Do we dare call this Citation a classic? That might be a stretch, but by definition it is old enough. They were actually quite popular when new too with over a million sold. It may not be exciting, but this Citation appears to be clean and could be a good deal if you’re looking for an affordable “classic”. It’s located in Saint John, Washington and is listed here on craigslist for $800!
Things look great inside! The car has only covered 102k miles and the seller claims that it has been well maintained, so there might be some life left in it. Get a service manual, toolkit, and learn to wrench. With ever raising new car costs, this might be the perfect way to stay out of debt while having some fun doing it.
The seller doesn’t include any photos of the engine, but they do mention that it has the more powerful V6. This was the first year for fuel-injection on the six so that’s a plus or minus depending on how you look at it (and if you own a multimeter). It’s claimed to run and drive perfectly, so unless there’s something we’re missing, I’m not sure how you could go wrong with this cheap classic!
If BF can call a Vega a classic, this is too.
It’s a classic as far as I’m concerned, or at least how I define a classic which is different than how most people define it I’m sure. It’s a 30+ year old car for weekend use and it would draw a crowd at any gas station or big box retailer, that’s a classic all day long for me.
I know these cars have tons if trans issues but I still want one. This looks like a good one, too bad so far.
The way you could go wrong with this is by purchasing it. It’s basically a bigger Chevette. Different platform but the same build quality and “feel.” Had one of these in high school, sandwiched between two Chevettes. Still not sure which was the worst. It’s got to be a sparse day for cool old cars. 3 crapcans in a row.
The Citation was longer and wider than the Chevette which gave it a better ride and handling.
If given the choice between this and an $800 Chevette, I would choose the Citation.
And I would choose the Chevette because RWD and very predictable handling.
And, like you, I had both (as well as a Sprint), so similar points of reference.
You said it disposables best left as a footnote on automotive history.
Two of my neighbors bought these new. A light blue/dark/blue fully loaded 4-door ’80 and a dark green/saddle ’81 2-door hatch. The ’80 had the optional rally wheels and looked sharp. I believe those became standard on the ’81s.
They were very popular and all over town. As I recall, there was a wait list when they came out. The “First Chevy of the ’80s” LOL! The gas crisis and hyper-inflation really made us do silly things.
My overriding memory was how the lower rear seat cushion folded forward so you could put the back rest fully flat. That and the vertical radio.
Not a bad deal IMO.
@Scotty Gilbertson, I agree.
I remember them building these when they opened the OK GM plant. The first one was placed in a building on the state fairgrounds. Heard a few horror stories, but only after they closed the plant
Wow my 🚽 over flowed and this washed up !
I want this so bad 💩😜👀💰
I know that model names are just arbitrary words the majority of the time, but this one has to be up there in the nonsense model name category.
Is this horrid-looking econobox referencing a quote? Has it been subpoenaed to explain its needless existence in a court of law?
By the way, I’ll absolutely concede that $800 for decent-running, basic transportation seems like a fantastic deal for someone.
“Nonsense” might not describe the name of this car, “innapropriate” might be better.
The nonsense title goes to car names like Camaro, which meant nothing in English before being used on a car.
My sister had one, my dad would have been the one to fix it, and I don’t recall him ever having to. But, she drove like an old lady (45mph tops).
I don’t know what was worse…..,changing a starter in a chevette,..
Or changing anything on a Citation…those cars were both tough in thier..
Ways to work on 🤔😀seems like a lot of cars from that era…..died instantly,🙂…..or ran forever and a day..🤔😎….I don’t have many fond memories of these cars….and remember the miles of black spaghetti vacuum lines…and
Hard to reach parts…..😉😁not that i wouldn’t love to have a rwd conversion with a sbc….that would be fun for sure…😎
I would give him $800 for the Ford pickup in the background.
What’s up with the old Ford in the background???
Ran 2 of ’em on paper routes in the early to mid ’90’s with little or no problem at all.
That broad flat floor would hold over 500
Sunday papers without crushing them. The only real problem I found with the tranny was keeping the fluid and filters
changed on a timely basis. As for the
engines, they would run forever when
serviced properly. Never owned any
EFI cars though, both mine were throttle
bodies. The one you show here looks like
one I bought off a regular customer I knew in ’91 save for the rally rims that mine had. Had to do some body work to
this car as it was built in Quebec Canada.
After patching the front floor pans and
tying the hood down with bungee straps
to keep it closed, Mrs. and I logged over
150K miles on routes before the output
shaft on the tranny broke at 325K miles!
Bought a third one after that, but it just
wasn’t the same. Wound up trading it
for something else. If I could do a fly in
drive home, my SIL and I would pick this
one up for sure! What’s not to like? Good
price, great looking car!
