Possible automatic transmission failure on 64 Plate Astra

[Kaleidoscope1972]

Hi all..Im new to this forum but Id really appreciate some advice.
Yesterday I traded my 12 plate fiat punto into a garage owned by my car finance company (sadly I have a poor credit rating so can only use them )..I traded it in for a 64 plate astra sri automatic with 35 thousand miles on the clock..no service history but I checked with the main dealer and it had been serviced at 10 thousand and had a pre sale service by this dealer inc new brakes and tyres.The vehicle will be 3 years old in October..test drive appeared fine.however on the journey home I noticed that gear changes werent as smooth as Id expected and the car felt underpowered occasionally on reaching speeds over 50..combined with revs going up to 4000 revs before it appeared to select 6th gear...this didnt seem right and I worried this was a serious transmission problem.
I called VX today who said as the latest service was overdue by 5 thousand miles their warranty wouldnt cover it...so called dealer who called vauxhall with the symptoms and returned my call saying VX had said this was a common fault ? And the only cure was a new gearbox etc at a cost of 3 thousand.
Obviously I was very upset but the dealer said they would replace the gearbox themselves..and offered to come and take it away...
My question is..does this sound like total transmission failure as they claim ? And so young and at such low milage have I essentially purchased a lemon ? ..Im gutted as Ive just insured and taxed it too..

[Winky151]

Can't speak from experience of modern Vx autos but older Senators which would come back to life with an oil & filter change however a Google search finds this:-

http://www.rac.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?20563-va...

If Vx are prepared to take it & fix it check with your dealer that they're going to cover the bill or reject the car as being unfit for purpose when sold.

[Kaleidoscope1972]

Thank you.
I got it checked out by a transmission specialist who said its fine but the engines are underpowered. The dealer..not a VX one have said they are prepared to.pay for a recon of the existing gearbox..is that any good ?

[Winky151]

With a recon you'll probably get at best a 12 month or 6000 mile warranty. With a brand new 'box you'll probably get the same although it will cost them more. If they're replacing the 'box they 'should' be changing the clutch at the same time but maybe check first & if so I'd probably say ok.

[Kaleidoscope1972]

Thanks..they are only offering a re con...is it worth taking ?

[CAPP0]

I don't imagine they'd be prepared to change the cutch on an automatic car.

[Winky151]

CAPP0 said:

I don't imagine they'd be prepared to change the cutch on an automatic car.

Why ever not?

I wrote clutch but was thinking torque converter. Obviously the gap between my brain & hands went haywire.

[Winky151]

Kaleidoscope1972 said:

Thanks..they are only offering a re con...is it worth taking ?

If you're happy with the rest of the car then go for it.

[anonymous-user]

if they're going to take the car away and fit a new gearbox and your not picking up the tab, you've got nothing to loose

[CAPP0]

Mae a little scratch mark on the gearbox casing somewhere and take a picture of it, then you can check whether they swapped it or not.

[adingley84]

What was the outcome of this? Did they actually replace the gearbox? Did it fix the performance issues?

Interested to know how this ended