How often do you think about the Chevrolet Cavalier? If you’re like me, you probably can’t remember the last time you saw one without lots of miles and maybe a ton of rust. That’s what makes this minty 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 Convertible for sale for $9,950 such a wonderful oddity.
General Motors rolled into the 1980s with the J platform. The platform introduced GM’s compacts to front-wheel-drive and went up to bat against imports. It underpinned an incredible 16 nameplates around the world. Many of these cars dutifully hauled families around until their time came for the junkyard, then they were forgotten. The ones still on the road today are practically the default first cars for teens everywhere. They’re also good and cheap transportation.
In Freeport, Pennsylvania sits an almost perfect example of what these cars were like when they rolled off of the showroom floor. This 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 Convertible’s paint shines brightly and Z24 badges proudly adorn its flanks.
Its headlights are so clear and glossy. Its convertible top is clean and in one piece. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen a Cavalier convertible.
As I mentioned before, this is a Z24. The Z24 trim was the top of the Cavalier’s range and opting for it got you some sporty looks, a better suspension and a bigger engine compared to the base model. Buyers got a 2.4-liter LD9 inline four making 150 HP and that could be mated to a five-speed manual transmission.
That kind of power in a runabout is not bad, but owners could bump power even more with an Eaton M45 supercharger. That kit kicked power to about 190 HP with 4.7 PSI of boost.
Unfortunately, this car has neither that supercharger nor a manual transmission. Instead, you get a four-speed automatic. And that’s not where the downsides end.
If you keep on digging through the pictures you start noticing imperfections here and there. The most obvious thing wrong is a crack on the dashboard. I’d be surprised if there were any Cavaliers left with an intact factory dash. Dig even deeper and you’ll see what looks like grime or the beginnings of rust lining the engine bay and under the doors.
The panel gaps around the windshield also also pretty comically huge and it appears parts of the windshield frit is delaminating.
Inside, the headlight stalk shows wear and the radio is missing two dial covers. The dealership doesn’t explain this car’s history, but the odometer shows 53,403 miles.
This doesn’t look like something that was thrown into a storage unit for 20 years, but perhaps owned by someone who just drove few miles a year and got lots of car washes.
Overall, it looks like this car is an excellent example and I’m glad it exists. I love seeing common, often forgotten cars saved. A 2000 Cavalier Z24 Convertible set buyers back $19,735 in 2000, or $32,495 (!) in today’s money. Thankfully, this one is much less at $9,950 by Seibel’s Auto Warehouse, but that might be still too much, even for a nearly perfect Cavalier.