How long until mk3 Cavaliers are rare?

[Station]

Another car, along with the mk5 Escort, which is scrapped just because it has outlasted the owner's attention span, and it'll sit on the road while the brand new Kia occupies it's space on the driveway.

 

 

There seems to be less of these on the roads than three years ago, like the mk1 Micra and the Bluebird, they keep soldiering on, even the worst examples are in better condition than most cars manufactured in 2000. What were they using in Luton to make them last so bloody long? The only thing I didn't like was the soft, springy suspension and depressing and open interior.

 

Here's mine that I had from 2003 - 2006.

 

 

My dad had it, then I did, then my brother did, then back to me, etc. It failed it's MOT in 2007 on a three fixable holes in the front wheel well, but my dad decided he wanted a new car and it was scrapped. I found this out when I went to a scrappy and saw it straining under the weight of two other Cavs!

 

There's one on RR for 250 quid that is getting zilch attention.

[brammy777]

Well there does seem to be quite a few of the facelifted models around, but the older grey grille ones are certainly pretty rare now. Its been quite a while since Ive seen an F plate one, generally K and later these days now. I remember looking for one last year in college to use as a donor car, and there was plenty for sale, and for good prices too, as they seemed to attract a fair bit of attention, but there was certainly a limit everyone would pay for them, which seemed to be something like £400. Seem to see alot more of these than Sierras now though, is it just me or have they really declined in numbers lately?

[trigger]

I often see a G plate model on my road as well as a K plater face lift, My mate had a M plate 1.7 TD GLS for a long white, his dad has it now and often drives to scotland and back in it still.

[Lord Sterling]

I often see K, L, M etc... ones about still, there are still a few F-platers about aswell. My cousin had one a few years back a Red 1.6 off my uncle which was offered to me first, wish I had it, but as usual, money dictated my decision.

 

There are still quite a few last-of-the-line one still about, mostly because thats what people want, the latest/newest, no one was interested in the earlier ones so they got neglected and eventually scrapped, which is a damn shame, but thats society for ya'. The early ones that are left seem to be either high-end models (CDX, SRi) or are heavily modified with stick-on bodykits etc...

 

I've always thought they looked modern, fitted in well, felt good and stable to drive, fluid gear change etc... I'd love to buy and try one, it would have to be an early mk3 in metallic Blue. They were the best looking ones in my opinion. Very nice looking ones with better interiors. I remember them being reps cars, lots of jackets on coat hangers in the back seat (Its the 'i's that have it!) blasting down the motorway, thats what I think when I see an early mk3.

[brammy777]

My favourite local MKIII has to be this one:

1990 VAUXHALL CAVALIER MKIII 2.0 SRi SALOON by bramm77, on Flickr

Appears to never come out, seeing as I have seen it the grand total of once.

[The Moog]

I was lucky enough to drive 3 of these when they were new as my dad had them as company cars. I think they were M & N reg all 1.7 TD. I absolutely loved his cavalier and I bought a couple when I was able to drive.

 

Took one of them to an all weekend rave in deepest darkest Wales. Remember rallying it along the dirt track to the middle of the forest .. and another time when driving through the middle of a holiday camp we were staying at, my mate on top car surfing to Ride of the valkyries . .top days

[Pillock]

My grandparents took me (a car-mad 9 year old) to the local VX dealer, they were having a do for the mk3 launch with bouncy castles and other such stuff.

An hour later, they were the owners of a new 1.6L in metallic blue F148HCH

[Guest]

I've noticed remaining ones are usually in tidy condition, I suspect people are holding onto them now as ultimately I can't think of much which ticks as many boxes - they drive nice, parts are cheap and you'll be unlikely to encounter a mechanic who doesn't know his way round them. Really can't think of what you'd gain by moving to a newer car, maybe the owners know this.

[Cavcraft]

Vauxhalls finest hour imho. It's funny how they seem to have bridged a gap between Vauxhall haters and their usual buyers. Even people I know who utterly despise GM stuff have a soft spot for the Cavalier and I've only ever talked to handful of people at most who couldn't stand them.

They were so reliable it was untrue and coupled with the good old 8V engine they were just about indestructable, I think a fairly simple but pretty rugged design with an albeit small amount of charm attracted a few people.

