their engines usually last at least 100,000km, which leads me to think that the owner treated the car like crap. Based on that alone, I wouldn't buy it as he/she has probably treated the car poorly.

I would also take it to a mechanic that YOU TRUST. Don't take it to a Chevy dealership or shop as they will just say that the car is fine because it is a Chevy. Take it to a shop that you trust and have your mechanic appraise it. If the owner refuses, walk away.

It also depends on what the car will be used for. Are you using it for city or HWY? There is a huge difference between the 2.

Personally, for me I wouldn't even waste my time thinking about it any further. There is thousands of better cars out there for probably cheaper than what has been quoted.

Keep looking, you'll find something better

[GuiltySpark]

Now now....while this particular Cavalier is slightly suspect (for the price?....avoid) Cavaliers are good cars. They are not great by any means, but they are a reliable, reasonable car.
I've owned 5 cavalier/sunfire/sunbirds and they have all been great reliable cars. They ARE cheaply made, but lets remember this is a COMPACT car, not a cadillac.

The Chev 2.2's pre '96 had above average head gasket issues, but once they went to the 2200 series engines they took a great leap in reliability. Also the Gas mileage is quite good. Expect around 600 kms per 35l tank.

[belfour]

I've owned 5 cavalier/sunfire/sunbirds and they have all been great reliable cars. They ARE cheaply made, but lets remember this is a COMPACT car, not a cadillac.

Just curious what was the timeframe/life of all ur 5 cars.

[rks]

Not all cavaliers are bad. After 2003 they updated the engine to an ecotec 2.2L engine. This engine has so many positive reviews and was designed in conjunction with Saab and Opel in germany.

As far as the car being a death trap I disagree with that. In my 2004 cavi slipped and flew off the highway, was airborne, rolled over a few times and skidded on its roof for 2 minutes. I rember on several days in minus 34 weather the car turned on without any issues and without being plugged in.

I was able to walk out of that by myself with minor scratches on my right arm. The front door was kinda crushed but I was able to exit through the rear door.

rks

[kcorscadden]

There is nothing necessarily wrong with the Cavalier considering it's price. It isn't a surprise that it and the Sunfire were the #1 selling cars in their class as they were cheap cars.

I never liked the Cavalier or Sunfire, they rattled and sounded cheap, but they ran. The Cobalt is a solid car. That rattling feel is now gone. The Cobalt is pretty new still and whether it eventually starts rattling remains to be seen, but it is big upgrade from the Cavalier.

If you want a basic car that will get ya from Point A to B and you aren't going to drive her hard, then there is nothing wrong with the Cavalier. OP, just don't buy this Cavalier as the engine replacement scares me. Who knows what the hell the owner did to this car.

[GuiltySpark]

The Eco is a fantastic Engine. I own the 2.0 version with the Eaton M62 supercharger and a water to air intercooler. I have the GM stage II upgrade which bumps it up to 250hp even. The Cobalt is a good car IMO.

I've owned a 1991 Cav V6 (not the 2.2 stated) fast car with a great engine. It lasted about 8 years before it was wrote off.

A 1992 Cavalier 2.2 auto. Slow as hell but purchased it @ 195k and it lasted well into the 300's before the rust got to it (this is just recently). It got me to school, work and commuting 160 kms a day for about a year.

A 1991 Sunbird Convertible 2.0 Turbo. (a variant of the 2.2...but not) Good little car, decently fast but had brutal Lag. Car lasted quite some time before it was sold.

1999 Cavalier Z24. This is the best car I ever owned. I got it at 80k and traded it in at 170k, I still regret it. With a set of good winter tires nothing would stop it. I never had it in for any repairs what so ever and it still looked great the day I got rid of it. (1.5yrs ago)

1998 Cav Z-24. I bought this car for a flip and thats exactly what I did. It had a tranny issue and an electrical issue that were dealt with before it was sold for a decent profit. I drove it for a few months and enjoyed it while I owned it.

Wife owns a 2000 Sunfire SE with a 2.2 it gets well over 600kms per tank and is a great reliable car.
I own a 2005 Cobalt as stated and it has the ECOtec engine which is the new version of the old 2.2 ohv. While based on the old architecture they share no parts and is vastly better engineered.

