So going to look at a vauxhall vectra 1.8l 06 plate on Monday. Anything I should be looking out for?

Yep – if it’s got a “Vauxhall” badge on it anywhere then walk away.

I’ve had a lot of driving experience with Vauxhalls of various types and almost all of it has been overwhelmingly negative, not the least of which if the frustratingly offset driving position which gives me back ache.

We shall see how I like it. I don’t drive for thrill and experience is an opinion. I was mainly asking for mechanical faults, lol.

I put 72k onto an 06 Vectra (2.2i though) in 2 yrs, not a problem at all – very under-rated. Drive fine and plenty of space.

2.2i is a bit costly for me on insurance, if insurance wasn’t an issue I would’ve got either that or a 1.9tdi. Only 19 so I have to be selective with my car choice…-.-

Didnt actually check how much a 2.2i would cost on insurance, only £70 more than the 1.8l.

Fair point – by going for a 1.8 Vectra, I assumed that you’d be putting in lots of motorway miles. My point – FWIW is as follows:

Every single Vauxhall I have ever driven (Vectras, Astras, Corsas and Zafiras) has had seats that are too firm and a steering wheel offset to the left. As a result, I’ve had an aching back by the time I’ve driven for an hour or so. It’s a serious concern of mine, before we even start to discuss how good a drive a car is, it must have the ergonomics right. A thirty year old VW Golf has the steering wheel directly in front of the driver and does not make my back ache, so why not a six year old Vauxhall?

What’s the mileage and service history like? The more recent Vauxhalls are a nice drive, in that the chassis and steering is on a par with the competition, plus parts are easy to come by.

ive owned mine for 3 years now, i really like it. bit underpowered for the vehicle weight, but not a bad cruiser. only common problem ive experienced is with the heater, rain water caused by a blocked scuttle panel (usually leaves) causes water to pour onto the heater motor through the pollen filter housing shorting it, it then only works on highest speed number 4, not had any other problems with it,great car

68,000 miles with full service history. 2 previous owners. Looks pretty sound on the outside/interior. Should I be asking about cambelt change and if no change asking for a reduction

In regards to stiffness of seats, you could always change them/get a seat cover.

at 68,000 it wouldnt be a FULL service history if the cambelt hadnt been changed, the interval is every 40k i believe 🙂

Do you think though that it’s something I need to be asking for and if not then asking for a reduction?

Sensible there young Bradley – always make sure that if the cambelt hasn’t been done, you knock a little of the price.

In regards to stiffness of seats, you could always change them/get a seat cover.

In practice this doesn’t work. Did you know that most cars have seat springs which are frequency matched to the suspension to help filter out ride harshness? Neither did I until a mate in the car design business told me about this.

I’ve already got £200 off the listed price, so perhaps the cambelt has not been done and they anticipate the asking of this. I’m a cash payer and I could pay full price so it’s basically my call. The only issue is that the car is 160 miles away, so 320 round trip. If we don’t like it when we get there, thats almost £60 in fuel in itself, lol.

What pjm says, I have a 2012 astray ecoflex its uncomfortable, noisy, cheap and only returns 50mpg despite me driving like a lethargic octogenarian. If it says vauxhall, just say no kids.

Why not buy my lovely c-class merc?

I can’t help feeling that the answer to your question may well be a Mondeo, Passat or similar which is closer to home. Be honest – are you motivated more by the price of this car than anything else?

categorically yes ask for a reduction, if i remember correctly its about £250 for a new belt and tensioners (its usually the tensioners that go on vauxhalls). im currently on my third vectra and i own an astra and never had a cambelt problem with any of them tho, my last vectra did 132k and i only changed the belt once!

i find the seats in mine very comfortable, and ive cruised down to the south of france in mine with no comfort issues, and my steering wheel is directly in front of the drivers seat! dont forget to check the cruise control works (left hand indicator stalk)

also worth asking the seller about the handbrake, vectras had a recall for a handbrake issue

Ahem http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201239486436593?atcide=emc-cars-ADS004 and I’ll let it go for £3000 to singletrack subscribers!