 

Bland to look at, mingebag models had interiors that made F1 look entertaining and not the kind of motor you'd buy to climb the social ladder, yet they just got it so right. In fact they're the best 'everyday' car ever made and I could twat on about them all night but luckily for you I won't.

 

There's a few locally but numbers are definately declining and as others have said facelift ones are the most common now.

[HillmanImp]

I honestly have not seen one in yonks. When I do my 'old car radar' goes off the chart these days and I mention it in a high pitched voice to the person in the passenger seat (although the radar is picking up Pug 306's these days too).

 

I saw a burgundy Allegro Estate yesterday and nearly shattered all the glass in the car. 'Fuggin' ell and Allegro estate!"

[HMC]

My Dad had a 2.0 CD as a company car just after launch and rated it highly as a motorway cruiser. Got nicked by joy riders and was found alight in a pub carpark

 

I had a 1.7d turbo saloon as a cheap as chips hack in 2004 and iit impressed as a long distance car, but maybe a bit bored by the experience. It was such a shed that the police called me to ask if it had been stolen/abandoned!

I was tempted by a dirt cheap 2.5 ecotec V6 earlier in the year, but didnt scratch that itch.

 

I seem to see so few saloons- less made or just less usefull/wanted these days and hence more likely to be scrapped?

[Pete-M]

I was unlucky enough to drive hundreds of these things when they were brand new. I was working for Avis at the time, the ones I remember were mainly M and N reg, and then they were replaced by the utterly hopeless (and quite probably even worse) Vectra.

 

Cav 2.0 and V6 ones went rather well, but the rest. No, not for me. I thought the 1.7TD ones were loathsome things, still do.

 

The GSi 4x4s and Turbos would have been nice cars if they'd not made the transfer box from brie.

 

I think the reason there aren't many left is related to their habit of eating rear wheelarches and sills. It's one of the few things they're good at.

[Mr Lobster]

They are relatively rare already, another couple of years and they will (obviously) be even more so. A good Vauxhall though, reasonable enough to drive, cheap to run and in general they got it right with this one. Shame it was replaced by the woefully shit Vectra.

[ashmicro]

Not many left for sure. However, one of the few Vauxhalls I actually kind of liked. My best mate had a 1.7TD GLS, which must have been good, as he is the most ham-fisted bloke I know, and he didn't kill it. The car was very nicely finished and went quite well too.

 

In conversation not long ago with another pal who owns a huge breakers, he was saying that he'll always snap up a mark 3 Cav, as there seems to be a hardcore of owners who still want parts. Diseasel ones appear to be popular with rural types, who are forever needing lights, bumpers etc, so there's money to be made.

 

Drove a few myself, and that GSi 2000 that a neighbour had was bastard quick.

[Rogue trader]

I had a 96 2.5 v6 cav which was a great car took all the badges off and kept it standard looking, it went very well and used to show up alot of cars at the lights I then changed this for a Vectra big mistake never had a Vauxhall since.

[CIH]

I was unlucky enough to drive hundreds of these things when they were brand new. I was working for Avis at the time, the ones I remember were mainly M and N reg, and then they were replaced by the utterly hopeless (and quite probably even worse) Vectra.

 

Cav 2.0 and V6 ones went rather well, but the rest. No, not for me. I thought the 1.7TD ones were loathsome things, still do.

 

The GSi 4x4s and Turbos would have been nice cars if they'd not made the transfer box from brie.

 

I think the reason there aren't many left is related to their habit of eating rear wheelarches and sills. It's one of the few things they're good at.

 

Apparantly the IRS (rear suspension) on 4x4s rotted even faster than the regular models....

[Pete-M]

Apparantly the IRS (rear suspension) on 4x4s rotted even faster than the regular models....

 

That wouldn't surprise me in the least, as it was far better than the standard GM botch job.

 

Was it the Cav GSi which they fitted with independant rear suspension instead of the crap they got as standard? I know the 4x4s had it, but I'm sure the GSi got it too and it was purely so the Cav wouldn't be embarrassed in BTCC (or one of the touring car cups).

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

instead of the crap they got as standard?

 

Torsion beams FTW.

 

I quite liked my Cavalier, it seemed pretty rugged and indestructible, was fairly comfy over long distances and went well. As Hirst pointed out, they are very easy to work on too.

