1988 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24

Summary:

Great basic transportation

Faults:

Turn signal sticks when making a left turn.

Sometimes doesn't want to shift from reverse into drive.

Paint peeling badly.

General Comments:

I needed a cheap ride to get back and forth to work. I paid $850 for this car and have had no problems with it at all. The turn signal sticks when I turn left, so I have to remember to click it off; sometimes the automatic transmission won't shift from reverse to drive. I shift from reverse to first gear and then to drive. The paint is peeling off in spots (i could car less). The interior is still in decent shape. This car has been extremely reliable and hasn't cost me a penny for maintenance. Don't like it quite as well as my 1989 Bonneville, but it's a lot less trouble.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th May, 2006

1988 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 2.8 MPFI

Summary:

Very reliable/forgiving car with plenty of power

Faults:

Paint started cracking on the fiberglass hood at 45,000 miles.

Muffler needed to be replaced at 50,000 miles.

Electronic ignition module failed at 60,000 miles.

Rack and pinion steering gear went out at 65,000 miles.

Manual clutch plate went out at 75,000 miles.

Had original brake pads replaced at 80,000 miles on front disk and rear drums.

General Comments:

I drove this car for 12 winter seasons up in North Dakota. The car only failed to start once when it was 50 below zero. Otherwise engine turned over every time regardless of outside temperature.

Very reliable vehicle. Great gas mileage, averaged around 29 highway and 20 in town. The engine never used a drop of oil even after not letting the engine warm up properly in the wintertime before driving off.

Manual transmission was very quick shifting and smooth. Sure had a lot of torque in first and second gears.

Front seats could get tiring after long distance driving though since not a lot of back/side support.

The tires on the car always seemed to stay in the proper alignment even after going over rough/gravel roads after many miles of driving.

Cabin heater warmed up fast in cold weather.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th January, 2006

1988 Chevrolet Cavalier z24 coupe 2.8 V6 f1

Summary:

Great

Faults:

Had to replace the ball-joints head gas kit blew at 110000mi replaced the window seals last year.

General Comments:

The car has had a cold air intake systim added.

It will blow the doors off of a 2005 Comaro SS & 2005 Mustaing GT.

Very comfortable very fast and handles very well it will take a 10mph turn at 50mph.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 27th October, 2005

28th Oct 2005, 16:33

"It will blow the doors off of a 2005 Comaro SS & 2005 Mustaing GT."

Uh huh..

"Very comfortable very fast and handles very well it will take a 10mph turn at 50mph."

Yeah, that's totally believable.

14th Dec 2005, 20:41

I don't know. I've got one myself and besides all the rust it's a pretty good machine for an older car. I've never pushed it that hard before, but I bet it performs decent.

12th Aug 2006, 20:24

I have a 1988 Z24 and I assure you it will not come close to beating a camaro or a mustang. The old 2.8 V6 camaros yeah, but not an SS. Even the newer V6 camaro would beat it. Don't put a bad name for these cars by saying stuff about them that isn't true. Thank you.

11th Dec 2006, 14:57

Even the newest Cav's with the Ecotec and a 5 speed won't even come CLOSE to any V8 powered Camaro or Mustang. The 6 cylinder ones; it would be a driver's race.. These older V6 Cav's die out past 4500 RPM.. 3400 swap anyone? www.v6z24.com for more info.

31st Jan 2007, 09:07

I know for a fact that that car can do that. I have one with 2.8 and a turbo, and I took the new c6 corvette, and a few Camaros, the new Mustang is very slow, and the Firebirds couldn't even keep up...so all you out there that don't beleive him, give me a call and I'll take your car...

26th Mar 2007, 20:14

^lol...

Turboing a 2nd gen motor is like giving a fat kid steroids to run a marathon. lol.

26th Mar 2007, 22:45

The older "Quad 4" (which, I don't think was ever used in the Cavalier) was a much more powerful and faster engine than the new Eco Tech 4. I traded a high-output 5.0 Mustang for a Grand Am with the Quad 4 and I lost surprisingly little in the way of performance.