1995 Chevrolet Caprice review from North America
"Big fat wallowing hog of a cruiser"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Blower motor.
Hood release.
EGR valve.
Weird unknown electrical problem that causes the car not to start sometimes.
Rusty behind the rear wheel wells.
General comments?
Against my gut feeling I bought this puppy anyway. I needed a car that could make the two hour trek to work the next day. I had another Caprice a few years back, an ex police cruiser that had enough power to melt the rear tires and do endless donuts on pavement. While doing a brake stand, the car would shift into every gear including overdrive. But this isn't a review about that car.
Coming back to this car the previous owner claimed to have swapped in a "Corvette" LT1 350 into it. Well for all his hype the car isn't really all that fast. Quick, but not on the same level as my old Caprice. From a dead stop it will just let out a little chirp from the rear tires and be on its way.
The brakes are so so, car wallows like a whale in corners, the dash is too low. One thing it does well is cruise. It'll cruise at 90 mph all day and still get 20 mpg. But that is all the more I have been able to get is 20 mpg regardless of how I drive it. In town or pounding it on some highway it gets the same.
Car was reliable up until a month ago. Besides a few annoying problems like a broken hood release, non-functioning blower motor, and a partially plugged heater core, it never failed to start on the coldest winter days. Now it is hit and miss. Sometimes it'll start, sometimes you can crank on it all day and it won't do anything.
I guess the biggest thing isn't even that the car only starts when it feels like, it is that I got ripped off by paying 2300 dollars for basically rusty car (underneath mainly) with high miles. I knew when I bought it that it wasn't even worth half the price, but I got backed into a corner when no one else would answer on the other ads, and it was a Sunday too. I guess what are you gonna do when you need a car like right now.
One thing is for sure, I am not buying another civilian Caprice. The police cruiser is way more fun and handles like a totally different car.
Recommended reviews
| 1995 - Caprice Classic 265cu 4.3liter V8 A whale... slow moving and HUGE!!! |
| 9C1: The Four Door 'Vette. |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1995 |
| First year of ownership | 2008 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2009 |
| Engine and transmission | 350 V8 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 7 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 175000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 198000 miles |
| Previous car | Ford F100 |
| Date of Entry | 27th May, 2009 |