My first car at 37!! (I'm a truck guy lol)

[SpeedyG]

Hey everybody, about to buy a commuter car for work... Since i'm a GM guy that bleeds Chevy Engine Orange i thought i'd start at the bottom of the transpo world in the Sub-compact arena where i never thought i'd be... I live in central Alberta now, where literally like 70% of the population drives pickups (prosperous oil and gas country)... I have a 2011 Z71 Sierra myself with 91000 km on it, don't wanna wear it out with 800km a week on our highways, even tho i get 24 mpg out of it...

This idea of an Aveo came about due to Navistar shutting down our shop where i live due to this wonderful recession we're having... I'm an HD Tech at International so I was offered an oppurtunity to work at a brand new International facility (room for 40 trucks!!) but it's 90 km away, and since i just bought a house 11 months ago i'm kinda caught in the middle lol! Fuel cost in anything with a V8 will accumulate rapidly with this commute...

If you all had a Top 3 List of things to look out for when buying a $2500-4000 Aveo (2007 looks to be a decent year) let me know..! I've seen some listed with over 300K on the odometer so they go forever but would prefer something around the 100K mark. I'm a mechanic so nothing on this car scares me with regards to repairs.. Cheers!

[dgoody88]

I would go with an 09-11 aveo they come with the ecotec engine instead of the the e-tech that was in the 04-08 aveo. The 04-08 timing belt needs to be changed every 50000 instead of 100000 like the 09-11

[petrified.rabbit]

I would step up to an 09 for the newer engine design. Nothing wrong with the older design though, just better timing belt intervals. Although, depending on how you drive, if you drive it hard you can get down to the same mpg you say you got out of your truck..

In fact if you look closely (assuming your getting a manual) i the the 2010 or 2011 have a wider gear range for slightly better mpg.
I drove mine 50 miles each way when i bought it, its a decent highway car.

Top things i would look for, maintenance. IE timing belt was done, with everything replaced. Body condition for wrecks, rust. Then get a feel for the bushings, brakes and suspension see if anything needs done to those wear items.

[SpeedyG]

Thanks guys! Kinda got my heart set on the 07, half the cost of newer (gen 3?) cars like the Sonic, and better than the gen 1 cars, more room and better features.. The one i'm looking at has 90K on it for $4000 CDN, it's a fully loaded LT with 17" wheels for summer and a winter set already mounted... Apparently just had shocks and brakes done, car is from Calgary so its lived life as a city car..

Anybody know the cost of parts plus labour to do the cam belt? Maybe i can swing a better deal if she knows it needs to be changed.. Can totally do it myself, read the procedure and have an idea of what parts i need (belt, idlers, water pump while i'm in there etc) and it's the first thing to do if she never had it changed (she's the original owner)... I asked in my last email, no response yet

Looks cool all blacked out

[dgoody88]

Car looks good. I would definitely try to talk them down on the price if its gonna need work put in to it.

[MetroMPG]

Used Aveo shopping thread, FYI:

http://www.aveoforum.com/forum/f81/w...ed-aveo-10142/

Welcome to the forum!

[SpeedyG]

Outstanding work Gentleman! Very useful info indeed... Never heard of the stat housing issue before, i'll keep an eye on that this winter.. Hopefully i'll hear back from her, been reading up on cool easy mods to do. Like i have the car already lol.. Mostly lights and interior, gonna be a lot of time driving in the dark 😐

timing belt and WP looks easy enough to do, found a cast iron pulley set, imo plastic parts belong somewhere other than performing a critical engine operation, such as driving valvetrain components... Belts are bad enough 😕

Other mods will include stereo installation (sub, amp, bluetooth head unit), and some nice bright HIDs or driving lights so i can see Bambi before she tries Death By Car at 6am lol critters are everywhere up here

[avguy]

The t-stat housing was metal by '07, so you wouldn't have to be concerned about that one. If you want the highest possible quote for the timing belt job to use as a bargaining chip, just call your local Chevy dealership. I have an '05 and '06 in the family, and have done lots of the repairs that are common for 9-10 year old vehicles. As a shade tree DIYer, IMO these vehicles are reasonable to work on, and a mechanic such as you should have no problems whatsoever. One of the best thing about these Aveos is the parts are almost always reasonably priced, although I've read that Canadian prices are sometimes significantly higher than in the US. Hope you are able to get the deal done!

[MetroMPG]

Looks cool all blacked out

Yup, it does.

Do you have your heart set on that specific car? I find trying to buy a car through kijiji/craigslist can be an exercise in frustration (non-responsive sellers, misrepresented cars, cars sold but ads not removed).

[SpeedyG]

She just replied back, 99,000 km on the original belt!! I fed her some facts and suggested the end may be near lol.. Then told her it cost $300 to change it, and if she'd knock that off the price we could make a deal... I priced out parts, almost $200 CDN and well, my labour costs me nothing I thought it was a fair deal, we'll se what she says.. (Fingers crosed)

p.s. That's $3700 CDN, in greenbacks that's what, $2200 at today's exchange rate..? Just a guess... Pretty decent for a fully loaded LT with 60,000 miles on it.. Gps and backup cam (what for lol?) , 17" rims and a set of 4 on steelys with winter boots come with... Only option it doesn't have is optional Safety package with side airbags and junk