1996 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Consumer Reviews

For a very long time, I wanted one of these. A neighbor of mine had '94 caprice and for years I would stare at his caprice with envy whenever he passed by. I work for an auto parts company and one day when I was delivering parts to a dealer who buys from us, I saw that very car in the lot as the man had just recently traded it in. The next day, I was driving that car after trading in my '98 dodge dakota. It was the middle of winter and my old man was ticked off because I traded a 4x4 for a rwd that was 4 years older. Long story, make it short, I showed him and everyone around me that I'm not crazy and that this car acts like a tank in the snow. Ok I'll stop putting you to sleep with the back story and actually review this boat. My particular specimen is the sedan model with the 4.3 V8 and I have had it for about a year and a half. When I first got her, she had about 107K miles and needed some work. The distributor cap and rotor needed to be replaced and honestly I don't care for the location of said parts but hopefully I wont have to fix those again as long as I own it. Things like the fuel filter, brakes, and tie rod ends I consider to be average basic maintenance so I can't really gripe about that. After all that was done, I have gone several months without having to do anything but fill the gas tank and change the oil. What I particularly enjoy about it is how simple it is to work on. Open the hood and the contents are very straight forward with all the parts in easy reach not to mention replacement parts are quite inexpensive. The serpentine belt replacement required a 15mm wrench and 5 minutes of my time. the thermostat is right on top of the water pump and took less than 10 minutes to replace. When it comes to driving the beast, I feel like I'm king of the road as its size commands respect on the highway and around town. After replacing the center steering link, idler arm and a tie rod end, it handles very smooth for being as big as it is. I often feel like I'm driving a living room on wheels as the cushy suspension eliminates the shock of any bumps or dips on the road. This land yacht is extremely fun to drive and I don't have to worry about flipping over while cornering. The interior is quite nice with only a few minor gripes. The so called "cup holder" in the pull-out console where the ash tray is located is nothing to brag about and could hardly hold onto a paper dixie cup. Alas a very minor inconvenience that was easily fixed with an aftermarket console. With a split bench seat in the front, I was able to rush myself and 5 of my friends with all our luggage in the trunk to the bus depot and not only arrive on time but in comfort and style. I plan on taking it on my next vacation to Baltimore, MD and I feel as if I can with the confidence that it will get me there and back without issues. As it is now, I have about 128K on the car and I anticipate to get another 100K or maybe even more. When it all comes down to the knitty gritty, GM did something right when they made this car as the Cities of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and many others who used them as police fleet will tell you. Over all, I would very highly recommend this car. It's practical, cheap, reliable, VERY safe and with the proper care and maintenance, a very long lasting ride.