OK, I never thought that I’d see the likes of a 1992 Chevrolet Beretta grace the web pages of Barn Finds. Sure, they sold pretty well, 52K found homes in ’92 but…They were a definite commodity car, you know, buy it, drive it, and dump it. That said, today’s find, courtesy of Mitchell G., is in fabulous condition with a claimed mileage of only 24K. Nope, no actual barn find here but it is 31 years old so let’s take a look at it anyway. Located in Tampa, Florida, this coupe-only body style Chevy is available, here on Facebook Marketplace for $12,000.
Introduced for the ’87 model year, the Beretta was built on an L-body platform, the same one utilized by the Corsica four-door variant. Continuing through the ’96 model year, Beretta was offered in various trim levels, including a standard coupe, GT (our subject car), and the top dog GTZ. In ten model years, the total production exceeded 900K units – not too shabby!
GT trim was mostly about appearances with the color-keyed basket weave wheels, badging, and a rear-mounted spoiler. Some publications state that a V6 engine was also standard GT fare but it was, in fact, an option. There’s not much written praise that can be added here as the images provide a very thorough visual of this car’s condition – it looks like new! Styling is always subjective and this Beretta screams the ’90s the same way today’s pig on stilts CUV/SUVs, replete with Hot Wheels sized rolling gear, will proclaim the 2020s in about 30 years (and who knows, we may not even have cars as we know them in 2053!). One interesting feature of GM’s L-body cars is the exterior door handles – they’re located in the window frame and not in the more typical door skin.
Beretta GT get-go, in this case, is provided by a sideways mounted (front wheel drive) 140 net HP, 3.1 liter V6 engine channeling movement via a three-speed automatic transaxle. The listing doesn’t mention running and driving characteristics but does state, “We had the rear shocks replaced, fuel pump, fuel filter and screen, plugs, wires, oil changed with Royal Purple HMX 5w30 and an AC Delco filter. Most parts used were AC Delco to keep it as close to OEM as possible“.
The interior is a typical GM front-parlor red velour upholstery covering the front bucket seats and the rear bench. It’s in excellent condition it’s just that GM pretty well did it to death, on all five marques, for years and years. The gray instrument panel seems out of place with the rest of the dash but it works well enough. The console and center stack have held up well – GM used some pretty cheesy plastic in the ’90s and it often gets faded, chipped, and cracked. One nice feature is the fold-down rear seat – it’s pretty accommodating for transporting lengthy objects.
I can’t comment on the price, these are so rarely encountered it’s tough to state a typical marketplace value. I guess my thought is the “market” part of the marketplace – who would it be and is this Chevy Beretta the next phase of domestic automotive collectibility?
I have always liked these.
Never lucked out in buying one, but I did have its slightly larger sister a 1990 Lumina euro sport coupe with the 3.1 v6 it had a nice NASCAR factory exaust sound and comfy seats like this example. I loved it! Say what you will but my lumina coupe was a good car to me the only things it needed was wear parts and a replacement door handle.
My sister had one these back in the day. Reasonably stylish as a step between a Cavalier and Lumina. An interesting/smart feature is how the front seats are anchored, on a pedestal of sorts, which helped rear leg room.
These were sharp looking rides, and moved around nicely especially the stick shift models.
I had a 91 z24 with the 3.1L and it was a bit of a screamer. I also had a 91 Corsica which I totaled. It was gray with this very same red interior, though my steering wheel was red. I found the interior to be comfortable and very well laid out compared to my 90 with the old style interior. One minor gripe was the awkward positioning of the cigarette lighter near the gear shifter. It actually popped out and landed on the floor more than once. I suppose most people aren’t smoking anymore and won’t find that to be an issue. These were good looking cars and I tried to buy a used GTZ once and I also recall looking at new Corsicas and Beretta’s in the fall of 96, they were deeply discounted likely to make room for the incoming Malibu’s. This car will probably be popping up at car shows soon.
Had a Corsica of about the same year, I4-auto. I always liked the look of those cars, clean taught design.
We bought an 89 GT and drove it 23 years and only 291000 miles. Sold it to a Beretta lover who owned three others. The v6 automatic was very fast due to responsive engine and the torque converter multiplying the torque nearly 5 fold. Only tried twice but 0 to 60 was 8.5 seconds by my son’s stop watch.
