An introduction of me...
Discussion
Hi chaps. Been a visiter to the site for as long as Ican remember so thought I'd join given I've been repping the site since january.
I'm 23 and a uni graduate in Automotive Engineering - currently designing automotive tooling with the aim to eventually get into actual vehicledesign.
My first car which I had for a year before selling it for five quid less than I paid for it when I went off to uni... A '96 Pug 106 (Appropriate last 3 letters on the plate)
With these tragic seat covers...
Two years late and I decided I wanted to commute to uni (25 miles eachway) so used some savings and got this...
Absolutely love the look of these cars and it was a very nice step up from the 1 litre of the 106.
After getting a job out of uni I started looking at VX's and came accross this...
2.2 N/A with a larini sports exhaust system, ITG induction, regal remap. Fell inlove INSTANTLY. These carsare incredible.
But I never had the heart to sell the Astra, so it just sat on the family drive...
Garage shot of the VX...
6 months and 8000 miles later, this happened... rear driver side toe link fail on a roundabout which caused me to spin 180 on the spot as the rear wheel didn't turn with the rest ofthe car and I ended up going backwards into a lampost at 30-40 mph. 3 days concussion and another cat c vx220 in the world
Back to the astra I went expecting to still love the car like I did before the vx... but I didn't, I hated it. So within 3 weeks, I bought this and I was back in the VX world again...
Once again a 2.2 N/A but milltek exhaust this time (preferred the larini), ITG induction and a thorney motorsport stage 2 remap - and working heater! Although it doesn't seem to be as sharp as the first one, I'm loving my 30 mile each way commute over 20 miles of country road.
The nex vx is now rolling with a couple PH stickers along side the exhausts (pics will comke on a nice day)! Happy motoring people!
I'm 23 and a uni graduate in Automotive Engineering - currently designing automotive tooling with the aim to eventually get into actual vehicledesign.
My first car which I had for a year before selling it for five quid less than I paid for it when I went off to uni... A '96 Pug 106 (Appropriate last 3 letters on the plate)
With these tragic seat covers...
Two years late and I decided I wanted to commute to uni (25 miles eachway) so used some savings and got this...
Absolutely love the look of these cars and it was a very nice step up from the 1 litre of the 106.
After getting a job out of uni I started looking at VX's and came accross this...
2.2 N/A with a larini sports exhaust system, ITG induction, regal remap. Fell inlove INSTANTLY. These carsare incredible.
But I never had the heart to sell the Astra, so it just sat on the family drive...
Garage shot of the VX...
6 months and 8000 miles later, this happened... rear driver side toe link fail on a roundabout which caused me to spin 180 on the spot as the rear wheel didn't turn with the rest ofthe car and I ended up going backwards into a lampost at 30-40 mph. 3 days concussion and another cat c vx220 in the world
Back to the astra I went expecting to still love the car like I did before the vx... but I didn't, I hated it. So within 3 weeks, I bought this and I was back in the VX world again...
Once again a 2.2 N/A but milltek exhaust this time (preferred the larini), ITG induction and a thorney motorsport stage 2 remap - and working heater! Although it doesn't seem to be as sharp as the first one, I'm loving my 30 mile each way commute over 20 miles of country road.
The nex vx is now rolling with a couple PH stickers along side the exhausts (pics will comke on a nice day)! Happy motoring people!
Disco You said:
When I saw the first VX picture, I thought the same thing as I always do when I see a VX "hope it isn't written off before the end of the thread"... Such a shame
Are they notorious for being written off?The VX's still look so fresh and modern it amazes me. Great cars straight out of uni btw, gives me hope!
lewisf182 said:
Disco You said:
When I saw the first VX picture, I thought the same thing as I always do when I see a VX "hope it isn't written off before the end of the thread"... Such a shame
Are they notorious for being written off?
Hi fellas,
Lets Torque, its just the 1.8, only fractionally slower and it seemed the 2.2's were quite alot more too insure. Bought it for its looks though, loved the lowered springs, anthracite alloys, GSi front bumper and blue alacantara interior.