Not sure why but I’d drive it
I had the Pontiac version of this, the Phoenix. I bought it well used from my uncle, commuted with it for a few years. It was a very dependable car. I sold it to my sister-in-law, who drove it from Ontario to British Columbia and back.
How can this toad be called a classic? It’s up there with the Nash Ambassador, or Pontiac Aztec!
I had a 1980 and didn’t have many issues with it other than the carburetor. I agree it is hard to work on due to tight access under the hood. But as for as a daily driver it handled great, held the road very well and performed pretty well with decent fuel mileage for the era. The front wheel drive was great in the Midwest snow as well.
I have to say though the first thing that caught me attention was the same as Jimmie that 72 Ford pick up in the background. Looks to be in great shape. I have a 67 that was my Dad’s and would love to restore it.
At least you won’t have to break out the turd buffer for this POS.
Price is right, but a classic? Classic of a time best forgotten maybe.
Looking back on it now, the Chevy Citation tells us an amazing, seemingly almost unbelievable story about GM. It tells us that 15 years after the Chevy Vega fiasco, they still had the gall to look their faithful customers in the eye and sell them one of these.
Equally amazing was the surprise and indignation they expressed when huge numbers of their consumers began buying the foreign makes, many who would never consider buying another GM car ever again.
They managed to sell a million of these? That is really poor consumerism. I wonder what the survival rate on them today is…
Waiting to see somebody shove an L67 powertrain in a Citation, preferably an X11 version -or trim one out- and call It an X67.
I’d love to get my hands on a rare X-11 2-door notchback coupe. V6 and a 4-speed. They were sporty little rides. I love underrated/unappreciated old Chevys.
I had three friends with Citations. One was a basic 4 cyl. stick, the next was a later model 4 cyl. automatic and the third was an X-11.
The basic car was owned by Bob, an ex-pro basketball player. It was the only ‘economy’ car he could find that he could drive without being scrunched up. He kept it for about three years and had only minor problems with it.
The automatic was owned by my boss, who could screw up just about anything mechanical. He once tried to do an oil change and couldn’t get to the filter easily. So… he decided to move a “bracket” that he thought would give him easier access. It was actually a motor mount. It took three men, two floor jacks and two BIG pry bars to get the last bolt back in without resorting to an engine hoist.
The X-11 was a dual purpose car – grocery-getter and autocrosser. I can’t remember what class my friend ran it in, but he had a lot of fun with that car. I also can’t remember him ever complaining about problems.
Do I want one? No, but I think that a lot of the bad press that they get is undeserved. They were a product of the times – times in which quality was AWOL in most American cars.
If barn finds can call a 2001 civic 4 door a future collectible then you can call this a classic!
I think it might be Scotty Gilbertson’s Citation! Craigslist anonymizes the email address, and Scotty is here pimping for it on an article he didn’t write! Proof enough for me! (I’m joking, Scotty.)
This was a terrible car. My dad bought a 1981 new. It was a v6 with automatic trans. It was likely the worst car he ever bought. It was one of the most recalled cars ever build. Always suffered hard starts when cold, terrible hesitation, no power, trans slid from gear to gear instead of shifting, etc. etc. Dad went from a 77 Caprice to this, by 1982 he was back in a Caprice. I’m surprised any of these remain in service. Yes it’s a classic, question is classic what?
I had one when I lived in Flordia then brought it up to East T.N. when we moved .Ran the day lights out of it never gave us a problem, then gave it to my stepson and he ran it a good while too! Bruce.
An ex had one. Competent, but boring. As I recall, the motor mounts had to be undone to rock the engine to replace half of the plugs. Hers was very prone to hydroplaning on cheap tires. Her father replaced them with Michelins and the problem seemed to go away. An expensive fix.
Despite any issues with how they were new, for $800, I would drive it away.
The only way I’d buy this is if I lived where the roads were salted down. Drive it til the rust ate it up, then junk it. But I live in sunny Commifornia, so I’ll never need it.
I could not agree more! Salt and pothole car! And New York is right behind you in that department! I do wish I could find a original California 57 Thunderbird!
My ex-girlfriend had one. had to change the fuel pump that was wedged between the block and firewall. take my advice…keep your $800 and put it towards a Chevy Monza. You can do an easy small block swap unless you get a V8 car. Look for a Monza Spyder (my brother bought one new or a notchback (i had one). Mine was a well tuned and maintained 4 cylinder (Iron Duke) that beat 6 cylinder Nova’s street racing.
As long as I live I will never forget the day that the first of these arrived(by itself) at the Chevrolet dealer I was working for in later 1979. A plain four door in light metallic blue. The entire mechanical staff of thirty people in the shop came over to look at it. Nothing but silence. Front-wheel drive and a sideways motor. Ugly. They all just turned and walked away after about five minutes.
I’m surprised, it looks a lot like the simca 1307 / 1308 we had in France !