Vauxhalls and the pain of European travel...

[pbrettle]

I just wanted to share a little motoring adventure with everyone. Looking back it is a bit of a laugh, but at the time probably the most stressed I have been since the birth of my son (the first so always the worst so I am told)! Still, the continued separation that the UK likes / wants / needs (delete as appropriate) with the rest of Europe is getting riduculous

Just got back off my holiday in Italy. Loverly place and can recommend it to anyone. Drove the Vectra 2.5 all the way there while my wife and son flew. I had all of the kiddie things in the car as well as most of the packing but went for the drive as it is actually quite pleasant. Got there in good time and drove around Italy clocking up over 1600 miles...

On the way back crossed into France at the Mont Blanc tunnel and stopped at the first toll on the A40 motorway. Noticed that the car was not running right so I pulled over at the information layby. Car is now running on 5 cylinders rather than 6! Cant really go on for 600 miles in that condition so call the AA and ask what to do. They say use the "SOS" call boxes as you cant get breakdown assistance from anywhere else?!?! Convince someone at the motorway toll area to call on my behalf so alright there...

Breakdown truck appears and whisks us off to their garage. In broken french explain the problem and they confirm that I havent put Diesel in it (as if!). Then they listen to is and simply say that it has to go to an Opel dealer - who is closed until Monday (its saturday at this point). Nightmare. AA say to get a taxi to Geneva airport and collect a car from there - thanks really bloody helpful....

Collect the car and continue the journey - however, one major problem - you cant take a French hire car in the UK. Hertz can no longer confirm that there is an English car at the tunnel for me and they are closed until 2.00pm on Sunday... again thanks a bunch...

So, get to the tunnel and collect another car after waiting until 2.00pm - oh, and dont bother going to Calais on a Sunday, everything is closed and it is a dump! Collect the english hire car and onto the tunnel and away to freedom...

This leads to a couple of quick questions :

1) Anyone have the slightest idea what could cause a V6 Vectra to start running on 5 rather than 6 cylinders?

As a slight follow on from this - it had been fully serviced with a major main dealer service, head gasket changes, cambelt kit (includes everything at a significant cost), coolant system check and fix, as well as some work to the EGR system... all from the main dealer. Also the dealer did know what we were planning on doing and therefore why we spent the money on the work.

2) Why oh why do the French not work on Sundays?
3) Why can you not take a French hire car to the UK?
(you can take a French hire car to the rest of Europe!).
4) Why does it take so much effort to cross my own bloody border than it does in the rest of Europe?
5) Should I make a small claim court against the dealer should the fault be attributed to lack of quality of the work or failure to fix a problem? If so does anyone know how to do this?

To be honest, I believe 3 to an insurance thing, but I would hate to think that this is just another instance of those Euro-haters everywhere screwing things around that they just dont understand. As for 1) I should find out more later....

Finally, Luton has stopped making cars now - thank bloody god for that one. If mine is anything to go by then good riddance to them. Whats the first thing I did when I got back - bought a Audi. Decent German engineering rather than that crud that the supposedly "British" brands kick out... More trouble with a Vauxhall than I have ever had with Citroen, Audi, VW or Honda.... and people wonder why manufacturing in the UK is failing - cos what you make is crap quality thats why.....

Its just daft that you can use the same currency within Europe, cross borders without any problems and have free trade and transfer when you need it. Yet the most painful and complicated part of my journey was the last 12 miles of water and over my own bloody border.... Just plain luncy on the part of the supposed "Defenders of the Pound"..

I rest my case...

Cheers,

Paul.

P.S. Just had a call from the AA about the progress with the Vectra - the quote is "there is a problem with the diesel air flow meter" - now correct me if I am wrong, but I didnt think that the 2.5 V6 was diesel!!! This is going to take ages... Anyone good at french by any chance?

[JSG]

Bl**dy Vauxhalls, should have taken the TVR Paul.

What Audi have you bought? I've just bought one as I gave up on trying to find a sports car to fit the kids into and it seems a good compromise between performance and practicality (no where near as fast as a TVR though).

Cheers,
JSG.

[HarryW]

I've run an Omega with the same lump for 110,000 miles now asides normal servicing costs and consumables (real world consumables not shpub consumables )its has just had rocker gaskets done for oil leaks and still runs sweet as a nut. same engine as yours but the Omega is built in Germany wonder if that has anything to it??
As for running on 5 cylinders I take it wasn't something simple as leads/plugs?? other than that "blind bambi" (no idea!!)

Harry

[thom]

quote:Why oh why do the French not work on Sundays?

To annoy British tourists in broken down Vauxhalls

[manek]

Beacuse they've got a proper sense of perspective on life?

[bosshog]

quote:
Beacuse they've got a proper sense of perspective on life?

Yeah its true this. I've been living here (South of France) for on or off 4 years, and things can be very fustrating at times. Everything is closed on Sundays (including Saturday afernoons in some cases) and at least 2 hours for lunch , so the only time you can actually get anything done is either Saturday (morning) or when you should be at work. BUT the upside is that is forces you just to chill out and enjoy long lunches in the sun, and to do sweet f a at the weekends. Life is definitly richer.