Faults:

Expected minor maintenance on a 12 year old car such as:

Struts, brake pads, air conditioning hose off the compressor, belts, and windshield fluid motor.

These were all changed after I bought the car at 199000 km.

General Comments:

This car is in excellent running condition for its age and still looks very sharp with minimal surface rust on the inside of the doors at the bottom.

Basically, all I had to do was tint the windows and slap a few stickers on her to make it look good!

It is a very good car for gas mileage.

I can get close to 400 km to one tank of gas on an automatic transmission.

The inside is comfortable compared to todays cars that it feels like your sitting on rock.

The only thing that is a slight turn off is the dash, it still looks like its from the 80's.

Faults:

Before I bought the car it got a brand new clutch, computer, and radiator. After I bought it I had to put in a new Valve Cover Gasket, and starter, which was about $200 (CAN). Right now there is a squeaky noise by the driver's side door which is driving me crazy, but it should be able to fix easily. Could use new tires. Needs new paint as-well.

General Comments:

This car is overall pretty good. I would recommend it for sure, to teenagers for a first car. Me being one, I have found this to be an exceptional car. No major problems. It has good acceleration for a little 4 banger. I love the manual transmission! The only things I wish it did have, are air conditioning and anti lock brakes, and a 3.1 V6. The interior is plain, but I don't care. Not too bad of a sound system for stock. Also, it doesn't have those stupid stock Chevrolet Cavalier?Pontiac Sunbird rims.

Faults:

Fuse-able links and wires needed to be replaced. Starter, alternator and battery (routine maintenance) Still has original motor and transmission. Terrible factory paint job due to flaking undercoat, just starting to rust.

General Comments:

Just gave the car to a friend because it refused to die with over 200k miles! Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never had a tranny or engine go on a little Chevy go cart with doors yet. Spartan transportation with no frills and no creature comforts, but gets you where you're going. The paint was horrible, it looked like an eyesore, but ran reliable with few complications. My third Cavalier and none ever died of natural causes. They're like a Timex, they take a licking and keep on ticking.

Faults:

A piston rod bearing blew at 165,000, due to an oil leak which left the cylinder starved for oil. It was the only problem I ever had with it. If you change the oil and check for leaks it should last to over 200,000mi.

General Comments:

The 2nd generation Z24 is great beginner car in stock form. It has a lot of torque and a nice engine growl.

It handles hills with no problem and passing on the highway is easy.

Handling is good, but the car leans a little in tight turns. Aftermarket springs and shocks easily fix this and improve handling to new level.

Faults:

Front brakes started to squeal at 84,000, replaced the pads and discovered that the rotors needed to be re-machined.

Rear defroster stopped working in cold weather.

General Comments:

This car handles a lot better than I had expected it to. That's not to say that is a fast car or anything, but it does its job. I can get up to merging speed pretty easily on highways. I expect this to be in some small part due to the manual transmission.

I have had very few mechanical problems with the car, nor had the previous owner (who was my aunt). Upon purchasing the car I have changed the oil regularly and replaced the plugs and wires. I expect this car to make it to 100,000 plus a good deal more with out incident. However I plan on selling it for a Caprice when I get the money.