Last Summer I needed to jack up the Cavalier to change the brake pads. The jack was moving but the car wasn't. Bent down to see what was going on and saw that the jack was starting to sink in the frame rail. Tried in a couple of other places. Same thing. Eventually was able to get it. 12 years old, Wisconsin -- I figured that it had gotten rusty enough down there to weaken the structure.
Tonight I had to jack up the car again to change the spark plug wires
-- the car is hesitating/bucking when I'm driving at a constant speed, and thought I'd start with plugs, wires, and fuel filter -- and the same thing happened again. This time it was the other side.
Is this common for unibody cars? Is this telling me that the car's days are numbered? With those lift notches not an option any more, what's the best way for me to get this car up if I have to crawl under there again?