My car is a 1990
Granada 2.0 GLi DOHC Auto, finished in Mercury Grey. The car spent most
of its life in Suffolk, until I bought it late in 1996,the owner was moving
to the North East for business reasons and had to sell the car quickly.My car is a 1990
Granada 2.0 GLi DOHC Auto, finished in Mercury Grey. The car spent most
of its life in Suffolk, until I bought it late in 1996,the owner was moving
to the North East for business reasons and had to sell the car quickly.
Ordinarily I would never have bought a car in the circumstances - the selling address was in Sunderland, but showed a Newmarket address on the logbook, there was no service histoty and the price was a supiciously low £2500 for an above average car. On the positive side. there was a genuine reason for sale, the HPI check was spotless and the owner had no objections to the checks I wanted to make on his references or the cars history. Also, the car came with receipts for the brand new set of tyres and the recently fitted Sony RDS stereo. The tax was out, but it did have a full MOT.
Despite the lack of service history the car was Obviously well maintained
mechanicaly. The bodywork wasn't perfect but above average and rust tree.
Apart from the drivers seat, the interior had worn the 75,000 miles fairly
well. 
Overall, I've
been very pleased with the car. In the past I felt that big cars with 2
litir engines (especially autos), were underpowered. but the Granada seems
to be an exception. As for fuel consuinption, I thought the previous owners
clainis of 40 MPG were on the optimistic side. but having taken the car
on regular trips to Yorkshire. Scotland and the Midlands. I now know that
it is easily possible, though I still find it hard to believe. I've covered
more than 15,000 miles in the car, and it covers my 30 mile round trip
to Work at Nike UK in Sunderland with ease. The auto box is particularly
appreciated in the rush hour queues at the Tyne Tunnel.
Apart from routine servicing costs and a new exhaust the car has cost very little to run. I've replaced the rear electric window switches and the lower section of the front bumper, which were annoying rather than essential repairs. The bodywork behind the headlamps and front bumper has been painted, as my car seems to have left the factory with surprisingly little paint around that area. Fortunately the car hadn't suffered as a result, but I decided that it was better to prevent any future problems.
The only downside
has been the cost of insurance, being 20 at the time meant that very few
companies were willing to insure me, let alone give me a sensible quote.
Eventually I managed to get cover, but the price was still on the steep
side. Fortunately this years renewal was almost half of the previous year
(I never could work out how that came about).
I've often thought of changing to another make, tough I think I'll stick with Granada for the time being. As an alternative I've Often considered an XJ6, though runnning costs and build qualitty (or lack of it) mean that it isn't really practical as an everday car. The Vauxhall Senator 24V also caught my eye, but somehow seems a bit soulless compared to the Granada and Scorpio.
My plans are
to keep the car looking as orriginal as possible, but I think that full
waxoyl treatment will be the next plan. My Dad's 84 Volvo 240 GLE estate
has been waxoyled, and although not perfect from the outside, the underside
has been preserved as new. I think that my Granada deserves the same treatment
before it gets any older.
Recently I've bought an 1985 ML2 2.3 LX as a restoration project. It needs a lot of work, but hopeflifly it will be good enough to display some day.
Robert Ayre is in the Granada Enthusiasts' Club
