1997 Vauxhall Calibra SE8 review from UK and Ireland
"Great looks, great performance, but poor for maintenance"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Water pump seized at 103000 miles.
Stalls periodically for no apparent reason.
General comments?
I am overall very pleased with this car, its by far the quickest and most comfy car I've driven.
However, the car is the worst car I've known for maintenance.
Parts are simple enough to get hold of (Cavalier parts), but the car seems to be built so that it's awkward to work on to encourage you to take it to a garage.
For instance, the drive belt runs THROUGH the right engine mounting, IE the engine must come off the car to replace it!!!
And which idiot at General Motors had the bright idea of running the water pump off the cam belt???
The pump on my car seized without warning and jammed the cam belt with it.
What only needed to be a £30 repair (the price of a new water pump) turned out to be an £800+ job to replace 12 bent valves and shattered guides.
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  | 1997 - Calibra SE8 2.0 16V petrol Great performance with Cavalier economy and reliability |
| Top notch in the lower class of sports cars |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 16v Manual |
| Performance marks | 8/10 |
| Reliability marks | 6/10 |
| Comfort marks | 10/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 6/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 6/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 88000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 104000 miles |
| Previous car | Vauxhall Nova |
| Date of Entry | 10th January, 2003 |