I've worked on more Cavaliers and Sunfires than I care to count and they all have the same general problems. But in my experience with the car, for the price paid you will get a lot for your Money.

*Disclaimer*
If I had more Money I'd buy a civic ;)

[LiquidCell]

The Eco is a fantastic Engine. I own the 2.0 version with the Eaton M62 supercharger and a water to air intercooler. I have the GM stage II upgrade which bumps it up to 250hp even. The Cobalt is a good car IMO.

I've owned a 1991 Cav V6 (not the 2.2 stated) fast car with a great engine. It lasted about 8 years before it was wrote off.

A 1992 Cavalier 2.2 auto. Slow as hell but purchased it @ 195k and it lasted well into the 300's before the rust got to it (this is just recently). It got me to school, work and commuting 160 kms a day for about a year.

A 1991 Sunbird Convertible 2.0 Turbo. (a variant of the 2.2...but not) Good little car, decently fast but had brutal Lag. Car lasted quite some time before it was sold.

1999 Cavalier Z24. This is the best car I ever owned. I got it at 80k and traded it in at 170k, I still regret it. With a set of good winter tires nothing would stop it. I never had it in for any repairs what so ever and it still looked great the day I got rid of it. (1.5yrs ago)

1998 Cav Z-24. I bought this car for a flip and thats exactly what I did. It had a tranny issue and an electrical issue that were dealt with before it was sold for a decent profit. I drove it for a few months and enjoyed it while I owned it.

Wife owns a 2000 Sunfire SE with a 2.2 it gets well over 600kms per tank and is a great reliable car.
I own a 2005 Cobalt as stated and it has the ECOtec engine which is the new version of the old 2.2 ohv. While based on the old architecture they share no parts and is vastly better engineered.

I've worked on more Cavaliers and Sunfires than I care to count and they all have the same general problems. But in my experience with the car, for the price paid you will get a lot for your Money.

*Disclaimer*
If I had more Money I'd buy a civic ;)

I'm with you on the civic remark, I mean, yeah I could buy one in about 3-4 months if I quit smoking :D.. but then again, we all know how insurance is with 20year old/male drivers and civics, **** i hate ricers that think their car's are fast as **** and then crash like that one idiot in toronto (or somewhere, the picture in the newspaper had his plate that said REDROCKT or something like that) that tried drifting through an intersection and hit another car killing 2 people (I think they were on their wedding anniversary as well :S).

I am going to look more into a sunfire... and yes I decided that I am not going to buy that cavilier!

[climacus]

Unmolested Cavalier/Sunfire are a dime a dozen, don't buy a riced up one with a blown engine and sketchy history. I wouldn't pay more than $3k for any 95+ Cavalier/Sunfire regardless of miles. These cars are basically worthless in resale.

They're not horrible car, just kind of crappy by today's standard. The brakes though are super super horrible for a mid-'90s small car. It also does very poorly in head-on crashes. A bit of a death trap by today's standard.

[grant]

If you want to know about reliability, look at a lemon-aid used car guide. Listening to random internet strangers opinions on reliability is foolish.

That said, it's my observation that a well maintained "unreliable" car will give you less trouble than an abused "reliable" car. Whatever this guy has done to his vehicle is obviously pretty harsh, so you're wise to stay away.

btw i have a 98 cavalier, 110k, no problems ever except the OEM rotors tended to warp.

[GuiltySpark]

Unmolested Cavalier/Sunfire are a dime a dozen, don't buy a riced up one with a blown engine and sketchy history. I wouldn't pay more than $3k for any 95+ Cavalier/Sunfire regardless of miles. These cars are basically worthless in resale.

They're not horrible car, just kind of crappy by today's standard. The brakes though are super super horrible for a mid-'90s small car. It also does very poorly in head-on crashes. A bit of a death trap by today's standard.

My thoughts summed up quite well, especially the re-sale. This is GM's worst aspect by a longshot.

[CompWizrd]

Alright, this guy I used to work with has a (in nice condition) 2000 Cavalier (4 door). Here is what he said it has:
2000... was this one of the years that had the broken ABS system? We had some 2001's that had trouble stopping because even a few pebbles on the road was enough to trigger the ABS and make the brakes refuse to stop the car.. there were a few times I was just about to pull the emergency brake since the regular brakes were useless.

