1988 Chevrolet Caprice Classic review from North America

I am losing coolant to the tune of about 1 gallon per two weeks. My best guess is that the radiator has a crack in it somewhere--it's very corroded. The vehicle is fine sitting (does not leak) but after driving it, and building up pressure, I am finding a small puddle of coolant beneath the car.

The car makes a ticking sound when moving. I have had this diagnosed as possibly a bad CV joint or universal. My boyfriend pulled the universal out to replace it, however, and found it to be fine. So I just deal with it.

The trunk leaks.

The headliner is falling down (currently held up with the typical array of tacks).

Cigarette lighter does not work (blows a fuse if you try to use it).

Parking brake release cable snapped a few years ago. Parking brake still works and is usable, I just have to manually release the level under the dash.

Clear coat is gone. There are some small oxidations spots on hood and roof. (My fault--I never wash or wax this car).

Rear defrost nob was off before purchase. I have no idea if this works or not.

I love this car!

She's great on the highway (with tons of power for those scary merges) and eats up the passing lane. She rides smoothly. Even in the city, she handles well enough for her size and swings around turns just fine.

All of my automatic window/door options work, my AC still works, the seats and interior (excluding the headliner) are all holding up in great condition.

Out of all of the cars that my friends, family, and I myself have ever owned, this is the most reliable vehicle that I have ever seen. I purchased this vehicle for $1500 a few years ago. At the time I was broke and I needed a car badly as my Buick was falling to pieces. A co-worked assured me that her boyfriend's secondary car was reliable (if big and kinda ugly) so I took a chance and bought it. It had been sitting for about 2 years. I never gave it a tune up.

In four years of owning this car I have taken it to a mechanic for UNscheduled maintenance ONCE because the transmission was acting up. Turns out I had been driving it for over a month without any transmission fluid in it... yep... no fluid at all. The shop fixed a leak in my trans (about $200) and informed me that there were some other minor leaks, but they were deep in the trans and would cost more to fix. Their suggestion was that I just add some fluid now and then. And that's what I've done.

Other than that, I have NEVER taken it to a mechanic. She's never needed anything to pass inspection. Needed only a new gas cap for emissions. In 4 years of ownership I have driven this car without any trans. fluid and it still shifts just fine. I have driven this car without any oil (oil light came on one day and I was DRY) and car still runs fine. I have driven this car without any coolant (thought my heater was broken... turns out I just didn't have any antifreeze in there!!!) and this car still runs fine.

This car is amazing. She has started for me every single time, whether it be in subfreezing conditions or 90 degree weather. She has never once broken down, never once left me sit. She does start hard in the cold and I have to idle/rev her a minute or two before driving unless I want to risk stalls (which I can avoid by playing the gas pedal just right if I really have to go NOW, but most of the time I figure I'll be nice and let her old bones warm up).

Even though she's rear wheel drive and not very good in the snow (fishtailing can be fun!) this car has got me home in over four inches of unplowed snow, up hills, in ice... I've driven this car through hurricane rain where water was standing a foot deep on the road in places and she never stalled out.

I bought this car as a beater and figured if she got me through the year she'd be worth the money. I never took her to the mechanic for any of the problems (such as coolant leak and ticking sound) because, well, I've just been waiting for this car to die so I could get something smaller (I live in the city and this is a beast to park) and front wheel drive (and it snows here). However, no matter how much abuse I've given her, she just keeps kicking.

I highly recommend this make/model to anyone who wants a strong reliable car, especially for highway travel. My Caprice has been an extremely comfortable, dependable and strong running vehicle! I have a feeling that I'll regret getting rid of her when I downsize to a smaller/newer car =)