Selling an old Chevrolet Chevette

NHTSA's files for this car are thin: four recalls and four complaints across the 1984-1987 model years. Here's what they say, and how a sale works.

The Chevette in its last years

The Chevette was GM's small rear-drive hatchback on the T platform, the same base as the Opel Kadett C and Isuzu Gemini. It came as a three-door or five-door and was built at Wilmington, Delaware and at Lakewood in Atlanta. Production ended on December 23, 1986, partway through the 1987 model year.

Gas cars used a 1.6-liter four, shifted by hand through four or five gears or by a three-speed automatic. A 1.8-liter Isuzu diesel was offered through 1986. At its late-1981 launch it made 51 hp, came only with a five-speed and could not have air conditioning. By 1984 the EPA also listed it with a three-speed automatic. Just 324 Chevettes got it in 1986. The EPA rated the 1984 diesel with the five-speed at 33 city, 42 highway. For 1986 the base car was dropped, leaving the CS and S, and every Chevette gained a third brake light and a "service engine soon" lamp. The 1987 was CS only. Output fell from 243,900 cars for 1984 to 46,208 for 1987.

What NHTSA lists, year by year

Pulled from NHTSA on October 10, 2026. Campaigns that cover several years appear in each of them.

The four campaigns:

• 84V011 (February 1984): on some 1984 cars, the bucket seat back locks did not meet the federal seat anchorage standard and might not hold in a crash. Dealers checked each lock and swapped any whose hooks were bent, broken or gone. 76,586 cars.
• 86V056 and 86V131 (April and September 1986): contacts in the push-pull headlight switch could make the headlights flicker or go out without warning. Dealers replaced the switch as needed. The two campaigns counted 93,317 and 106,111 cars.
• 88V050 (April 1988): on 1984-1986 automatics, the shift lever button could wear until it no longer had to be pressed, so a bump could knock the lever from Drive into Reverse. Every car got a redesigned lever. The campaign counted 370,831 vehicles.

The complaints are brief. A 1985 owner said both front seats fell backward in a rear-end crash. On the 1986, one owner reported a failing fuel pump and stalling, another a car that suddenly couldn't go faster than 20 mph on the highway, and a third brakes that failed after a recall repair.

Fixing one, or letting it go

A Chevette this old is a project car or a parts car, and you know which yours is. If the car won't run and nobody plans to restore it, selling it whole saves you from stripping it or paying for a tow.

Selling it

Have the VIN and the mileage handy, and note whether it's a gas car or one of the rare diesels. Ask for an offer online or call (877) 421-6008. Tell us where it sits, whether that's a garage, a side yard or a lot, and keep it in one piece. If parts are already gone, tell us, because that moves the offer. You'll need the title and your ID at pickup; the after you sell guide covers plates by state.

Other small Chevrolets: the Cavalier, Citation and Sprint, or the whole Chevrolet line.