Good bye to a good little car.

I am probably the only person to feel bad about getting rid of a Cavalier.

I bought my 99 Cavalier in 07 after totaling another good car, my 95 Escort. The Cav had a mere 80,480 miles on it. Today I traded it in with 213,189 miles for my wife's new Fiat 500. In the ensuing 130k it needed only the slightest of maintenance. Fresh fluids and filters every so often, some tires, and a new driver's seat after it refused to go back up one morning. It needed to be towed a whopping two times, the first when a weeks old alt belt shredded and took out the coolant pipe, and last week when the starter gave up after a car wash. Otherwise it has run like a top. Unfortunately the years have taken a toll on her and a lot of bits are worn out and rust is doing a number on the underside. Since my wife and I both cover a lot of miles to work and have been deemed essential by the state it was with a bit of sadness that we needed to let her go.

For years of getting me to and from work, and sometimes living out of her while stuck at work she has performed well. She was also probably the only stock Cavalier to appear in a magazine, and the only readers ride to generate hate mail. I took this pic this morning and it still doesn't look half bad. Good luck little car, and good bye.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/265/

Those cars were better than anyone gave them credit for. They were meant as transportation, not racing. Keep'em full of fluids and they run forever.....

It's always sad to see a faithful one go.

I have a friend who has one, just like this. It's cosmetically deteriorated a lot, but he's said it's continued to run strong for years on minimal maintenance.

Good to know these cars have served and are serving people well! Remember the good times.

Our 99 Z24 was the most reliable car I've ever owned.

Bye, little car.

While I hated my wife's 97 Cavalier, it broke down exactly one time, and that was just because it threw the alternator belt while she was 10 miles from home.

It is always sad when a faithful steed leaves the herd.

We still have our '99 2.2 Sunfire. And likely will because it just. isn't. dying. The original battery lasted 10 years. The original spark plugs lasted 12. Zero rust just to taunt me. I hate everything about the car and its stupid reliability - but it isn't giving me a reason to let it go.

Curious how the Fiat will be.

I owned an 84 cav and it was reliable like a stone.

I hate those. Wofe had one. only broke twice tho. Not counting ac anyway.

'The only readers' ride to generate hate mail.'

May it serve its new owners well.

I owned a 90, a 96, and SWMBO had a 98 Z24 ...reliable as gravity, and parts grow on trees. With proper maintenance, it will give the new owner another 130k of totally uninspired, numbingly boring, starts everyday like the sunrise commuting.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: I owned an 84 cav and it was quick like a stone.

Fixed. I used to try to tune those things. I shudder when I think of them...

I felt the same way watching my '95 ACR driven away by its new owner in 2006. It let me drive the daylights out of it and never ever complained, just asked for more. It hardly needed (or got) any maintenance. I consoled myself with knowing it would have a third life as a hillclimber, and also with the puff of blue smoke it left behind.

Here's a small pour of 5w/30 on the curb for our homie.

I'm a blue oval guy, but the 95 Cadavalier is fun to drive. Goodbye little guy.

My first job out of the Navy in 91 was a dealership, Caddy/Chevy/and a few imports. We used Prisms, Corsicas and these for loaner cars. This was the one no one wanted to drive. I guess mostly because they had the performance of a small dishwasher with 0-60 measured by a calendar.

But I can appreciate sturdy vehicles, the Talon that had 260k when I sold it (wish I hadn't now) and the xB has 170k so far.

Aww. I cried when my parents sold their 1961 Jag 3.4 Mk 1. I was about 6 or 7 at the time, but it was "my first car".

I had a sad a couple weeks ago watching my '01 Tacoma leaving on a rollback, knowing her destination was a Copart lot in some godforsaken corner of rural MD.

Weird. Wally and Cavaliers just go hand in hand. This just doesn't seem right.

As for the cavalier discussion, my neighbor has a '97 that looks EXACTLY like that one, accept it's lost it's hubcaps (which have been replaced with a cheap aftermarket set) and the clearcoat peel might be a little worse. He bought it for $250 with pretty bad timing chain rattle. He drove it like that for YEARS. When the timing chain finally went, I got to show him how to rebuild a cyl. head. It's going strong once again.

When it finally comes time to part with my '00 Saturn SL2 I'm sure it will be a very sad day for me... it was my first new-from-the-dealer car (and may well be my ONLY one...) and has carried me all over the country and through good times and bad.

Say g'bye to the Norge, kids!

I drove a 04 Cavalier up to 376k before a guy ran a stop sign and killed it. I didn't shed any tears but considering how indifferent I was towards it's maintenance it's amazing how far it went. I'm pretty sure it was still running it's original plugs. Add to this that it spent it's first 6 months as a daily rental and it's hard not to be impressed. The only thing that ever broke was an alternator and it had the good grace to die in my driveway.

Let's hope it does find a new owner and isn't set to the great recycler in the sky.

Cavalier: A car that will run poorly forever.

There's a flat-biller around here that drives a hacked up Sunflower with NO SPRINGS in it. Just rides around on the bump stops with a stupid "Eastside Lowriders" sticker in the back window...yeah.

Anyway, I've seen that car running around for several years like that. It's an automatic with a straight pipe on it. He drives with the go pedal on the rug. All the time. It smokes a bit but he's still rockin it. The j-body twins are unappreciated, but you seldom see one broken on the side of the road. They are damn near indestructible I figure.

I honestly considered a Cavalier when I was hunting a Curmudgeonlingmobile whew because yes they will run forever. The ones I kept finding were always ratty inside though.