The “greenhouse” of huge glass windows was great at city changing lanes. No blind spots.
We bought a second one for our daughter. Great cars. Great handling.
Comfy ergonomic seats!
Low maintenance costs. But only 22 mpg avg.
Designed and engineered by an all women team at GM.
A winning design.
Bought one brand new, was a good car. Fun to drive and peppy with the 3V6. Had to trade in for a family car. Down fall for this one is the auto, my was a stick, and the price. I would go $8k maybe but no higher.
900,000 and I haven’t seen one in many years.
A terrible boss had one of these. He was always bragging on what a great car it was. Simultaneously, mom was gifted a brand new Chevy Blazer with the same motor I believe. It was in the shop as often as not, mostly under warranty. It was a factor in their divorce. As soon as she could decide for herself, she traded that lemon Blazer in on a T-Top Camaro with 350 V8, which she drove like a snail. And was still running well at 110k on the odometer when she was getting a lot of oil dripping in the garage. That was pretty good for a GM product, which usually ‘perfectly engineered’ cars to start having issues after the 36k/3yr drivetrain warranty expired. Typically that Camaro was owned by someone who couldn’t resist mashing the pedal. She’d get 25mpg driving it slow and no jackrabbit starts.
The front wheel drive CV joints need preventative maintenance on these period GM / Citation era cars. And the transmission. Head gasket failure can be minimized following careful sequential (see shop bulletin) while everything is still warm from driving it a few miles. Otherwise I believe exhaust side bank develops leaks/oil burning smells. Nothing major if tended to. Also make sure to be current on motor mount replacement to minimize damages to drivetrain.
It’s a decent car overall. It would cost a lot more than $11,000 brand new today.
Not sure about ‘collector car’ status, but it could be a great daily driver.
I think the exterior looks crisp and understated.
I imagine that opening the door to face that interior would be like Kramer from Seinfeld opening his door and physically bending backwards away from the Kenny Rodgers Roasters neon sign.
The doors were weird in a good way! I drove one so often I would bash my hand against car doors that open ” normal” LOL!
Not sure about 13K price, maybe 9000/9500. I bought a 1994 new with the 3.1 litter motor in it. Solid car, had 253000 miles on it when I sold it 8 years later.
I always loved the look of these but as a bodyman who knew these cars inside and out, they were one of GM’s worst built and engineered vehicles of the late 80’s/90’s. I wanted an Indy Beretta so bad but couldn’t get past buying a polished turd that I knew would not last long before falling apart.
I don’t know about that FenderUnbender…
I had a Corsica (3.1 L, auto) which, beyond wear items & struts, needed no repairs I can recall except for the fuel injectors to be cleaned. I pulled a trailer around with it at times, incl. my snowmobile, which might have been pushing the limit a bit… but it worked.
My Dad had a Beretta GT (2.8 L, 5-speed… fun to drive) which worked great even AFTER a semi changed lanes, didn’t see him and spun him out going 60-ish and he bounced off the guardrail. The body shop fixed it up and he continued driving it. I think he logged 120K miles, give or take, then sold it.
These cars served my family well.
I loved the look of these cars. GM had finally gotten some style into their front wheel drive fleets. A little more power made them fun to drive.
So many stories! I’ll try to be brief. Grandma had an 88 black. I was fortunate to get my DL in 93 at age 14. I drove that car a LOT. I’m shocked I didn’t kill it or myself. It was quick and handled well. It would max out the digital speedo at 107 no problem ( damn governor). I probably put 20k miles on that thing. Picked up my first girlfriend in that thing. I love these cars. Not 12k worth of love. But a lot of love.
There was a comment about collectability and I think cars like this will become more collectible, especially, in this condition because nostalgia is subjective. I love the the original classics like Chevelles, Monte Carlo, Impala…etc…I got my taste in cars and music from older Brother and I had 68 Chevelle SS 396…loved it, but personally, I come from the Farrah Fawcet poster generation so I find now that I’m older my conception of what’s collectible is changing with my sense and I’m sure I’m not alone in this…While, I would love a 70 LS6 Today I find, I would be drawn to a 77 Cutless Supreme(preference for the 350 ci) of course…