RE: Vauxhall Cavalier time capsule for sale
Discussion
ScoobyChris said:
carguy45 said:
Calibra Turbo was a nice spinoff too. Basically a Cavalier inside (and probably underneath too, I'm not enough of a Vauxhall beard to know) but was a nice looking car. I think they've aged well personally.
My Dad was a Vauxhall guy in his company car days and had two Mk2 Cavalier SRi’s, a Carlton GL (with the wheezy 1.8 carb engine), a Mk3 2.0 Cavalier CDi and a Calibra 16v. His favourite was (predictably!) the Calibra although his colleague had the Turbo version which was plagued with issues. Certainly a golden era for Vauxhall and I have lots of fond memories as a child of time spent at Frosts of Shoreham car browsing!6k is more money than I’d spend on this Cavalier but I suspect I am not the target market
Chris
When I first drove it, it would have been a year old, bits of trim were shaking. It was a drive from seeing a client up North back down to Cambridge. Thing was rattling…
Over the next few years various bits fell off - parcel shelf collapsed. Rearview mirror dropped off. Engine problems. Heater packed up and that was a dash out job - dash then creaked and groaned.
It was forever in the Vauxhall dealership which was thankfully for my boss about a ten minute walk away.
In contrast my own car was also a turbo coupe - Nissan 200SX on an ‘H’ plate.
Pop up headlight version, before the Barry-Boys had them on their radar.
In the same three year time period mine had servicing…and that was it.
Good looking car, the Calibra but I don’t think Vauxhall were up to making a more premium fast coupe.
popeyewhite said:
njw1 said:
I wonder if all the people posting with the one line 'load of crap' replies have actually driven a Cavalier or are just spouting the 'it's a Vauxhall so it must be crap' drivel?
To be fair, the 1.6 was ...
LOL, the irony is strong with this one.To be fair, the 1.6 was ...
0ddball said:
Considering all the "it's great" "well worth the money" comments, it seems strange that it's still up for sale. I guess babbling crap on the internet is easier than pulling 6k out of your wallet for an old dull rep mobile.
A very good point. That car is actually undesirable.
No and just no… just aweful thing even today in its retro time capsule way. I grew up with different generations of Cavaliers in our family, learned in one… annd kinda liked them. Eventually I inherited the 1.8L version of the one on the article from my brother. The most depressing car I’ve ever drove/owned and hated it. Absolutely nothing good about it. The thought of one today = I’d rather not drive and walk/run everywhere for fitness and become a forest gump.
That version / model of cavalier helped me understand what the definition of depressing actually means and to experience.
That version / model of cavalier helped me understand what the definition of depressing actually means and to experience.
Edited by Jam_s160 on Saturday 30th November 08:25
The Calibra Turbo always confused me in the sense that the quoted max speed was 152mph. The mechanically identical Cavalier Turbo was quoted at 149mph however the Calibra was regarded as having a very drag coefficient... the Cavalier, less so more with it's fairly slab fronted bumper.
My Cavalier saw 152mph on GPS, which was terrifying and had about 275bhp at the time so I always thought a standard Calibra should have more in it than the book figures suggested. There were mutterings of a 320bhp Calibra hitting 167mph on GPS without too many issues... and there's plenty suggestions of 400bhp+ cars hitting the magical 200.
But that seemed to be a Vauxhall trait, all their "quick" models seemed to be a bit faster than they should have been. A friend once said he reckoned it was because most were given death from day one so we're all nicely loosened up. I had a couple of the 130bhp 2.0 8v powered models and a couple of the 150bhp C20XE cars and they all went really rather well!
The 90's always struck me as the era when relatively average cars took a big leap forward in performance, then that curve slowed into the 2000's onwards as cars started getting heavier. Relatively speaking. Even the base model MK3 Cavaliers seemed quite happy at cruising along at a reasonable pace... long gearing, torquey engines and their body design / shape made them quite relaxed motorway cars, which was probably a bonus back in the rep war 90's era when such cars were racking up silly miles.
