Keeping and servicing a 170,000 mile insignia
Discussion
So the used car market is crazy at the moment! High prices and limited availability. I'd like a 2020 or 2021 Insignia 2 litre diesel but there just aren't any for sale. Guess I'll have to be patient...
But anyway, I've had a 2014 insignia 2.0 cdti for the last 7 years and taken it from 26,000 miles right up to 168,000 miles. I still like my car, it's quick enough, super on diesel and it's been impeccably reliable. With the current market I can't see that I'll find a replacement which ticks all my boxes in the near future. So how long can an insignia go on for? I'll be due to have a new cambelt and water pump (again) this year. Any other maintenance I should consider? New transmission oil? New power steering fluid? I'll probably replace the battery before next winter as I'm still on the original. Can anyone share their experience of running an insignia or something similar up to 200,000 miles or beyond?
But anyway, I've had a 2014 insignia 2.0 cdti for the last 7 years and taken it from 26,000 miles right up to 168,000 miles. I still like my car, it's quick enough, super on diesel and it's been impeccably reliable. With the current market I can't see that I'll find a replacement which ticks all my boxes in the near future. So how long can an insignia go on for? I'll be due to have a new cambelt and water pump (again) this year. Any other maintenance I should consider? New transmission oil? New power steering fluid? I'll probably replace the battery before next winter as I'm still on the original. Can anyone share their experience of running an insignia or something similar up to 200,000 miles or beyond?
My son has a 62 reg 2.0 d eco Insignia that has done 130,000 miles, it had a cambelt change a year ago, and just keeps going and going.
Does around 45mpg and is like new inside, with just a few minor paint chips on the outside.
The air con doesn't work, but he can live with that.
It's probably worth 2k but I expect it is good for three or four years yet.
They paid around 6k for it five years ago.
Does around 45mpg and is like new inside, with just a few minor paint chips on the outside.
The air con doesn't work, but he can live with that.
It's probably worth 2k but I expect it is good for three or four years yet.
They paid around 6k for it five years ago.
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
I've got a feeling that it's these engines which suffer with some kind of seal getting dislodged and blocking the oil pickup pipe in the sump. If it is the one, then I'd be tempted to remove the sump and attend to it before it becomes an issue.
The oil pick up pipe seal goes brittle, let’s air in rather than oil and seizes the engine, crazy really. Changed quite a few.Car
I have a 250k Merc diesel. My mechanic and I now see it as an interesting project to ensure it hits 300k.
I discussed pre-emptive maintenance like changing gearbox oil etc.. his view was simply "It shifts fine and there are no leaks - so let sleeping dogs lie. Just drive it nice. Warm it up before asking it to do any hard work. We'll assess each time you're here and I'll give you options on what's worth doing and what's not".
My advice:
1) Find a friendly garage that knows your car and that you trust.
2) Drop them a case of beer when you're passing last working week in Dec to wish them a Merry Christmas
3) If your annual service / MOT is due in July like mine, turn up with a dozen Magnums. When the car goes up on the ramps, you'll not only get to eat a Magnum, you'll also get 5 qualified blokes having a nosey at what's what whilst they take a break.
I discussed pre-emptive maintenance like changing gearbox oil etc.. his view was simply "It shifts fine and there are no leaks - so let sleeping dogs lie. Just drive it nice. Warm it up before asking it to do any hard work. We'll assess each time you're here and I'll give you options on what's worth doing and what's not".
My advice:
1) Find a friendly garage that knows your car and that you trust.
2) Drop them a case of beer when you're passing last working week in Dec to wish them a Merry Christmas
3) If your annual service / MOT is due in July like mine, turn up with a dozen Magnums. When the car goes up on the ramps, you'll not only get to eat a Magnum, you'll also get 5 qualified blokes having a nosey at what's what whilst they take a break.
Edited by The spinner of plates on Monday 21st February 22:41
The spinner of plates said:
I have a 250k Merc diesel. My mechanic and I now see it as an interesting project to ensure it hits 300k.