[vickyvictoria]

it's fugly.
:o

[AudiDude]

Also, the LOWEST quote that I got using kanetix.ca (don't know how accurate these quotes are) was from Certas, without collision they want $275.00* (gonna guess the star will rage from $25-$50 higher than what they're quoting), so I should expect the quote to be anywhere from $275.00-$325.00/month

Did you try PC insurance? I was with CIBC which was then bought by Certas and in 3 years they increased my rates over $800. They would always try adding extras I didn't ask for, and when I called to complain was told it is my responsibility to go over my policy to make sure they haven't changed anything.I called them up to get some info that PC insurance needed and the CSR asked why I wanted that info. I replied"you know what I need it for, I'm shopping around". He said "well there is no need for that, I can save you $8 per month" to which I replied "my new insurance company is $120 per month cheaper, can you beat that?". Yes PC insurance smoked Certas by that much, you can do an online quote to see what you'll get.

As a final note, there are many other cars that I would rather own than a Cavalier, even if they had TWICE the mileage.

[weedb0y]

at the first place, drive the car to chevrolet local dealer and do a complete inspection. It will cost you $80. They will tell you how good is the engine and its components. I, myself did the same checkup last week at 3rchevrolet, who recommended me to change timing belt and steering components. I used their report to negotiate the price with the seller. Hope it helps.

Why would they tell you to change the timing belt when they 95+ cars have Timing chains.

[icu_nxtime]

I have had about 10-12 cars. Bought the sunfire new in 96??? worst car I have ever owned hands down my chrysler 500 (basically a K car) was better than that POS

Stay away !!

[JohnnyABC]

I had my 1995 Cavalier from May 1999 through to this past May 2006. Seven years. I never really had any problems with it. Nice, reliable little first car.

Mind you, I bought it with 125k kms and only drove 28,000 kms in those seven years. I sold it because my picky mechanic wouldn't pass it through his safety inspection. It would've passed Canadian Tire or somewhere with minimal repairs.

I ended up buying a slightly used 2006 Toyota Corolla and I love it.

[weedb0y]

I took my 95 Sunfire to 302,000KM without any major problems! Just one brake job..thats it!

[Shaner]

I had a 2000 Sunfire SE and it was rock solid.
If I was to be in the market for a cheap, used car, I would definitely consider a Sunfire.

I beat the hell out of that car every day for 6 years. I took it to 240,000 km's and in that time only replaced spark plugs, battery and fuel pump. That car took everything I threw at it and it begged for more.

I sold it to a family member a few months ago and it's still going strong.

2000+ J-bodies (Sunfires & Cavaliers) are very reliable cars. I don't care what anyone on this site says, statistics prove that those cars are above average when it comes to reliability. Yes, they will rattle and shake, sometimes excessively, but they will keep on going with minimal problems. They have their common problems like any car, but they are good cars, and I'm not even a GM fan.

[blexann]

Our second car is a 2000 cavalier with 265000 km's and it's still going strong.

bang for buck it's bin great!

[Alvito]

Alright, this guy I used to work with has a (in nice condition) 2000 Cavalier (4 door). Here is what he said it has:

-New engine with 30,000-35,000km
-100,000km on the body
-Dual Exhaust System
-Aftermarket headlights/taillights (don't really care but whatever)
-Tinted Windows

My question is, are Cavaliers reliable? do they have alot of mechanical problems? I know he used to have a full aftermarket stereo (****** sony xplod subs but w/e) and he had his alternator die on him a couple of times, I am guessing this is because of the stereo and he didn't have a battery/capacitor added onto it...

He also had a problem with the tires before, I don't know what the problem was, I am going to assume that it was his alignment...

I am going to check it out and hopefully testdrive it on friday @ around 5pm-6pm

Any advice on if I should get a Cavalier or not would be appreciated!

Thanks
-Dave-

Also, the LOWEST quote that I got using kanetix.ca (don't know how accurate these quotes are) was from Certas, without collision they want $275.00* (gonna guess the star will rage from $25-$50 higher than what they're quoting), so I should expect the quote to be anywhere from $275.00-$325.00/month

avoid modded cars.