Chevrolet Repair: 1995 Chev Cavalier, competent mechanic, head gasket

Question
Hello there,

My friend is selling her 1995 Chev Cavalier for $2,000.  It has 171,000k and she has been the only owner.  She has maintained it very well and has all the receipts.  There have been major things in the last couple of year such as a head gasket, alternator and catalitic converter.  My 17 year old daughter wants to buy it and I'm all for it because it think it will be a good first car but her dad is not for it.  Do you think that this car will likely last two or more years?

Thank you.

Answer
Hello Maria,
That one is hard to say.
You could have a competent mechanic give it a thorough inspection, and he could say it looks like it will last ten years, and it break down on the way home.\

A mechanic could also look at it and say stay away...it's a problem waiting to happen, ..and it give you about five troublefree years.

It actually sounds like a pretty fair deal. But there is just no way to predict how it will last.

PS. Alternator and cat converter aren't major repairs.
Head gasket isn't really.

Van