Faults:

I had brake work done around 135000 miles or so...

A new timing belt and water pump were needed in August of this year.

General Comments:

Always reliable.

Always did what I wanted it to do.

It was a quick and sharp looking little car.

Nice ride.

Fit what I needed in it, whether it be 5-6 foot long flag poles and/or a full sized cello, all in the cabin.

Faults:

Blew out a plug at 267000 km put heli-coil in and still holding.

General Comments:

Great little car. Have had it for 4 yrs and it has not let me down yet. Other than the spark plug it has been mostly just regular items to replace like brakes, tires, etc. Its still running good. I'm wondering how far this car will keep on going. Its starting to rust out a little now. I'm still getting 10.5-11.8 km per liter. Great for me.

Faults:

Had to replace struts and springs, but not till 250,000 kms.

Had to replace one rear bearing after about 230,000 kms and the other more recently.

Replaced the radiator and starter each once.

Just replaced the head gasket.

Various other minor items (eg. caps or hoses)

General Comments:

I have listed above all of the major repairs I've had done on this car. All of these repairs were done simply because things were wearing out.

Right up until 275,000 nothing really went wrong with the car at all in spite of driving it daily, driving on gravel roads and in hot weather, and otherwise abusing is.

My Sunbird is getting pretty rusty and doesn't have quite the power it used to, but I have a major attachment to this car. I recently had to replace head gaskets and because this car is so reliable I believe it was worthwhile. I don't intend to get rid of this car until it won't move under its own power anymore.

Faults:

Power Steering pump failed just after I bought it, but I knew it was going to fail as it was making serious noises when I test drove it. Cost $600 for new pump.

Fuel lines began leaking 2 months after I bought it, a clamp holding the lines in place had collected moisture and rusted. Cost $150 to replace the lines.

Radio's don't work. It has that awful standard one, but it doesn't work, and an after market one that was previously fitted doesn't work either. Can't be bothered having them checked.

Shifts into 3rd gear too early if accelerating at low revs.

Transmission 'locks' for 5 minutes after it's been started in cold weather. The shifter will not move until the engine has been running at least 5 minutes.

General Comments:

Handles like a dream in the snow, takes a lot to make the car lose it's 'line' in snow/ice. Haven't tested the ABS yet though.

Fuel economy is great! 600kms per tank in the city and 800 per tank on the highway.

Great acceleration in 2nd gear, for passing drop speed to 60kms per hour then floor the pedal...it's like a rocket.

Not keen on the 'dash' mounted wiper controls, takes too much to fiddle with.

Faults:

The window sealer is cracking.

The glass fogs up easy.

The front speakers are starting to lose their quality.

The frame is starting rust around the door areas.

Paint is wearing down on plastic car body parts.

General Comments:

This car can really take off from the start. Easy to take care of, besides the cosmetics on the body.