Why do u love cav's and why u own one ?

[joe cavalier sri]

Why do u love cav's and why u own one ? What makes them special from other cars ?

[planetc]

As an ex vaux tech from the era of the cav there isn't a car I know better except maybe the astra f or corsa b. It's generally cheap and easy to maintain and I can get my family in it (with the dogs at a push). Nothing that goes wrong with it has ever cost me a fortune, at worst a little time.

[cavaliersri130]

I've had so many makes and models from Ford to BMW and have had breakdowns and constant repairs.
But the cavalier I've gone every where in them never broken down had to replace things but that's down to me swing fussy and just wanting things fixed.
Ever since I brought one all those years ago I've found them brilliant for the family as well enough room for the kids and shopping.

:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

[mk4rhys]

i never liked them up untill 5 years ago when i needed a cheap car so save paying hig costs of hiring one, i see my last cavalier on the side of the road for £295, within 20 mins i was driving it from essex to north wales, and in that time i had knocked the price down to £250 and phoned the insurance company up and put some fuel in, it was a comfortable car, powerful, cheap to run, and was immaculate inside and out once i got back to essex and valeted it, all i did on it was new front pads and discs, front wish bones, and a new set of wheels, tailgate spoiler and eyebrows, i drove over 25k in the 18 months i owned it, never let me down, and sold if for £550, half hour later the buyer phoned me up asking for her money back as it had just broke down, I didnt i know she had put diesel in it, pmsl, see it around a couple of times with L plates on and then it went of dvla database, ,aybe they took it out the uk, put a private plate on or wrote it off, was immaculate so way too good to scrap, N831 DMJ, wish i had kep it, only wanted my dream jag XJ8 which i replaced it with that i only kept for a year and had to sell it cos needed the funds for a deposit for a house, im back to this hump of junk cavvy now and its tatty, noisy, and embarrasing

[Cavalier342]

It's as close looking to an American car that you get get for me, bar the Ford Scorpios and the Senators. The fact that most parts have GM on them is one bit of proof. Also, the fact that they feel like a big car to drive, and have long bodies helps to add to the whole American thing. I know some of you will debate that I'm completely wrong bla bla but that's my view on this.

Reasons why they're special to me are the obvious really, practical, relatively economical, spacious, decent looking, and affordable to run. Good to work on too. Always something to tinker with, but that's the same story with any older car.

But most of all, I just bonded with my auto for some unknown reason. I'm sure you all know that feeling.

[iancav6]

My dad had 3 of them as company cars,covered over 300,000 miles between them and they seem to give less trouble than the other cars he had before that,ie marina,alpine and Mk4 tina.

Always seemed liked a good solid,reliable car that you can drive for miles with the wife, kids and all their clutter onboard.

These days I love it for the 3 litre V6 under the bonnet and the simplicity of its mechanical parts which makes it a doddle to fix compared to new stuff.

[Gaz]

I dont see myself driving the other way.....

Oh and it has a sticky up aerial so it makes me look like im driving a huge radio controlled car

[Deeksin]

Love the gsi from growing up watching john cleland battle it out in the btcc in what was the golden years of motorsport! All the early 90s btcc cars looked cool but the cav was the best!

[Chip Pan Dan]

im not to sure. think it might be because theres not many about round here apart from me,dan,gaz,troy ' think thats everyone round here ' that i know anyways.

[gsi pie]

love that fact they still go v well for 20year old boat

couple of chassi tweaks and they dont handle half bad to

[Peanut_119]

My nova blew the bottom end and I was moving to Portsmouth and needed another cav, and I got offered a Sri rep with long tax and mot straight swap so I took it.

Soon realised that saloons were more desirable so I sold my hatch and bought a loon...

[Robsey]

Vauxhalls are my wife's fault...
Before then, I had a couple of non-descript cars (1980 Toyota Corolla saloon 1300 DX and a 1986 Austin Maestro 1.3HL).

I inherited her Mk2 cavalier 1300 saloon, which went like stink for a 1300 4 speed jalopy.
Soon sorted a few fuelling niggles with the auto choke on the Pierburg 2E3.

Then I bought her a 15 month old (August 1994) Mk3 1800 LS Hatch for Christmas 1995.
Ten years later I bought her a Vectra-C (her choice - eek!!) and I kept the Cav.

I have done 200,000 + miles in the Cav - It has more or less been faultless, apart from me becoming a motoring hypochondriac when I got spurious reading from that damn Astra GTE Digi-dash.

80% of the car is original despite being 18 years old. I am sure if I didn't keep tatting about with non-essential gadgets, it would probably be even more reliable and in much better condition that it currently is.

Why do I love my Cav?

