Could you drive a relatively ancient car like any other daily driver? Well, given current interest rates, there’s a strong inclination to do so, especially when the vehicle in question would be dirt cheap to own and maintain. This 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity Wagon has under 60,000 original miles on the clock and looks like a classic grandma special, with no evidence of wanton neglect or years’ of outdoor storage. The Celebrity is listed here on craigslist for a reasonable $3,650.
Do I want to drive a Chevy Celebrity every day? Absolutely not. Do I understand being compelled to do so? Yes. These were decent cars as long as you ignored the build quality and and low-rent materials. Of course, standards were different in the 1980s and I doubt most new car shoppers who were seriously considering a Celebrity were worried about soft-touch dash materials and whether or not the sound deadening was thicker than a mailing envelop, but those things to matter to buyers today. Check out the original head unit!
Seeing this Celebrity wagon brings back memories of the car my grandmother had, which was near identical to this one. I don’t believe she sprung for the rare VR edition with the slick body kit and wheels, but I recall it being well-equipped for the time. It did, however, meet its demise due to an engine fire, which I wasn’t old enough at the time to know whether Consumer Reports had previously flagged as an issue. She proceeded to buy a Volvo 240 wagon, which was a purchase she specifically avoided until after my grandfather had passed away.
The interior of the Celebrity is in excellent shape past the dash as well, with clean bench seating. I thought these came with a rear-facing jump seat, but I could be imagining that. Quality control aside, I do miss the days of domestic brands making wagons in almost every size configuration, and the imports producing smart runabouts with sliding doors and manual transmissions. It seems those days are gone, but you can certainly relive the past with a Celebrity as clean as this one. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Todd K. for the find.
A friend found an ’89 Celebrity sedan in similar shape and attempted to use it as a daily driver. The reality of daily-driving a 34-year-old car was not as appealing as expected. The original electrical and mechanical components were well beyond their expected life span, so the car broke down frequently. It was not a vehicle he could depend on.
I tried warning BF readers of that before and was soundly reprimanded by another reader. Check the date code on those tires carefully, if they were replaced it was probably long ago. You know it’s going to need shocks/struts and all fluids changed. Just keep that in mind when making an offer. My wife had a 1988 wagon that caught fire in 1990 inside the garage. I went into the garage to finish some work and discovered it, pushed it out and called 911.
I have an ’86 Buick Century wagon that I’ve owned for 7 years. This year I thought I should probably change the tires out, thinking they were probably 10 years old. Turned out they were 19 years old! I got the car from the original owner, and it is a rarity here (Alberta, Canada) because most of them have long rusted away.
I drive a ‘73 Olds 98 as a daily and it still has its original shocks and struts and they’re great. I do concur that fluids should always be changed, but that’s true of a car even 5 years old.
Agreed. Twenty years ago I would have been all over this car as a potential daily. These A-bodies were about some of the best cars Detroit was cranking out at the time, if you could tolerate the lousy interior fit-and-finish compared to their Japanese counterparts. They’re easy to service and the parts are stonkin’ cheap and available everywhere.
Today, not so much. For a DD I think I’d want something from at least the 1990s that had airbags and ABS, and was able to keep up with modern interstate traffic, i.e. didn’t come from the era of the national 55mph speed limit.
This car would be nice to take to a car event because it’d be the only one there. Some Gen-X’er will probably remember his mom had one. Keep it as a weekend cruiser, or for runs to Costco or the garden center, for stuff that won’t fit in your Prius.
When I met my wife, she had a Beretta GT with this engine.
We kept it for several years,until I seemed to be working on it way too much. The biggest issue was ignition-related, as the Hall-Effect electronics bolted to the block behind the radiator began misdirecting sparks.
Fixed that issue once, but when the cat began overheating again less than a year later, I deleted the BGT from our rolling stock.
I bought a used Chevy Celebrity with 2.8 V6 and nearly every member of my family drove it at one time or another. Great car as long as you remembered it was just basic transportation. Sold it for $500 after using it for several years and putting many miles on it.
Well at least the dealer is almost honest, they say it won’t last. The new owner will have no excuse…there are plenty of extended car warranty companies out there but that means at least one of the times they will actually need to answer the spam call.
Bought mine in Dec 1989 with a little over 50k. Added another 90k plus over next 8-years. Was a 6-passenger CL Estate with the 2.8 MPFI V6. One of the best cars I ever owned and by far the most comfortable for my 6’6″ self. I got $200 bucks for it and watched them drive it another 2-years. Indestructible
I’m going to guess that the dealer gave something like $200 for this and is just trying to see if someone will buy it thinking that’s it’s a classic. If so, it will be a nice flip.
