Ex Aveo Virgin… 5 Speed Manual LS 2004 Hatchback

[Raleigh St. Clair]

Hi folks,

Never would have imagined there would be an Aveo forum, but fate had me run across this site.

Here's a few pics of my AVEO….






A brief history since purchasing...

Purchased with 62,000 miles from local Chevrolet dealership, base model w/ Pioneer stereo, body has slight rust under passenger front door. I paid $4,000 for it…. did I get hosed on this one? I was in a pinch money wise and in terrible physical condition at the time, needed it to relocate and let my wife pretty much handle everything.

Since then, I've had several small issues with it and I've put roughly $800 into keeping it running.

-Oxygen Sensor replaced (idle was all over the place).
-Air intake was cracked & replaced.
-Front ball joints replaced, one was already bad the other was well on it's way.
-Fuel Cap was setting off check engine light, replaced cap.
-Factory rim was leaking due to corrosion

I have had the timing belt inspect recently and it appeared to be well worn, quite possibly original to the vehicle. Vehicle now has 72,000 miles on it., I plan have this along with the tensioner and water pump replaced next week. I was quoted around $650 for everything installed, good price?

I also am having a strange creaking noise coming from the front axle when turning hard at slow speeds, which was the reason the ball joints were discovered problematic… though the problem never went away ultimately. Any thoughts as to what might be going on here?

A few other thoughts, do I need to check/replace the spark plugs and wires? Can I expect that this car will not be a money pit for me in the next year or two? I know nobody can ultimately say, but just given what others have noted around here I figured it might count for something.

I like the car, but I am tossing around the idea of selling it soon and purchasing a Mazda3 Hatchback after reading of the common issues with this model and fear it being a money pit. Not to mention the IIHS Crash ratings make me a bit concerned with how many idiot drivers there are on the roads these days.

Anyways, nice to find a new forum that I have something in common with others… it helps these days as I feel very little connection to most people I encounter these days. Tend to keep my distance from most people where I live, sadly.