The headliner was falling down when the car was purchased, replaced it myself.
All four balljoints were replaced at 170000 kilometers mainly as a precaution due to them being 22 years old. $20 each, $80 total.
Front brake pads last about 30,000 kilometers, common issue with these cars though. The pads are only $19 so it is not really that big of an issue.
Front brake calipers seized up around the 100000 kilometer, 17 year mark.
Original radiator finally gave up after 21 years and 160000 kilometers. $120 for a new radiator and hoses.
Inner tie rod end worn out at 165000 kilometers due to a torn rubber steering rack boot. Repaired for $18.
Complete Rear brake lines were rusty and were replaced for safety reasons at 170000 kilometers. Very fun to replace them I might add!
Original carburetor was in bad shape when I got the car, replaced it with another bad carburetor from the junkyard. Eventually found that the junkyard replacement had vacuum leaks around the throttle shaft bushings, repaired that myself for $8. Runs perfectly now.
The original paint on the car was in terrible condition, repainted the car and it looks far better now.
This was my first car, and I still own it... I have had several other cars along the way, but I always kept this one around as a second car.
The car handles quite well, and has just enough power to keep up with traffic.
The car can carry its own weight in cargo!
The seats are quite comfortable for such a cheap car, although there is not a whole lot of interior space for big or tall drivers.
I paid $190 for this car 8 years ago, and I must say it was more than worth every penny of it. This car is as reliable as a brick and has never left me stranded, ever. The drive line and suspension in this car would appear to be near indestructible, which was tested many times when I was a younger, less careful driver. This car is built very sturdy and strong!
Even after being in daily driver service for 22 years, the engine still starts right up in any weather, doesn't use any oil, and still gets 30+ miles to the gallon!
I look forward too many more trouble free miles from this little Chevy. Good Work on this one, GM!
The rear-end went twice in the 79 model I had. $500 each time which is like $2000 now. I hated that car for this reason, and the brakes were amongst the worst in creation. Tiny disks and tiny drums. It was like GM thought they were making small cars for Shriner parades, or something. Everything scaled down to funny little baby parts. Parts, except the differential, were cheap as could be. Crap shouldn't cost much though. And, for the size and weight of the car the gas mileage was the pits. One of the very worst things about this car was that the tiny pedals were so close together you could hit clutch, brake, and gas with one foot alone. There were some fun panic stop attempts. My Chevette was the last car that stuck me on the road. And, my last GM before 26 years of glorious Hondas.
Hello again, I am the original reviewer here. Last commenter, sorry to hear about your rear end troubles. The rear ends on these cars weren't too awful, although the earlier (Pre-1981) models weren't as good.
I would agree, the brakes on these cars, espescially on the pre-1982 models, were not too good. However, you need to remember that many of these cars were ordered with manual (Non power) brakes, and this is quite normal for manual brakes. I have also driven these cars with power brakes, and they stop quite accpetably well.
It should also be noted that the chevette was designed in the late 1960s / early 1970s... It was brought to the US several years after it's introduction overseas. For a car using these technologies, the gas mileage is quite good, I find nothing wrong with 34 mpg for a small car. Many newer cars cannot achieve this!
As for your 26 years of glorious hondas, that would mean you have been driving hondas since 1980... Funny since you say your chevette was a 1979 and you appear to have owned it for several years. I would like to see how well your early 1980s hondas have held up, they had quite a few issues back then, although the (much) newer hondas are quite good.
Good luck to you.
DL.
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