5th Jun 2001, 10:46

I have two 95 Z26 Berettas and I love them both for reliability and performance. You can buy a bad car of any model. Just because you have had one bad Z26 that probably wasn't taken care of before you doesn't mean that it's the worst car ever built.

15th Oct 2002, 01:07

I have owned two Beretta Z-26's as well and aside from a few small problems that I caused on my own I have never had aproblem with either of them. I don't drive them nicely either. I drive them like a sports car. and they both held up. the one I own currently has 64K miles on it and is still going strong. no engine rebuild or transmission rebuilds needed.

11th Jan 2003, 17:04

My dad has had his 95 Z26 for about two years. This car has seen hell and back. First I got my license and beat the crap out of the car then my brother got his license and he also drove the car hard. We never had a major problem at all. In fact, I liked the car so much that I now own a 90 GTZ.

30th Dec 2003, 22:39

I had a 95' Beretta with the 3.1 V6. It had 114,000 miles on it when I got it. At first it was hard to get used to the placement of the controls. I didn't mind because I'm one those people who like odd things. I had a front end collision with it going about 15. It mashed the crap out of the front end and bent the frame, but aside from that I wasn't hurt. Of course I was wearing my seatbelt. It has a purpose.

Now I own a 95' Z26. It has the same engine and controls. It's acceleration is a little better and the handling was better too. It is definitely a better looking car. I agree that the Beretta was cheaply made, but it will last if you take care of it. Mine has 93,000 miles and the only problem I've had that I didn't cause was a water leak in the firewall. That was a quick fix anybody can take care of. In short, I believe that if you take care of your car, it will take care of you.

1st Jul 2006, 12:44

I have a 95' chevy beretta z26. I have 150,000 miles on it and it is running awesome. The only thing wrong with it is it rattles a little bit in a couple of areas. Other than that it is really quick and fast and it sounds pretty good. All I needed was a tune up and a new alternator so far. It also gets excellent gas mileage. I only have to fill the tank up once a week and I'm driving it all the time.

8th Dec 2008, 18:28

My 1995 Z26 Beretta has 170,250 miles on it and still proves to be a reliable car.

The hood needed to be repainted and the radiator cracked, but it's what you should expect from a car with this many miles on it.

Oh ya, the door handle cracked/broke off when I tried opening it during freezing temperatures, but overall Berettas are great first cars, or for whatever, and you shouldn't hesitate when buying one from someone who treated it well :)

20th Dec 2008, 09:46

I recently was stuck out of state and needed to drive 700 miles to get home so I purchased a Beretta Z 26 with 220,000 miles on it. I bought it from a teenager who drove it really hard. Besides a little routine maintenance on it the car still runs great. I wished I would have gotten one before it was all ragged out, but I will someday give this car to my new teenage driver.

2nd Jan 2009, 16:00

I have a 1995, it has always had a bad head gasket, it now has a broken ignition, you have to move the steering wheel up and down to start the car. The cable to open the hood is broken, do not even try to open the doors when it is frigid out, cannot get in the drivers side, it only has 95000 miles on it. but it is very peppy, wouldn't want to travel too far out of town though.

Mark, Madison, Wisconsin.

16th Apr 2009, 05:43

I have a '95 Beretta Z26 with almost 180k miles on it. I bout it about 4 years ago for $3,000 and haven't had to hardly put any abnormal costs into keeping it running.

Only this past winter have I realized that the front end work I am about to encounter, has all original parts. If only I could buy a brand new car these days and be able to say that 14 years down the road.

I'll be basically overhauling the entire front axle and rear suspension. The body on it is great condition. I'll be getting a new paint job on it later in the summer, along with a new body kit to get a more customized feel to it.

As far as the water leaking problem others have mentioned, that is probably from the weather stripping being warped or cracked. Just replace it with some more from your local parts store, and you're good to go. I had that problem after I first got it, and just fixed it myself.

I've had the car this long, and I plan on driving it until it stops, or I do.

4th May 2010, 11:01

I have 291,000 on my 95 Z-26 3.1 six cylinder, and it is still going strong. My buddy has the same car except for the color, and he has 305,000 on his. Looks like I have at least 14,000 more dependable miles to go. Best car that I ever had.

27th Jun 2010, 01:04

I have a '95 Chevy Beretta Z26, it has just over 100k and it's my first car. I love it to death, I love how it drives and looks, and I love the positioning of the controls.

Aside from my personal infatuation with the car, it has had some problems. I've had to put a new radiator and water pump in the car, and I'm in the process of installing a new heater core. While working on the heater core, the refrigerant released, so I'm going to have to charge that too. And I've done all of this with in one year. I'm hoping once I do this, it'll be good for a while. I wouldn't want to drive any other car.

11th Jul 2010, 18:31

I own 2 Beretta's - an '89 GTU 2.8 MPI and a '95 Z26 3100 SFI. I bought the '95 for a song because the motor was about to go and it did with only 108 on the clock. Dropped another one in with lower miles and put her back on the street where she belongs. Watch out for the dreaded intake gasket leak and pushing this engine too hard. It will not handle the abuse that the 2.8/3.1 MPI engines are capable of. Also, the rear brakes act up way more often then they should. Other than that this car is extremely reliable.

On the other hand, the '89 is very temperamental, hates traffic and heat but will lay the smack down on lots of new whips and many old ones as well. In fact back in the day Chevy tested these cars and in the skid test the numbers were approaching those laid down by the Corvette! Things to watch out for - bad ignition coils and ICM (horrible location, bad designing on Chevy's part), fuel pump issues and the big one that has stumped many a certified mechanic is the fuel injectors - if one goes bad the computer will go dumb because they are wired in parallel. Simple fix if the car dies, just pull each one and OHM them. Should be a good 10 or better. Anything below 5 will cause a problem. Discard and replace.

These are good cars and I've listed the common problems they exhibit. The styling is beautiful, they are fairly comfortable for a pseudo sports car and people get extremely jealous when they drive up to a clean on.