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Our 2003 Cavalier

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    Our 2003 Cavalier

    Fellow GMN idiots, meet my wife's 2003 Cavalier. This is the car I've been whining about in WAYWO in recent weeks, but now it's mostly fixed and back to providing relatively normal transportation for my wife to and from work.

    She bought it used in 2004 as a GM Certified Preowned vehicle from Friendly Buick-Honda in the Detroit area. It appeared to have been an Avis fleet car, and had racked up 26,000 miles in its first year of service, but was in very nice condition save for grabby brakes.







    2012 Mazda5 Touring | Finally working on the LTD again!

    #2
    do you still have the hubcaps on it mike lol last time I sawl it it had no hubcaps on lol

    1989 mercury grand marquis gs / 2014 ford focus s daily driver
    302 lopo with ho upper/ aod with trans go shift kit
    k code 3:55 posi rear/big brake swap tow package car

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      #3
      No, they kept breaking the little fake lugnuts ($5 each from Chevy) and rattling all over. Easier to tell whether the car really is making a worrisome noise without the hubcaps, which is why I usually avoid running full wheel covers whenever it seems reasonable to do so.
      2012 Mazda5 Touring | Finally working on the LTD again!

      Comment


        #4
        First car I got to drive w/o supervision was an 02 sunfire w 2 extra doors and the earlier motor. Good little runabout but on the highway forget about passing anything


        I put almost every one of the 180k on that car before we sold it. I cursed that car up and down many times but I never ONCE worried it wouldn't turn over and get me where I had to go. I don't really miss it but we had a "thing", me and that car.
        sigpic


        - 1990 Ford LTD Crown Victoria P72 - the street boat - 5.0 liter EFI - Ported HO intake/TB, 90 TC shroud/overflow, Aero airbox/zip tube, Cobra camshaft, 19lb injectors, dual exhaust w/ Magnaflows, Cat/Smog & AC delete, 3G alternator, MOOG chassis parts & KYB cop shocks, 215/70r/15s on 95-97 Merc rims

        - 2007 Ford Escape XLT - soccer mom lifted station wagon - 3.0 Duratec, auto, rear converter delete w/ Magnaflow dual exhaust

        - 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis Ultimate Edition - Daily driver - 4.6 2 valve Mod motor, 4R75E, 2.73s. Bone stock

        Comment


          #5
          I've never driven a pre-'03 J-body. I don't think. But as much as I joke that real engines have 8 cylinders, the Ecotec 2.2 is really a nice little engine, and well suited to this purpose. It's rated at 140hp/140tq, and the car only weighs 2700 pounds and the auto trans has pretty reasonable shift programming.

          So apparently, '03-'05 >> '95-'02, and not just because they're so much better looking. :smirk: Then, mid-'05, GM gave the finger to all their compact coupe buyers and brought out the Cobalt.
          2012 Mazda5 Touring | Finally working on the LTD again!

          Comment


            #6
            a friend has a 99 and it's like driving a tank, but he delivers with it so it's not expected to be in great shape..
            sigpic


            - 1990 Ford LTD Crown Victoria P72 - the street boat - 5.0 liter EFI - Ported HO intake/TB, 90 TC shroud/overflow, Aero airbox/zip tube, Cobra camshaft, 19lb injectors, dual exhaust w/ Magnaflows, Cat/Smog & AC delete, 3G alternator, MOOG chassis parts & KYB cop shocks, 215/70r/15s on 95-97 Merc rims

            - 2007 Ford Escape XLT - soccer mom lifted station wagon - 3.0 Duratec, auto, rear converter delete w/ Magnaflow dual exhaust

            - 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis Ultimate Edition - Daily driver - 4.6 2 valve Mod motor, 4R75E, 2.73s. Bone stock

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by 1990LTD View Post
              a friend has a 99 and it's like driving a tank, but he delivers with it so it's not expected to be in great shape..
              My father has a '99. He's a moron for it. Not only is the car a royal piece of crap, I think it got whacked at some point. The front end eats wheel bearings, the paint don't match between the drivers side fender and door, the passenger airbag can be pried out with your fingernails, and the dash panel doesn't want to line up.

              The AC compressor died 3 days after he took it home. The dealer removed the compressor and replaced it with a pulley and a different belt. My father never pressed the issue that he got screwed, and by the time I found out it was too late to do anything.

              He's in this for another 24 months and $11k with interest. Like I said, he's a moron.
              Save a seal, club a liberal.

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                #8
                contrary to popelar beleif, those are pretty good cars, the newer ones anyway, I would probably say 00-05. the ecotec is the best engine they came with in that era for sure, imho it alot more refined than the quad4 and had hardly any problems in those years
                95-99's had alot of head gasket issues and pcm/wiring issues

                Comment


                  #9
                  I was impressed with a 08 I got as a rental, particularly the brake pedal 'feel'.

                  My coworker has a 06, he's had some issues.

                  Pete
                  Originally posted by gadget73
                  For other types of inquiry, more information is required. Please press 4 to speak to a representative who can help you with your question. This call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes.


                  2003 Grand Marquis Ultimate, the "Stealth Bomber": http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...-Grand-Marquis
                  1991 S-10, 'Bulldog', 2.5l 5 speed: http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...375#post698375
                  1985 Town Car, 'Faded Glory', gone but not forgotten. 84/87/91/97 MGMs too.

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