I thought they were getting thin on the ground when I bought mine, but then I started spotting loads, especially last of the line models in the same dark metallic green as mine.

[r.welfare]

I think they're pretty rare already, at least round these parts. I can't remember the last time I saw a pre-facelift (F-early K plate); most I see are run-out Ms and Ns with alloys and usually 1.8 Ecotec LS's.

 

As mentioned, fairly hardy devices with the sills/arches (only on the driver's side though - I think the fuel filler neck provides something of a rust trap?) being the main body weakness. Nothing truly advanced about 'em but they were well-received when new and cruised beautifully - supertall 5th gear FTW! I'd imagine they're fairly cheap to run, too, provided you get the Waxoyl out once in a while, clean out the idle control valve and change the rocker cover gasket regularly on the Family 1 engines.

 

 

I bought this one back in 2007 for the princely sum of £68-odd, thanks to the owner listing it in the spares category of eBay - still had two months' tax and 10 months' MOT on it. As a 1.6 single-point injection with a cat it wouldn't set the tyres alight but was perfectly acceptable transportation. The fact it sold for a profit (£250) was also a bonus!

[Station]

GM transfer boxes had the same problem with other manufacturers that used the same design. Typical poor servicing with the fluid and tyre neglect led to them wearing out. There's loads of boxes out there that are still going. The rear IRS and beam suffered spring seat problems on the body, but the frame was OK, I've not seen anything bad.

 

I like the old style grey grilles with those weird CD four spoke wheels. I got my dad to get me some Recaro seats from a Cavalier GSi from a local breaker's yard. When I arrived home from work he'd got a set of big, soft velour seats from an LS or something.

[Vin]

Agree. I do notice them more now they are not so common. A K reg one has recently appeared on my commute, metallic blue with bodged rear arches....Neighbour had a couple but usual arch and sill rot killed them off.

[MK5 Escort]

Early, pre-revised mk3 Cavaliers are now rare around these parts. Pretty much all of the earliest examples have vanished altogether. The vast majority that I see left are last of the line M and N plate jobbies.

 

I preferred the rear of the early models (with the 'smooth' lights) and the front end of the later post '93 cars.

 

I remember in the mid nineties many Vauxhall employee's around here seemed to get them thrown at them, emptying the stocks before the Vectra arrived. Most were dark metallic green LS's and easily over half of them were 1.7TD's. An uncle of mine had two of them on the bounce, both saloons too...

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

You only realise how good some cars were when they've gone. I rented a few Mark 3 Chavaliers when they were new and thought they were good. So did most GM mechanics when compared to the hateful piece of shit that replaced it. It's rare for a manufacturer to spend millions replacing a good car with a bad one, but GM did it with the Vectra.

The Cav used to have wobbly handling and overall, the 405 was a better car to drive but the Cav is piss easy to work on. Were these the ones you could do a clutch on in 30 minutes? In Germany they were very well regarded (Opel Vectra and the Vctra C despised as much as over here. There are still plenty in Germany knocking about as they are very popular bangers.

 

Best was probably the 8v SRi hatchback, a good all round package.

 

They're rare cars now. I've not seen one for a long time and I notice all the old shit in my area.

 

*Just remembered - there was a 6 month waiting list fior them when they came out in 88/89. Our local Wurth rep got pissed off with waiting and bought a secondhand '87 Mark 2 1.6GL which he had until at least 4 years ago.

[maxpower]

i had a white "H" reg mk3 cav about 6yrs ago.. total heap of shite... died on me whilst on holiday in cornwall... was so fed up with it i just left it there... may still be parked up for all i know

[CreepingJesus]

^Yeah, they must have been about the last VX's to have the 'clutch window' in the bottom of the bellhousing. Unbolt the window, remove O/S/F wheel, undo 6 or 8 cover plate bolts, pull mainshaft out, catch clutch. More or less. Beats the 6-hour job on the Mondy hands down.

They were/are good cars, and well built, from a time when the engineers still had a say in how cars were built! The GSi didn't have the IRS setup IIRC, they altered the mounts to give themselves a head start on the BTCC car. Sure BMW and others did likewise at the time.