My Cavalier saw 152mph on GPS, which was terrifying and had about 275bhp at the time so I always thought a standard Calibra should have more in it than the book figures suggested. There were mutterings of a 320bhp Calibra hitting 167mph on GPS without too many issues... and there's plenty suggestions of 400bhp+ cars hitting the magical 200.
But that seemed to be a Vauxhall trait, all their "quick" models seemed to be a bit faster than they should have been. A friend once said he reckoned it was because most were given death from day one so we're all nicely loosened up. I had a couple of the 130bhp 2.0 8v powered models and a couple of the 150bhp C20XE cars and they all went really rather well!
The 90's always struck me as the era when relatively average cars took a big leap forward in performance, then that curve slowed into the 2000's onwards as cars started getting heavier. Relatively speaking. Even the base model MK3 Cavaliers seemed quite happy at cruising along at a reasonable pace... long gearing, torquey engines and their body design / shape made them quite relaxed motorway cars, which was probably a bonus back in the rep war 90's era when such cars were racking up silly miles.
0ddball said:
Considering all the "it's great" "well worth the money" comments, it seems strange that it's still up for sale. I guess babbling crap on the internet is easier than pulling 6k out of your wallet for an old dull rep mobile.
If I were about to invest £6k in retro transport, I'd be looking for an omega 3.2 Estate in any colour than silver or white. But I'm not. Rob 131 Sport said:
Unless you got the 2.0 16v or 2.5 V6, they were all a bit slow. Even with a decent power unit, the handling was ponderous, the seats not terribly comfortable and refinement was somewhat lacking.
The below GL trim level were really miserable.
Compared to what though? It could be argued everything of this era, at this price point and this spec was miserable by whatever measure... so is an entry level Dacia Duster miserable or any other cheap, basic car from any era, that isn't trying to be anything more... also miserable? The below GL trim level were really miserable.
Again I fear a lot of people pass comment on cars of this era and seems to be viewing them through slightly misaligned eyes and it's always a tad pointless... the "You could have a used Range Rover Vogue for £6k" or "It's miserable, my Bentley Arnage is infinitely better" or just the generic "it's crap" sort of statements just seem so pointless, I genuinely don't understand the thought process behind such?
I'm not advocating we should only post rose tinted stuff, but I think some of the less favourable comments on such threads seem to be people just looking for a reaction or blindly quoting the old crap they heard in a pub. Bit like those guys that shout the same crap at a football match or heckle at a gig... most the time it's just a bit cringey.
A bit weight behind a discussion would be good, but if posting anything more than "It's just crap" is a challenge for some...
Rob 131 Sport said:
The below GL trim level were really miserable.
They were not that bad. My Dad's L had comfortable cloth seats with height adjustable driver's seat, electric front windows, PAS, a good RDS radio/cassette with 6 speakers that sounded good, a heater that worked very well and demisted the windscreen very quickly without the aid of a/c or a heated screen.The wheels were 13/14" steel, but the ride was comfortable.
MC Bodge said:
0ddball said:
Considering all the "it's great" "well worth the money" comments, it seems strange that it's still up for sale. I guess babbling crap on the internet is easier than pulling 6k out of your wallet for an old dull rep mobile.
A very good point. That car is actually undesirable.
My Dad had 3 Cavalier company cars in the 80s ,x2 Mk2 and a Mk3 so had a bit of a soft spot for them.
He bought all three off the company once the 3 years was up and we ended up with the first one, a poo brown GL, A702 GLN
In 97 I bought a red Mk3 SRI F282JVO? which seemed very smart after many cr@ppy cars before it.