I discussed pre-emptive maintenance like changing gearbox oil etc.. his view was simply "It shifts fine and there are no leaks - so let sleeping dogs lie. Just drive it nice. Warm it up before asking it to do any hard work. We'll assess each time you're here and I'll give you options on what's worth doing and what's not".
My advice:
1) Find a friendly garage that knows your car and that you trust.
2) Drop them a case of beer when you're passing last working week in Dec to wish them a Merry Christmas
3) If your annual service / MOT is due in July like mine, turn up with a dozen Magnums. When the car goes up on the ramps, you'll not only get to eat a Magnum, you'll also get 5 qualified blokes having a nosey at what's what whilst they take a break.
What a cracking idea! I discussed pre-emptive maintenance like changing gearbox oil etc.. his view was simply "It shifts fine and there are no leaks - so let sleeping dogs lie. Just drive it nice. Warm it up before asking it to do any hard work. We'll assess each time you're here and I'll give you options on what's worth doing and what's not".
My advice:
1) Find a friendly garage that knows your car and that you trust.
2) Drop them a case of beer when you're passing last working week in Dec to wish them a Merry Christmas
3) If your annual service / MOT is due in July like mine, turn up with a dozen Magnums. When the car goes up on the ramps, you'll not only get to eat a Magnum, you'll also get 5 qualified blokes having a nosey at what's what whilst they take a break.
Edited by The spinner of plates on Monday 21st February 22:41
We had these in Australia,replaced the Australian built one when they stopped local manufacturing.They we’re an Opel rebadged as the ‘ZB’ Holden Commodore.Tuned for local conditions.Massive backlash against them,most people who owned the Australian built one complained bitterly.It’s FWD OR it has no V8.It came into engine variants,2 litre petrol & 3.6 litre V6 235 Kw.Also a VXR AWD variant.Thought it was a better car than the previous car.But,sales were just terrible,they had trouble shifting them.Eventually they were dropped.Real shame,very capable car.
Keep up with servicing and pre-emptive maintenance, get any noises/vibrations that pop up sorted asap and have some mechanical sympathy when driving and you should be golden until it goes bang in another few hundred thousand miles!
There's a few less general things that I can't recall from memory, like make sure the diff and gearbox oil get changed every 80k-100k (most manufacturers claim that gearboxes, especially manuals, are sealed for life which just isn't true of any lubricated moving part lol)
Hope this helps and good luck!
There's a few less general things that I can't recall from memory, like make sure the diff and gearbox oil get changed every 80k-100k (most manufacturers claim that gearboxes, especially manuals, are sealed for life which just isn't true of any lubricated moving part lol)
Hope this helps and good luck!
The spinner of plates said:
I have a 250k Merc diesel. My mechanic and I now see it as an interesting project to ensure it hits 300k.
My advice:
3) If your annual service / MOT is due in July like mine, turn up with a dozen Magnums. When the car goes up on the ramps, you'll not only get to eat a Magnum, you'll also get 5 qualified blokes having a nosey at what's what whilst they take a break.
Thought you meant a case of champagne. My advice:
3) If your annual service / MOT is due in July like mine, turn up with a dozen Magnums. When the car goes up on the ramps, you'll not only get to eat a Magnum, you'll also get 5 qualified blokes having a nosey at what's what whilst they take a break.
Edited by The spinner of plates on Monday 21st February 22:41
We have a Insignia diesel estate pool car at work, 2010 registration, has those massive 19" wheels... last time I looked it was on 230,000 miles, the secret is regular oil changes and preventive maintenance as been mentioned, this gets that at the garage next door to the office.
This car gets completely abused (people would think) but in reality it is being used for what it was made for, it pounds the motorway with a different driver every week, or whoever books it out.
This car gets completely abused (people would think) but in reality it is being used for what it was made for, it pounds the motorway with a different driver every week, or whoever books it out.
C. Grimsley said:
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
I've got a feeling that it's these engines which suffer with some kind of seal getting dislodged and blocking the oil pickup pipe in the sump. If it is the one, then I'd be tempted to remove the sump and attend to it before it becomes an issue.
