1996 Chevrolet Beretta from North America - Comments

Fuel pump (replaced at 11k miles)

Alternator (replaced at least once a year)

Water Pump (replaced once a year)

Engine (head gasket started leaking around 40k miles, but dealer couldn't or wouldn't find it. It finally blew at 140k miles which leaked coolant into the crankcase ruining the bearings in the engine.)

Power steering (replaced at 150k miles and needs it done again at 200k miles)

Radiator (twice, 90k and 150k miles) the tanks on the sides needed replaced at 50k miles)

Paint chips off easy.

Suspension (200k miles. Besides the transmission its the only thing that lasts on this car)

The car handles like its on ice in the rain at highway speeds even with AquaTreds. Governor limits car's top speed at 110 and no mod chip or reprogram to fix it (this is only with 1996 3.1 engines). When the car was new it had fast acceleration and same when I replaced the engine. Repairs are cheap except the for the engine replacement ($3000 for new 3.1) which isn't too bad for a new engine.

Overall fast car (3 tickets over 100) that corners bad, brakes bad, and leaves me stranded on the road with a bad alternator on homecoming night (hehe...). I would buy again, but replace factory suspension with Eibach and get wheels because the factory setup is a fatality waiting to happen while driving in the rain.

Speaking of bad in wet weather..

My last car a Chev Beretta GT 3.1 5spd 1990 I had it for 6 months put on 18k on it... and I would say it was a really fun car to drive... I discovered it had a previous accident so it had a bent frame... chewing up tires...

Anyways... eventually one night I hit some water... hydroplaned at about 80kph and flipped and rolled it 3 times... Not a scratch on all of us and I was the only one with a seatbelt... Just saying I would buy one again.. but getting too old for me now... but I recomend these cars.. :)

I totally agree with you about Berettas, I had a 95 Beretta and had all the problems you did with the fuel pump, radiator and engine. It was very expensive to maintain and everything started going out right after the warranty ran out at 75,000 miles.