If there are no takers they will break even with at the junkyard.
The dealership probably has $500-$1000 in buying the car. Likely hasn’t spent any money other than cleaning. We may not know. Between the market and sentimentality the price will be determined. I’ve seen lots of grandparents cars get run into the ground the past few years.
Head unit? You mean radio?
Same thing.
Decent car in it’s day, but I agree with the above who said it cannot be reliable due to it’s age. And in 1986, fuel injection wasn’t all that reliable yet. Only one or two years before, that car came with a carburetor. My parents had an 87 Celebrity wagon, and apart from having to replace the PROM and the steering rack, it lasted a long time. Of course, it had the alligator cracking all over the hood and roof. It would be neat to see the car, and maybe ride in it, but I’d pass. Just not collectible or exciting in any way.
Had that exact car that I bought new. It was the worst car I ever owned. As others said, prepare to spend more than the cost of it just to keep it on the road. Would make a great sleeper for the homeless down by the river…haha
Ho hum. Another appliance that hasn’t been quite used up yet. I wouldn’t give over $1000 for it if I was walking. Good luck finding parts, especially electronics. Would have been better if it was a carburetor car, you might be able to use pieces from other GM vehicles with the same engine to keep it going. As is, one sensor could kill it.
I know nothing of the Chevy Celebrity as a car to own and drive. But I bought a 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis with 29,000 miles and have used it as a daily driver ever since. It now has 359,000 miles, and the original drivetrain is fine and smooth and burns no oil. Very low/minimal on repairs. On the Grand Marquis of that time, watch out for electronic door locks, power windows, and the driver-side windshield wiper-arm. The air-conditioning works for ever, and NO problems with the fuel injection. The audio-cassette is sometimes intermittent on the left channel, and the special key screw-on imitation wire-wheel hubcaps are a pain. But at least I do not sit at the shoulder of the highway 870 miles from home with my flashers on, because some esoteric computer-chip suddenly died on me, and I do not need a new education to learn how to operate it! I am of an age where this is a normal car for me — and if my Mercury were on its way out, I could be tempted by this little Chevy wagon of similar vintage. One carp about these “downsized” post ’70s cars: the low profile means thst every SUV blocks my vision, and climbing up-out of one of these at my age is getting to be an arthritic chore.
Contradicting the naysayers, this was a very important car, history-wise. Oh sure, FWD has become the standard of the industry, but back in the early 80s, it was uncharted territory, for US cars, that is. By todays standards, it’s horribly antique, but FWD did have some advantages, and the Celebrity led the charge. Stout RWD fans, like me, thought, “oh, this FWD thing will never fly, it’s engine, trans, driveshaft and rear drive axle”, like God intended. A passing fad, or so we thought. We, in Milwaukee, never saw a FWD Rambler and didn’t need any. It seemed it was a half baked attempt to rival the imports, and it did. Many, like my old man, couldn’t fathom the thought of the front wheels propelling the car, and early FWDs had a thing called drive steer(?) that caught many off guard, something I believe the Asians knew all about. Say what you will, GM sold over 2 million, so it was a very popular car. It was a car that signaled change was on the horizon, like it or not. Someone called me out saying at a gathering, a used Celebrity got most of the attention,,,really? More like “dad, what the heck is this”, and not for it’s historical value. Like my old man, asiide from the mini-vans, FWD never did anything for me, I guess I just had to accept, the RWD would be relegated to new Challengers, Mustangs and such, but for most, they had no idea what wheels moved the car, it was what was offered, take it or leave it. Apparently over 2 million took it.
As usual Howard your facts are right and your philosophy civilized and sound, thank you.
“early FWDs had a thing called drive steer(?) “
I believe you’re thinking of “torque steer”, which is commonly caused by the driveshafts in a FWD car being of unequal length. Car makers have gotten better at designing around it so it’s not as much of a problem.
I have an ’87 El Camino I purchased a year ago & it makes a great part time daily driver. I drive it all over & make longer trips in it. It has required some minor refreshing of mechanical components but nothing major.
Saying that however, I am going to bump the cam in the 305 to give it a bit more power but keeping the single exhaust and other stock features. I don’t want it to be a “performance” car. I enjoy the great mileage I get from it. About 23 -25 mpg on the road.
The dealer also lists it as having power windows/locks. Just take a look at the door photo…….
Rich, upon your observation and recommendation, I actually went to both the Craigslist and the dealers actual website and neither mentions power windows & locks. Not sure what you were looking at, but see for yourself: https://www.rosevilleauto.net/details/used-1986-chevrolet-celebrity/97981634
That’s a sharp eye you’ve got there.
