1988 Vauxhall Nova GTE 1.6 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Super little sports car

Faults:

Rust in the engine bay, bad enough to fail its M.O.T. Small amounts of rust around the bodywork, but not serious.

Driver's seat showing signs of wear.

Sunroof has a slight leak.

General Comments:

The GTE is a super car, it's fast and fun.

Parts are cheap and it's easy to repair.

Like all old Vauxhalls, they are easy to get into, so make it secure.

Ideal second car, not really a motorway car due to the hard ride and lack of space. Ideal for around town and boy racing!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th July, 2001

16th Dec 2005, 06:37

The nova gte is a fast car I agree, but its not for boyracing because it deserves to be looked after there getting rare now. It would be a shame to lose a motoring icon that so many people love + hate.

1988 Vauxhall Nova Club 1.2 (12ST OHC) from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Novas are timeless :)

Faults:

The brake discs were badly warped, so I replaced them and the pads all round.

The fuel line between the pump and carburettor sprung a big leak, but was easily changed in 5 minutes.

The only big engine problem (and even it was relatively minor) was that the electronic ignition module failed at 82000 miles, but was easy to fix.

All the wheel bearings have been replaced.

The offside outer CV joint and track rod end have just been replaced to cure a knocking noise at speed.

General Comments:

My Nova Club is a cracking little car and in the 11 years it has been in the family, it has only broken down once - the battery packed up!

Things that have gone wrong are from normal wear and tear, and the parts are so cheap.

7 of my friends have Novas, all modified to some degree.

I have done extensive modifications to my car (interior, ICE, engine bay cosmetics) and I am going to get alloys, lower the suspension, and put the late Nova front on.

The bodywork is great for an E-reg - the arches are fairly rusty, but not as bad as some J-reg Novas I have seen! There is some rot on the O/S front strut, and a bit on the boot floor, but it is all easily welded.

The Club's bright interior is cool. I have added an SR dial set - rev counter, etc with white backgrounds, and highlighted the dash panels with aluminium paint which looks very up-to-date.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th June, 2001

9th Jan 2002, 17:46

Are there any standard Novas left??!! I too know loads of people who have had Novas, many of them modified; and they all seem chuffed with them!! I don't own one myself, am I missing out??!!

16th Mar 2004, 06:53

No, you're definitely not missing out. 205 XS, Citroen AX GT, Rover Metro GTa 16v, Fiesta 1.6S, Mini Cooper, 205 GTi's, Renault Clio 1.8 RSI, Fiat Uno Turbo, R5 Turbo, Renault 5 1.7 GTX, 106 XSi, Mitsubishi Colt GTi, VW Polo GT/G40 (if you can find one); these are just a few hot hatches that are better than Novas in every area!

Nova's as a car are fine, but they are crap round corners, fairly slow (my old 1.1 Metro, which cost £90, is faster than my friend's mint 1.3 SR) look crap, especially with all those heavy creaky body kits. They're unreliable, especially now every boy racer has owned or smashed them up.

There are far, far, far, far better cars about than Novas.

1988 Vauxhall Nova SR 1.3 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Red hot

Faults:

Fuel pump knackered, fuel filter useless, seat wear on the driver's right hand side.

General Comments:

I recommend you buy a Powerflow customized exhaust system with a twin 3" dtm back box because they sound great and improve torque throughout the rev range.

Whatever you do though don't buy a Pipercross bolt on filter because they're rubbish, so are the Splitfire v groove sparkplugs, the leads are okay though the plugs on mine went after 15 miles.

Also not exactly slow for a 1.3 engine, but then again my mates have got 1.3 and 1.4 Fiesta's.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th March, 2001