Any motoring enthusiasts care to comment on the Vauxhall Vectra?

[compufunk]

The missus had an accident and wrecked my poor car yesterday, so I'm in the market for a new (used) one.

I've been having a good look around and it seems Vectra's are good value for money in NI.

Do any members own one or know somebody who does. If so, please comment.

I'm interested in this one. The mileage is low enough for a Diesel.
_http://www.usedcarsni.com/car_details.php?search_type=1&car=28823445&grtkey= 1253660395_42839ff943d488f85d0ddb44dea34a85

Im not too keen on the new shaped Vectra, but I'd get over that.

In fact, cars seem to be getting more and more alike. The newer Vectra is not dissimilar to the recent Avensis, the newer Avensis looks like a Lexus.......................................
C

[Channel Hopper]

I had a Vectra estate for a month whilst my car was being repaired, but it was a few years ago.

Nothing much to comment on, it did what it was supposed to do.

The one in the advert is a standard four cylinder 2 litre diesel, so it should go round the clock a couple of times without too much trouble.

Can it run on veggy oil though ?

[nanochickin]

The Vectra only really suffers from excessive wear on the rear pin bushes (The bits the rear hubs sit on)

Check for movement on the rear hubs when the car is jacked up. This is a common problem which most second hand Vectras suffer with

Worn pin bushes aren't cheap to get fixed at a garage so its worth checking for

As for the veggie oil it depends on the type of diesel pump. If its a rotary vane type then no, if its a piston type then yes.

I have this experience from my old Cavalier 1.7 Diesel. I ran it on bio diesel for about 2 months and it totally destroyed the Lucas CAV rotary vane diesel pump

Bio & Veggie will destroy the inside of a rotary vane pump where as a Bosch piston type pump will handle it with no problems at all

[hoggy]

I would not get a vectra , my boss has got a vectra diesel car, this is his second vectra company car that his been given just like his first vectra, he has had nothing but trouble with both cars .

the diesel engine at about 70mph just dies with no power for a couple of minutes which could be dangerous, been back to vauxhalls loads of time each time they say they fixed, usually after a couple of days problems back again.

he has talked to an independent garage they say vaux diesels are rubbish .
my advice would be dont buy a vectra.

[nanochickin]

he has talked to an independent garage they say vaux diesels are rubbish .

I would quite happily disagree with you there

I have owned 3 Vauxhall Diesels and they have all been fantastic cars


Vauxhall Nova 1.5TD 1991( Isuzu lump ), This car would do well over 100 mph all day long, would run on virtually anything you put in the tank, Diesel, Veg oil, Bio, Kerosene, Red, filtered sump oil & chip fat, oh and petrol as the wife found out

It only refused to start once in 3 years when the final glow plug died. yes it would quite happily start on 1 working glow plug on a cold Aberdeen morning

Vauxhall Cavalier 1.7TD 1993 (Isuzu lump) As above, had 112 MPH out of her (according to the satnav) while in Germany.

Unfortunately it died at 198,000 miles when the sump got damaged by something in the road and it dumped all its oil Prior to that it never broke down in 2 years

Vauxhall Cavalier 1.7D 1995 (GM lump) Got me all over Spain and the south of France, Pump failure after running it on Bio diesel. Given to a friend who fixed her up, Shes now approaching the 200,000 mile mark with very little in the way of breakdowns. Still manages over 100 mph with ease and it still doesn't use any oil

It also never broke down before the incident with the bio diesel



Nano

[hoggy]

I agree the old vauxhalls were brilliant,like the old cavaliers , but the new vectra is nothing like the old vauxhalls.
the 1.9 diesels is rubbish just ask my boss buy any vauxhall but not a vectra,even the saabs diesels that have the same engine as the vectra are giving problems.

[Pheeny]

Seeing as I work for Ford in Belgium and we make the Mondeo,why not get one of them I could do with the overtime. :P

[compufunk]

Thanks for the input guys.

I'm getting mixed views on this one.

