I found a 1996 Chevy Cavalier. I actually detailed it some time ago, and the person is now offering it to me for $1,000. Its clean, needs paint, very minor rust (which in NY is no big deal on a winter beater) and passes NYS Emissions. It runs drives and looks pretty decent. It is black, with A/C, Auto trans, and thats about it. I know its a chevy and one of the worst cars interior wise, but i need a junker to putter around on post with. Whats your opinion?

Oh and it has 146,000 miles, all fluids look excellent, trans fluid is excellent. the individual also has oil change and service recipts for the last 5 years. thoughts?

 

for a thousand bucks you can't go wrong

 

Agreed. That's about what this car is worth. 146K on a typical Chevy/GM 4-cylinder engine or transmission (Corolla-based Chevy/Geo Prizms excepted) probably doesn't mean a whole lot of life left, even with regular service and good fluids.

If you get another 20,000-30,000 miles or so out of the drivetrain, IMO you will have gotten your thousand bucks worth....the more, of course, the better. In fact, you'll probably pay more than $1000 in gas alone.

 

I had a Chevy Cavalier once for a couple of months. It's a great "I don't give a ******" car that you can park anywhere and doesn't drink alot of gas. As long as the engine and tranny are in good shape, you're good to go. Offer him $800 and see if the seller bites.

 

i dont understand what you mean? the car feels like it still has another 100,000 miles in the tranny. it shifts flawlessly. but even so, i can fix/replace the trans myself. Im not trying to make it run forever, i just need a get-around mobile for a few years tops.

EDIT: A few pix-

 

Car looks great and for the kind of second car you need, it seems perfect. Big pluses here are that you know the previous owner and have the service records. You probably won't find these on many other $1K cars. A beater is all about practicality. It's not a high performance car, it's not a long-distance runner, and it may not even be your dream car, but it gets you from here to there without fuss. It's like an old dog, kinda ugly, getting older, and maybe a little smelly, but intensely loyal and doesn't offer any surprises. You learn to appreciate that.

We did the same thing on our minivan - just needed dependable local transportation for maybe a hundred miles a month, no point in buying anything expensive. My sister-in-law bought the van new, it always was dealer-serviced, and we had all the records. We bought it 10 years old, added tires, battery, master cylinder, and paint, plus a few small projects that brought the total cost of the car and maintenance for the last six years to less than $3000. That's a cost-to-own of about $42/month, plus gas and insurance. Considering the depreciation cost of a new or nearly-new car for only limited service, it's pretty hard to beat a beater.

 

That is a very good looking beater. You are spolied.

 

Of course it is possible that this car has that much life left in it. Sorry if I was unclear..... I wasn't necessarily saying otherwise. I was just pointing out that, with most Chevy-GM 4-cylinders and transmissions, you can't expect a 200,000 + mile lifetime out of them like a typical Honda or Toyota. 150-180K is usually the limit....sometimes less than that. Your car, though, could easily be an exception.....from what you say, it sounds pretty good, especially for a $1000 car.

You say you can repair/replace transmissions. Do you have a Certified ASE rating?

Winters and road treatments in upper NY state are notoriously brutal on vehicles. Take it in the garage (if it is heated), grab a hose, and flush off the underside and body as much as possible. Also make sure the battery stays as fully charged as possible....you will need plenty of CCA (cold cranking amps) to get the engine going at zero or below temperatures.

 

LOL!!! Anyone else notice that this car has been completely de-badged. Even the Cavalier didn't want Chevy's name on it. In all seriousness,, the car looks good and for $1000 that beater should serve your purposes well. The fact that you know the original owner and there are service records is a big plus. Buy it and run it til the wheels fall off of it.

 

im no fan of the cavalier but for a grand u cant go wrong...**** even a ps3 with some games and accessories cost that much

 

The car has recently had an optima redtop installed because the factory battery finally went dead. My garage is not heated, and the civic takes priority in the garage anyway in the winter.

as far as ASE goes, i have never taken any of the exams, and do not have any kind of official training other than in the army. however, complicated as they are, automatic transaxles are still machines, and with the right manuals, parts,time, money and enough beer, i can fix almost anything . The transmission fluid has been flushed 5x in the life of the car, not powerflushed. the car has NOT been in NY until last year, it was in the virginia beach area.


When i detailed the car in may, I debaged it at the owners request. I talked with the owner some more today, and here is the plan. He is taking the car on one last trip to Virginia to see his wife and son. While home, he will be putting on 4 new tires, new brake pads on the front, window tint (DIY) and a fresh oil change (which wasnt originally part of the deal, bear in mind this was his idea.) When he returns from leave on September 14th, He wants me to pay him $500 and take posession. He then wants me to keep the other $500 in escrow for 30 days. If something major goes wrong with the car in 30 days, he will forfeit the $500 and i will fix with that money. If nothing goes wrong, then on November 14th, I will pay him the remaining $500. (Again, his idea). Even with the new tires and brakes, the price remains the same. $1000. I got the go ahead from the war dept (wife) today, so we are going ahead with the plan .

 

go for it.. cant go to bad with a deal like that
especially cause you need the car as a beater

 

That's a damn good deal for a beater. Take it up.
Any mods coming for the Civic? I know you had the ZX-2 before and you did quite a few little mods here and there on it.

 

new tires and brake pads too?
thats a good deal and sounds like the owner is a very reasonable person too

go for it

 

Considering Toyota sold that car under its nameplate in Japan, I would get the JDM badges. When I was in Tokyo back in 1999 I picked up a Toyota brochure to check out the MR2 and Supra only to see that TOYOTA CAVALIER in the pics, What was Toyota thinking.

Also agree that drive train is near the end of its life, the 2.4 was pretty tourquy when I drove it.