1984 Chevrolet Cavalier 4 door, plain 4 cylnder from North America

Summary:

Sweat box, rust bucket

Faults:

Needed brakes before I could drive it.

Fly wheel was noisy when I started it.

Body was so rusted, window was falling threw, and had to get clip to hold it in place.

Sometimes would not even start unless you went under hood and moved some kind of lever with a broom or ice scraper handle.

Finally just would not start no more one day.

General Comments:

Was a hot sweat box rust bucket with no a/c.

Embarrassed to start or ride in because of noise it made too start and the way it looked all beat up and rusty, but it was my very first car, and was a good starter car to get me around for a little while. You get what you pay for! I think the newer models look so much better. I might get the glorified caviler next. The Pontiac sun fire! Now that I have more money saved up. I also had a 91 dodge shadow and a 96 Chevy beretta. I only paid $150 for it!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd January, 2007

1984 Chevrolet Cavalier Type-10 CL 2.0L from North America

Summary:

I would never turn down a chance do drive a Chevy

Faults:

My cavalier is on its third Engine.

Each engine is harder to find Though. My cavalier is well worth keeping and fixing.

This last engine will last awhile. The reason the engine got replaced twice was because the Piston rings went, in both number 1 cylinders. When I got the third engine I rebuilt it. Other than that no other problem I have had it for 6 years and since then it has not seen snow.

General Comments:

I love My cavalier. I owed 2. The first was the coupe, This one now is the Hatch Back white. So nice. I saw a blue coupe in a field, so I may pick it up this spring.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th February, 2006

28th Feb 2006, 15:42

Your car has gone through three engines in six years and you consider this a good thing?

My 1984 BMW 318i had its engine rebuilt once, in 2001, at 175K miles. If it was a Cavalier I'd be broke by now.

1984 Chevrolet Cavalier 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

A piece of garbage that refuses to be tossed aside

Faults:

Paid $200 for general tune-up before actually drove it.

Needed new brakes after 6 months.

New battery after a year.

Oil/grease on engine smokes when heated up.

Rear shocks extremely loose.

Rust, and lots of it.

Parking brake doesn't work.

No inside mirror.

Cigarette lighter doesn't work.

No A/C.

Stereo doesn't work for unknown reasons.

Just recently, the 2 front doors stuck and won't open.

Because I don't want to throw money into it, I've only fixed the problems necessary for moving forward, reverse, and braking.

General Comments:

When I got this car from my older sister 2 years ago, the car was in pretty bad shape. The drive gears wouldn't connect (like being in neutral) and sometimes it would stall in traffic. Once I got the repairs done, I didn't have to worry about the gears not catching, and the only time it stalled was trying to back out of my driveway early in the morning on colder days. One plus is that the front seats are the most comfortable I've ever been in.

All complaints aside, for a car already past it's 15th birthday when I got it, it's been very reliable. Especially considering the abuse it's been through. It's been able to do things car like it shouldn't be doing. Even though all sorts of little things have broken like most of the dashboard's electric components, the primary stuff, engine and transmission, have not broken down or needed attention. I drive it hard and yet taken all the punishment and still gets me to where I need to be.

The biggest 2 negatives about the car for me have been the underpowered 4cyl engine and the lack of power-steering. That 4cyl coupled with age are not capable of delivering any sort of desirable performance. I have to floor the car any time I want to accelerate and it still only does a mediocre job.

For the type of driving I do, the steering is terrible. From a dead stop, I've got to muscle the wheel around. Even worse is when the "power-assisted" steering kicks in as I'm making a left hand turn at a busy intersection. That has produced some close calls.

For a 20 year old junk car, it's put up with enough abuse and neglect to impress me and mechanics. However, I highly doubt that I'll be singing any praises at 100,000+ miles, the engine could make it, but the body wouldn't.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 29th May, 2003

11th Jul 2004, 12:23

I own a 1984 Chevy Cavalier Wagon I Paid $400.00 for it, but only thing that I had to put in it was $250.00 for the catalytic converter to the tail pipe. other than that she is a great car 7/11/2004.

29th Jul 2004, 22:31

In 2003 I bought a 1984 4 door cavalier. It's not much to look at, there was some rust, but for the most part it's been a decent car. I drove half way across Canada and back in the year that I've owned it, with many other somewhat lengthy trips in between. For $600 I can't complain, because so far, the only major thing that I've had to replace was the exhaust, from the cadalytic converter to the tail pipe. I haven't put much else into it, aside from a couple tires. For a college student's first car, it's been amazing. I don't regret buying it for a minute. Unfortunately, I now need something with a little more power to get me places, but I'd recommend it to anyone.

20th May 2005, 10:51

I'd be willing to bet good money that your cavalier does not have 81k on it. It is most likely 181k or even 282k. I had an 84 cavalier and it lasted to 300k easy.

In reply to 11th Jul 2004, 12:23

3rd Oct 2012, 20:14

Did your car ever have a problem with stalling when the engine got hot?

1984 Chevrolet Cavalier Base 2.0 four from North America

Faults:

Mechanically, nothing - for 15 years. Cosmetically it's not great, the hood and doors are rusting badly, and interior trim bits are starting to fall off.

General Comments:

The best piece of junk ever made. Sure it's slow, and the ride is lumpy, and the handling limits are alarmingly low, but this car has not broken down in 15 years and you have to love it for that.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 31st August, 1999

19th Jan 2007, 20:48

I bought an 84 back in 2001 it's a red convertible manual shift and I just love it to death. The only complaint I have are the axle seals leaking. The mechanic said it would be $599 so I just keep an eye on it. Other than that the top goes up kind of slow and the timing chain tensioner broke. Not bad for a car that is 23 years old!

In reply to 19th Jan 2007, 20:48

19th Sep 2014, 20:17

I just purchased a 1984 Chevy Cavalier. A lady was selling it for $150.

The inside of this car is great; no tears, all original everything inside. She said it needed a battery. All I had to do was tighten up the terminals and it started right up.

It has 107,000 original miles on it. The transmission works great, there are no leaks at all. This is 2014, so it's 30 years old.