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looking ot buy one of these. Had one offered for 500.00 (M resg 1.8 80000 miler) it seems an ideal Battlebus replacement. The only fault of any note is the Airbag warning light. It stays on. Any ideas ? Is this an MoT faliure ?
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Can't help about the air bag light, but in our household we have a 1994 1.8, bought three years ago for £1,700, it has given excellent service on a daily basis. I did suggest recently it was time for a change and was shouted down by the rest of the family who say they really like driving it and don't want to see it go!
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Go for it !
Don't forget £500 is the cost of a major service on some cars !
Wasn't the Cavalier Used Car of the Year recently ?
I had a 1.8 L reg, very economical and cheap to run. All servicing can be done at home, or very cheaply at an ind garage. EG new clutch can be done in situ in less than an hour - in the old and new Vectra it's an engine out job.
Don't know about the airbag light however - you'd be right to get it checked out first....
Steve
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The airbag light staying on will fail the MOT. A dealer should be able to reset it for you. The airbag light can sometimes be misleading as the fault can actually be traced to the seatbelt pretensioners. Pluging in an ECU reader should identify the fault.
The only other things to watch out for is that it's had it's cambelt changed, and check for rust around the rear arches - especially down near the rear doors.
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Of course, being a Cav, it *will* rust on the back arches sooner or later, no way around it. On the other hand, for £500, who cares if it only lasts two years?
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Looked at two today. One was a 92 L 1.6 with 100k on it. Garage sale wanted 975 quid, finally settled for 900 with cam belt, new tyres and an MoT for a year. This car had a disturbing spot of rust on the top of the windscreen frmae, and a misted up inside. However an ex client called at the Office with the M plater. This seems quite genuine, an ex Network Q car, 500.00 and seems spotless. Oct MoT and Tax. No apparnat blemishes. Tame mech will check it on Monday for me.
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One was a 92 L 1.6 with 100k on it. Garage sale wanted 975 quid
That seems a tad pricey for an 11yr old base model Cav.
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And rust at the top of the windscreen frame sounds very dodgy. I might be wrong but that, and a misted up inside, suggests water leaks and badly repaired structural damage. Plus, £900, even if it is ready to go, doesn't exactly seem that cheap although I suppose it's not too bad from a dealer.
92L? Presumably you mean 93L, post facelift, with an airbag, rather than 92J or K, which would probably be pre facelift and definitely wouldn't have the airbag.
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Airbags don't come into the MOT test yet. Even a vehicle where the seat belt pre-tensioners have already been activated (shown by their indicator) will pass.
Seems a bit odd compared with the requirement for ABS to work when two otherwise identical cars with different trim specs (ie. LX vs SX) will have one with ABS and one without.
MM
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Deal has been done. Seller will even take a cheque. Mech guru says that he would have had it had he known of it. He's now going to weld a steel document box in the boot for when we visit "those" areas. Only drawback is I insure it for class 1 busines use with 6 named drivers and its going to cost me 198 quid fully comp !
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Airbags don't come into the MOT test yet.
I stand corrected. Sorry for any confusion Pug ;o)
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Delivered tonight. Drives as sweet as a nut, is totally rattle free. Gear change a bit stiff (compared to the mellow old Toyota and BMW's). Car very clean inside and out. No grubbiness under the bonnet. General chacks made. Booked into local Vaux. Dealer for a cam belt change (£69.00) tken there for a 12 month warranty
on the work and a perhaps a poke about the air bag issue. Everything else works on it including its Grundig radio which has a wicked bass - Oh yeas and a real, visible engine, something that can actually be worked on. Book it in tomorrow for a cheapie oil change in a Fast fit joint - fully synthetic of course.
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I could very likely be wrong - but I seem to recall people posting on this site that fully synthetic for a worn or low-performance engine is not such a good idea.
Do remember that there is a cavalier owners site cavweb. or something similar, which is referred to in someone signature. Cant be bothered to do a search for you!
** HJ Backroomers - ADD your photo albums at:
groups.msn.com/honestjohn/shoebox.msnw
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The airbag warning light on my 1.7LSTD turned out to be a faulty alternator and a relatively big bill - one of those silly things really because the car seemed to work fine nonetheless. Later found out that the cause could have been a phillips alarm system which was fitted before I bought the car and which I no longer use.
Splodgeface
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Thanks both. Mech guru suggested the alternator. The battery seems original..... His words were "don't crash the b***** thing !"
