Good Grief , just how paranoid are you. I think you said you were a HVAC type repairman so are you telling people to avoid the web enabled home thermostats ? We have it and just like the nice power features we have had on our vehicles I say look for something important to worry about.
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Speaking as a 77 year old geezer, one needs to stay up with technology. I unwrapped a new clock radioâa present from my wife. It took half an hour of studying the manual, but I can see how functional it is. I can pair it with my Smart phone and we can both listen to the conversation when our son calls. I can stream in music from my Smartphone.
I find the technology on our 2017 Sienna useful. I like being able to touch the screen to select my favorite station. I have my Smartphone paired with the audio system so I can either push a button on the steering wheel or push the phone icon on the touch screen to answer a call.
We didnât have that first problem with the automatic temperature control on our 1993 Oldsmobile 88 or our present 2003 Toyota 4Runner or 2017 Toyota Sienna.
Now I grew up in the country and our family had to make every penny count. I can operate a wringer wash machine. I can defrost a refrigerator. I can even fire up a coal furnace, but I sure donât want to do these things
The disadvantage of todayâs technology is that there isnât much I can do to repair my equipment. I used to repair my tube type black and white television. Once a year, I had to clean the mechanical tuner. Now all I have to do is put a couple AAA batteries in the remote.
As far as cars are concerned, I have never had a problem with power windows. Yet, I had to replace window cranks on my 71 Ford Maverick and my 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass. The outside rear view mirror on the 78 Cutlass operated by a cable. I had to remove the door panel to repkace a set screw that had fallen out. I have never had a problem with power mirrors. Iâll take the new technology.
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Most of Nissanâs problems have to do with the CVT. Wouldnât get anything but a manual which is only on the base model that also has crank up windows and manual door locks. Paid $11,500 out the door for a 2018 last spring.
Ooops, my post was indeed a little ambiguous. I was referring to the 2007 Civic.
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Try a different window? 
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car is due for timing belt. i think it has one? needs tires. struts. lots of cars need tires eventually. maybe the aveo vibe has worn thin? time for an upgrade?
LOL⊠Are we honestly discussing the reliability of those pesky new fangled power windows that seem to work without fail for decades? Those units? Uh boyee
Iâd spend my time and worry on a Tin Foil Hat project for better reception of the Universal Consciousness instead of whether your power window system is about to turn Machiavellian on youâŠor not.
Itâs all about time management people!
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If the Aveo just needed a head gasket, that would be one thing. This one needs lots of other issues addressed as well that will likely add up to more than the value of the car.
If you REALLY like the car and want more life out of it, get the head gasket done. Do the timing set and water pump at the same time. The mechanic may insist on it. The timing belt will have to come off for this job anyway. Do anything else that touches the belt. That includes idlers, the water pump, etc. Look for leaking seals. Again, the mechanic may insist on changing those too.
Then start knocking out the other issues one a month or so until nothing major is wrong with the car.
I agree that this car could last a while longer as long as there is nothing major structural like body rust but it wasnât known as the best car from the start. DEFINITELY do the timing belt if you proceed as that is a major issue with these and WILL damage the engine again if it breaks.
I also agree that many basic economy cars were pretty good for what they were but just treated as throwaway cars. You see this all the time with Geo Metros which I am a fan of myself. These little things run forever if maintained but people do not do basic maintenance and that leads to their demise.
So what? The âvalue of the carâ according to Kelly Blue Book or NADA or any other pricing source is really not important. It is just a measure of what you could sell the car for, in running condition, on the open market.
What is truly important is what the alternative would cost, i.e. what it would cost to replace the car with a different running car versus the cost to repair this one. Too many people fall into the trap of comparing Blue Book value to the repair/maintenance costs which their current car needs, and in the process take on tens of thousands of dollars of loan debt and higher insurance costs.
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See and thatâs the thing, I really donât want to buy another car, but the thing that has put me off is reading past threads about the Aveo and how it is absolute junk. There is also a possibility that it is the oil cooler, which I am hoping for, but the way that my luck has been this last 6 months it will probably be the headâŠ
Do you know how much free advice is worth?
I can find those comments on almost anything I own or have purchased or am thinking about purchasing. Some of my best vehicles have been described as the pits.
Most modern cars will last and last depending on how they are maintained.
Get several estimates for repairs from qualified technicians.
Itâs usually best to dance with the one who brought you. Buying used is no guarantee of a trouble-free vehicle.