No thanks.

I’d look out for something closer to home. Its not like Vectra’s are rare and its a long way to go for something that in the flesh isn’t very good. Although car dealers are slippery fish, at least if its local its easier to sort things out face to face. Also as you’ve already driven a long way you may make a rash decision on this car.

If you live in / near a big town or city it should be easy to pick up a similar if not better deal tomorrow just driving round local dealers.

The offset driving position may explain why all the yoofs drive them with that funny slouch with the seat reclined all the way back.

Reliability can vary from brand to brand as well. People on this forum used to say ‘what do taxi drivers dive?’, well round here alot of them drive Vectra’s, but that doesn’t mean anything.

I drive an 08 or so Vectra 1.9 TDI and honestly the only good part about the car is the engine. It will do 60 or 70 MPG on the motorway if you’re careful, but everything else about the car isn’t great. Steering is vague at best, terrible vibration at 65 mph, brakes poor in the wet and after servicing. It does fit three people and bikes I suppose, and go OK in a straight line… No major mechanicals in 70,000 miles but enough minor irritating ones to make them hard to recommend.

Mine expired at 162k from a dropped valve. Up to that point it was ok, other than engine electrics stuff. And it came back from Italy ok in ‘get you home’ mode. I have a dodgy back anyway, the car didn’t seem to aggravate it.

Any car is a mix of the advantages you want and the disadvantages you’ll put up with.

Reliability can vary from brand to brand as well. People on this forum used to say ‘what do taxi drivers dive?’, well round here alot of them drive Vectra’s, but that doesn’t mean anything.

Around here it’s Skodas. Which is what I drive, and it’s a terrific car, especially for extended distances. I have driven Vectras, but they are too old a model to be of any significance.

Vauxhalls are only ever any good if you get the top trim models. design, Sri or elite will have perfectly comfortable seats. The steering wheel will still be offset tho, but I disnt notice in ours until someone pointed it out on here (I’d driven 60k without noticing)
They’ll never be as good to drive as equivilanr fords, but they will cost less so you pays your money…..

Volvo for sale?

I’ve got a 58 Vectra 1.9TDi, had it just over 18 months now and it’s been fine in all that time. It was the works car before that so FSH, I’d driven it quite a bit and I got it for way less than list price – the lease company were just keen not to have to pick it up, valet it and auction it.

Never had any problems with it – the slightly offset driving position is only really noticeable after long journeys. As to how it drives…it starts, stops and goes where I point it. I want a load lugger not a rally car, I’m past all that “inspiring to drive” nonsense.

They’re huge cars, can fit loads in. Yes a bit grey and corporate and faceless and boring but like I said, it does what it’s meant to do with no fuss.

PJM – Genuinely not swayed by the price, I like the look of the car, it’s got decent mileage for me and like crazy-legs has said, it’s a load lugger. That’s all it is for me. Just a family carry around and the bike too.

How about an exclusiv petrieboy?

I had the SRI, in auto.

But if I was you, I’d look local if you are just after a standard family car.

Also in regards to a Mondeo, I’ve just sold a 03 plate Ford Focus 3 door zetec. In 2.5 years of owning the car, buying it at 91K miles and selling at 116K, i’ve spent in excess of £4000 in just mechanical fixes. NEVER buying a Ford again…Unless it’s an RS500 🙂

I’ve tried looking local :\ cant find anything as good.

I’ve had a Vectra for 5 years. 54 plate 2.0 Diesel. Apart from a couple of wear and tear issues it has been solid. Seats are comfy and it is great at munching the miles. After a 300 mile trip to Cornwall you get out feeling fresh. The same distance in a Fiat Bravo was knackering and when I did it in a Citroen I sold it straight afterwards.

