1981 Chevrolet Citation 2.8L from North America

Summary:

Aaarrrggghhh!!!

Faults:

You turn left, it'd stall. You turn right, it'd stall. Press on the gas, it'd stall. Press on the brake, it'd stall. Shifting from Park to Drive, dropped into gear violently (BANG!), and stall. Shifting from Park to Reverse, dropped into gear violently (BANG!), and stall. Shifting from Neutral to Drive, dropped into gear violently (BANG!), and stall. Had to drive 2-footed just to change direction!

Dash lights like to flash and dance periodically.

Needed a carburator that was worth more than the car. Filled up every 2 days!!

Rusted as if GM put a UV catalyst in the paint! Fenders and quarter panels became wavy from UV.

Useless vertically mounted radio.

At one point the tranny steamed out all of its ATF out of every orifice like a tea kettle.

Had to silicone a window shut, kept flopping down.

Dash was all dried out and handles started breaking off in my hand!!

General Comments:

Piece of crap car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 20th May, 2001

20th May 2001, 14:40

In my opinion any car that gets 200,000 miles can't be that bad.

24th May 2001, 15:35

Unless it's a Citation.

25th Jul 2001, 15:06

The stalling was a "feature" on my dad's new Citation in 1980, but it was fixed by the dealer (I believe that GM issued a technical service bulletin on the stalling problem). Perhaps the previous owner (s) of your car never had this checked.

Once the stalling problem was fixed, the car ran very reliably until I totalled it in 1989. At the time of my accident the car had 120,000 miles and was still running strong.

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1981 Chevrolet Citation X-11 2.8 litre H.O. V6 from North America

Summary:

A great underrated toy

Faults:

Replaced both drive axles.

Replaced the water pump.

Installed a new battery.

Major tune-up.

Installed new tires.

General Comments:

I love this car. It's the second X-11 and fifth Citation I've owned.

Super motor, runs very strong, shifts well and is REALLY trouble free for a 20 year old car. Never uses any oil.

Still has original paint, interior, and decals. All it took was cleaning and a wax job to make it look almost new!

Very practical, hatchback and fold down seat make it haul like a wagon.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd May, 2001

9th May 2001, 16:20

As I said, this is the 5th Citation I've owned, and all of them have been good cars. Sorry you must have had such a bad experience with one. Everybody gets a lemon now and then.

-Mike.

24th May 2001, 10:59

99.9% of Citations are Lemons!!!

24th May 2001, 11:01

The Buick Skylark was a much more reliable and better looking version of this car!!!

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1981 Chevrolet Citation V6 from North America

Summary:

Cheap to buy, expensive to run

Faults:

What hasn't?

Steering was rough from the beginning.

Interior fell apart including radio dials, window cranks, glove box, and cigarette lighter.

Turn signal never worked, even after being fixed it would be broken by the next day.

Warning lights never worked right.

Horn was fixed many times but kept going out.

Hatchback never sealed unless slammed hard.

Modulator plate went out twice.

Many more that I don't have time to type.

General Comments:

It was a money pit. The only reliable Chevy's from the early 80s are the higher end ones. It cost 10 times more to keep it running in the years I owned it than it did to buy the car itself. I couldn't afford a new car in those years so I had no choice but to live with it. And this car was babied all its life.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 19th April, 2001

9th Aug 2002, 00:31

All of these problems you had were recalled by the dealer. I guess the first owner never took the car in to get them fixed. --Shawn832000.

17th May 2006, 16:20

I own a citation at this moment, the same year aswell. The only problem that I have with it is the radio not working, and I am in the process of fixing it right now.

1981 Chevrolet Citation 2.5 from North America

Summary:

A reliable, comfortable, ugly car

Faults:

Powersteering line.

Drive boots.

Other normal repairs.

General Comments:

This little car is built like an iron horse. It keeps going and going. GM did a good job in engineering it (except for the exterior).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th December, 2000

31st Jan 2001, 12:11

You are one of the few lucky ones.

21st Apr 2001, 20:38

Few Lucky ones?

If you neglect your car, it will fail on you. No matter what it is.

-CK.

24th May 2001, 11:00

And if you pamper a CItaion, it will fail on you.

28th Sep 2001, 16:46

Sounds like you had a bad experience. My '81 Citation has been the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. When my wife's new Suburban is at the repair shop, it's the Citation that saves the day!

-Massey1974.

9th Aug 2002, 00:24

And if you pamper a Citaion, it will fail on you?

If you pamper a Citaion LIKE YOU SHOULD ANY CAR it will burn rubber at each stop you make. Only a few of us know what a citation or X-11 really is and CAN do. IF you don't like the looks of a citation then get the 81-85 X-11 performance package. --Shawn83200.