Not another Vectra post!
Discussion
The Vectra is dead. Long live the Vectra!
My trusty £900 Vectra which had lasted 3 and a half years and had just celebrated 210,000 miles came to an end when it was driven into the side of from a side road damaging the suspension, wing and bumper and causing the front wheel to point in the wrong direction
other driver at fault and liability admitted with witness)It was trailered away to co-part.
Meanwhile when it was all going on with insurance, I was hunting for something else to replace it unsure of what the insurance was going to pay me, I found on Facebook Market place a Low Mileage 2007 Facelift Vectra 1.8vvti with 63,000 miles on the clock, advertised for £1900.
Went round to see the car which was about 20 miles away in the countryside, He had just reduced it to £1700 and I managed to get it for £1600 in the end after haggling over some niggles.
Insurance came back and I was offered £1525 for the car as a pay out, So I collected the new car on the Saturday and had a lovely drive back home.
Here's some pictures from the first day I collected it:-
Good points:-
Low mileage (147,000 miles less than my previous one!) and two years newer
Good MOT history without loads of advisories.
Very unworn interior (exterior not bad for the age either)
Although not a powerhouse the engine sounded very quiet and smooth compared with my previous Vectra.
Bad Points Niggles on the viewing day:-
Air conditioning doesn't work(Started other thread about it)
Interior Fan only worked on number 4 no other speed.
Windscreen Washer bottle cracked allowing almost total loss within a day.
Missing Radio Aerial.
On day of picking it up, the previous owner got a new aerial for and the dab radio now works.
I had the Cambelt and water pump changed.
I ordered a new resister for the interior fan, now fitted and fan works on all speeds
I have a replacement 2nd hand water bottle for £5 plus £4 postage on the way to me as I type.
Fully cleaned inside and out.
I'm getting air conditioning looked at next week.
I'll update on how the air conditioning goes.
Cheers!
Austin
My trusty £900 Vectra which had lasted 3 and a half years and had just celebrated 210,000 miles came to an end when it was driven into the side of from a side road damaging the suspension, wing and bumper and causing the front wheel to point in the wrong direction
other driver at fault and liability admitted with witness)It was trailered away to co-part.Meanwhile when it was all going on with insurance, I was hunting for something else to replace it unsure of what the insurance was going to pay me, I found on Facebook Market place a Low Mileage 2007 Facelift Vectra 1.8vvti with 63,000 miles on the clock, advertised for £1900.
Went round to see the car which was about 20 miles away in the countryside, He had just reduced it to £1700 and I managed to get it for £1600 in the end after haggling over some niggles.
Insurance came back and I was offered £1525 for the car as a pay out, So I collected the new car on the Saturday and had a lovely drive back home.
Here's some pictures from the first day I collected it:-
Good points:-
Low mileage (147,000 miles less than my previous one!) and two years newer
Good MOT history without loads of advisories.
Very unworn interior (exterior not bad for the age either)
Although not a powerhouse the engine sounded very quiet and smooth compared with my previous Vectra.
Bad Points Niggles on the viewing day:-
Air conditioning doesn't work(Started other thread about it)
Interior Fan only worked on number 4 no other speed.
Windscreen Washer bottle cracked allowing almost total loss within a day.
Missing Radio Aerial.
On day of picking it up, the previous owner got a new aerial for and the dab radio now works.
I had the Cambelt and water pump changed.
I ordered a new resister for the interior fan, now fitted and fan works on all speeds
I have a replacement 2nd hand water bottle for £5 plus £4 postage on the way to me as I type.
Fully cleaned inside and out.
I'm getting air conditioning looked at next week.
I'll update on how the air conditioning goes.
Cheers!
Austin
Excellent! You may of seen my £1000 Vectra thread on here 
Really low mileage this one you've bagged I have to say, and a great price!
Such underrated cars as you have previously seen, seem to be absolute bargain's now, whatever anyone thinks, big, practical, safe, economical too the 1.8vvt is a cracking engine in these.
Just done another 600 miles on mine, just today! Mental I know, but that's what they were built to do really, miles and miles.
Hope it serves you well and keep up the updates, as will be interested to see how you get on with it.
