Faults:
Transmission had a bad leak, failed totally at 159 000 Km.
Rear brake calipers would not adjust properly.
Severely rusted body, especially around wind shield, frame rusted away near back of car.
Brake lines rusted through, fuel lines rusted, gas tank rusted out.
Wires for power windows broke inside conduit between door frame and door.
Could not eliminate vibration from front end of car.
Gear shift linkage wore out making selecting a gear difficult.
Rapid wear of tires, despite having wheels aligned properly.
Replaced power window switches, power door lock switches.
Driver's seat clunked.
Difficult to keep warm inside in winter.
General Comments:
It is hard to say if the problems experienced were due to the manufacturer or the previous owner, although the car had a lot of rust for its age, especially on the chassis.
When it worked, it was a great car to drive, but it was frequently in for repair.
There was plenty of room for front and rear passengers, ride was a bit hard for a luxury car, but it did handle nicely. Great highway cruiser, but very hard on gas.
This car had the engine that would automatically shut off two or four cylinders or run on all eight, depending on the speed and driving conditions. This feature actually worked quite well and the car could hold highway speed on only 4 cylinders. You could not feel the cylinders cut in or out, this feature was certainly well engineered.
It was a beautiful car, nicely styled, great dashboard and interior. Things just kept on going wrong, and luckily I could fix the car myself and was able to get a few years of use out of it. Unfortunately, the body had rusted heavily, and by the time the transmission gave out, the car was not worth repairing.
Performance from the engine was adequate, but for a six liter, I would have expected a lot more power.
The electronics and computer operated systems did not have any trouble.
I would consider another one for a frame up restoration.
5th Dec 2004, 00:07
My '82 seville is a 350 diesel engined version, and it is damn slow. However, I bought it because it was a diesel and it will get 30mpg- about double what I am led to believe the petrol engined ones average. I miss the performance of a big petrol V8 but fuel prices were becoming an issue. whereas you can run a diesel engine on cooking oil!