1989 Vauxhall Carlton Reviews - Page 2 of 3

Brakes needed work for MOT: total cost for brake lines, pads all round, 2 new tyres and labour was £290.

I Bought this car for £500 in February as a stopgap when my previous car was stolen.

My previous car was a Saab 900 that cost me £5000 to buy and a further £2000 in repairs (£125 for an aerial anybody?). This car is faster, more economical, more luxurious and cheaper to insure.

When this car dies I will buy another Carlton...

A wire fell off a solenoid.

Starter motor jammed.

I fell in love with the car when I saw it on the forecourt, when I test drove it the same day it had to be mine.

It's reliable and economical, easy to drive and very comfortable for myself and my wife and 3 daughters plus the dog. We run our own business and use the car to transport our goods to and from market, my only complaint with it is the pump up rear suspension which leaks, otherwise a superb motor car.

New front and rear brake disks at 165000.

New rear wiper motor at 190000.

Few chassis welds.

New back axle at 2000 miles...

Lovely engine : so much torque, gear changing optional.

Absolutely effortless motorway cruiser.

Good for Scaring hot hatch drivers : looks identical to standard 2 litre.

Would still be driving it if I hadn't driven it into the back of a lorry :-((

Burnt out auto box (auto oil leak) - expensive rebuild (£1000+)

Bulbs fail quite a bit.

Cruise packed up 3 years ago (but not used anyway)

Alternator replaced.

Rear suspension rubber bushes replaced.

3 exhaust replacements since new.

All disks and pads replaced twice since new.

4 sets of spark plugs since new.

Sun roof needs manual help to close.

Rust showing on the extreme edges of the doors and inside the sunroof drainage margin, but not major yet.

The boot leaks a little.

So I've had this car for 10 years now as a daily driver and it's only now failed its MOT with a problem (only one fail before with worn rear suspension bushes). I'm amazed how reliable its been (probably due to it being built in Germany) - only stopped on me 4 times in 10 years

1) Failed fuel relay (£10).

2) Dead battery (£50).

3) Burnt out auto box (£1100).

4) Alternator failure (£65).

It's on 140,000 miles now and I'm still impressed at how well it drives - so are others who have had a ride. Still get it up to 120mph from time to time. The suspension is great - there is a hump back bridge I sometimes take at 60 and you can never bottom it out! Loads of space and easy to maintain. But I have the feeling the end is nigh - not sure the £600 required to weld plates to the sub-frame runners is worth it (2 rust holes have appeared).

Would I get another? Yes - except you can't find them easily any more with reasonable mileage.

Fuel injection relay - 1994.

Core plug (1) - 1997,

Alternator earth strap - 1997.

Prop shaft centre bearing - 2000.

Rusty front suspension panels, rear wheel arches and rear floor pan - 2000.

An excellent all round family car. Roomy, very comfortable, economical (27 - 44 mpg) and reliable. Looks good too.

A little sluggish pulling away from traffic lights, but apart from that I can't understand why these cars never really caught on.