Basically I've been driving a 1993 Toyota Corolla DX sedan for several years without issue until a month ago when I randomly bought this car. I was at work when a buddy of mine tells me he bought a new Dodge so he wants to get rid of his old car, a wheezing chevy coupe. I said it couldn't hurt and took a look, he was the only owner since new and had done basic maintenance (better than none at all). It's a 1998 Cavalier base coupe with a 2.2L 3 speed auto in Manta Green Metallic, it's showing 139000 miles and the only thing currently non functioning is the AC due to a torn line. It's got new tires and beyond a few small scuffs and dings there's nothing truly wrong with it. I asked him how much and he said he really didn't care since his new car was 1000x better and gave it to me for $150 lol. So I figured since the investment was so low I replaced the fuel filter, spark plug wires and plugs, valve cover gasket, coolant temp sensor, throttle body gasket, TPS, fuel pressure regulator, replaced the transmission gasket since it was leaking and also did the filter/fluid at the same time because I was already in there. Also replaced all the fuses and replaced the seals around the fuel injectors all with AC DELCO parts. The car drives great albeit it rides a little rough but I intend to buy a set of KYB quick-struts to fix that soon. The last thing left to do is to replace the fuel pump/sock/evap pressure sensor and that should remove my current and only annoying issue which is a hard starting when cold. I narrowed it down to the fuel pump after countless hours of searching related issues on here and that crap chevy forum. I have one other issue which seems to be my ABS light is always on but the car displays no codes so it helps me none. But for a grand total of like 400 or so dollars I can't complain at all. Even the radio works good. If you aren't all annoyed yet my question is "
is the cavalier worth keeping?" or
should I just sell it? My Corolla has 272000 miles on it but honestly it drives pretty solid for a 25 year old car (even the R12 AC system still works), the Cavalier is sort of a rattle-trap compared to the tight fit and finish of the Japanese sedan. I've owned a number of Japanese vehicles over the years and am not familiar with domestic penalty boxes, this became obvious when I did the fuel filter haha. Are these cars reliable little machines? This one made it to 2016 without much effort so I can only assume yes. Here's some photos but I already got new plates so I'm not going to bother to block out the old ones. Thanks for the replies in advance
those floormats tho
Nice car for the age!
As for whether you should keep it, I would say yes. If insurance is not crazy, I would just keep them both for a while. Heck, if one goes, you have a spare. And if gas prices shoot up high again, you could sell one of the two and make a little money too!
You could even have some fun with the Cav too......
http://www.autorentalandsales.com/images/2004Cavalier005.JPG
If you can find a 95 in a boneyard you can probably buy its full dash for cheap and get rid of your dash crack. 95s seemed to have used better plastics that did not crack up by the windshield like yours has.
I have the same deal with the ABS and the brake light. I think my pump is sticking bcause the lights will be out sometimes and then when I press the brake I hear it make some noise and then the light immediately comes back on.
Nice score on the coupe. Is it showing any signs of rust on the lower quarter panels outside the backseat? The 2-doors are bad for this. I think they rust from the inside out. If you have none or it is just starting you might be able to take preventive measures.
Brian