Oddly, I preferred the Cav turbo to the Calibra, it felt better balanced at the limit. The word thro' 'internal channels' (within VX circles) at the time, was that they bottled the development of the turbos. Initially they were looking for 250bhp+ and guided missile handling, to see off the Cossie Escorts. Allegedly, one of the full fat development cars torque steered its' way into a barrier at Millbrook, putting the tester in hospital. Thus, they were softened and semi-skimmed by the time of launch. I recall most of us were a tad disappointed with the finished product. Still got up to 120mph or so on the way back into Milngavie from Blanefield (if anyone knows that road... ), so it can't have been that bad...

Diesels lasted well, as did the 8v's (2.0iL was a proper sleeper, too), the 16v XE's had one or two issues - often to do with being thrashed mercilessly on a no maintenance regime.

[Ben_Mk3]

There's a Reish colour SRi sat in Rush Green Motors Scrappy. Hasn't been taxed since 2006 and had an Orange Police Abandoned sticker on the window.

 

A shame really, I had a quick look around it and it appeared to be in fairly good condition! Interior was very clean, engine bay complete (2.0 ecowreck)

[retro80sboy]

funny this subject has come up as I was thinking the same thing yesterday!.

 

I like the MK 3 Cav, always thought they looked super smart when the came out, ahead of their time looks wise really.

 

A mate of mine had a Red H reg SRI with a very subtle bodykit on it about 10 years ago, looked the dogs bollocks.

 

sadly it was a magnet for scumbags and was broken into numerous times before eventually being stolen, wrecked and dumped.

[Cavcraft]

The XE's biggest (mechanical) Achille's heel seemed to to be the porous head, supposedly only on non-Cos Cast versions. It was sorted by a couple of lads who worked at en engine repair centre by cutting the head open and welding a pipe in.

 

The GSi (XE engined) one I had was incredibly quick and was almost Subaru like in performance. It tapped when cold ('they all did that mate') and the arches were rough but by God it could go.

Oddly enough when a couple of years later I got a Calibra with an XE engine it seemed much slower despite the areodynamics being shed loads better.

The 8V 130 lumps just needed a decent air filter and full system to make them better. 1st gear was just a very quick and short launcher, second had a bit more legs and 3rd was utterly brilliant. If you kept your foot to the floor you'd get a great speed before you hit the limiter and bounced your way into 4th and then finally in to top.

Most 4x4 GSi models were converted to 2WD because as Station says they were pretty much abused and neglected.

[Pete-M]

The Cav Turbo wasn't a bad thing really. I nearly bought one at the end of the '90s, but test drove it back to back with a Sapphire Cosworth 4x4 which was miles nicer to drive, so I bought a RHD Integrale and regretted it. I should have gone for the Cosworth.

 

There were loads of them for sale around here in the late '90s, all with dead transfer boxes. The local narcotics supply team had all bought them because they were, on paper, about as quick as a Cosworth but didn't look as obvious. Unfortunately, once the transfer box had popped (normally within a few days of said Scallies buying 'em) they turned into a badly handling liability. The Scallies all wandered off an bought Audi S4s and Golf VR6s instead, and the Cavs ended up as donors for various Novas etc.

[cms206]

Time for me to step in... ?!

 

 

As long as I have the funds to keep it either stored or on the road, I will not sell my G-reg 2.0SRi. It's not what I set out to buy, or even in the colour I wanted, but it's a supremely capable machine capable of going anywhere, at any speed, at any time without batting an eyelid. Add to that that mine is barely run in at 166k, was a one-owner car, and doesn't give me crippling backache on a long run I did well out of it.

 

But as with almost all Mk3s, it is rusty in the usual bits (nearside sill, offside rear wheelarch, front bulkhead) and the brakes are shit, and it has a juddery clutch like every other Vauxhall I've driven, but it just has the ability to put a smile on my face. At no time previously have I driven a car which I'd rather have... they just work for me.

 

Are they getting rare? Anything that isn't a 'generic' Mk3 (ie a late model, facelift 1.8LS in dark metallic green, dark metallic blue or grey) is, especially pre-facelifts which seem to dissolve, but they all seem to catching up with early Vectras in the 'haven't seen one of those for a while' category.

 

But on the other hand, the 8-valves are more or less bombproof mechanically and they are a good looking car for what they are - IMHO leagues ahead of the Sierra and Mondeo.

 

Would I have another?

 

There is only one answer...

 

... how many can I have?!