Test driving a car tomorrow...

[TomGT]

So after passing my test friday, I saw a 1.8 Cavalier on a dealer's site for £450. One year's mot and tax, service history, and insurance quotes are less than a 1.2 fiesta

Rang him up and had a chat, asked if I could test drive it expecting to be told were to go, but I'm insured as long as he's in the car

So what to look for on a 1995? Obviously cam belt, tyres, general history look over, coolant and oil checks, corrosion, but is there anything I should keep an eye out for on a cavalier? Or I should check on the drive? I need a car to drive to work in, it has 107,000 miles, and I estimate doing about 25k/year, if it's all kosher at this price I'd be happy for a year

Cheers
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1992 ZXR 400

[Tungtvann]

The car will last a month.

[SQL]

at that price drive it and after 2-3 months dump it.

[Legsy.]

The Cavs pretty much rotted to pieces; corrosion will be the big one pretty much everywhere. Doesn't really matter if it has 12 months MOT though..

[Musketeer]

It's going to be a money pit
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Current Bike: Yamaha XSR900 Previous bikes: Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, Kawasaki ZX-6R Ninja, Aprilia RS125 2-stroke

[suburban myth]

Head gaskets and cams - generally around the top end on these older POS's. Thrust bearings also have a habit of leaving the underside of the vehicle at a rate of knots.

[thepuma]

How long do you intend keeping it?

Imho youd be better off saving a little bit more and paying a grand for a 7 or 8 year old Fiesta or something like that. Good engines, cheap readily available parts and potentially less likely to have been thrashed in its lifetime.

Most old cars are money pits but if you try to get one with a long mot and service history youll potentially at least have a half decent car.

I wouldnt pay £450 for a cavalier.......a 1995 car is a scrapper really.

Oh..and if youre doing quotes and a 1.8 cavalier is cheaper than a 1.2 Fiesta then you're doing something wrong. (Unless youre doing the fiesta fully comp )
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YBR125 (SOLD) - CBR250R(SOLD) - CBR650F(SOLD) Current - Street Triple
765 RS

[P.addy]

25k a year in a car at a low age. dafuq do you do

[wots]

I've got to go against everything said here, how many of you have owned one. Over the years I've owned several.

1.8 is a great car, easy to maintain, 8V so cam belt is easy if it does snap unexpectedly there will likely be no issue. Just replace all timed up and good to go. Head gasket is easy too.

Engines can go on and on with years of abuse. If the car is solid, must stuff is cheap and easy. The only one that tended to die a lot was the 2.0 16V Ecotec, it had a number of niggles. Mainly sensors failing. The 1.8 is as basic as they come.

£450 for Years MOT, should be great, you can get newer for that money, but it won't be quite so reliable.

I've had them all 1.6, 1.8, 2.0 8v, 2.0 16v and 2.5 V6. The 1.8 and 2.0 are the most reliable as those engines are bomb proof also essentially the same.

What colour is it? I had a couple of Nautilus Blue ones, although one was listed as green on the log book and another as blue.
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Currently: Yamaha DT 125 LC2,Repsol Fireblade, and Bumblebee MSX 125

[Wonko The Sane]

check in the service history for evidence of any major service items done, such as cam-belt etc

also look for oddities such as a new head being fitted or other big items that normally wouldn't need doing and ask yourself why they might have been done.

have a look at how many owners (shown on the V5) , if it's only one or two and the car looks and feels to be in good condition then it's most likely been looked after, especially if the previous name on the V5 is 'Reginald' or 'Harold'

I know a Reginald who bought his morris minor brand new in the 60's and it's still going!


Millage isn't as important for cars this age, ensuring things feel right and in good order is more important.

Might be worth asking people on a Vauxhall forum as there are some people who regard them as modern classics in the same way as some people love the Ford Sierra etc.

They should be able to point you to any common faults and issues.

[pits]

You can buy a much better car than that for the money, I bought an E34 BMW for that price and it has outlasted a mates Cavalier and I've got higher mileage and mot fails.
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Stinkwheel: You have no right to free speech
00:32:08 Blau Zedong: yes, i am a massive CB400 fan and collector
00:33:00 Blau Zedong: the CB400 is my favourite road bike

[Irn-Bru]

Will be very surprised if it isn't completely rotten to the core. My brother had one for a few months and realised it won't pass an MOT when he put his hand through the boot floor. Sold it in parts for more than he paid, think it had the 2 litre "redtop" engine which is what people put in Corsa's.
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KTM 990 SMT & Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM

[Rogerborg]

Vauxhall aficionado workmate says that'll be a Mk3 which are less desirable than the earlier Mk2s. Rust is indeed the big problem. See if you can kick a hole in the floor.

Personally I'd be looking to buy private for a bit less. If you're going to gamble on a heap then you want to squeeze every penny. Buying from a dealer at that price means that he's (maybe) run a damp rag over it, possibly given it a hooky MOT, and the warranty will be "Speak to our service manager, he's in the kennel over there."
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[mudcow007]

i just bought a transit connect van for £500 on a 53 plate

granted its got 140k mileage but its still groovy

[P.addy]

[Slacker24seve...]

I bought an E30 5 series for £400 - see my rally thread in my sig. It was immaculate.
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Triumph Daytona 675 track bike + girlfriend's Honda Hornet 600
Selling a hack/winter bike for less than a grand? PM me.
Banger rallies are ace

[Shaft]

[Slacker24seve...]

[-Matt-]

At 25k a year i wouldnt expect it to last the year out to be honest

I mean at a pre-taxed/moted 450 quid maybe thats not that bad, personally i'd probably prefer to put the 450 towards something that might last a bit longer and throw a little extra cash at it to make up the difference.

[metalangel]

£450 for a car that's nearly 20 years old and wasn't that great even at the time?
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Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[mudcow007]

[stevo as b4]

[-Matt-]

Other thing to be fair, if your budgets tight enough to be going to the 450 mark on the car, do you really need a 1.8 Even for motorway commuting you can get by with 1.0's-1.2's and be a damn sight cheaper to run petrol wise.

I mean if you want a faster car i guess its out the equation, for me i've got the bike for speed the cars just an unfortunate necessity of life/commuting until i get space for another bike id be happy commuting on.

Was just thinking as like with myself, you can pick up a decent vauxhall corsa 1.0/1.2 for example for a touch over a grand, piss all to insure and tax and petrols upto even 50 even 55mpg on some occasions with mine on longer journeys.