Faults:

I never had any problems. The Chevette ran and was the most reliable Chevrolet I ever had.

General Comments:

I bought a Chevrolet Chevette in 1985. It was my first car, and it was extremely reliable. In fact it was the best Chevrolet I ever had. I regret to this day that I sold it in 1996 to a friend of mine. Ever since then, every Chevrolet I bought has not held up as well, and was not as reliable as the Chevette.

I bought the Chevette with 5 miles on the odometer off the showroom floor, and drove it for 225,000 miles. I took really good care of the car. The oil was changed every 3,000 miles. The coolant and transmission fluid was serviced every 30,000 miles. All of the belts were also changed every 30,000 miles. I also had the timing belt serviced at 30,000 mile intervals. This car never let me down. In our family, we called the Chevette Betsy.

Since selling the Chevette, I bought a Corsica, which blew a head gasket at 41,000 miles. I sold the Corsica and bought a 1999 Malibu, which had problems with the hydraulic braking system, and ABS control module at 16,000 miles. The Malibu was traded in for a Impala LS. The Impala is a piece of junk. Chevrolet never should have retired the Chevette, since it was a really good car that held up well. I sold the Chevette to a friend of mine who sold it in 2003. That car was still running when he sold it.

Faults:

Alternator at around 140 000km.

Timing belt was always squealing, never got it changed.

Front shocks at 150 000km.

New starter at around 120 000km.

Master cylinder at around 180 000km.

General Comments:

We paid $500 for that car, and it was in pretty good shape. It was a real tank. Sadly, it was probably even slower than one. The car had no power, but was very reliable and drove us everywhere. We abused the poor thing and barely ever washed it.

What killed the car is the rust. The floorboards rusted through all over the place, and we decided to scrap the car. I would buy another one if I could find one in good shape.

Faults:

The speedometer and odometer were broken when I got the car, so there's no telling how many kilometers are on the car.

The radiator needed replacing, but that was self-inflicted since I drove it through a mud puddle into some broken cement, puncturing the radiator.

The starter went.

The car slows right down on the highway sometimes when it is cold. Car acts like it needs gas-line antifreeze, even if it has been added recently. Cannot figure this out.

General Comments:

This Chevette is awesome, it's great on gas.

The spare wheel is easily accessible.

Handling through traffic is great due to its small size.

Uses little oil, even during highway travel.

I have gotten used to starting the car off in first, then switching up to second, then drive. I downshift when approaching a stop. Recently, my car started slipping out of gear randomly. A friend told me I am wrecking my transmission by driving it this way. Is he correct? Please answer.

Faults:

Carburettor went at 53,000 miles.

Control arm snapped at 53,500 miles.

That is about it.

General Comments:

This has to be one of the best cars ever built.

The steering and handling is sports car territory.

The acceleration is fine for most purposes.

I have managed a constant 35 miles to the gallon in mostly city driving.

The head room is terrific, so is the rear seat leg room.

The cargo area is usefully big and this little lugger can hold its own weight.

The seats are fairly comfortable, and the driving position is workable.

Visibility is excellent, and its small exterior size makes it very simple to park in carriage corrals.

This is a fairly bumpy car, and noise levels are not Lexus-like.

The car tops out at about 80 mph, which is good for me and bad for cops.

Throw 100 lbs. of Speedy-Dry in the back and you have a pretty capable snow car.

Without power brakes, the pedal is heavy, but the stopping distance is fairly short.

The control layout is smart, and more handy than most of today's cars.

Parts for this car have not been over $300, and that is about the same for insurance for a year.

Build quality and exterior finish are about the norm.

Excellent first car!