Faults:
Flimsy spare cup holder broke off. It was in an odd location right above the glove box. It was not covered under warranty and would have cost $50 to fix so we decided to live with just the one in the middle.
Factory tape player went out at 75,000 miles.
Car door handles on the outside are vertical rather then horrizontal like most cars. They are very flimsy and the passenger side broke off at 100,000 miles.
Power window switches were located in the middle of the car by the cigarette tray not on the door like most cars. Again, very cheap peices and they broke off so we couldn't roll down the driver side window at 100,000 miles.
Transmission went out at 100,000 miles $2000 for new one.
Radiator went out at 125,000 miles $300 for new one.
Fuel pump went out at 135,000 miles cost $200.
Motor had to be rebuilt at 150,000 miles cost $1200.
Turning signal stick broke in half through normal use. We couldn't use cruise control or the wipers until we got it fixed. Another flimsy peice $100.
Battery went out at 100,000 miles $50.
Air conditioning went out 150,000 miles.
Starter went out 125,000 miles $75.
S-Belt went out twice at 100,000 miles and again at 175,000 miles $60.
Water pump went out at 175,000 miles.
Second transmission went out at 175,000 miles and we finally scrapped the hunk of junk.
General Comments:
All told we put over $3000 worth of parts and labor into this thing to get it to 175,000 miles. That is not including the regular oil changes, alignments, and tune ups. We babied this car as much as possible and it constantly broke down. It was totally unreliable and not worth what we paid for it. There were so many cheap plastic peices that broke off from normal use it was ridiculous. By the time we had it paid off we could only sell it for $1000 and my mechanic said it wasn't worth the money to put a new transmission into it, we were better off getting a nice used car for that amount so that's what we did.
The only good things I have to say about this car is that it's attractive and fast. If you're considering buying a Beretta PLEASE think again when you read this review you would be better off looking for something that is reliable as well as stylish like a Honda Accord, that's what I have now and from everything I have read this thing will last until 300,000 miles without having to replace the motor and tranny multiple times.
27th Oct 2005, 10:00
GM discontinued the Beretta because it was only an temporary model to fill a gap between the Cavalier coupe and the Lumina coupe/Monte Carlo. The Corsica, upon which it was based, was styled in the old fashion (1980's and early 1990's) which died out as the Cavalier and Lumina/Monte Carlo went to the more rounded style. There was no point in a car that was so close to two classes of vehicle. It was just not financially responsible to put any effort into updating three chassis when two were holding out just fine. Car manufacturers are notorious for basing as many models as possible on as few platforms as possible to save cash.