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Latest. Went for an oil change at the local Nat. Tyres place. Predicted £15.00 oil and filter change. Also invested in a set of front tyres at £45.00 per cover. (Front Offside was badly mauled on the inside). Cam belt change booked for Friday. Belt will cost £18.00 plus about 2 hours of fitting - cash deal at around £30.00. Sold the old battlebus yeaterday with 2 months MoT
for £150.00. So still in line for a profit on the initial £500.00
spent on the Cav. Took it to the pub tonight, SWMBO drove it home and declared it a fit and proper car. Document "safe" ready to be welded in the boot, cost £25.00. Nether regions were solid and removal of wheels revealed a set of newish disks and pads. Starting to like it.....
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Sounds good PU, if it's any help a colleague still runs around in a 93L 1.8LS hatch, just gone round 300,000 miles! Which ain't bad for a petrol...
Dave.
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Went for a belt change last night. Lo and behold the Mech guru declared it had only just had one and had a new water pump to boot (Fresh paint marks at TDC and date stamped belt- good idea) The belt was changed anyway and cost £38.00 cash. Its interior was thorourghly cleaned today and will go about its new duties on Monday. BMW hasn't been used since Monday....He did mention an interesting point to check....Just below the front windscreen
panel (benaeth the bonnet) bang in the middle behind the engine lies an oval drainage hose about 4" in length, this is a known issue on Cavs as it blocks with road filth. If this blocks as water builds up in the "windscreen panel" it will drain out through the heater into the footwells - can be nasty.
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Latest Update.
Cooling problems. Noticed it was using water, crack in radiator...new one fitted for £70.00. Still an unfathomable leak, occasionally dropping part of its coolant. Finally ID'd it as a leak at the bottom of the thermostat. Hasn't dropped any since Sunday but today bought a new Thermostat from Halfords for 9.99. Mech guru will fit it for free next week when I fix a computer bug he's having. Previous owner dropped off a new set of plugs for it yesterday he "found" them in his garage, these were changed today just for the hell of it, runs ok.
Otherwise a pleasure to own and drive, has polished up well and does not look too out of place when parked amongst pristine Teutonic types.
Gets left alone in the seedier areas, unlike a Partner's 330csi,
parked in the same street as the Cav was the night before, he had his wipers wrenched off and his lights smashed, but he's too much of a snob to drive the Cav.
So far I reckon its cost the firm about £600.00 (net after the sale of the old battlebus for £150.00)
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by the way called at a Vauxhall dealer (With blanket over head !)
Service Manager reckons Airbag light not a problem, system is safe and offered to let me wait an hour or so to put the fault finder on it but I didn't bother.
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The 3 bolts securing the thermostat top are notorious for shearing. Steel bolts in alloy housing. Be prepared to remove rad to enable you to drill old bolts out!
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Thermostat replaced last night. When it was being put back together found that the (new looking) top hose was the wrong one being oversized for the thermostat outlet. Could this have been the whole problem all along ? Time and a drive inspection later will tell ?
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Before removing suspect bolt arrange a short sharp shock, if you can get at them. A drift and a lump hammer often frees these bolts and allows them to come out. Regards Peter
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still leaks.....new top hose from nearby Vaux. Dealer £12.00. Halfords don't carry them (we get them from the Dealer) neither did nearby motor factors(too many hoses too few shelves)
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If the leak is not too bad why don't you try a bottle of radiator sealant for about £3 & see if it works. If it does carry a gallon of water and another bottle of sealant in your boot in case it re-occurs when you are away from home. Remember, don't put cold water into the radiator if the engine is still very hot.
This may just work and save you money.
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Yes thanks, the car carries a mix and users are supposed to check it in the wheever its first use happens. WIll give up if the new top won't work. At least its a simple job with the thermostat closed (cold).
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Finally solved.(cross fingers). The leak has finally been traced and cured. A £1.55 seal that sits between the Cylinder Head and the Thermostat housing was replaced tonight. The one fitted resembled a 50p piece in shape and was as flat as a flat thing. It had also hardened with age and heat. The replacement was put in - remove cam belt etc to access. It now holds water in a way the CPS wished that one of their cases should have today. Yipee....Yipee.
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Breath held today - went for its MoT - passed cost £37.00 for the test and 1.93 (inc VAT) for an indicator repeater lens and grommet. Inspector offered the firm a grand for it. It will now have an oil change and replacement of a legal but old rear tyre. Cracking car.
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Just a point regarding this excellent model of car, I have a 94 1800, a persistant water leak being its only problem in 10 years was traced after weeks of topping up to the header tank. Its leaks along the seam and is untraceable, I changed mine in desparation as a last hope. They expand when hot and leak, then close up again when cold. Only cost £1 from breakers to cure.
John
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