Hey guys,
I went over today with my friend and looked at a 2003 Chevy Cavalier base coupe with the 2.2 Ecotec and 5 speed. We both felt the clutch was replaced because it was tight and engaged very quickly. The car has 114K however mechanically it seems like it has much less miles on it. The interior was pretty clean and everything seemed to work like it should. It even had a Sony head unit which didn’t sound too bad with the stock speakers. The car also had some pretty good tires on it which is going to help for winter. However the body is pretty beat up. The front of the car has a dent on the hood towards the passenger side head light. Also the front bumper is beat up and it has a crack in the center of the bumper (behind the license plate bracket). For the rear the trunk key mechanism does not work however it does open from inside the car. I also noticed that one of the tail lights has a crack in it. Also the car has some silly Chevy stickers on it and some pretty cheap faded (purple) tint. The dealer said they put some Chevy stickers on it because the client (a family friend) they were going to sell the car too requested it for his son but after finding out it was stick they backed away (this was over 6 months ago). The dealer told me they would remove those stickers if I wanted. The last thing I can think of about the car is the exhaust. The car has one of those round ricer looking exhaust which is kind of loud. I could live with that but I most likely would get something better looking and as well quieter.

Like I said mechanically the car seems solid. but the looks aren’t exactly the best. Most likely if I get this car I would have to do a tune up and oil change on it. Also being an out of home state car I will have to get an inspection done right away. However this is the cheapest 5 speed Ecotec power cavalier I have found around my area. Other ones I was looking at for the same price were all older 2.4 or 2200 powered ones with about the same miles or even more. The sticker on the car says $3,995 however that price is over 6+ months old. He has it listed online for $2,950 and that was weeks ago with no bites (he said because its stick). A few of my buddies have told me to try to offer him $1,800 to $2,000 but is that low blowing him?

KBB says this:

Excellent
$2,550
Good
$2,150
Fair
$1,675

The car is not that old to me however I have to consider it’s a base model cavalier that is pretty beat up looking and it already has over 100K on it. I just have no idea how much I should offer him for the car? I think he will pretty much take anything at this point but I hate to offer him more then what I really could have paid him for the car. There is one more 2004 Cavalier for sale with only 40K but the body looks like someone drove it off a bridge and the clutch/flywheel already is damaged/warped. That guy wants $3,000 for the car but it’s really trashed.

Here is a picture of the 2003 I am talking about.

http://images.craigslist.org/1fb1341g23p03ob3la8bie9f97224c51a101b.jpg

2000 Buick Regal GSE - "Gods Grocery Getter is powered by an L67 3800" - 333WHP
12.900 @ 109.91mph 2.166 60Ft (Fastest 1/4)
13.374 @ 110.01mph 2.467 60Ft (Fastest Trap)

2004 Chevy Cavalier - 15.7 @ 90mph (Semi-Modded)

Just offer him $2000 and say you based that off of KBB value.

CraiGT wrote:Just offer him $2000 and say you based that off of KBB value.

That seems like a good place to start.

I have a 1996 2.2L OHV cav before i bought my 2003 1sv(no-option base model). I love my 03. The 96 was a very good car, but my 03 is alot more fun.

For 2000, that would be a good car to get.....hell If i was there, I would have drove it home already. 225 bucks around here will get you some nice new tint (+Removal of the old stuff). The hood and bumper could be replaced, but would it be worth it? If it's going to be a beater, 2000 isn't a bad price. Keep in mind, some kid probably had it before (exhaust + Broken stuff), so he probably drove it hard.... just keep that in mind.

Mark wrote:For 2000, that would be a good car to get.....hell If i was there, I would have drove it home already. 225 bucks around here will get you some nice new tint (+Removal of the old stuff). The hood and bumper could be replaced, but would it be worth it? If it's going to be a beater, 2000 isn't a bad price. Keep in mind, some kid probably had it before (exhaust + Broken stuff), so he probably drove it hard.... just keep that in mind.

Yeah you are totally right about the car most likely being pretty beaten. I have to say the car was owned by a kid and most likely would have major mechanically problems not long into owning it. I have already looked past that car and started looking at others. I found a 2004 Chevy Cavalier 4 door sedan 5 speed... I really wanted a sedan and I hope to get this one.

2000 Buick Regal GSE - "Gods Grocery Getter is powered by an L67 3800" - 333WHP
12.900 @ 109.91mph 2.166 60Ft (Fastest 1/4)
13.374 @ 110.01mph 2.467 60Ft (Fastest Trap)

2004 Chevy Cavalier - 15.7 @ 90mph (Semi-Modded)

When I bought my first car last year (03 cav) it was like the 5th car that I almost purchased. If you have even the slightest gut feeling about it, don't buy it. You'll come across a better one in no time.

tyler wojo wrote:When I bought my first car last year (03 cav) it was like the 5th car that I almost purchased. If you have even the slightest gut feeling about it, don't buy it. You'll come across a better one in no time.

Yeah you are totally right. I have so far looked at 6 J-bodies since the end of summer and there is always something about each one that has me 2nd guessing about handing the money over. The hardest thing for me is trying not to spend alot for this car. I am pretty much buying this car as a DD for the winter only. So I really did not want to spend 6K+ for a base model 5 speed car. I was really trying to keep it at 3K the most but willing to go up to 3,500 if need be. I should be able to come across something at some point just have to keep looking.

2000 Buick Regal GSE - "Gods Grocery Getter is powered by an L67 3800" - 333WHP
12.900 @ 109.91mph 2.166 60Ft (Fastest 1/4)
13.374 @ 110.01mph 2.467 60Ft (Fastest Trap)

2004 Chevy Cavalier - 15.7 @ 90mph (Semi-Modded)

I wouldn't give over $2,000 for it.