OK so here's the situation:

I have a 2004 Cavalier Z24 (Canada), about 70 000 kms (a large portion of that is from driving back and forth accross the country), purchased right off the dilevery truck in may 2004. I have followed the suggested maintenace, clean it thoroughly every week, don't drive it too hard, and It just has problem after problem. Now that my warrenty ran out, it is getting expensive. My brake calliper seized 2 months ago, and last week my clutch master and slave cylinders went ( which is about 6 hours labout to replace). I am a student with 2 more years of school to go yet.

Since this car keeps breaking, I'm trying to decide whether I should just sell it and buy somethign else, or keep paying for it and hope that nothing else goes wrong. it is Financed over 5 years, and I am 3 years into that. As a student I can't afford any unexpected repairs, so what I am thinking is that if I am gonna make new car sized payments, maybe I'd be better off getting another new car, that has warrenty. The other problem is that with a new car, I won't get any student loans, but I need to have a car.

If I decided to get a new car, these are the three that I will choose from:

Honda Civic LX coupe 5spd (Rallye Red)
pros -- excellent resale, good reliability, good on gas
cons -- I find it kinda ugly, not the best in the winter, less features

Toyota Corolla Sport (A package) 5spd (Alpine White)
pros -- fuel economy (plus $1000 rebate from gov't because of it's efficiency), I like the way it looks, reliaility, resale value
cons -- slowest, lacks features the others have, most expensive

Pontiac G5 GT coupe 5spd (Fully Loaded) (Blue streak Metallic)
pros -- by far the best looking, most power, most features, cheapest
cons -- potential just a s big a peice of GM s*** as my Cavalier, least efficient, unbeleivably bad resale value, worst build
quality, most likely to breakdown.

My present Cavalier Z24 5spd (Fully loaded) (Sunburst Orange)
pros -- 3/5s paid for, looks good, expensive new tires; speakers; window tint; AEM intake; custom gauges, decent power / brakes
cons -- will probably cost me thousands in repairs over the next few years, tonnes of squeaks / rattles, poor build quality, horrible
handeling, horrible resale value, has been in fairly major accident, 3 years old, least safe (crash wise)

What do you all think I should do?

Quote:

Pontiac G5 GT coupe 5spd (Fully Loaded) (Blue streak Metallic)
pros -- by far the best looking, most power, most features, cheapest
cons -- potential just a s big a peice of GM s*** as my Cavalier, least efficient, unbeleivably bad resale value, worst build
quality, most likely to breakdown.

i have the SS cobalt with the 2.4 and i will say it isint built anything like a cavalier was. at 40K it dont have any sound from the inside like the sunfire did. you shut the doors and its got a nice solid sound not like the cavaliers. the car is very quick for the price. mine dynoed 153hp and 151 torque stock and now its got the gmpp intake and the sound that thing has is crazy. i also avg 26mpg city.

I should also add that I worked at the Toyota / Honda dealer for 3 years, so I know all the staff there, as well as the markups and stuff. And I have driven Corollas and G5 / Cobalt alot, so I know I like them. But the hardest part is deciding whether or not to just keep my Cav.

Sell it, Now.

If youre going entry level, buy a Toyota or a Honda.

well your out west where insurance is A LOT cheaper then Ontario. if it still has total value, just crash in to something and write it off. you get a cheque and increased insurance rates. and probably still less then we pay in Ontario. on the downside there is the side effect of dieing or serious injury. you could torch it.


but seriously id keep the cavalier, its already 3/5 paid for. its been in a "fairly major accident" so your not going to get much selling it privately. and the cavalier will probably live till 200,000 KMS.



http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/my2005cav/my%20car%20the%20bash.jpg

JinxedZ THE LOVED ONE wrote:Sell it, Now.

If youre going entry level, buy a Toyota or a Honda.

The man speaks the truth.

And didn't say a thing about an LSx equipped vehicle... he's serious too.

SUPERFASSSSTZ, wrote:but seriously id keep the cavalier, its already 3/5 paid for. its been in a "fairly major accident" so your not going to get much selling it privately. and the cavalier will probably live till 200,000 KMS.

that's what I was thinking, I'm just worried that if it breaks again, I won't be able to pay for the repairs, and then I'll be paying for something that I won't even be able to use.

PS insurance is over $2000 a year, so it's not that cheap for MB

JinxedZ THE LOVED ONE wrote:Sell it, Now.

If youre going entry level, buy a Toyota or a Honda.

Yup.

My 05 Ion squeeks worse than my cavalier did.. It's like driving in a styrofoam box.. lol. I can't wait to get rid of this car.





Red 2005 Saturn Ion-3 Coupe

just trade in the cav for a used car so you dont need to roll over any debt

Rolling over debt can take many, many years to get rid of. You'd be paying for a car and 2/5 of a car together. How about you save up money for repairs before something breaks & keep the Cav. Making Cav payments plus saving for repairs could equal about the cost of a new car, but you can put your savings into an account and at least get some interest.

If you do decide to get another car, you don't have to go new to get a warranty. I bought my Sunfire 1 year used, saved $8000 by doing so & still had a warranty up to 5 years/50,000 miles.

themarin8r wrote:just trade in the cav for a used car so you dont need to roll over any debt

Well the car is worth a few thousand more than i owe on it

JinxedZ THE LOVED ONE wrote:Sell it, Now.

If youre going entry level, buy a Toyota or a Honda.

Spoken like a true Rabbi and yes those words are indeed in the Tora.



>>>For Sale? Clicky!<<<
-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----

Jonathan wrote:

themarin8r wrote:just trade in the cav for a used car so you dont need to roll over any debt

Well the car is worth a few thousand more than i owe on it

which is why you should trade it in for a used car that is worth as much as your current car is worth minus what you owe
that way you own the used car outright and owe nothing, and have something more reliable