Possibly about to be an aveo owner

Ahoy!

I've been searching long and hard for a basic car that meets my requirements of a small, light, cheap car for some time now, and I've stumbled across the aveo, thinking it's what I want.

I've found a few around here I think are alright- four door hatchbacks. I really want a 2-door hatchback, but apparently they just dont exist here. (I'm in the northeastern US)

The one I'm looking at apparently had the timing belt go at 60k, which seems to be a common problem. They had the engine replaced and the car is now at 73k. I'm waiting on paperwork from the replacement engine, since I currently have no idea how old it is or anything like that.

I guess my first questions are here..
1) other than the timing belt, what do you need to watch out for with these?

2) was the timing belt issue corrected? (Just a faulty batch?)- does replacing it with a better one mean it no longer breaks every 40-60k?

3) How annoying are these to work on? I've done an engine rebuild and a few swaps, but am no mechanic.

4) Does anyone know the engine code? E.G. 4age, 1mzfe, etc. I cant find much information on this other than the timing belts snap.

5)how does the car feel about sitting? Some cars handle it better than others. This is a "spare" car, to be used when my daily car (an 85) or the girls car (a 90) are off the road for whatever reason.

6) Does anyone know offhand if this thing has a neutral safety switch? I keep installing remote car starters in my cars (its so cold up here) but without a safety switch its dangerous. Fabricating them is difficult, but if this had one built in that would be fancy.

7) I read somewhere that in Korea, these had timing chains instead of belts to solve the breakage issue. Any chance there's a conversion? If you're in there doing the belt anyway... :)

Well personally I would not get an aveo as my first choice. Have you looked at civics or focuses or something not korean?

there is absolutely nothing wrong with an aveo for the price, i have owned both a focus, a civic, and many other cars. the aveo is just as reliable, and cheaper.

to answer your questions..

1. the major things to check are for a metal thermostat housing, and check the fuse blocks for signs of burns. Its also good to have maintenance records, etc. there are a few other faults here and there, but they would be evident with a test drive and not overly common to mention them all.

2. the timing belt is a 60k mile service interval. so yes it can break every 60k if not serviced. you also want to verify if the water pump, tensioner, and idler pulleys were done. this changed in 09 when they went to a different engine with a 100k mile service.

3. i have had no issues with working on mine, its fairly simple. there is plenty of room around every part i have accessed/replaced. the parts are reasonably price for the most part and usually pretty easy to find.

4. the e-tec II engine code is L91 i believe.

5. i've parked mine for 2 weeks or so, there seems to be very little parasitic draw, however if your car comes with the standard korean battery i would through a better battery in it for assurance that it will start if sitting for 2 weeks or more at a time.

6. as far as i know ALL automatic cars come with a neutral safety switch now.. I can't think of the last car that did not. the aveo also uses the switch on the clutch peddle to prevent starting, as most cars that i can think of.

7. no such thing, on the 0 family engine had the timing chain, which i believe is the 1.2 liter version of the aveo. The family 1 engine design used in the aveo all have timing belts. BUT if you wanted the 0 family engine in the cruze and sonic (1.4t) i believe has a timing chain and can be a complete engine swap.


you could have answered all these questions just browsing the threads.

like any car, regular scheduled maintenance prolongs life and avoids problems. I have been beating the crap out of mine , and at 80k this is my second favorite car I have owned , moreso than my 92 eclipse and eg civic, only falling short to my BG mazda protégé with swap -that thing was a tank, 4 accidents, 13 sec 1/4 mile , 29mpg, and nearly 90K

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Originally Posted by camopaint0707

Well personally I would not get an aveo as my first choice. Have you looked at civics or focuses or something not korean?

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The problem isn't with it being Korean - the problem is that it was designed by Chevrolet.

Rabbit's advice is accurate (as usual). :)

In addition, I'd suggest that you not buy an Aveo that is before the year '09. (I have an '09, thankfully.) There were some major changes made in that model year, notably that the timing belt is now meant to last 100k miles.

The suspension is of a really cheap, crude design. I'd expect problems with that once the car has high mileage on it. There is a recall for the coil pack and plugs, but Chevy will do that for free if it hasn't been done already. The automatic transmissions get poor city mpg (20-24 mpg), but very good highway (40 mpg) at speeds above 45 mph. Routine maintenance is easy compared to most cars.

Every car has it's quirks. The later model Aveos are pretty good, considering that it's a cheap econobox car.

gah! I took to long to write my reply and my session expired or something :(

summary, thanks everyone for the input! Unfortunately the newer aveos are out of my price range for a spare car.

This 2004 I'm looking at has ~75K on it, but the engine was replaced- supposedly around 60k. I see paperwork showing that it was installed around april of 2013, with a "replacement engine" for $1200, no mention of previous miles. The owner claims it was similar to the car. Old engine snapped the timing belt around 60k, since it was never inspected. replacement supposedly had a new belt put in when it was installed.

My delema here is that this car will cost me approximately 2500 to get on the road. My current spare, a '90 honda, is worth 1500-1800 or so (estimate) but would make a perfectly viable spare car with a clutch, some suspension, and other odds and ends- work I estimate to be about $1000, including labor.
Basically, I'm wagering that I can "trade up" to the aveo for $1000 and skip out on all the work associated with the honda, and end up with a newer car which should presumably be easier to take an inspection sticker year to year. Since it's just the "spare" car I'm certainly willing to give it a pass on things like handling and what not- Only driving a car for special occasions (moving something that doesn't fit in my daily, or when mine breaks down) gives it a pass on many, many things- it just has to run well, and be able to park where needed. Everything else is just a perk.
Where this falls apart, of course, is if the aveo turns out to be a money pit just to keep on the road- and with an unknown engine in it, I do worry about that.

imho, buying an aveo just to have it sit could cost just as much as keeping the honda and having it sit.