A colleague at work has two Vectras (He and his wife). Neither one of them has ever given him a days trouble.

A car fancying friend has advised me to stear clear.

The Vectra only really suffers from excessive wear on the rear pin bushes (The bits the rear hubs sit on)

Check for movement on the rear hubs when the car is jacked up. This is a common problem which most second hand Vectras suffer with

A few people have mentioned this. I'll keep my eyes peeled .

I'm still not sure what I'll go for. The Volvo S40 that got smashed never gave any trouble in 3.5 years (Until it went somersaulting into a field). I might stick with them.

[Tivù]

The missus had an accident and wrecked my poor car yesterday, so I'm in the market for a new (used) one.

The Volvo S40 that got smashed never gave any trouble in 3.5 years (Until it went somersaulting into a field). I might stick with them.

As nobody else has asked, is your wife ok?

[hoggy]

A car fancying friend has advised me to stear clear.


I'm still not sure what I'll go for. The Volvo S40 that got smashed never gave any trouble in 3.5 years (Until it went somersaulting into a field). I might stick with them.

your carfancying mate is right,stick with the volvo you cant go wrong.

[compufunk]

As nobody else has asked, is your wife ok?

Thankfully she's fine Tivù. Thanks for asking.

The car ended up on its roof within yards of a telegraph pole. An accident like that puts things in perspective when you think what could have been.

[mikeydb]

the diesel engine at about 70mph just dies with no power for a couple of minutes which could be dangerous, been back to vauxhalls loads of time each time they say they fixed, usually after a couple of days problems back again.

I have a Vectra 1.9 CDTI which is okay, have had some minor problems with electrical system and the entertainment system, mostly the car radio frequenty corrupts and the controls behave strangely, or the audio is too loud, muffled, or other problems, which vauxhall have refused to fix suggesting I need to buy a new radio, which I absolutely refuse to do since (it's a company car and the lease company won't pay) was malfunctioning right from the start

I did have a Vauxhall Astra 1.7 estate (diesel, turbo etc) which was nothing but trouble, frequent engine cut outs, electrical problems, other serious engine malfunctions, oil leaks and fuel leaks, it was in and out of the vauxhall garage almost monthly. I was glad to be rid of it.

Other drivers at the company I work for had problems with their 1.7 astras, but there have been far fewer issues with the 1.9 vectras.

[Channel Hopper]

I would quite happily disagree with you there

I have owned 3 Vauxhall Diesels and they have all been fantastic cars


Vauxhall Nova 1.5TD 1991( Isuzu lump ), This car would do well over 100 mph all day long, would run on virtually anything you put in the tank, Diesel, Veg oil, Bio, Kerosene, Red, filtered sump oil & chip fat, oh and petrol as the wife found out

It only refused to start once in 3 years when the final glow plug died. yes it would quite happily start on 1 working glow plug on a cold Aberdeen morning

Vauxhall Cavalier 1.7TD 1993 (Isuzu lump) As above, had 112 MPH out of her (according to the satnav) while in Germany.

Unfortunately it died at 198,000 miles when the sump got damaged by something in the road and it dumped all its oil Prior to that it never broke down in 2 years

Agreed, anything that has the Isuzu engine is going to be reliable.

[nanochickin]

I can recommend a VW Passat

The one i had was built like a tank

The amount of cars that i bounced in it when i got really icy when i lived in Scotland was unreal

Apart from a few scratches it never really bent, and it was ultra reliable

Its a bit ironic though that it was written off by some stupid cow who decided to park her Megane into the back of it on the M42 shortly after i moved back to the Midlands

[hoggy]

by the way compufunk what car did you decide to go for?

[compufunk]

I ended up getting an 04 Vectra 2.0TDi LS. (72000 miles).

It was the price that sold it for me. I'm confident that I should be able sell it on in the next 6 months without losing money on it.

I've clocked up around 1500 miles since I bought it 2 weeks ago. So far so good. It will do me for a few months while I shop around at my leisure now that the pressure is off.