Faults:

Required a new water pump and alternator at around 100,000 miles.

Locks froze up in winter; had to disable the central locking as it was the only way to open and close the doors if it jammed.

General Comments:

An excellent car and I miss it so much. The 3 years I had it, it proved to be the best all round reliable car I ever had. Apart from the wear and tear mentioned above, and a few cosmetic niggles, this car didn't cause me any problems/breakdowns. Owners of Carltons often say it was the best car they ever had. Mine was already pretty old when I acquired it, but it drove like new.

Performance was adequate from the 2 litre petrol (avoid the 1.8, it was very slow), fuel consumption only averaged 34 MPG, but this was the early 90s remember, so it was acceptable. I've heard the automatic 2 litre version of this car barely gets above 30 MPG, but it's more suited to an auto; this manual version I had didn't feel right on an executive car. With that said, it was an otherwise excellent drive with fine rear wheel drive handling, and a smooth ride. If you are looking for more performance, there were 2.6 and 3.0 straight six engine cars, which I've heard were fast. All were well equipped, with electric windows, leather seats and air con on higher models. The CD version I had was mid-range, but it had air con and cruise control, both of which still worked after 150,000 miles!

So, what more can I say, a great car in its day, and I'd still have one if they still made them. The old cliché is true - they don't make them like they used to. I like and have a more modern car now (BMW 5-series from 2005), but it just doesn't have the charm of the big old Vauxhall.

Faults:

One central locking motor failed. Easy fix, new motor from scrap yard.

No other faults, just usual wear and tear items for UK M.O.T test - Tyres, suspension parts, bulbs.

General Comments:

Just a great car, comfortable, fast, reliable.

Comfort...

Electric windows, mirrors, sunroof, height adjustable steering/seats, unmarked velour interior, all add to great comfort. There are a few other extras, but its only the GL model, I'd prefer the Carlton CDX or Diplomat, they were the top spec.

Fast enough...

2.0i 4 cylinder engine, and about 122 Brake Horse Power. 0-60MPH takes about 9 seconds. Top speed? The 'official' figures say 124MPH...but I got 130MPH out of it (on a track day at Knockhill Racing Circuit of course;)...engine maybe 'loosened up'?!

Reliable...

Very reliable. It's never let me down, fair enough I've only had it one year, and done only 25,000 miles, but the average driver does only 12,000 miles a year (in the UK), and people I know that do that mileage have plenty of problems with thier 'newer better cars'.

Overall...

It returns anything from 31 to 36 on average, or 37 at best miles per gallon, doesn't seem to matter what way you drive it, it'll do what it wants with the fuel consumption! The Carlton is just a great car that goes on to over 200,000 miles providing its been serviced regularly.

Buy one now - they are getting rare, because unfortunately there only real problem seems to be rust, which for some reason is because they were not fully 'galvanized(rust protection)' like most cars built in Germany (although it's a UK Vauxhall badge the Carlton's/Senator's were built in Germany, where the Carlton is the Opel Omega).

A lot of people say they're boring cars - rubbish. It's a Classic, don't care what people say about them! They maybe had a Nova or something and they won't ever like Vauxhall's again!

Faults:

No real faults only general wear and tear. If I had to list faults over the 6 years it would be.

Slight rust above both rear window and front windscreen.

Central locking motor in driver's door needed to be replaced.

General Comments:

This car is magic.

It has now done 255,000 miles, 165,000 by myself and it still feels the same as when I purchased it.

It is extremely comfortable, extremely reliable and economical for a large car, 35+ miles per gallon on a run.

Every year for the past 6 years it has taken my family to either the South of France, Italy or Spain with no problems.