The oil pick up pipe seal goes brittle, let’s air in rather than oil and seizes the engine, crazy really. Changed quite a few.Car
M_A_S said:
Yup, not too bad to change if it's a manual. I'd be doing that before transmission oil changes etc.
I thought the Manuals were difficult. The Autos have the bolt holes already cut out to drop the sump.Most Manuals don't, then it's a massive job.
The Vauxhall forums tell all.
Maxym said:
The spinner of plates said:
I have a 250k Merc diesel. My mechanic and I now see it as an interesting project to ensure it hits 300k.
My advice:
3) If your annual service / MOT is due in July like mine, turn up with a dozen Magnums. When the car goes up on the ramps, you'll not only get to eat a Magnum, you'll also get 5 qualified blokes having a nosey at what's what whilst they take a break.
Thought you meant a case of champagne. My advice:
3) If your annual service / MOT is due in July like mine, turn up with a dozen Magnums. When the car goes up on the ramps, you'll not only get to eat a Magnum, you'll also get 5 qualified blokes having a nosey at what's what whilst they take a break.
Edited by The spinner of plates on Monday 21st February 22:41
I ran my E220 CDi up to 316k with just routine maintenance as per Mercs schedule. It had oil changes every 18k miles and basically nothing went wrong other than a water pump at 220k and an alternator at 306k.
The rest were just the usual consumables.
The new owner got it straight through the MOT last week at 324k miles so it still seem to be running well.
Service correctly, drive it with longevity in mind and you should be ok for another 100k at least.
The rest were just the usual consumables.
The new owner got it straight through the MOT last week at 324k miles so it still seem to be running well.
Service correctly, drive it with longevity in mind and you should be ok for another 100k at least.
The Insignia sump thing isn't a bad job. Most CDTi's have the F40 gearbox, some with the cutouts and on those that don't, it's an hour with a drill. Iirc, the lower powered cars use the weak M32 box. The oil seal is between the sump and the oil pump. On the previous version of the FPT (Fiat) diesel, the 1.9 in the Vectra, Saab, Alfa 156 etc) they had a proper oil pick up pipe so why they changed it is anyone's guess.
I would spend a couple of hundred quid doing this job as it's the only real weak point on the Insignia. As others have said, it's a good car without VW prices or VW reliability nightmares.
I would spend a couple of hundred quid doing this job as it's the only real weak point on the Insignia. As others have said, it's a good car without VW prices or VW reliability nightmares.
Edited by Touring442 on Tuesday 22 February 18:18
Touring442 said:
The Insignia sump thing isn't a bad job. Most CDTi's have the F40 gearbox, some with the cutouts and on those that don't, it's an hour with a drill. Iirc, the lower powered cars use the weak M32 box. The oil seal is between the sump and the oil pump. On the previous version of the FPT (Fiat) diesel, the 1.9 in the Vectra, Saab, Alfa 156 etc) they had a proper oil pick up pipe so why they changed it is anyone's guess.
I would spend a couple of hundred quid doing this job as it's the only real weak point on the Insignia. As others have said, it's a good car without VW prices or VW reliability nightmares.
There is a specialist in Yorkshire who does this job for around £300.I would spend a couple of hundred quid doing this job as it's the only real weak point on the Insignia. As others have said, it's a good car without VW prices or VW reliability nightmares.
Edited by Touring442 on Tuesday 22 February 18:18
People travel miles to use him. He is very busy!
I had a 2012 2.0 Elite, it was a brilliant car to be fair only far too slow compared to the Vectra C 150 which it replaced.
Both mapped, the Insignia couldn't pull the skin off a Rice Pudding. The Vec was very quick for a large 2.0 ltr. Around 200bhp when mapped.
I sold mine with 50k on so didn't need the pickup seal doing (80-100k they go). My colleague has had his done and is now on 135k and running lovely.
The p
s off here is Vauxhall was well aware of this problem, but did nothing to help anyone out.Lots of Insignias for sale needing a bottom end!
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