Just to ask, did you have any issues with the gearbox in your previous Vec, only ask as I think this is the only thing that may kill one of these, anything else is pretty simple in this engine in reality and cheap.
Really low mileage this one you've bagged I have to say, and a great price!
Such underrated cars as you have previously seen, seem to be absolute bargain's now, whatever anyone thinks, big, practical, safe, economical too the 1.8vvt is a cracking engine in these.
Just done another 600 miles on mine, just today! Mental I know, but that's what they were built to do really, miles and miles.
Hope it serves you well and keep up the updates, as will be interested to see how you get on with it.
Just to ask, did you have any issues with the gearbox in your previous Vec, only ask as I think this is the only thing that may kill one of these, anything else is pretty simple in this engine in reality and cheap.
Edited by 7 5 7 on Thursday 8th June 22:28
Let me see if I got this right, you got a similar car, with approx 25% of the originals mileage for £75, now that is what I call a win!
I always thought these are a handsome looking car, certainly spacious with a good load carrying capacity. Judging from 757’s posts, pretty good on fuel as well.
Happy motoring.
I always thought these are a handsome looking car, certainly spacious with a good load carrying capacity. Judging from 757’s posts, pretty good on fuel as well.
Happy motoring.
7 5 7 said:
Excellent! You may of seen my £1000 Vectra thread on here
Really low mileage this one you've bagged I have to say, and a great price!
Such underrated cars as you have previously seen, seem to be absolute bargain's now, whatever anyone thinks, big, practical, safe, economical too the 1.8vvt is a cracking engine in these.
Just done another 600 miles on mine, just today! Mental I know, but that's what they were built to do really, miles and miles.
Hope it serves you well and keep up the updates, as will be interested to see how you get on with it.
Just to ask, did you have any issues with the gearbox in your previous Vec, only ask as I think this is the only thing that may kill one of these, anything else is pretty simple in this engine in reality and cheap.
Hi 757!Really low mileage this one you've bagged I have to say, and a great price!
Such underrated cars as you have previously seen, seem to be absolute bargain's now, whatever anyone thinks, big, practical, safe, economical too the 1.8vvt is a cracking engine in these.
Just done another 600 miles on mine, just today! Mental I know, but that's what they were built to do really, miles and miles.
Hope it serves you well and keep up the updates, as will be interested to see how you get on with it.
Just to ask, did you have any issues with the gearbox in your previous Vec, only ask as I think this is the only thing that may kill one of these, anything else is pretty simple in this engine in reality and cheap.
Edited by 7 5 7 on Thursday 8th June 22:28
Yes I watch your thread with interest
The gearbox was fine on the old car, there was a bit of play in the gearstick as you might expect but engaging the years was just as smooth, I also believe it never had a gearbox service or oil change it's lifetime.I hope it's snapped up repaired and put back on the road, at least the air conditioning on that one
Please to see yours's is still going strong!
Austin
daqinggregg said:
Let me see if I got this right, you got a similar car, with approx 25% of the originals mileage for £75, now that is what I call a win!
I always thought these are a handsome looking car, certainly spacious with a good load carrying capacity. Judging from 757’s posts, pretty good on fuel as well.
Happy motoring.
I think I initially thought that it was fairly expensive, but I'd forgotten how much used car prices had gone up, especially as lots of people trying to bag cheap ULEZ free cars, so actually happy with that deal I always thought these are a handsome looking car, certainly spacious with a good load carrying capacity. Judging from 757’s posts, pretty good on fuel as well.
Happy motoring.
aust240378 said:
Hi 757!
Yes I watch your thread with interest The gearbox was fine on the old car, there was a bit of play in the gearstick as you might expect but engaging the years was just as smooth, I also believe it never had a gearbox service or oil change it's lifetime.
I hope it's snapped up repaired and put back on the road, at least the air conditioning on that one
Please to see yours's is still going strong!
Austin
Yours looks to be in cosmetically better condition than mine, it really does.Yes I watch your thread with interest
The gearbox was fine on the old car, there was a bit of play in the gearstick as you might expect but engaging the years was just as smooth, I also believe it never had a gearbox service or oil change it's lifetime.I hope it's snapped up repaired and put back on the road, at least the air conditioning on that one
Please to see yours's is still going strong!
