These old Chevrolets make GREAT used car bargains!

I drove a white 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity for two and a half years, and still consider it one of the best cars that I've ever owned, despite a few problems! It was cheap to purchase, went through all types of Michigan weather, and was very reliable the whole time.

My example was a four door model with a 2.8 V6 engine and an automatic transmission. The engine ran flawlessly, and started instantly hot or cold every time. The carburetor was one of the smoothest and most efficient ones that I've ever encountered, and provided excellent performance and outstanding fuel economy. From a standing start, or when passing on the freeway, this car accelerated hard and cruised along quietly and effortlessly. To put it into perspective, I also owned a 1986 Monte Carlo SS at the same time that I owned this car, and the Celebrity felt much quicker around town!

The transmission shifted crisp and smooth every time, and never missed a beat. GM seems to have some magic formula when it comes to building automatic transmissions, because I have only had ONE fail on me, and that was after years of abuse and drag racing in an older Monte Carlo! The Celebrity went into gear quietly and shifted as it should.

The seats in my Celebrity were vinyl benches front and rear, and I did not expect too much from them when I first acquired the car. After one long road trip, I was sold on them! After spending several hours behind the wheel, I got out of the car feeling as if I'd simply been sitting in a favorite seat for a few minutes! The comfort of these seats were incredible! The rest of the interior was very nice and laid out well, also. Only the headliner, which fell and was pulled out of the car, ever presented an issue inside of the car!

The trunk was spacious and allowed me to carry a full sized spare, some tools, and lots of oil easily with room for more cargo as needed. The lower portion of the doors had rusted badly, but oil leaks and undercoating kept the rest of the body nearly rust free! The windshield leaked a bit in rainy weather, and that was a minor annoyance as well.

Driving through snow deep enough to rub on the floorpan was still not enough to stop this little trooper in the worst of winters! I never once got stuck, and drove through snow, slush, mud and rain with complete confidence in the car's handling at all times!

The only problem that really bugged me about this car were the fluid leaks! The power steering, transmission, and oil all leaked, and needed to be checked and filled often! Transmission fluid only needed to be added about once a month, and power steering fluid maybe once every two weeks, but those awful oil leaks were the worst of all! The engine leaked oil from about everywhere that it COULD, and I gave up trying to fix the leaks! The more the car was driven, the more it leaked! On the freeway, it would blow through several quarts on a three hundred mile trip, making frequent stops to re-fill the oil pan a must! If this car was not so comfortable, reliable and pleasant to drive, I would have sold it far sooner!

I used this car frequently while working as a security officer, and it was a great vehicle for that purpose! It was comfortable, economical and reliable. Spending eight to ten hours on some sites in this car was not at all a problem! It was very quiet and ran like a champ everyday.

Given the chance to purchase another one of these cars, I'd do it in a minute! They are low priced, and offer many great features for the money! If not for the oil leaks, I'd say the car was 100% perfect!