Then bought a V6,a 2 litre ecotec and in 2004 a V6 GLS. Over the 10 years I had it on the road, I fitted a modified 3 litre Omega engine, made my own headers and generally tinkered with it. Had it on a rolling road with 205 bhp at f/w, used to take it to RWYB at Santa Pod, best time was 14.4 @ 98 mph. One memorable time, I lined up against a lady in a newish Focus ST225 and beat her over the line, queued back up and her BF jumped in the Focus and I beat him too. After he spoke to me and complemented on how well the Cav went.
Would I pay £6k for the one featured? Not a chance.
He bought all three off the company once the 3 years was up and we ended up with the first one, a poo brown GL, A702 GLN
In 97 I bought a red Mk3 SRI F282JVO? which seemed very smart after many cr@ppy cars before it.
Then bought a V6,a 2 litre ecotec and in 2004 a V6 GLS. Over the 10 years I had it on the road, I fitted a modified 3 litre Omega engine, made my own headers and generally tinkered with it. Had it on a rolling road with 205 bhp at f/w, used to take it to RWYB at Santa Pod, best time was 14.4 @ 98 mph. One memorable time, I lined up against a lady in a newish Focus ST225 and beat her over the line, queued back up and her BF jumped in the Focus and I beat him too. After he spoke to me and complemented on how well the Cav went.
Would I pay £6k for the one featured? Not a chance.
Edited by Twolane on Saturday 30th November 09:25
Davie said:
The Calibra Turbo always confused me in the sense that the quoted max speed was 152mph. The mechanically identical Cavalier Turbo was quoted at 149mph however the Calibra was regarded as having a very drag coefficient... the Cavalier, less so more with it's fairly slab fronted bumper.
My Cavalier saw 152mph on GPS, which was terrifying and had about 275bhp at the time so I always thought a standard Calibra should have more in it than the book figures suggested. There were mutterings of a 320bhp Calibra hitting 167mph on GPS without too many issues... and there's plenty suggestions of 400bhp+ cars hitting the magical 200.
But that seemed to be a Vauxhall trait, all their "quick" models seemed to be a bit faster than they should have been. A friend once said he reckoned it was because most were given death from day one so we're all nicely loosened up. I had a couple of the 130bhp 2.0 8v powered models and a couple of the 150bhp C20XE cars and they all went really rather well!
The 90's always struck me as the era when relatively average cars took a big leap forward in performance, then that curve slowed into the 2000's onwards as cars started getting heavier. Relatively speaking. Even the base model MK3 Cavaliers seemed quite happy at cruising along at a reasonable pace... long gearing, torquey engines and their body design / shape made them quite relaxed motorway cars, which was probably a bonus back in the rep war 90's era when such cars were racking up silly miles.
Wayne Cherry era Vauxhalls were always aerodynamic cars. If you remember the golden days of Evo there was an article about a chap who was trying to make a 200mph+ saloon car and used an Omega as the base car because it had a low drag factor. My Cavalier saw 152mph on GPS, which was terrifying and had about 275bhp at the time so I always thought a standard Calibra should have more in it than the book figures suggested. There were mutterings of a 320bhp Calibra hitting 167mph on GPS without too many issues... and there's plenty suggestions of 400bhp+ cars hitting the magical 200.
But that seemed to be a Vauxhall trait, all their "quick" models seemed to be a bit faster than they should have been. A friend once said he reckoned it was because most were given death from day one so we're all nicely loosened up. I had a couple of the 130bhp 2.0 8v powered models and a couple of the 150bhp C20XE cars and they all went really rather well!
The 90's always struck me as the era when relatively average cars took a big leap forward in performance, then that curve slowed into the 2000's onwards as cars started getting heavier. Relatively speaking. Even the base model MK3 Cavaliers seemed quite happy at cruising along at a reasonable pace... long gearing, torquey engines and their body design / shape made them quite relaxed motorway cars, which was probably a bonus back in the rep war 90's era when such cars were racking up silly miles.
Lexus V8 with turbos IIRC.
Omegalomania.
