Comments: 1-15, 16-23
Battery died within 3 months of purchase - dealer replaced under warranty.
Stunning looker (mine's red and has 17" chrome wheels with performance tyres).
Excellent road handling - takes corners in its stride.
Great engine response.
Reasonably economical considering its performance capabilities.
Amazing package considering the low price paid.
Limited headroom - like to sit upright, but hit my head on roof.
Seating fairly basic with limited choice of adjustment - no lumber adjustment.
Comfortable riding for 4 people with sufficient legroom all round.
Seat belts a bit scary until you know they really work.
In New Zealand parts for Cavaliers have to come from Canada and are very expensive e.g. $2000NZ for a windscreen, and $500NZ for a headlight. I was looking at purchasing a cavalier, but the local Toyota Garage said that they rarely deal with them because of the costs, they are also not very common as they are all Japanese imports. It can be hard to get windscreen insurance cover for them also.
This is a great looking car, peppy 2.4 motor, lots of extra accessories such as sunroof etc, drives well comfortable ride, great price.
But big problem for New Zealand buyers is that the car is made in Canada using Asian parts and the Toyota dealers say it is not really a Toyota. This may not matter, but the parts are difficult and expensive to get. The airbags if inflated are $4000 to replace, and the front windscreen is $5,000. For this reason State will not insure the car unless you have all your other insurance with them and even then reluctantly. I managed to get AMI insurance, but without separate windscreen cover.
I have really looked into this and these are the answers I am getting so please consider before buying - at least have a thorough pre purchase check done.
Apart from that it's a beautiful car.
This car is a Chevrolet made by General Motors in Canada and exported to Japan relabelled as a Toyota. It's a lovely car, but parts are expensive. AA Techline gave it a good report and agreed with the above. Recommended AA check 1st then take out 3 yr warranty such as Autosure etc. By then more spare parts will be available and price for repairs will drop.
All Toyota Cavaliers were built at General motors in Lordstown, Ohio, USA. They were not built in Canada.
I've had two Chevrolet Cavaliers (same car as the toyota cav). The last one was an '88, and it got totalled twice in rear-end accidents, but the engines are similar. My current one is an '02, it's black and has a sunroof. :) The parts here are very cheap; you might want to try ordering them from the States. In fact, the cars are pretty cheap, too. Pontiac also makes the Sunfire. My aunt has one...it's basically a Cavalier with more options, a slightly different body and a bigger engine, along with a supercharger. By the way, there's a four-door version of both of these... I don't know if they make them as Toyotas or not. They don't look as good with 4 doors though.
The sunfire and the cavalier are both built in the exact same body (the J body). they are basically identical except for looks. from 95 on, both the sunfire and the cavalier came with either a 2.2l (2.2l, 2.2l 2200, and 2.2l ecotec) or a 2.4l engine. neither the sunfire or the cavalier ever came boosted (supercharger or turbocharger). both were made in the united states, not canada, although they can be purchased there. the toyota cavalier was made in the US and rebadged toyota for shipment overseas. there were a couple slight differences between the chevy cavalier and the toyota cavalier, but not many. for more information on cavaliers and sunfires go to http://www.j-body.org. thank you. -cannon.
I'm 17 and just bought myself a green Z24 Cavalier and I love her! I just want to say what a great car she is and how much fun I have dressing her up. the only problem's I have encountered are a flat battery one morning and I constantly open my coupe doors onto curbs and other cars. other that that I am then envy of teens in my small town. And also my car came directly from Japan and cost me $10 000 all up and it is a 1996 model with all the extras, she's the best!
I bought Toyota Cavalier in Thailand last year. The car was only about 10000km then. It had many problems since the days I took hold of it. First, the fan was broken while driving, later on many months, the timing belt busted. And sometimes, the engine just turn shaky and slowly went off when the car stopped in the traffic. Other than that the parts are so expensive to get, especially I have to order them from Japan over to Thailand. Also, the Toyota centers here don't even know what Toyota Cavalier is, because in Thailand, there are only 5 or less. Well, there are good & bad points!
I agree with other comments that it's a great little car, and good value for money, but (in New Zealand) parts are expensive. It seems hard to find an auto-electrician willing to service the generator, which is apparently unusual in some way.
What is really weird is that, in my model at least, the automatic transmission has no dipstick! There is no way to check the fluid level. When it's time for an oil and grease even the Toyota dealers' mechanics apparently simply replace with the same amount of transmission oil they drained and hope that's OK! (If anyone can post a comment telling me the officially recommended volume of transmission oil, I'll be grateful).
My advice is to buy one certified to be in first class condition, enjoy it for 18 months and then sell it before it develops problems which are guaranteed to be expensive.
I'm from the states and this is my third Chevrolet Cavalier. I have only one problem... The car goes through struts very quickly (10,000 miles or so) and of course I replace them with better than stock and it still has that annoying problem. If anyone wants to know anything about these American versions please e-mail me at dominusofblackmegadeus@yahoo.com.
I wish I had never met my Cavalier. I bought it ('96 sedan) in 2000 as a new import (in NZ) partly because it had all the safety features I was looking for and partly because it had a Toyota badge (reliable, cheap to fix, etc. right?) When the drivers window winder motor died a year later the auto electrician informed me it was not actually a Toyota. I was surprised, but prepared to stick with it because it was nice to drive, comfortable, responsive and safe for my young family. Then a year later it failed a warranty because of a delaminating windscreen, and cost NZ$1200 to replace (insurance wouldn't pay out). Then I considered selling, but it had devalued so much that I decided to keep it and fingers crossed nothing else major would break. But then I read the latest 'Dog and Lemon', and this car received one star out of four, IIHS crashtests, USA, and an overall 'avoid like the plague' rating. Wish I'd read that four years ago. I feel I've been really ripped off, but I guess it's the old story - don't buy something until you've checked it out thoroughly. I'm trading it in for a Mazda 626.
Hey people.
Just so everyone knows the proper facts, the north american version of the car was built in mexico, so general motors could cut costs down, the frames are exactly the same with cosmetic changes to make the sunfire and cavalier look different. how ever the sunfire was built in the usa.
Great car for the money; bought mine for NZ$7,000 - spent about NZ$2,000 getting it up to scratch, and its been great ever since. Considering that you'd be paying more than NZ$12,000 for another equivalent car, this isn't a bad deal. I'd be prepared to spend another couple of grand on it before selling it on.
I have a 1996 Toyota Cavalier.
Have had it for 16 month's and have had a few problem's
with the ignition module, which was replaced under auto
insurance, but could only get second hand and it has just
gone New Year's eve. So have to wait for garages to open.
The good point's are that it handle's well and love the sounds, air bag's, side intrusion bar's.
Was told that you didn't need to touch the auto transmission
so if anyone can otherwise inform, would be most appreciated.
Have a Toyota Cavalier in NZ (an import for 18 months) only one problem the screen washer would not work, but found a good second hand unit from a wrecker in hamilton who specialises in imported parts. To find him simple search for Toyota cavalier parts in nz.
Otherwise very happy with the car.