I found these to be pleasant cars, an improvement over what went before, but in a smaller package, which was the goal in those days. I haven’t driven one lately but was issued a U.S. government Celebrity in New Jersey around 1991. I liked that the car was quite compact — a downsized version of the also-good, downsized rear drive mid-sized GMs (Malibu, etc, 1978-8?), efficient packages in all ways, which is what the market wanted. I liked that the 4-cyl. engine in my government car was quiet at highway speeds, unexpectedly so at that time. Despite the trim size, the ride lived up to GM standards, which was one of the feats of downsizing — make small cars comfortable. I always hint that maybe we don’t need so much power; I know I’m in the wilderness on this but I’m really talking to young people who hear all the time that the more power the better and that’s all folks. But seriously, antique cars can be left out of the horsepower race, Whoever buys this Celebrity will find it goes right along, quite comfortably, and looks more cheerful than the current crop of cars.
I had a ’85 Celebrity Eurosport wagon and I loved it. I miss station wagons!
It’s a rough car in person. I took a look at it a few months ago on their lot and it sure doesn’t look anything like the pics show it. I personally wouldn’t pay over $1000 for it and then I would be scratching my head asking why I just did that. It was a big pass for me
We had one of these in our collection of fleet vehicles at Garrett LAX back in 1990. It was adequate to haul a couple mechanics and some smaller repair components to other regional airfields for repairs to our customers aircraft. However, once I had the authority, I sold it at blind bid to any interested employees in ’93 as it was already starting to become unreliable at 50K miles.
I had a 86 Eurosport 4 door that I bought with a salvage title. It never broke down but it was just a terrible car. Years later I bought a well used $300 85 Eurosport as a winter beater and it was a great car. Always started, everything worked, even the AC. When the body got too rusty I sold it to an old guy (probably my age now) who fiberglassed and undercoated the bottom of the doors and drive it a few more years.
I never thought I would see one of these on Barn Finds. I had one of these wagons as a company car when I worked as a field rep for a magazine company. It was my job to make sure that all of the supermarkets and convenience stores had an ample supply of magazine racks to display our product.
I hated that job, but it was amusing to drive the “RackMobile” through the Greater Boston traffic – LOL!
I’d be worried that the Iron Duke engine could get up to highway speed quickly enough. All the highways by me are 65 mph roads. Most people drive 80 though. The fit & finish wouldn’t bother me. I think I would need to raise the radio volume up high enough to drown out the noises coming from the engine.
Bench seats in cloth would be cooler in temperature than the traditional vinyl bench seats.
No one mentions this but the car was built when smoking was more common. This car has a “smokers package” as standard equipment. The ashtray if I remember right was large enough to accommodate a carton of butts.
The other is the hood is big enough to accommodate all your friends when the car breaks down.
Just curious why you would mention the “Iron Duke” in your comment when this particular vehicle has a 2.8 V-6 engine.
I posted my comment too early. I saw the link later to the fact that you were right. I correct my comment that this vehicle does not have the iron duke engine. Thank you Gary for correcting my mistake.
My parents had an 87 celebrity wagon with the rear facing seat and 2.8 L engine with that euro sport package. It wasn’t half bad car we drove it for 120,000 miles and then sold it to a buddy of mine who got it for $1200 from us and drove it another 390,000 miles on top of the 120 it had already I would love to have that car again I love the rear facing seat. I remember riding back there and having lotta good times back there man I missed that car. I learned to drive in it and just had an overall great time with that car, I’d love to own it again
are these people like jeff paid to spot cars like this. that no body cares about car lot find is the lot dealer a friend of his ? what is next a clunker in the field find , or maybe behindthe garage , or back yard, come on man
MR HANEY: 32 comments later and you have to ask why this is featured here? Not everything is going to appeal to everyone, so take my suggestion and stop wasting your time viewing and commenting on something that doesn’t interest you and move on.
Right on PRA4SNW! This car may not be an exotic or muscle car but for some of us it brings back memories. I owned 2 of these cars and they were great cars, not rocket ships, but great transportation loaded with great memories. I guess some people don’t get it. Hey PRA, it will be a great ski season this year, I think this Celebrity will fit the skis, ski bags, poles, and all the necessary gear just fine.
T
Had an 85 4cyl CL sedan. Comfortable, but the OD auto would grind and clunk everytime OD would engage (dealer: “they all do that.”) Traded for non GM after 2 yrs for new set of 80s workmanship issues! Trading dealer never solved the grind/clunk…