Teach me GM J body stuff

I ended up putting about 150,000 miles on mine in addition to the 100,000 it came with. It's only redeeming quality was that it was frustratingly reliable.  I needed a car in a hurry and assumed it would give out in a couple years and I'd move on. I beat it like a rented mule every day for five years and it loved it. It almost sank in hurricane sandy and started right up to drive home. It was hit by an X5 and just got a crack in the bumper. It never failed me until the day before it was being traded for the Fiat. I gave it one more good scrubbing so she looked good on the lot and the starter went bad. I changed it in the parking lot and it was good to go. In spite of its loyal service there was nothing sporty about it and I don't know if I'd want one for any more than basic commuting.

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

The goal is mostly commuting, so I'm sure it would do the job. Cockroaches, these cars. But while my standards are exceptionally low, a car should at least be entertaining, and the consensus seems to be "no entertainment". Though, thinking about it, sometimes the best cars are not the ones you like or get attached to, but the ones you don't give a E36 M3 about. 
It's not going anywhere, but I think for now I'm gonna keep looking around and driving the mustang. 

We had two, but neither were base model cars but Z24’s. Mrs P had a 99 and it was so good I bought a 2000 to use for a commuter. Lowered, 56mm TB, header, 2 1/2” exh. And tune it was way faster than you would expect.  Really. I beat on it for a few years then my son needed a car so I sold it to him and he beat on it like a mid 20’s kid does for another 4 years. We had zero problems with either of them and Mrs. had hers for almost 10 years and we only sold it because it had 250k on it.  My MIL had her base model from 95-05 and the only problem I know of was a noisy clutch on the AC in year 10. It was so good she bought another one.

There are a few things you can do to liven up a 2.2 but the 2.4 TC motor was the good one .  

Keep in mind that many of the people that will E36 M3 all over a GM product -any GM product here will be the same people who will have nothing but good things to say if someone asks if they should buy a half built and three quarter beat Yugo as a project. 

In reply to Peabody :

I'm not totally ruling it out. But this is far from the z24 variant. Factory bi-fuel. Automatic. And I'm not in a position to put any real money into hopping it up. Decent stereo, a good cleaning, tires when it needs them. Mostly it is convenient, already parked at my house. I'm not out looking for one.

I know.  Like usual there’s a lot of input from people who have never owned one. Just trying to add a little balance to the discussion. 

Are they great cars? No. Are they cheap reliable cars? Yes, and ours were very good to us. Mine ate up commuter miles, was a lot of cheap reliable fun, and I still think those were the most comfortable seats I’ve ever sat in  

A few hundred bucks could make a big difference in how that car gets down th road. 

I like the earlier square ones, from a distance, like the late-80's Pontiac Sunbird Turbo GT's. Probably very few of those left. These do seem like a good commuter platform with lots of Lego snap-in replacement / upgrades. 

Patrick (Forum Supporter) said:

I wouldn't consider it a slow car with attitude, i'd consider it a slow car with the ability to suck your soul away.  They're disposable turd appliances.  
 

^^^^^^^^^

I jumped in here to say this...............you beat me to it. Although I do feel you were slightly more kind that I would have been.

In reply to barefootskater :

I had a 2001 Z24 Cavalier with a 5spd new back in the day, it was actually not a bad little car. The 2.4 "TwinCam" was punchy and sounded great with an AEM intake on it. It was my first autocross experiance as well.

storzz24je6 by _Storz_, on Flickr