Haha sorry to disapoint disco you... to anyone not understanding what a toe link/track arm fail is - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2285160065... - skip to 45s, it happens so so quickly and you've crashed before you have even reacted to it
Spot on gingerbread man. They write off very easily because they're made up of very few panels and each panel costs £1000s new, add the labour and it only takes a couple panels and you're looking at a category d write off as the value of the N/A models... well, I got £7000 for the silver one, I paid £8000 for it 6 months previous because it was such a clean example. No sign of them about to fail either, just a risk you take around every bend. Couldn't agree more lewis, love the look of them. Totally forgot about them until I used to see one on my commute to work and was amazed they aren't group 20 insurance - therefore actually realistically insurable... although the renewalo nthe blue with a claim to my name wasn't great.
SXi Lad, they're the wheels off of the Lotus Europa S. They really drew me to that car as I previously hadno interest in silver. I really should have bought back and kept that silver one but I never knew I'd be getting a vx so soon. It was kitted out with a load of lotus goodies like sill guards, plush lotus mats, engine plates, the wheels and some 'type 116' stickers (lotus' code name for the VX) - not to mention completely debadged, almost liek the previous owner was embarassed by the vauxhall badge but prefferred the looks of the VX to the elise as he defo had the money for an elise going by the service bills! Loved the lairy MMG diffuser the silver one had too.
Plans with the blue one - nothing power related but got a few aesthetic changes in mind - does need some proper sportier tyres (front ones have tooo low profile) and a good geo set up too but ill see if I make it through winter first!
Lets Torque, its just the 1.8, only fractionally slower and it seemed the 2.2's were quite alot more too insure. Bought it for its looks though, loved the lowered springs, anthracite alloys, GSi front bumper and blue alacantara interior.
Haha sorry to disapoint disco you... to anyone not understanding what a toe link/track arm fail is - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2285160065... - skip to 45s, it happens so so quickly and you've crashed before you have even reacted to it
Spot on gingerbread man. They write off very easily because they're made up of very few panels and each panel costs £1000s new, add the labour and it only takes a couple panels and you're looking at a category d write off as the value of the N/A models... well, I got £7000 for the silver one, I paid £8000 for it 6 months previous because it was such a clean example. No sign of them about to fail either, just a risk you take around every bend. Couldn't agree more lewis, love the look of them. Totally forgot about them until I used to see one on my commute to work and was amazed they aren't group 20 insurance - therefore actually realistically insurable... although the renewalo nthe blue with a claim to my name wasn't great.
SXi Lad, they're the wheels off of the Lotus Europa S. They really drew me to that car as I previously hadno interest in silver. I really should have bought back and kept that silver one but I never knew I'd be getting a vx so soon. It was kitted out with a load of lotus goodies like sill guards, plush lotus mats, engine plates, the wheels and some 'type 116' stickers (lotus' code name for the VX) - not to mention completely debadged, almost liek the previous owner was embarassed by the vauxhall badge but prefferred the looks of the VX to the elise as he defo had the money for an elise going by the service bills! Loved the lairy MMG diffuser the silver one had too.
Plans with the blue one - nothing power related but got a few aesthetic changes in mind - does need some proper sportier tyres (front ones have tooo low profile) and a good geo set up too but ill see if I make it through winter first!
Boydie88 said:
Hi fellas,
Lets Torque, its just the 1.8, only fractionally slower and it seemed the 2.2's were quite alot more too insure. Bought it for its looks though, loved the lowered springs, anthracite alloys, GSi front bumper and blue alacantara interior.
Still a great car regardless of engine size. My mate had a 2.2 and that really did fly. Lets Torque, its just the 1.8, only fractionally slower and it seemed the 2.2's were quite alot more too insure. Bought it for its looks though, loved the lowered springs, anthracite alloys, GSi front bumper and blue alacantara interior.
The wheels and GSi front bumper really do work on that car!
Gingerbread Man said:
I'm guessing it's because of their build construction, just like the Elise/ Exige, they're bonded fibreglass to a tub (?), so it doesn't take much to make the repair bills add up and up and up and into the not economical to repair stage.
A quick look on my EPC tells me the retial on the rear clamshell for a VX is £2819+ vat. Take into accoutn labour for fitting, paint etcYep, garage repairs soon add up on these cars. Taking the rear clam off is no easy job, even for the experienced I've heard.
