All my Subarus have had dip sticks to check manual gearbox oil level. Also my 1986 SAAB has a dipstick for its gearbox. Very convenient.
Some 1991+ SAABs have sealed gearboxes. No drain plug at all. My friend's Ford Escort does not have one either.
Is the 2005 Chevy Cavalier a solid car?
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I can confirm that the Ford Escort DOES have a drain plug on it's manual transmission (if it's a 91 or newer model, they all use a Mazda 5-speed manual. Older models I am unsure about).
Also, as I mentioned, some do NOT have a fill plug, you fill them through the hole where the speedometer cable goes, or where the backup light switch goes.
Also, as I mentioned, some do NOT have a fill plug, you fill them through the hole where the speedometer cable goes, or where the backup light switch goes.
My friend's '89 does not have a drain plug.
So Ford really does engage in a process of continual product improvement!
The Five speed transmission has a fill/level plug facing the rear of the transmission. The drain plug is located on the bottom passenger side of the transmission. Fill through the red cap on top of the transmission labeled "transmission fluid" using a transmission funnel. Fill until fluid runs out of the hole. Takes just under 2 quarts. I have Amsoil Universal ATF in mine and it works well. BTW I changed the fluid at 20,000 miles and it still looked good. You can probably wait at least until 30,000 miles before you change it. The manual calls for ATF and says it is "lifetime fluid".
The 05 may be different, but the 02 has very little recommended service, the 3K oil or most use, and little else. Not only will the original price of a Civic be higher, it will take more upkeep to keep your warranty in force. Of course, many here, do more than the recommended service.
GM has 0% for 72 months. Couple that with the $1000 .00 GM financing, that's a car payment that's about $150/month on the base 1SV coupe model. Hard to beat that price for a go-to-work/rack up the miles type of car! It has A/C and a CD player as standard equipment.
I am not even bothering to read the whole thread because I DO NOT care, but Cavalier is possibly the most UNsafe auto on the road, in a class of it's own. Civic ranks in the top few small cars, right behind the VW Golf variants.
Frightening, but apparently true. Reading AJ's above comment, I jumped over to IIHS.ORG for a quick look. This is the top half of what I found:
Well, I got one for dirt cheap. Had to go to three different dealers. First dealer had a base 1SA but wanted $1300 extra. Said they had sold the advertised price ones. Second dealer said someone just left a deposit on the 1SV cavy. Third one had a sunburst one with graphite interior. This one is a 1SV package, MSRP $10,890. Its a heckuva deal. I dont think any small car has "good" crash ratings. Especially since you have a 50% chance of hitting a truck or van or SUV head on anyway. This is why I also have a base model Tundra for safety. Would you want to hit a Tundra head on in your Volvo or VW or toyota or whatever? Sure a cavalier aint the safest, but traffic accidents are just a mess to begin with. Its hard to predict what will happen.
Gereral motors cars are generally one of the poorest quality cars sold is the U.S.A. look at the Consumer Reports reliability ratings, very accurate. That being said if you are lucky and get a good one you will be happy . I wouldnt buy a G.M. product. Remember the advertising slogan Chevrolet the heartbreak of America.
Steve, CR 's ratings...don't get me started...are skewed at best. CR's ratings aren't worth the paper they are printed on.
Local dealer wanted to sell me a 1SV package, but I passed (I want something larger...maybe a Taurus). Great deal, though, $8700 for a new car is a great deal. That's like $125/month, no interest. Hard to beat! You get the decent 2.2L Ecotec motor to boot.
Justify it however you want. You'd buy a brand new GM for what I paid for this one. Its got a 3/36 warranty. That means this car costs me about $125/mo for the first 3 years. After that its free. I get sick of people telling me to buy a 1-2 year old used car because someone else paid the depreciation. BALONEY! I just paid way less than blue book for a brand new car. People using that excuse are rolling the dice on a car that will be out of warranty very soon. If you can make the payments (almost less than my cable bill) you'd buy it too. Theres a car just like mine on Ebay from some guy who probably got the same deal I did and is trying to make a buck. All I gotta say is, get a GM credit card, especially if you like GM vehicles.
Oh yeah, consumer reports? Who cares. They rate Dodge and VW at the bottom and that doesnt stop anyone from buying them. So what exactly does CR prove?
They can prove that mechanically identical vehicles sold under different names can get different reliability ratings!
I loved it when CR reported that the early 90's Thunderbirds and Cougars had different reliability ratings. Had to laugh, they all had identical problems. CR is soooo subjective.
Congrats on your new purchase!
CR ratings aren't as meaningless as that makes them sound. If the previous average buyer thought their Cougar was more reliable than the average near identical Tbird, then the next batch of average buyers would also most likely feel the same way about their Cougars.quote:
Originally posted by ToyotaNSaturn:
I loved it when CR reported that the early 90's Thunderbirds and Cougars had different reliability ratings. Had to laugh, they all had identical problems. CR is soooo subjective.
Congrats on your new purchase!
The way dealers treat their customers and the factory takes care of problems has lot to do with "perceived" quality.
It's not even just "perceived" quality. If a manufacturer and dealer take better care of a customers car and problems, it's higher quality total product.
Take a Cougar and a Tbird of the era you are talking about.
TBird owner takes car to dealer with annoying but not critcal problem. Dealer sez "**** off, they all do that."
Cougar owner takes his car with the same problem to his L/M dealer who says "I'm sorry sir, that shouldn't have happened, let's schedule an appointment to take car of it."
Which owner is going to give a better rating in a CU survey?
XS, you raise a great point that I hadn't thought about in this thread...the perception. I've worked in dealers on both sides of the illustration you give and you are correct...most L/M dealers will take "care" of the customer better, even if the exact same problem exists on the Ford model.
I've heard that if you have a Ford vehicle, you can take it to an L/M dealer and you'll generally get better service.
Unless the L/M dealer and the Ford dealer are in bed together.. "We agree with Mr. XXX of XXX Ford, this problem isn't covered under warranty".
Took it to a Ford dealer some 20 miles away who DID cover it under warranty.
As I like to say about the local Ford dealer, "If it doesn't come with 4WD they have no idea how to fix it.".
I've written them off and just use a local independent shop for what service I don't do myself.
Unless the L/M dealer and the Ford dealer are in bed together.. "We agree with Mr. XXX of XXX Ford, this problem isn't covered under warranty".
Took it to a Ford dealer some 20 miles away who DID cover it under warranty.
As I like to say about the local Ford dealer, "If it doesn't come with 4WD they have no idea how to fix it.".
I've written them off and just use a local independent shop for what service I don't do myself.
Consumer Reports uses reader questionairs to get the reliability numbers. I found them very accurate in the cars I have purchased in the past.
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