Well -
1) Emotional ties - It has been our main car for 17 years.
2) Mechanicals and Electrics - On the whole it has been very reliable and when needed, very easy to fix.
3) It has a lot more character than many of these modern boxes of electronics.
4) It is reasonably comfy, even for my lardy arse.
5) When freshly washed and polished, it still looks really sshhweeeet!!

6) It is still going strong, with reasonable economy, cheap insurance and no nonsense with 238,000 miles on the clock.

[mr v6]

when i left school in 1995 i worked next door to a vauxhall dealer and was surrounded by cavs,astras,corsas,was there 4 years so also saw the vectra arrive and the mk4 astra,my work mate had a 1991 gsi in grey and loved it i brought a 2.0gls and was a good car it till a crashed it!!

then 5 years ago my friend was selling his 1.8i ls for £200!! i brought and was perfect and reminded me why i like them,
i now have the v6 which i love and couldnt bare selling on

[Mikebmth]

Im a bit of a Vauxhall addict to be honest, they just look pretty good and go well...

Mostly had Astras and a corsa also a couple of tatty novas over the years, love the Cavvy its just soooo comfortable despite me lowering it and it suits my blasts up and down the motorway..

But most of all love that look Audi drivers give you when you blast past them on the motorway with two fingers proudly aloft!!

These old Cavaliers really do have some go in them, just a bit of a handful in the wet weather but thats all part of the fun!!

[TurboDan]

I always liked vauxhalls, started with novas, mk3 astra, corsa. Then one year at billing i discovered a Cav turbo on the Mig stand and that was it i had to have one! I put a wanted add up on mig and a few weeks later i sold my corsa and bought one!

4 turbos later and i'm still here.

Its nice to be able to drive it pretty much anywhere and not see another one

[NickSRi]

I've had a lot of company cars in my time... but nothing has come close to the new 1.7td Cavalier in 1994 I had....

Now collecting classic cars... I couldn't resist an original thats never been de-commisioned from the force...

[James McGrath]

It's all sentimental for me; so many memories.

My Cav has been in the family since I was only 4. I grew up with it along with my Dad's old MK2 cavalier and It's like a member of the family.

If it wasn't for my love of my Cav I probably would never had bothered learning to drive and probably wouldn't even be interested in cars at all.

[humbucker]

Always loved Vauxhalls, mainly down to family history of them when we were growing up; everything from a Viceroy to a Mk2 Cav SRi, Mk2 Astra GTE, a few Mk1 Astras thrown in for good measure... and really liked my mates Bordeaux Red GSi2000 bought when it was more or less new. He wrapped it around a tree which I thought was a terrible shame, much like my others mates Diamond Black one that ended up with Evo spotlamps and horrible Evo spoiler etc (a sign of the time methinks). After a string of Omegas and a Mk2 Astra myself I decided to try and get a GSi as a second car to play with before they were all crushed/rotten. Didn't have much luck finding one without any of the obligatory holes and ended up buying a one-owner 2.5 V6 CDX in 2008. Four years on and I've still got that CDX as well as two Turbos. Amazing cars for so many reasons, although not fussed about non-'performance' editions, but great cars nonetheless and very important in the history/continued success of Vauxhall motors in general.

[humbucker]

I will admit at this point to deviating from the brand and buying a Peugeot 306 as well as a Fiat Coupe in between the ol' Griffins...

[TurboDan]

I did the same i went away and bought MR2, audi a3, astra and still ended up going back to a cav.

[humbucker]

In fact, I very nearly bought this one. I travelled what seemed like an age to go and look at it, and at first glance it looked pretty tidy as the picture shows, but upon inspection it was as rotten as a peach, I put my finger through the sill just pressing it to see how solid it was and the engine was absolutely soaked in oil. Scratches everywhere and rot in the doors, it was a mess. I'm interested to know if it's still about and if anyone fixed it up but I won't hold my breath:

Date of Liability 01 05 2009
Date of First Registration 22 04 1991
Year of Manufacture 1991
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1998cc
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type PETROL
Export Marker N
Vehicle Status Unlicensed
Vehicle Colour RED
Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

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[humbucker]

Note the silver wing mirror

[Deeksin]

Amazing how much a picture can make a car look mint and its actualy a gurd! Plenty of them!

[terkin]

Amazing how much a picture can make a car look mint and its actualy a gurd! Plenty of them!

funny it should be you to say that

grew up watching my old man slaughter every thing back when gsi was king, plus its been in the family since new 22yrs

gonna call me crazy but i love how they smell

[humbucker]

Amazing how much a picture can make a car look mint and its actualy a gurd! Plenty of them!

Yeah, I mean this was the reality, hole caused by pressing on the sill to check how bad it was. I have loads of photos of it actually, it really was that bad, rot in places I didn't even know could rot, the whole thing was shot to bits. I think he was after £900 and this was back in 2008. Needless to say it was 'thanks but no thanks'.

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