Faults:

The CV joints had worn out badly.

The wheel bearings also wore out a lot as well as the gear box bearings.

The rear position and brake bulbs kept blowing because the holders were of a bad design.

The suspension had worn out a lot.

General Comments:

Very reliable.

Good fuel economy.

Cheap parts.

Easy to maintain and repair.

Strong body, no rust whatsoever.

Saloon model offered big boot.

Faults:

Head gasket blew at 164000 miles.

Only cost £150 to get fixed though.

Automatic choke is inoperative.

Alternator pulley recently started to squeak badly.

Small rust patches around arches, but acceptable as it is 13 years old.

General Comments:

Very reliable car, has never broken down.

Excellent fuel economy, gets around 45mpg.

English car so cheap and easily accessible parts.

Very fast, engine starts to roar around 100mph, so not bad for a 1.4.

Faults:

Well it depends on how you drive it!! If like me, you drive it 'very hard' all the time, then reliability is poor, and the same goes for petrol consumption. Why has Vauxhall developed a car that has a lot of power, but the parts can't take it??? Also the following faults happened:

Head gasket blew twice, once at 90,000 and again 120,000.

Clutch worn at 95,000.

Cracked head at 130,000.

Water pipes blew at 100,000 when I was at Silverstone doing 125mph.

De-cat pipe spilt at 130,000.

But I must admit, it is a little pocket rocket.

General Comments:

Overall, I think this is a good car to start off in, if you want to start modifying a car. Performance parts are affordable, and only affect your insurance slightly.

The person who bought my Nova, has now stripped the entire car, and is starting from scratch, because the engine was shot. That's how hard I drove it. It is costing him 3,500 pounds to rebuild the car with a 2.2 litre engine from a Vectra. 220bhp standard.

I will never go back to a European car. I have just bought a T5 Yaris. If you want power, this is the car to have. 4x4 1.5 VVTi 16v. I can leave a Nova GSi standing off the line. Trust me, try a Japanese car!!

Faults:

Wheel bearings.

Break master cylinder.

These things had already gone when I bought the car and were repaired on its first service.

Nothing else has gone wrong :-)

General Comments:

I bought the Nova a few months before I passed my driving test, the fact that there were so many modifications that could be done to the car and that it is relatively cheap to run attracted me to it.

After repairing the initial faults after buying the car (which cost about £200), the only money I spent was on plugs and oil changes! If you can find a low mileage Nova, I can guarantee you it'll start everyday without fail and never let you down.

As for performance, the 1200 doesn't exactly pack a huge punch. I got 102mph out of it though (with 4 of us in the car!), which is quite impressive for a 62bhp motor. Handling wise, again it's a bit wallowy because of the ride hide. But I'm sure if you dropped it down and added some 15 inch wheels it'd be pretty good.

Inside its pretty tight, leg room front and back is restrictive. Standard seats provide little support and you knock the person in the passenger seats hand every time you change gear. Those irritations apart, the boots not a bad size and you can fold the rear seat flat and it becomes a Nova-van!

Overall I give this car 10/10 for what it is. A really cheap car to get you from A to B practically and cheaply.

Its never going to win any races and its not that comfortable, but it is reliable and great value for money.