Faults:

Clutch fork in transmission bent (twice).

Plastic bits disintegrated/fell off.

Diode pack inside alternator failed.

Water pump (wear and tear).

Radiator replaced.

"Engine check" light wouldn't go off. Ran for many miles with it glowing. Full service fixed that - suspect the spark plugs caused the problem.

Needs a new front windscreen because of scratches (not sure if it is abnormal wear or if the previous owner lived near the coast).

Seats mysteriously recline over period of weeks/month.

Indicator stalk flips over if you indicate and turn the steering wheel quickly.

General Comments:

It's an old man's or family car - boring but reliable and dependable (except for the internal Daewoo weak clutch fork problem, which can play up after extended mileage - why does this not happen in similar GM transmissions?).

Nothing overly expensive to maintain in this high-mileage car. Regular service parts are cheap, of the GM variety (a good thing).

Economical on fuel.

It's got slow steering in car parks; quite OK on the open road.

At this mileage it still does not consume oil between services.

Engine appears to be "unburstable".

It does not easily rust. Mine needs attention now.

Daewoo-specific parts are becoming hard to get (South Africa). Fortunately there are Korean specialist suppliers who may stock what you need. Things like oil breather hoses are hard to find. Can be ordered, but there's a wait.

Needs new tie-rod ends, possibly steering rack - not unexpected at this mileage.

I would buy a new Daewoo if it was still around.

Faults:

I bought this car knowing the throw out bearing in the manual transmission was bad. After changing the clutch and throw out bearing, I also had to change the EGR valve, camshaft sensor, rear tail light sensor, both oxygen sensors, and I gave it a tune up.

The previous owner obviously did not keep up with repairs when things would go bad. So I also changed the timing belt, water pump, and pulleys in said area as part of general maintenance. Wouldn't want to risk said belt breaking when driving the car, since if it does, the head for the engine would need to be rebuilt.

Since then I have had minimal issues with the car. In the past 8 years I've changed the front brakes once, alternator (got a used one), front drive axles, a few brakes lines (rust near Chicago), ball joints (twice), tie rod ends, fuel filler neck (also from rust), changed both brake calipers due to one of them sticking, power steering pump, transmission mount (rust again), and changed out a window motor.

Sounds like a lot, but I've had the car for 8 years and it still runs great. Not to mention I only put around $100 a year into repairs with this thing, since I do all the work myself. Being that the car is a 99, the things mentioned that have gone bad are really not out of the ordinary, and it sure beats having a car payment.

If you ever get one of these cars, just make sure the timing belt has been changed. I can't stress that enough. Take care of your car and it will take care of you.

General Comments:

This car is absolutely awesome! A fun little stick shift that is great on gas and doesn't cost much to maintain. I'd say it's very reliable.

The paint still looks good, and it's fairly rust free considering the brakes lines were pretty rusty underneath when I got the car.