Faults:

Very slight underside rust was no problem for the MOT and I am told will be fine now treated.

The timing belt protective casing rattles slightly. My local Vauxhall dealer admitted that this is not uncommon in GM 2.0L SOHC engines, but that is immaterial to the running of the engine. In fact, he said "change the oil & filters regularly and top up anything with a yellow cap and it should be good for a quarter of a million miles"

General Comments:

I bought this high mileage Carlton when I changed jobs and had to hand back my company car, a BMW 525. Although the BWM was a great car, the Carlton is every bit as capable on the motorway and now that I am paying the bills I am exceptionally happy with the Carltons cost of ownership.

Handling is as good as you can expect for a car of this size, weight and age.

Specification levels on the Diplomat are second to none and the ride and refinement remain good and I do not believe I could have found a more refined car for less than £2000. The 2.0l is smooth enough and really will pull hard if you make it, but for most situations has more than enough power.

Faults:

3. Rear exhaust boxes.

2. Sets of centre exhaust boxes.

1. Set of catalytic converters.

General Comments:

At the risk of upsetting all Carlton owners, I have to admit that this wonderful car last had a service and oil change 6 years ago, I just top up the oil when needed.

Once this old girl is wound up she will still leave a lot of the boy racers behind.

This is my third Carlton and probably the best, the only complaint I have is that they don't make them anymore.

Vauxhall certainly got it wrong with this car, they are extremely reliable, comfortable, well built, quick, economical (if driven properly), spacious, secure and quiet, with a more than adequate sound system, and a cavernous boot. A real luxury car in it's day.

Just as a matter of interest, I previously had 2 Carlton estate cars, and when measuring them internally to compare to a friends Volvo estate, the Carlton was much bigger.

Faults:

A few months ago, the ignition coil blew, but this did more damage to the RAC's reputation than it did to the Carlton.

The cruise control doesn't work and requires fixing.

The heater fan only works on one speed.

The car pulls to the left (the tracking is suspected).

Some of the interior lightbulbs need changing.

General Comments:

The Diplomat looks a little worn now and we all have concerns on how far that little four cylinder engine will go, but from what I've heard, they go on to astronomical mileages with no bother.

The handling is quite composed.

It will move when it has to, and then some!

The Vauxhall Carlton Diplomat is just great. It was a great match for the competition in it's day and is as good as any today.