Faults:

Lots, but mostly wear and tear expected over the near 20 years I had it.

Suspension, pretty much entirely.

Brakes.

Alternator.

Exhaust.

Replaced stone chipped/faded bonnet.

Various electrical vaults, such as central locking was useless near end of its life.

Did do oil changes changes and belt changes regularly on time.

Etc.

General Comments:

What can I say, a car I bought only 2 years old back in 1997 for a good price that lasted me nearly 20 years. All of the above were cheap to fix and I had no major disasters with this car. Looking back, the day I scrapped it in 2015 was a sad one - was hard to see it go. Was just uneconomical to keep at the age and mileage.

If you are reading this review you are probably familiar with Cavaliers. Not a car to get excited about, but I would have reliability over anything else always! It's funny they are such a rare sight on the roads now, and when they were everywhere no one seemed to care much for them. Now mint examples are asking thousands when they come up on eBay and other auction sites. Mostly sought after SRi/GSi models though, but a standard Cavalier in good condition will always find a buyer.

My bog standard LS model was still comfortable enough to be in, and the 1.8 petrol engines managed a good 40 MPG if you took it slow. Most were boring solid colors with wheel trims - get a nice set of alloy wheels to brighten things up.

A genuinely good all round car I still miss today, that paid for itself many times over! Since replaced with a Vauxhall Insignia, hope it lasts as long as the Cavalier did, but I doubt it!

Faults:

Alternator + battery.

Various electrical gremlins like central locking only working when it feels like it.

Rear hatch struts.

Suspension, CV joints, brakes, exhaust, wear and tear etc.

The car had the timing belt done and oil changes almost 100% to the service guide through its lifetime. Cosmetically, paint faded a bit, especially on the bonnet. Never had any major rust issues though - probably because I kept it clean and garaged.

General Comments:

Loved my old Cavalier, bought in the year 2000 at only 5 years old with only 45K on it for a fair price. Had it 10 years and served me very well; the bullet proof reliable 2.0 petrol engine was great and so was the gearbox; never an issue if serviced on time.

Driving this car is nothing special, but the 2.0 engine can move fast if you needed to overtake in a hurry. Gear-change felt a bit clunky sometimes, but was OK when you got used to it. Did anything between 35 - 40 MPG if you took it easy. Brakes felt solid and suspension was tight enough, though a bit soft for some drivers. I've heard the SRi and GSi models were much better to drive.

My CDX was pretty well equipped for its time, with lots of electrics and nice alloy wheels. Looked great in dark red metallic. Very comfortable interior. Not a car to stand out, it was a typical sight on motorways through the 1990s and early 2000's, but you do not see many anymore.

Vauxhall got a bad rep for dealer service; I cannot really comment though because I rarely used them - by the time I bought mine it was already out of warranty, so I used reputable independents, and kept the costs down. A very easy car to live with, most garages had a good knowledge of these cars, and parts and repairs were very cheap.

In the end it was in an accident in 2010 after being rear ended (not my fault!) and at 15 years old and with 165K on it, it was obviously uneconomical to repair. I miss the car even today, it was the last of the Cavaliers before they changed over to the Vectra, which I've since had a couple of those cars as well - not as bad as the motoring press made them out to be, but perhaps not a huge improvement on the Cavalier and little average or under in its reliability. But the Cavalier was one of the last of cars from a simpler time when you could get a used car very cheap and run it for years without having to worry about major repair costs - shame I cannot say the same about much more modern cars.