Practical, comfy, economical-ish, deeply un-cool and cheap. When mine dies I will probably get another but I’ll have an estate next time. The back seats in the hatch don’t fold flat, so you can’t get 2 bikes in without some dismantling.

Bradley may I suggest you have been unlucky or bought a ragged car with that focus. No properly treated modern car should throw those bills up in such a short time at that kind of mileage.

We have two Mondeo s both comfortably over 110k and other than a clutch and dmf on the diesel no really nasty bills in the 80000 miles they have collected in our ownership. They also both have cam chains (no worry on changes). The only thing we have always ensured is they were serviced on time through the period before we owned them and since and we don’t cut corners on preventative work.

On the Vectra you’re asking about no way a cheap anything at that price is worth such a journey.

General things I would check on any 2nd hand car:
– the oil level. If its low or black and dirty looking walk away (low means the owner can’t be bothered to check it so what else have they ignored). Check all other fluid levels for same reason
– check for emulation on oil filler cap
– if engine has been stem cleaned look in.the engine bay after driving it for anything the cleaning would have washed off. If engine has plastic covers on then look underneath.
– check.every last switch bulb and electrical item
– check every door handle works (sounds silly but learned the hard way)
– look.underneath for impact damage and rust
– look along every line of the car for bends dents and alignment of panels and colour changes
– check tyres wipe blades etc.
– iirc gearboxes are a weak point on vectras (think i found this somewhere when comparing to the mondeo )
– when.you test drive it give it full throttle at some point (once warmed up) and go through most of the rev range which should uncover any obvious misfires etc.

Oh and as much of a mondeo phile as i am have you thought about Japanese? Avensis Accord that sort of thing? Might be older for the same money but possibly as if not more reliable. Gives you some more options to look at locally.

So going to look at a Vauxhall Vectra 1.8l 06 plate on Monday. Anything I should be looking out for?

The 1.8 petrol if fairly robust in that car so just check its been serviced regularly and that shouldn’t give you any bother.

Things that the Vectra is prone too:-

Check the heater blower works on all settings as the pollen filter drain under the scuttle tray can be easily blocked with leaves, which leads to water pouring in through the fan assembly and shorting out the resistor pack. Fairly easy and cheap to fix, but a very common fault. Wet passenger seat carpet also gives the game away.

The cruise control can play up on them if its fitted. That’s normally the result of dirty contacts between the stalk and the column integrated module. Quick clean and the skilful tensioning of the contact springs usually sorts it.

Rear upper suspension arm bushes are prone to failure and will cause excessive inside wear on the rear tyres when they’ve gone. Excessive tyre noise or droning from the rear is a good indicator too.

The Coil springs can snap, same as any car these days they all do it. Tends to be the fronts and the last part of the coil where it sits in the damper strut cup.

If it was the 1.9 diesel you are going to look at, id give you a list the length of my arm, and suggest a rethink, but the petrols aren’t bad at all.

It seems pretty solid. Same old same old when buying a car. There’s it’s good points and bad points. I don’t think I can name a car that is 100% perfect brand new off the forecourt. I drive my dads 12 plate Audi Q5 often, 2.0TDI FWIW and i’ve still got problems with it. The seat adjustment isn’t easy, it’s spring-loaded and the cruise control is in a really gay position like the Vectras I think? Left of the steering wheel below the indicator, stupid design.

Just goes to show there will always be a problem with any car.

Cruise control in a Vectra is on the end of the left hand indicator stalk.

It seems pretty solid. Same old same old when buying a car. There’s it’s good points and bad points. I don’t think I can name a car that is 100% perfect brand new off the forecourt. I drive my dads 12 plate Audi Q5 often, 2.0TDI FWIW and i’ve still got problems with it. The seat adjustment isn’t easy, it’s spring-loaded and the cruise control is in a really gay position like the Vectras I think? Left of the steering wheel below the indicator, stupid design.

Nah, the Vectra is a good design as you don’t have to turn it ‘on’, and then set it – just set it.