GM Europe had already been stung by the negative press about the Lotus Carlton, don’t forget they still were pushing their green credentials with little lead free stickers in cars, first company to make Cats standard across the range etc etc so trumpeting massive performance figures would have been bad politically.
Also the figures would have been set with a new car, engines give better figures after a few thousand miles, as an average run both ways, nailing it on the motorway will often generate higher figures as there may be a little gradient or wind in your favour.
I had a Mk.2 Cav, Omega Elite V6 & Vectra B V6.
All good cars, but not enough nostalgia to make me part with £6k for this.
At £3k it would have sold already, the market is in a hard place & even far more exotic stuff isn’t making book.
I would say that it not selling is a slam dunk for the ‘all Vauxhalls are rubbish’ crowd.
njw1 said:
popeyewhite said:
njw1 said:
I wonder if all the people posting with the one line 'load of crap' replies have actually driven a Cavalier or are just spouting the 'it's a Vauxhall so it must be crap' drivel?
To be fair, the 1.6 was ...
LOL, the irony is strong with this one.To be fair, the 1.6 was ...
MC Bodge said:
Rob 131 Sport said:
The below GL trim level were really miserable.
They were not that bad. My Dad's L had comfortable cloth seats with height adjustable driver's seat, electric front windows, PAS, a good RDS radio/cassette with 6 speakers that sounded good, a heater that worked very well and demisted the windscreen very quickly without the aid of a/c or a heated screen.The wheels were 13/14" steel, but the ride was comfortable.
If you must scratch that Cav itch..............
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbit.l...tn=-UK-R&c[0]=AT2m-DOnMO-5-KzfIKVl4jHNGtnZ5DDCbKNmqhcXxaVBGdOaQLZE1oOZtdIjoCLWz5YxI49dFFt9pnnmHcp58ZFwPvfY3v9iCJ_gLBqKedMLPYaN93cPrbhiyLI0LOn8SRs-Nor3jekCcIqhML-fk1lXcXRK8iepET-X9KuTzKk7KPxrCs0bvW6T388SSizAAamIl-FEyU-KpXNDEehTGjAq1AIdcbOiHRzcls34MCHmF_UoCfECBLktVeXk49o35UQ
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbit.l...tn=-UK-R&c[0]=AT2m-DOnMO-5-KzfIKVl4jHNGtnZ5DDCbKNmqhcXxaVBGdOaQLZE1oOZtdIjoCLWz5YxI49dFFt9pnnmHcp58ZFwPvfY3v9iCJ_gLBqKedMLPYaN93cPrbhiyLI0LOn8SRs-Nor3jekCcIqhML-fk1lXcXRK8iepET-X9KuTzKk7KPxrCs0bvW6T388SSizAAamIl-FEyU-KpXNDEehTGjAq1AIdcbOiHRzcls34MCHmF_UoCfECBLktVeXk49o35UQ
Twolane said:
My Dad had 3 Cavalier company cars in the 80s ,x2 Mk2 and a Mk3 so had a bit of a soft spot for them.
He bought all three off the company once the 3 years was up and we ended up with the first one, a poo brown GL, A702 GLN
In 97 I bought a red Mk3 SRI F282JVO? which seemed very smart after many cr@ppy cars before it.
Then bought a V6,a 2 litre ecotec and in 2004 a V6 GLS. Over the 10 years I had it on the road, I fitted a modified 3 litre Omega engine, made my own headers and generally tinkered with it. Had it on a rolling road with 205 bhp at f/w, used to take it to RWYB at Santa Pod, best time was 14.4 @ 98 mph. One memorable time, I lined up against a lady in a newish Focus ST225 and beat her over the line, queued back up and her BF jumped in the Focus and I beat him too. After he spoke to me and complemented on how well the Cav went.
Would I pay £6k for the one featured? Not a chance.
