1985 Chevrolet Cavalier Reviews

Ignition starter went at 181,000.

CV joint (driver's side) went at 187,000.

Small radiator leak that was fixed with radiator sealant.

Replaced muffler at 186,000km. It had collapsed on itself.

For a first car, this car has been a deal ($500CDN).

Very little rust and low kilometers. This is no doubt due to where I bought it, in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador.

When I originally bought it in January 2003, I only intended to get one year out of it. However, after putting 7,000km of my own driving on it, including a 20 hour, 2400km marathon, I plan on having this car for a few more years, maybe even restore it later down the road.

Due to its age, parts are no trouble to come across, and are usually at reasonable or below reasonable prices. So far, the labor bill has cost more than the part bill for any job done on it so far.

I continue to surprise friends and mechanics with the shape that this car is in.

Burns out the alternator about every 2 years or so. Power steering started losing assist around 130,000 miles. Ac broke around 110,000 miles. Replaced the CV joints at around 125,000 miles. I had to replace the engine mounts and the transmission TCC valve at 175,000 miles.

The fact that this car (bought new for $8,000) still goes after all these years and HARD miles is simply amazing. It has been driven hard to the point of abuse for 17 years now, and while it is far from comfortable and quiet, it still gets 30 MPG and is a good commuter car.

Rust, rust, rust.

For a while the car wouldn't go more than 15 up a hill or 35 on flat ground (as well as running real rich). I'll never forget being stuck in the center lane of the parkway at rush hour with the emergency blinkers on and cars passing you from both sides at 70. That kind of sucked. Once properly diagnosed it turned out to just be a bad $25 sensor.

When I got the car, the air conditioning didn't work and the headliner was ripped out.

Every once in the while the car would smell like bad eggs. I'd assumed it was the catalytic converter.

Exhaust and muffler rusted off and needed replaced.

Exhaust manifold was broken, but never replaced.

Car started overheating. The radiator developed a leak.

After all the abuse, the transmission takes a few seconds to pop into gear.

This was my first car, and it's been in the family for it's whole life, having been purchased brand new for my aunt's sister in law, then passed down to my aunt and uncle and eventually me. My uncle told me that during the time they had it, the only repair it needed was the starter.

It's served me well as a first car, never refused to start or broke down, and it's seen lots of abuse. While it was painfully slow, it was the sportier-looking model of it's year and I thought it looked good. It came with a very nice optional interior which has held up really well over the years.

The rust is the real killer with this type of car, though.

After my time with it, it served as a backup car for my family (including the car my brother learned to drive on), and ran very well for them until about a year ago when it started overheating. Since we've had another car by then, little was done to see that the problem was resolved.

The car, during most of it's tenure, has not seen anywhere near the proper amount of care and maintenance required, and ran good regardless. With a little more effort it could still be running well today, but the sheer amount of rust the car had made fixing it up impractical.