CSA
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@Meg_Duggan. I wouldnât put much stock into comments from those who say an Aveo is junk unless those people have actually owned one. Some responders on this thread thought the Ford Windstar with the 3.8 liter engine was a horrible vehicle. I put thousands of miles on my 2000 Windstar and had no major expenses. I also had a Ford Taurus with the same engine and never had an engine problem. On the other hand, I once owned a 1955 Pontiac that was on the Consumer Reports recommended list. Based on my experience, I would recommend against purchasing a 1955 Pontiac. The engine had just been overhauled by the Rambler agency where I bought the car. The car had a manual transmission which should have been trouble free. What I didnât realize when I bought the Pontiac was that an oil filter was a factory option. The one I purchased didnât have this option. Hence, even though the engine had had new rings and a valve job, there was enough residual sludge in the block to gum up the oil passages and then the rocker arms would chirp. The manual transmission was under designed for the V-8 engine that was new in 1955. I had to have a new rear bearing in the transmission.
Now, probably 90% of the Pontiacs in 1955 had the reliable Hydramatic automatic transmission and probably 98% were equipped with an oil filter. Owners of these 1955 Pontiacs gave them high marks for being trouble free. I bought into the myth that manual transmissions (the 3 speed column shift) were more reliable than the automatic. Actually, the opposite was true for many cars in those days. The manual transmissions used in many cars of the 1950s were designed for cars in the late 1930s and 1940s where the engines were less powerful.
I have had major work done on older cars where I was told I should move up to a better used car because the book value of my car indicated it wasnât worth the repair. In the financial situation I was in at the time, it made more sense to put money in the car I had, because I knew the history of the car and I wouldnât know the history of a newer used car. Stretching the years I kept a car proved economical for me.
Please tell that to the Luddites who insist that features like power windows, power steering, power brakes, power seats, power moonroofs, backup cameras, and touchscreens are the work of the Devil and will require a LOT of repairs.
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If those power features cause loss of sleep⊠Imagine what not having a dipstick would manifest in the patientâŠ
BMW has a new penchant for dipstick delete these days⊠you must rely on the computer and sensors⊠I am NOT a fan but, just thought I would raise the questionâŠLOL
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Dipstick? Whatâs a dipstick?
CSA
To get an idea of the assortment of power window problems reported here, type in âpower windowsâ using the forum search feature, the icon that looks like a magnifying glass, above right.
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My daughter owned a Chevy Aveo. It is made by Daewoo and is total junk. It too had a failed head gasket and MANY, MANY problemsâŠconstantly. It is also terrifying small and light. She got into an accident with a Ford F-150 on the highway (and a bit of the guardrail too). Her car was destroyed (capital âDâ) and she had to go to the hospital for observation. She was ok. The F-150 drove home with minor damage.
My ex-wife bought her that car, without my input. While I was traveling on business they decided to replace the Aveo with a Nissan Versa. My daughter told me recently that the next time she goes car shopping she is taking me with her, not her mother.
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I concur with your evaluation that your current car isnât worth fixing. Daewoo was of somewhat questionable quality to begin with, so even if you put the money into getting yours up to snuff, thereâs little guarantee you wonât have more problems next month. Thereâs a reason you donât see many Daewoos on the road anymore, even though you see other brands of cars of the same vintage all the time.
Of the three cars you list here, all of them would be great choices from a reliability standpoint (assuming the previous owner took care of them). I suspect youâd be happier with the Hondas - they tend to be more enjoyable to drive than the Corolla, which strives for and handily achieves a âpaler shade of beigeâ in pretty much every category. Itâs one of those cars thatâs so reliable you wish it would break so you could replace it with something less boring.
The choice between the Accord and Civic really comes down to how much cabin and trunk room you want/need.
As the others said, donât worry about the electrics. Even if you drive into a lake, which you wonât, the electricals will still work plenty long enough for you to get out, which needs to be quickly because once youâre completely submerged the pressure differential will keep the windows from opening whether theyâre manual or electric.
If itâs a particularly worrisome phobia, you can buy peace of mind with a glass-breaking hammer that you keep in your car. Google âLifehammer.â
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Hopefully nobody here will ever need that info. But it is good to know anyway. If you want to understand why â if your car ever goes into water â you should immediately open all the doors and windows possible before the car sinks even a foot or two, watching the MythBusterâs episode on this topic will make the reason very clear.
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Keep in mind that the Chevy Spark is the replacement for the Aveo in the GM small car lineup. It is also a GM Daewoo product but seems to be better made than the Aveo and other Daewoo lines. The earlier models of the Spark apparently had some issues including major oil burning but more recent revisions seem to be better. All models of this car also use a timing chain instead of the dreaded belt which seemed to be an issue with many Daewoo models.
My GF had enough of her Daewoo including her own blown head gasket and viewed the name like a cuss word. She would get mad when I made mention of the name. She wanted a small car to replace it and I never mentioned the Spark. She saw one on the road driving and commented it was a cute car and wondered why I never mentioned this as a possibility to her. I told her it was just another Daewoo and she just got that look and didnât say anymore!
I think we would all agree that these are better than the Chevette that came before these models.
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