Love that!He bought all three off the company once the 3 years was up and we ended up with the first one, a poo brown GL, A702 GLN
In 97 I bought a red Mk3 SRI F282JVO? which seemed very smart after many cr@ppy cars before it.
Then bought a V6,a 2 litre ecotec and in 2004 a V6 GLS. Over the 10 years I had it on the road, I fitted a modified 3 litre Omega engine, made my own headers and generally tinkered with it. Had it on a rolling road with 205 bhp at f/w, used to take it to RWYB at Santa Pod, best time was 14.4 @ 98 mph. One memorable time, I lined up against a lady in a newish Focus ST225 and beat her over the line, queued back up and her BF jumped in the Focus and I beat him too. After he spoke to me and complemented on how well the Cav went.
Would I pay £6k for the one featured? Not a chance.
Edited by Twolane on Saturday 30th November 09:25
I've never had a Vauxhall but I do have a soft spot for a lot of them as a teenager in the 80's. From memory:
Mk 2 Astra GTE 16v in white with white alloys and an electronic dashboard. Very lusted after.
My mate's director Dad had a D reg burgundy 2.5 Senator. That was a lovely car.
Best friend had a J reg Nova SR in white with GSI alloys (so he wouldn't have to roll the arches!). It was a brilliant car although I wouldn't have wanted to have a crash in it.
Bloke at the gym had a Calibra V6 which was seriously good looking.
Waiting for a bus to go to Meadowhall and watching, open mouthed, as a Lotus Carlton came belting past.
If I was looking to spend in the region of £6k on a Mk3 Cavalier this werkend, I'd be looking at this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256705746393?mkcid=16&a...
Bit more nostalgic appeal for me being an SRi however still not my ideal car and I think that's what a lot of these prices boil down to. To 99.9% of the population, you just couldn't however if your dad had a blue, based model saloon back in 1990 and this is an exact copy, maybe £6k is a bargain.
And I think that's the point a lot of people missing, this isn't a generic mid range SUV or your average Boxster or whatever that will have a much wider audience, stuff like this Cavalier is very very niche these days and therefore it's irrelevant if only one person in the UK would or could buy it... that's all it takes, one person and if that onf person really wants it and is happy to pay £6k then that's it's worth. Whether you or I think it's not worth that or we'd buy X, Y or X instead is frankly irrelevant.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256705746393?mkcid=16&a...
Bit more nostalgic appeal for me being an SRi however still not my ideal car and I think that's what a lot of these prices boil down to. To 99.9% of the population, you just couldn't however if your dad had a blue, based model saloon back in 1990 and this is an exact copy, maybe £6k is a bargain.
And I think that's the point a lot of people missing, this isn't a generic mid range SUV or your average Boxster or whatever that will have a much wider audience, stuff like this Cavalier is very very niche these days and therefore it's irrelevant if only one person in the UK would or could buy it... that's all it takes, one person and if that onf person really wants it and is happy to pay £6k then that's it's worth. Whether you or I think it's not worth that or we'd buy X, Y or X instead is frankly irrelevant.
I had a 1600 GL hatchback in the same blue with grey interior as that one as my first 'decent' car back in the early 90s. It was a 1600 auto, but had a six speaker stereo with remote controls on the steering column, a rev counter and remote central locking - very flash! I absolutely loved it. It wasn't the fastest (though the auto box had a 'snow mode' ISTR) but the ride was really good and smooth and the stereo was great. They may not be flashy, but it was an amazingly capable and practical car.
I ended up selling it to my brother and he gave me his mint pale green Cavalier Mk2 saloon, which had been owned by some old guy all its life. The valve stem oil seals went on it and I gave it away in the end to a mate who continued to drive it with clouds of oil coming out the back for years
I ended up selling it to my brother and he gave me his mint pale green Cavalier Mk2 saloon, which had been owned by some old guy all its life. The valve stem oil seals went on it and I gave it away in the end to a mate who continued to drive it with clouds of oil coming out the back for years
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