1989 Chevrolet Cavalier Z 24 2.8 multiport from North America

Summary:

Runs with the best of them.

Faults:

At about 150,000 miles I had to replace the starter, the thermostat, and the throw out barring,pressure plate, and clutch which come in a kit.

General Comments:

My car has great acceleration which being a five-speed helps a lot. The interior is in great shape. 50 series tires front and back make for outstanding handling. But I think first gear is to low for quick take offs because the shifting time is to soon and that knocks off about a sec.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th February, 2004

1989 Chevrolet Cavalier z24 Convertable 2.8 from North America

Summary:

The car every man dreams about

Faults:

The only thing that has gone wrong I believe was the alternator. yes I did replace the motor, but I did this because it had high miles.

General Comments:

This car is great! quickest 2.8 litre and it has taken the 4.6 liter mustang out of the water.

I'll never get rid of it.

Torque is high h. p is great and great gas mileage. (when not racing it)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th February, 2004

13th Feb 2004, 06:45

Yeah, that's every man's dream alright, replacing a motor before 90K miles.

1989 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 2.8 litre V6 from North America

Summary:

For a low price, this car is amazing

Faults:

The first week I had the car, I took it in to get the brakes checked. It turns out they were totally shot, and I had to get new ones.

I went back into the shop shortly after I realized that the car sounded a little strange, and the mechanic checked it over. There were several problems with it.

The timing belt had over 150 cracks in it.

The radiator hose was almost completely wrecked.

The spark plugs were completely fried, the mechanic was surprised the car was running.

The oil had not been changed in a very long time.

There was a major leak in the brake fluid compartment.

General Comments:

As a teenage girl, this is my first car. The moment I saw it in the used car lot, I fell in love with it. I took it out for a test drive, and bought it the same day.

It is by far the most fun to drive out of all the cars I have driven.

The car itself is very eye-catching. All my friends love it, and ask to drive it, and I get second looks when I am driving.

Since those problems that I had in the first two weeks of owning the car had been fixed, the car has not had any more problems. I can rely on it.

This car has survived many cold start-ups early in the morning.

It's an incredibly safe and reliable car for a first car. I drive it every day and I love it, I can count on it to hold my snowboard, dog, groceries, friends, or whatever I need to stuff in it. This car is perfect.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th December, 2003

28th Sep 2004, 10:48

A few questions... A car with 77 000kms shouldn t have all these problems (cracked timing belt etc..) 77000k`s in 15 yrs? That s 5000 KM s a year avg: impossible. The odometer has been brought back for sure.

You re getting second looks for driving an 89 Cavalier? Where the hell do you live?

10th Feb 2006, 13:26

I wonder why the other poster from 10-Feb is showing so much disrespect to the teenage girl with the Z-24. She said the spark plugs were fried (not "fine"), and at 77,000 miles they probably were totally fouled or had the electrodes burned down to stubs. It's probably lucky that the mechanic decided to inspect the timing belt, and saw that it needed to be changed, because timing belts do break unexpectedly and need to be changed by around 75,000 miles. What's the problem? And she said the radiator hose (not the "radiator) was wrecked, which it could very well have been. Did you actually read the review? It doesn't sound like she got ripped off at all, and I wish her luck and long life with the car.

26th Mar 2007, 20:11

Not to rain on your parade, but the 2.8/3.1 v6 engines don't have a timing belt. They have a timing chain. ;) I have an 88, it is an awesome car I must say. Turns heads a lot. Add some aftermarket rims to it, but not too fancy, and it really sets the car off.

26th Sep 2007, 11:30

It is possible she meant serpentine belt instead of timing belt. That would seem reasonable to me. Also, if all of those things were O.E. then they certainly should have been replaced given how many years old the car is. Why not replace things as you need them instead of waiting for it to break down and then it typically costs more with towing and what-not. But everyone is entitled to there opinion. That doesn't mean it is a good opinion though.

In reply to 28th Sep 2004, 10:48

8th Feb 2014, 12:30

The whole reason there are things to always repair, is because they're fast and everyone beats the car to hell and back.