Faults:

Immobiliser faulty (aftermarket) stopped me driving to work on numerous occasions.

Fuel injection relay which lives next to the ECU, intermittently faulty. New cam and crank sensors at cost of £330 at main dealer trying to fix the suspected ECU problem. Misdiagnosed again by main dealer, who tried to charge me £1000 for a new ecu I didn't even need!

Broken injector wire, main dealer did this whilst trying in vain to fix original problem, but couldn't work out why it was running on 3 cylinders - I took it away from them because they were an absolute joke.

Temperamental electric wing mirror controls.

Bent two wheel braces and broke a torque wrench trying to get wheel nuts off - problems not the cars fault!

Suspected airflow meter problem - intermittent chugging / misfire / smoke accompanied by my old friend the engine management light.

Oil and water mixing in the head on replacement engine - the last straw!

General Comments:

Seriously fast car, but only when it wanted to go!

Mine was fitted with De-cat pipe, stainless steel back box, and cold air feed. It really didn't like the induction kit that was on there, engine management light on most of the time.

Very comfortable seats and well laid out interior, easy to drive.

Handling was extremely good, but a very harsh ride as a result of 60mm lowering springs.

Brake fade when driven hard.

Faults:

Engine management light has come on once problem solved by wiggeling the cam shaft sensor. blowing gasket.offside break hose split. all parts I found easily at scrap yards.

General Comments:

It came with its original alloys (15") which actually make the car stick to the road like glue, excellent on acceleration. i love the power this car has and it's a comfy drive. the ecotec engine is fast.

Faults:

Split CV boots/Noisy CV.

Boot Leaks slightly.

New Back box.

DIS coil pack.

Sump gasket leaks.

Noisy Tappets.

New Wheel bearings.

Replaced:

New Brembo grooved discs. EBC Green pads. Castrol SRF Brake fluid. S/Steel brake lines.

Yokohama A520 tyres.

Eibach Springs/Monroe Reflex gas dampers.

Oil pressure gauge. (70psi warm oil at 3000rpm).

Cam belt and rollers.

Vaux 10w40 oil. (A3/B3).

Ignition leads/Vx spark plugs.

Redline MT-90 fully synthetic gearbox oil.

General Comments:

Even though it's done 140k I've had it to 140 genuine mph on the continent.

Fantastic engine the red top, a bit noisy when cold, but there's torque everywhere. Party piece put in 4th from a standstill, slip clutch lots (ooops!) and she'll pull all the way to 100mph.

Handling is good, but needs wider (205) tyres as it can drift a bit in the wet, but not dry. Bit of Scuttle shake needs a strut brace really. Brakes crap when I got it, now they bite like rabid cobras.

Faults:

Fuel pipe corrosion (needs replacing soon)

Cam Gasket leaking new one required. Since this job has been done its also come to light the oil filler cap is leaking so a new one cap will be needed too.

3-4 Bulbs have needed replacing since I've had the car.

Obtaining 1st and 2nd gear was difficult turned out to be mis-aligned Gear linkage which was an easy job to correct myself. 121K Mileage.

Terrible rattling under car, turned out to be the spot welds on the catalytic converter heat shield had severed and was causing it to vibrate. Was advised that the heat shield could be simply ripped off as it is not absolutely necessary (which solved the rattle). 121K Mileage.

Since I've had the car its needed new Brake Discs/Pads all round. I was advised the brake fluid could do with being changed - a job I did myself with a bleeder kit which only came to around £14 including new fluid. (Brakes much better afterwards)

Cam belt which vauxhall advise needs changing every 40,000 miles needed replacing, quite an expensive job! 121K Mileage.

Recently Nov/2004 needed a new radiator as the old one developed a hole over a very short period of time which water gushed out of, replaced for £60! 123K Mileage.

Driver side electric window mechanism broke while it was in use being wound down one day. The window actually came loose and seemed very dangerous. Whole new mechanism cost over £120 which I thought was eye-wateringly expensive and not using my windows next summer as a result! 122K Mileage.

Nearside front anti roll bar linkage severed and needed replacing. Also the wheel bearing on the back left needed replacing. 123K Mileage.

I'm sure there is more a lot has gone wrong with this car and nearly a £1000 has been spent on it since I bought it for half that.

The only thing I would question about this car is people generally tend to say that parts for the cavalier are cheap! I've not found the parts cheap at all even when shopping around.

Lots of rattles internally!

General Comments:

It's a pitty so much has gone wrong with the car because the Cavalier really is a very nice car. The 2litre engine has power both on the motorway and for initial acceleration, say from roundabouts etc... It is a nice spacious car, but the interior is now very dated compared to modern cars. However when all is said and done it really is a joy to drive when it's all working correctly! A nice powerful car.

I have found an unfortunate side of the 2litre engine and that is I found it to have too much power in 1st gear or something, but only in the wet. You have to be very light on the accelerator or else your wheels will easily spin!

I actually think most of the problems with my car are due to its age/mileage etc Afterall mechanical parts do wear out it's a fact of buying an old car.

The engine would appear to sound very healthy and I think its got a lot of life yet in it go. I think this is a very good first car to have, especially if your interested in learning about how your car works and maintaining it yourself.

It is a thirsty engine round town!