Too many pratts wearing caps drive Novas.I quite like my 1.2 - cheap to run, cheap insurance and pretty reliable - but I hate being automatically placed in the 'boy racer' category because I've got alloy wheels and a sporty exhaust.
Without doubt the most irritating bunch of baffoons on the road are the mk 1 XR2 clan - black square rust buckets with pepperpot alloys and blacked out windows screwing the tired engines up and down main roads.
Owned for 2 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed February 2002.
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PARTS ARE FAIRLY EXPENSIVE AND HARD TO FIND DONT LIKE THE SEATS AS STANDARD NEVER BROKEN DOWN YET TOUCH WOOD....
owned 1986 1.0 version for 8 years, best car ever owned, reliable entertaining, cheap to run, insure and repair. finally rusted beyond repair sill and wheel arches late 2000 RIP.
Owned for more than 5 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed January 2002.
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All the tossers who come here saying Novas are crap know nothing.The Nova has been a a great car from start to finish.The GTE is the best engine of all because it uses Bosch engine management instead of the Multec used on the GSi's.For style and looks though the GSi is the best.Im a mechanic and belive me,Vauxhalls are the best mass produced cars to come out of Britain.Fords are complete garbage.They have the worst engines ever made(CVH) dont buy one unless you like smoke,noisey big ends,oil consumption and blocked breather pipes. If your thinking of buying a Nova you cant go wrong,the only bad points on them are the rear arches and cams on the 1.2 engines otherwise a great little car for the money.
Owned for more than 5 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed November 2001.
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I am a 16 year old girl who has driven since the age of 14 and a nova is the best for money there is pleanty that you can do with them and id advise anyone to buy 1.
Never owned
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed July 2001.
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the fiat 500 is a pile of sh*t and must be avoided at all costs p.s any one want to buy a blue fiat 500 good condition £1,500 ono
Never owned
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed June 2001.
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Gsi is a cool little car. Cheap to run, reliable and nippy. Quite rare now to get a good one. Most have been ranted. Beware, Gsi interior is expensive. Especially to replace individual items. NB. Glove box lid, £70 [Log in to view email]
Owned for 4 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed March 2001.
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H reg bought new only breakdown due to debris in petrol! Touch wood.
Owned for more than 5 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed January 2001.
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I Have a Jreg Nova 1.4 sr and it was perfect with a webber airfilter until I needed a new Carbirator because the automatic choke broke, I then found that the existing carb was a 1.6 cavalier one so I bought a Brand New webber carb 1.4 and it goes like a rocket with a webber airfilter direct instead of 400 for the original bought from vauxhall direct. Trust me it shifts, top speed 130 mp GENUINE and it is just slower than a new 106 peugeot GTI thats had a conversion kit.!!! I recommend that you do it. The distrubutor cap is shit, so get a good one.
Owned for 3 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed November 2000.
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I have a 1990 Opel Corsa 1.4l GT, from Portugal. It's a very nice little car, with very good performance. The 5th gear is Overdrive, so its a bit boring but it's good for fuel consumption. Anyway it does 0-100km/h in 9 secs flat, and 200km/h top speed. It's also very strong, supporting our swiss cheese roads in Portugal...
This cars been an absolute twat, But! The first problem i had was the fuel line split I just put £30 worth of petrol in it and got it home (2 miles) and i had a quarter of a tank left i only wet two miles down the road! Next i had Rust where i pulled off the side borders i discovered a luvly piece of rust both sides right on the arch...Thats not all i then took out my uvly bus wheel Which is standard with al Merits 1.2 I put in a Cav GSi wheel but i Damaged the thread whilst doin so another £30 Then the fuel lie on the carbs split but it's sooo close from bein in Fast car it's been in revs and nova perfomance But it's bloody rapid for a 1.2 it has a k&n bolt on an im runnin it off a set of 1.4Sr twin choke carbs not bad for a 17yr old eh?
My nova is only a 1.2 but god its fast!! 200 km/ph!
Owned for 6 months.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed April 2000.
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Very Reliable. Ugly car, very slow and rusts like hell!
Never owned
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed April 2000.
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all novas should have 2litre 16 valve turbos put in them and renault clio bumpers on them
Never owned
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed April 2000.
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Owned for 1 year.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed April 2000.
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good value for money, 1.3 is faster then a 1.8 sierra, GSI very fast. One of the best small cars of its time.
Owned for 2 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed February 2000.
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I own a Nova GSI and its great, although the handling could do with being a bit better.I had 205 1.6gti before this although it was faster the build quaily was crap my GSI IS FOR SALE BARGAIN £3295 black FSH 70000 miles
Owned for 1 year.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed December 1999.
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I've got a vauxhall nova 1.4 sr which i bought early 1998 and since the i havent looked back.i did have a 1.0 L and that was just as fast as any 1.2 model of another make. I've always found novas to be fast for their engine size. I love novas so much i recently persuaded my mate to part with his hard earnt cash to buy a mint 1.2 .It has 62000 miles and absolutely flies .not as quick as my sr though i hasten to add . I am currently selling my sr and am on the look out for a g or h reg gte they are the dogs B!"£$%^s.Any of u who are selling a gte in good nick for around £1500 email me at [Log in to view email]
Owned for 1 year.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed September 1999.
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I have owned an F reg. Nova 1.6i GTE for six years and even though I have now bought a BMW coupe, I still have the Nova - Why ??- Its mint, Fun, Feels good to drive, looks good, and more importantly, there isnt anything that can go wrong with it that you cant sort out in a day. Its excellent, and like most, is worth much more to its owner than it is on paper. My advice to potential buyers - Only probs with Novas in general - Rusty rear arches - I beleive this was a design fault. - rattly cams on older thrashed novas, rear bumpers jumping off their clips at the sides (I reccoment a concealed self-tapper for this !)
Owned for more than 5 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed June 1999.
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A lovely little motor, as they might say in the car trade! This was my first car - a B reg 1.0 which I had from 95 to just recently. I had it with 29000 on the clock (yep, 29 - inherited from my grandfather who didn't do much mileage and had had it from nearly new) until 60000, and in that time never had too much grief. Various odd problems (design features, I fear) such as the white emulsion goo that would build up in the rocker cover breather hose and choke the engine if left to build up (this could be cured by using the air inlet temperature flap in cold weather.) Once I had the carb cleaned about 3 times in quick succession due to "bits" getting into it. Oh, and a 4th time I did myself which was one of the jets. Just goes to show garages can be no !"£$%^ use!
Nothing serious ever at MOT apart from the last one which required a re-whelding of one rear wheel arch (£40). Mind you, it had been baaad for a long time. Had to have the headlights adjusted 3 years running. Couldn't understand why until I was washing it one day and realised the lamp wobbled under the sponge - the fixed lug had broken so the lamp was wobbling between the two adjusters. God knows why no-one spotted that - fixed it myself for the cost of a self-tapping screw!
Overall a great, fun car. Learnt a lot about car workings from it. Great performance from a 1L engine at speed and good handling (though improved immensly by new shocks at 50K) - only flaw is the engine design's 30 years old (used in the Viva I understand) and so needs a bit of care and attention (though it only ever failed to start once). Cheap insurance, 4 years no-claims £145. Cheaper than the tax disk!!!
Vauxhall garages are a waste of space though, except the parts desks that must stipulate "genuine interest in cars essential" as one of the employement criteria.
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