1984 Chevrolet Cavalier Reviews - Page 2 of 2

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.