But, you can pick up old/slightly used clams on the cheap so there are lots of cat C and D VX220s out there which have been bought back from the insurers and repaired to very good standards. If you are looking at these, don't be put off by the cat d and c cars, cat d especially, as often it is no more than cosmetic damage.
But, you can pick up old/slightly used clams on the cheap so there are lots of cat C and D VX220s out there which have been bought back from the insurers and repaired to very good standards. If you are looking at these, don't be put off by the cat d and c cars, cat d especially, as often it is no more than cosmetic damage.
Boydie88 said:
Yep, garage repairs soon add up on these cars. Taking the rear clam off is no easy job, even for the experienced I've heard.
But, you can pick up old/slightly used clams on the cheap so there are lots of cat C and D VX220s out there which have been bought back from the insurers and repaired to very good standards. If you are looking at these, don't be put off by the cat d and c cars, cat d especially, as often it is no more than cosmetic damage.
Indeed, ill never forget photos i saw recently from the 'ring that featured a VX that had a diffrent colour for every body panel But, you can pick up old/slightly used clams on the cheap so there are lots of cat C and D VX220s out there which have been bought back from the insurers and repaired to very good standards. If you are looking at these, don't be put off by the cat d and c cars, cat d especially, as often it is no more than cosmetic damage.
Boydie88 said:
Haha sorry to disapoint disco you... to anyone not understanding what a toe link/track arm fail is - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2285160065... - skip to 45s, it happens so so quickly and you've crashed before you have even reacted to it
Wow, that does go fast. Also, Mugello looks just the same irl as it does in Forza 4!Friday passion, you must be jonnyboy on .org? I do need/want one, but I don't know whether it is a need or a want! Chatting to a guy with an OEM one atm but he wants £700.
Mastodon2, forza 4 FTW. Mine happened on a roundabout, I entered it pretty fast (but no more than I'd done dozens of times before as its my commute to work, turned left onto it fine, started turning right and instantly span round and into the lamp post. No skid marks on the road at all. Still see the paint marks on the lamp post every morning though
SammyW. I've always been in to my Lotus' and I'd actually forgotten about the VX220 as I hadn't seen one since I was about 12 so when I was originally looking at astra vxr's/888s I just browsed elises but for a minter they were all over 10k (S1's) and inurance group 20. Then a vx started commuting past me every morning and I started looking at them - realised then I preferred the look of them to the old elise, definitely preferred the vauxhall internals too, so looked into them a bit more only to find that the N/A model was just group 17 so after alot of research on vx220.org.uk I began the hunt and I can't recommend them enough - despite the crash. 40mpg during the week when commuting and one awesome weekend toy - just pretty nervy in the wet, and the headlights are like candles.
As soon as I can run two cars (cant due to insurance atm, need a couple years no claims to get the vx back to a nice amount and being 25 will help) I'm hoping the only Blue VXR220 will be available (for sale atm
) as these vauxhall engines have taken my mind of what was my dream car, the s2 exige. McLaren MP4-12C remains the ultimate dream though.
Mastodon2, forza 4 FTW. Mine happened on a roundabout, I entered it pretty fast (but no more than I'd done dozens of times before as its my commute to work, turned left onto it fine, started turning right and instantly span round and into the lamp post. No skid marks on the road at all. Still see the paint marks on the lamp post every morning though
SammyW. I've always been in to my Lotus' and I'd actually forgotten about the VX220 as I hadn't seen one since I was about 12 so when I was originally looking at astra vxr's/888s I just browsed elises but for a minter they were all over 10k (S1's) and inurance group 20. Then a vx started commuting past me every morning and I started looking at them - realised then I preferred the look of them to the old elise, definitely preferred the vauxhall internals too, so looked into them a bit more only to find that the N/A model was just group 17 so after alot of research on vx220.org.uk I began the hunt and I can't recommend them enough - despite the crash. 40mpg during the week when commuting and one awesome weekend toy - just pretty nervy in the wet, and the headlights are like candles.
As soon as I can run two cars (cant due to insurance atm, need a couple years no claims to get the vx back to a nice amount and being 25 will help) I'm hoping the only Blue VXR220 will be available (for sale atm
) as these vauxhall engines have taken my mind of what was my dream car, the s2 exige. McLaren MP4-12C remains the ultimate dream though.Edited by Boydie88 on Friday 11th November 08:36
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