4th Apr 2003, 21:38
This car is a Chevrolet made by General Motors in Canada and exported to Japan relabelled as a Toyota. It's a lovely car, but parts are expensive. AA Techline gave it a good report and agreed with the above. Recommended AA check 1st then take out 3 yr warranty such as Autosure etc. By then more spare parts will be available and price for repairs will drop.
4th May 2003, 10:28
All Toyota Cavaliers were built at General motors in Lordstown, Ohio, USA. They were not built in Canada.
25th Jun 2003, 13:08
I've had two Chevrolet Cavaliers (same car as the toyota cav). The last one was an '88, and it got totalled twice in rear-end accidents, but the engines are similar. My current one is an '02, it's black and has a sunroof. :) The parts here are very cheap; you might want to try ordering them from the States. In fact, the cars are pretty cheap, too. Pontiac also makes the Sunfire. My aunt has one...it's basically a Cavalier with more options, a slightly different body and a bigger engine, along with a supercharger. By the way, there's a four-door version of both of these... I don't know if they make them as Toyotas or not. They don't look as good with 4 doors though.
17th Feb 2004, 01:17
The Sunfire and the Cavalier are both built in the exact same body (the J body). They are basically identical except for looks.
From 95 on, both the Sunfire and the Cavalier came with either a 2.2l (2.2l, 2.2l 2200, and 2.2l Ecotec) or a 2.4l engine. Neither the Sunfire or the Cavalier ever came boosted (supercharger or turbocharger).
Both were made in the United States, not Canada, although they can be purchased there. The Toyota Cavalier was made in the US and re-badged Toyota for shipment overseas. There were a couple slight differences between the Chevy Cavalier and the Toyota Cavalier, but not many.
For more information on Cavaliers and Sunfires, go to http://www.j-body.org
Thank you. -Cannon.
15th Mar 2004, 18:54
I'm 17 and just bought myself a green Z24 Cavalier and I love her! I just want to say what a great car she is and how much fun I have dressing her up. the only problem's I have encountered are a flat battery one morning and I constantly open my coupe doors onto curbs and other cars. other that that I am then envy of teens in my small town. And also my car came directly from Japan and cost me $10 000 all up and it is a 1996 model with all the extras, she's the best!
16th Mar 2004, 10:15
I bought Toyota Cavalier in Thailand last year. The car was only about 10000km then. It had many problems since the days I took hold of it. First, the fan was broken while driving, later on many months, the timing belt busted. And sometimes, the engine just turn shaky and slowly went off when the car stopped in the traffic. Other than that the parts are so expensive to get, especially I have to order them from Japan over to Thailand. Also, the Toyota centers here don't even know what Toyota Cavalier is, because in Thailand, there are only 5 or less. Well, there are good & bad points!
31st Mar 2004, 16:03
I agree with other comments that it's a great little car, and good value for money, but (in New Zealand) parts are expensive. It seems hard to find an auto-electrician willing to service the generator, which is apparently unusual in some way.
What is really weird is that, in my model at least, the automatic transmission has no dipstick! There is no way to check the fluid level. When it's time for an oil and grease even the Toyota dealers' mechanics apparently simply replace with the same amount of transmission oil they drained and hope that's OK! (If anyone can post a comment telling me the officially recommended volume of transmission oil, I'll be grateful).
My advice is to buy one certified to be in first class condition, enjoy it for 18 months and then sell it before it develops problems which are guaranteed to be expensive.
11th Jul 2004, 02:27
I'm from the states and this is my third Chevrolet Cavalier. I have only one problem... The car goes through struts very quickly (10,000 miles or so) and of course I replace them with better than stock and it still has that annoying problem. If anyone wants to know anything about these American versions please e-mail me at dominusofblackmegadeus@yahoo.com.
9th Nov 2004, 02:57
Great car for the money; bought mine for NZ$7,000 - spent about NZ$2,000 getting it up to scratch, and its been great ever since. Considering that you'd be paying more than NZ$12,000 for another equivalent car, this isn't a bad deal. I'd be prepared to spend another couple of grand on it before selling it on.
4th Jan 2005, 21:28
Have a Toyota Cavalier in NZ (an import for 18 months) only one problem the screen washer would not work, but found a good second hand unit from a wrecker in hamilton who specialises in imported parts. To find him simple search for Toyota cavalier parts in nz.
Otherwise very happy with the car.
17th Jun 2005, 03:58
Hi everyone I have been rather interested in purchasing Toyota Cavalier coz they look really good for the money. Problem is that I can't seem to find 1 single manuel out of the whole lot!Does anyone know if they came out in manuel or not???NZ.
28th Aug 2005, 22:03
The Chevy standard is manual, however I'm of the impression that all the cars made for Toyota were automatic. I can't find a manual in New Zealand or even on any of the Japanese auction sites.
11th Mar 2006, 00:39
I picked up a 96 cavalier sedan at auction nearly a year ago real cheap, 50000km, and mint condition. The reason they're cheap in New Zealand is that people are scared of the price and availability of parts. I drive it pretty easy in heavy Auckland traffic, have had no problems at all, and get 30 mpg. But when you need the grunt, its there. With a 2.4 litre twin cam in a small body, I can leave other small cars at the lights if I feel like it, and open road passing acceleration is excellent, at least as good as my previous 4 litre Falcon wagon. So, a good little car at a good price, but get a low mileage one, and treat it well, and you should have a good run. There are a lot here now and plenty of used parts are coming on the market. I love getting in this very peppy little car after driving our gutless company Ford Mondeos.
3rd Apr 2003, 18:35
This is a great looking car, peppy 2.4 motor, lots of extra accessories such as sunroof etc, drives well comfortable ride, great price.
But big problem for New Zealand buyers is that the car is made in Canada using Asian parts and the Toyota dealers say it is not really a Toyota. This may not matter, but the parts are difficult and expensive to get. The airbags if inflated are $4000 to replace, and the front windscreen is $5,000. For this reason State will not insure the car unless you have all your other insurance with them and even then reluctantly. I managed to get AMI insurance, but without separate windscreen cover.
I have really looked into this and these are the answers I am getting so please consider before buying - at least have a thorough pre purchase check done.
Apart from that it's a beautiful car.