Austin
I purposely keep mine with a layer of dirt, and brake dust on the wheels to not show its many years of abuse at the hands of its previous owner, it really is a shocker, which did keep the price very very cheap!
Dents are everywhere, and more I am finding every week, but mechanically it's been very dependable.
Yeah, interesting on the gearbox longevity, you got some good mileage out of your previous one, so I'm likely to just leave mine as is, see how it goes, not intending to service it at this age and mileage, if it ain't broke, don't fix it etc.
If it borks, I may just get another Vectra like yourself, quite fancy a petrol estate VVT, but not many around.
Edited by 7 5 7 on Friday 9th June 19:46
New washer bottle fitted, bit fiddly to do as it requires getting at from underneath, on my E46 I could get the tank out in 5 minutes from the top, this took about an hour:
Jack up car, place Axle stands at front, remove inner arch liner with 3 screws and 4 of those poppers and pull part of the bumper sideways for more access, from under the car, pull out washer pump and use small spanner or socket set to remove the 3 bolts holding the bottle in, remove and replacing is the reverse.
I reckon the previous owner may have only used water in the tank which caused it to crack.
Air conditioning was charged up an ran for a day before leaking all of the refrigerant! It's going back for them to see where the dye has leaked next Friday.
Watch this space
Jack up car, place Axle stands at front, remove inner arch liner with 3 screws and 4 of those poppers and pull part of the bumper sideways for more access, from under the car, pull out washer pump and use small spanner or socket set to remove the 3 bolts holding the bottle in, remove and replacing is the reverse.
I reckon the previous owner may have only used water in the tank which caused it to crack.
Air conditioning was charged up an ran for a day before leaking all of the refrigerant! It's going back for them to see where the dye has leaked next Friday.
Watch this space
I went back to the company and they discovered the condenser had completely rotted at the bottom, letting out all the refrigerant, but luckily the dye as well so it was easy to pinpoint
They fitted the new condenser fitted on Friday and now a lovely cold car which was ideal as we were out exploring on Sunday in the 32 degree heat
They fitted the new condenser fitted on Friday and now a lovely cold car which was ideal as we were out exploring on Sunday in the 32 degree heat
How's the Vec going OP?
I'm seriously thinking if anything happens to mine that is terminal, i may just get another one like yourself
Still loads about under <£1500 on my AT shed searches.
Been really happy with mine, seems it was a stop gap car (2 years ago now). A good solid, safe, reliable and so far super dependable cars, such a shame they were overlooked but they make sound sheds.
I'm seriously thinking if anything happens to mine that is terminal, i may just get another one like yourself
Still loads about under <£1500 on my AT shed searches.
Been really happy with mine, seems it was a stop gap car (2 years ago now). A good solid, safe, reliable and so far super dependable cars, such a shame they were overlooked but they make sound sheds.
7 5 7 said:
How's the Vec going OP?
I'm seriously thinking if anything happens to mine that is terminal, i may just get another one like yourself
Still loads about under <£1500 on my AT shed searches.
Been really happy with mine, seems it was a stop gap car (2 years ago now). A good solid, safe, reliable and so far super dependable cars, such a shame they were overlooked but they make sound sheds.
Sorry for the delay, it's been great hence no need to write much about it I'm seriously thinking if anything happens to mine that is terminal, i may just get another one like yourself
Still loads about under <£1500 on my AT shed searches.
Been really happy with mine, seems it was a stop gap car (2 years ago now). A good solid, safe, reliable and so far super dependable cars, such a shame they were overlooked but they make sound sheds.
I have an MOT due next week which will also be a first full service since I acquired it in June. The only issue is that it's got a new nickname from my wife "Knocky"
Definitively something worn on the front suspension which will need some attention, it knocks over uneven roads but I think I remember seeing you had similar?
Fingers crossed, I've covered about 12k since the initial purchase, I'll update on MOT day!
MOT day yesterday: It failed:-
Repair immediately (major defects):
Nearside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))
Offside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))
Two new Stabiliser linkages later, I have a pass which was followed by a Full service.
No more knocking now
Repair immediately (major defects):
Nearside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))
Offside Front Upper Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.3.4 (b) (ii))
Two new Stabiliser linkages later, I have a pass which was followed by a Full service.
No more knocking now
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