A fair argument- it's expensive to let any car sit. I'm only hoping that by having a base set of parts that's nearly 15 years newer in the aveo makes a difference in how quickly things fall apart.

I've finally gotten some spare time and found that the 2004 aveo does have a proper neutral safety switch:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/2004-2010-c...04-2010j1.jcwx

this means that it could be fairly easily equipped with a remote starter. It could potentially be programmed to start the car for a few minutes every day too, but I'm not sure that it would make a difference in lot-rot without actually getting it up to temperature and around the block a few times.

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Originally Posted by netman86

A fair argument- it's expensive to let any car sit. I'm only hoping that by having a base set of parts that's nearly 15 years newer in the aveo makes a difference in how quickly things fall apart.

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Nope. The condition of any machine is far more important than its age. How quickly things fall apart is often related to the design and the materials used.

It's a myth that a car needs to be used every day. I have an '88 Chevy wagon with low mileage that sits parked on the street and is only driven several times per year. I only use it when I need it to carry a heavy load. It only has to run when I need it, and it always does.

It's true that a car will rust from age, and it's good to run it now and then - but it's not necessary to run it daily. Garaging a car helps a lot, if you can afford the garage space.

Oh, how I wish I had garage space- just barely enough for the snowblower and tools, I'm afraid. All of my cars sit out in the weather.

I've had a spare car most of my life, and I always find that they do have more problems per mile than the cars I drive- I always assumed it was due to sitting. Sensors tend to go bad more often, leaks are more frequent, and electronics (power windows, etc) especially fail more- potentially moisture related, since they're not getting heated regularly.

sitting does in fact wear things in a different way. especially on older cars. gaskets and newer materials hold up a whole lot better than things 20-30 years ago. But things can still dry rot, rust, flash rust, corrode, etc just from sitting.

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Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit

sitting does in fact wear things in a different way. especially on older cars. gaskets and newer materials hold up a whole lot better than things 20-30 years ago. But things can still dry rot, rust, flash rust, corrode, etc just from sitting.

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Absolutely true. Over time, a car that is little if ever used will end up with different problems than one that is used daily. But if you are in the game for longevity, the one that is hardly used much at all will probably win.

My snow blower is over 50 years old. Still going strong...\\:D/

That's because it doesn't have to work every day. It only has to work when I need it. ;)

50! wow. Mine is 29 years right now, and just tore it all apart to clean and paint everything, then tuned up the engine. Running pretty well, although I messed up the govenor and it doesnt auto correct for load anymore. Poor thing was in pretty bad shape mechanically, bought it four years ago from the origonal owner and it was very rusty all over.

My spare honda sold last night, so the aveo is a might higher possibility now. I'll be taking a look at it this coming weekend.

As discussed, I'll be looking in the fuse box for signs of problems, and peek at the tstat housing (I'll assume if its plastic I can get a metal one fairly easily the first time I have to drain coolant?) and give it a short ride. With a cracked windshield it doesnt pass safety inspection, so I cant drive it much- probably just enough to test all the gears, throttle response, clutch feel, etc.

It just occurred to me that in the parts list for the new engine there isnt any mention of a new clutch. Strange. I cant imagine having the transmission detached from the engine and not replacing at least the throwout bearing and friction disk.

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Originally Posted by netman86

50! wow. Mine is 29 years right now, and just tore it all apart to clean and paint everything, then tuned up the engine. Running pretty well, although I messed up the govenor and it doesnt auto correct for load anymore. Poor thing was in pretty bad shape mechanically, bought it four years ago from the origonal owner and it was very rusty all over.

My spare honda sold last night, so the aveo is a might higher possibility now. I'll be taking a look at it this coming weekend.

As discussed, I'll be looking in the fuse box for signs of problems, and peek at the tstat housing (I'll assume if its plastic I can get a metal one fairly easily the first time I have to drain coolant?) and give it a short ride. With a cracked windshield it doesnt pass safety inspection, so I cant drive it much- probably just enough to test all the gears, throttle response, clutch feel, etc.

It just occurred to me that in the parts list for the new engine there isnt any mention of a new clutch. Strange. I cant imagine having the transmission detached from the engine and not replacing at least the throwout bearing and friction disk.

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I bet they inspected the throwout bearing and the friction disk, and figured they were okay to be reused.

I live in Michigan and I can tell you, it cannot let it sit too long without driving. I had just installed new front pads ad rotors on my 2005 Aveo and I let it sit for about a month. When I went to drive it the pistons were stuck in the calipers and ruined my new rotors. I had to buy new calipers, rotors, and pads.

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Originally Posted by Ricky Lee

I live in Michigan and I can tell you, it cannot let it sit too long without driving. I had just installed new front pads ad rotors on my 2005 Aveo and I let it sit for about a month. When I went to drive it the pistons were stuck in the calipers and ruined my new rotors. I had to buy new calipers, rotors, and pads.

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Rust due to moisture and corrosive road salt is the enemy. Garaging a car is half the battle of keeping it longer than if it is outdoors exposed to the elements of weather. Not everyone can afford to garage their car, but sheltering it from adverse weather does prolong the life of any vehicle.

If you were living in Arizona you wouldn't have these problems. There, you might have different problems. ;)