1988 Chevrolet Cavalier Reviews, Pricing & Specs

“Robert” was a 1988 Cavalier wagon that my family acquired when I was 3 years old. According to my parents, I gave him that name myself. It figures then that I have always felt a strong connection to this car. We were born in the same year, and we grew up together. Robert was a part of many of the formative experiences of my life. My family drove Robert across the country from East to West when we moved to Oregon from Virginia, and I experienced my first foray into a foreign country (Canada) from his back seat. When I got my driver’s license at 19, I finally had the chance to drive the car that had meant so much to me during my childhood. By then, Robert was beginning to show his age. But I saw him through rose-colored glasses. Instead of being frustrated by the slow response of the pedals, I loved how it made the car accelerate and brake so smoothly. You just couldn’t rush the car to do anything, which made for a laid-back driving experience. The steering was loose and off-center, but I appreciated how light the wheel felt in my hands. Robert soon became a symbol of my independence. My parents let me drive him wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, as long as I told them where I was going. Driving Robert to work during the first summer after college only strengthened our bond. Every moment we spent together taught me new lessons in car control. I found the limits of his lateral grip and braking force (which didn’t take much effort to reach). I practiced braking so smoothly that I couldn’t feel the car rock back as I came to a halt. I learned to parallel park and back into parking spaces—Robert was the perfect car for this because of his big square windows and thin pillars. When he finally died of a clogged exhaust system last year, I was sad to see him go. But he left me with a valuable gift—a passion for driving that has stuck with me my whole life.Jan 06, 2013

I love this car so much i dont think i will ever let it stop running! i bought the car for $300 with holes in the floor because it had been jumped, an engine that was about dont (271,000 miles on it!) and the automatic tranny was totaled! Then i replaced the engine with a 2.8L v6 and a 5 speed transmission but I wanted more power so we dropped a 3.1L v6 in it hypertech chip, msd ignition, and accel wires and the torque in unreal! this car looks like a serious piece of work (or crap) to a lot of ppl lol but i wouldnt trade it for anything!! I love this car!Aug 11, 2010

the 2.8L V6 is a very sound motor very few flaws in its design, the 3T40 automatic transmisson was ok for its day but doesn't stand the test of time very good not a huge fan of them it slips when under hard acceleration, the brakes are great for stock when you wanna stop it stops just fine this car handles exceptionally good for what it is under hard acceleration through a turn the back end does want to pass you so gotta be careful. The build quality well as for any low line car it is what it is its got a few rust spots but hey its 23 years old never really had a major problem with it running wise overheating and blowing fuses thats about the only problems I have had but thats all normal due to the age of the car and the fuse blew out b/c I shorted a wire to ground so its not an electrical problem oh also the A/C compressor is shot but it was bad when i got the car R-12 compressors never were the best on those cars, has the typical 80's 2 door coupe squeaks and rattles doors sag over time there heavy plus gravity wears stuff out. The appearance is moded wanted it to stand out so I did a bit of restyling needs the grill redone again so the headlights don't stick out the it should look sweet, the interior is very plain kinda 80's to say the least it has a few upgrades like a grant racing wheel and a JVC head unit with a 460 watt Dual amp and two 12 inch Rockford Fosgate subs. Cost of ownership well due to a few speeding tickets its kinda pricey I'm paying 430 bucks for insurance every 6 months gas milage makes around 18 city and about 25 highway, so far the cars been very cheap to own and parts aren't that expensive. This cars a great car if you want something that looks sleek and gets up and goes when you need it to its not a race car by any means, the weak automatic transmission won't hold up very long and it governs out at 110 MPH and its just not built to be raced, I suggest a manual transmission in this car if your looking for something similarJul 25, 2010

aerodynamics of a brick,and that pretty blue 4 door. Wait what? it got around 30mpg. and could smoke any escort in town(except for that one GT i seen) i had only one problem with it and it costed me only about 25 dollars to fix it. I drove the heck out of itand sold it to a new teacher at the school that i graduated from. She drove it until she got a brand new car and never had a problem with this car.Oct 18, 2009

this car has gone threw alot it came to me as a 2.8L 3speed automatic it now has a 3400 SFI out of a 2001 alero and a 5speed with a stage 2 bully clutch system. other engine mods include a 62mm TB with port matched upper intake, custom cold air intake, zex dry nitrous kit with dual line LED purge lines, and full msd ignition system. and the outside of the car has also gone threw some changes with a full fx designs body kit custom moulded hood scoop and a molded veil side RX7 spoiler not to mention the custom suiside hood hinges. the car is lowered on eibach springs and KYB GR2 shocks and struts with a set of 17" mili miglia 5 spoke rims to set it off. a look into the interior shows a set of sliding and reclining buckett racing seats, a SPW 2 button race stearing wheel, custom painted interior accents and a full custom alpine stereo. now for the trunk ... in there we have a custom sub and amp set up i built out of boredom in a weekend containing a alpine type X 12" sub with the mrd 1005 digital mono amp to push it and a audiobahn full farad cap to help supply some power and all that framed up with 2 10lbs bottles of nitrous ....Jan 05, 2008