never really cared for the post 1994 cavalier, the old 2nd gens i have had two of them and love them. simple, reliable, fuel efficient little gems. the 2.2 in the post 1994's is a good engine if a little underpowered, with a head gasket repair they can run for a long time. the quad based engine YUK i would stay far away from any post 1994 Z24's. the quad is kinda of a dumb design in my opinion, i do not want an engine that has a timing chain driven water pump. i remember i had a good friend that used to own a shop. replacing the water pump on an olds achevia took an entire day..... NO THANKS. i still have my very clean, rare 1991 chevy cavalier convertible RS 3.1, and i dont plan on parting with that one. she hasnt seen any winters and has a brand new top. i love that little car on a 70 degree day well worth the $2,500 i have into her. that included the price of the car and of the new top that was installed by a place that specializes in tops. awesome little car.
i liked the older cavaliers and the V6 J-bodies. GM kind of lost it when they stopped putting V6's in those cars. the 2.8's and 3.1's were actually pretty decent little engines. they should have continued and put the 3400 in the later cavaliers, they would have been pretty quick