£500 Vectra B banger

[maxdb]

Well after about 3 years it was time to say goodbye to the Citroen C1. It was a good little car and the only let down was the lack of boot space. Citroen was a pain when it come to returning the car. The contract does not end until 30th August but they were trying to tell me it ended in July. Anyway they called last Thursday wanting the car back and today they picked it up.

So goodbye C1!!



So the hunt was on for a cheap run around. It needed to be cheap and practical as the girlfriend is expecting. I saw a few good cars cheap but most were sold by the time I rang up and one garage had a winge when i asked what service history it had!!

Anyway browsing Facebook of all places I saw this Vectra for sale. It was up for £700 but I got it for £500. It needs a few things doing to it but at the end of the day it's a car and it drives (for now!).

2000 Vauxhall Astra Ls 16v







I really didn't want a Vauxhall to be honest but it doesn't seem too bad for the price.

Features:

- Minimal rust
- No leaks
- Air con (don't know if this works yet probably not)
- Electric Windows
- CD Player
- Kind of clean
- Exhaust system recently replaced
- Crankshaft sensor/immobiliser problem replaced/fixed in the last year
- Engine bay seems in reasonable condition

Bad bits:

- It's a Vauxhall
- It's a 5 door and I'm not a fan on most 5 door cars unless it's a Volvo/Saab/Impreza/Evo
- Handling does not seem very good
- Squeeky Clutch pedal
- You can feel the engine rumble on idle
- Steering feels a bit strange - doesn't pull but may be steering rack issue
- Bad paintwork on rear bumper
- Seats seem to quick a bit
- 2 of the tyres low on tread but legal
- Bushes most likely will need replacing
- Could do with a service

The first thing I want to do is get it to the garage for an oil change. Whilst it's in I will get them to check the steering/suspension for any wear or problems. I will also sort the tyres out around the same time. Another thing to do is take the induction kit off and source an original air box. I also want to replace the parcel shelf as the last owner cut holes in for some 6x9's.

The main issue with this car is the service history. It has stamps in the book upto about 2005 where the mileage was 94k. Servicing after this date seems patchy. Whilst the cambelt was probably changed in this time there is no documentation to support it so another thing to do once it's in is check the cambelt.

It's a shame it isn't really a great car to write about. If it goes majorly wing I will just get rid of it and get the bus for now

[Dave Hedgehog]

cant go wrong for £500

[Jw Vw]

A lex said:

Good buy for £500.

Personally I wouldnt bother with a cambelt change, not on a car at this price point. If it breaks, weigh it in.

This.

Great buy for £500 IMO. These old Vectra's are pretty reliable as well.

[mrmr96]

1 - Do the oil change yourself
2 - Why bother replacing the air box and rear shelf? It's a £500 car, why spend more to return it to "original condition". It's transport not concours!
3 - Up to you if you chance the cambelt. You may replace that, but doesn't stop other stuff breaking which writes the car off. I'd chance it, if my wife wasn't expecting and I needed best reliability.
4 - An Evo isn't 5 doors

[maxdb]

I have found it the car hard an Ebay chip so this got removed - I have not driven it yet but it seems to rev better? Might just be me though. I have also debadged the rear (got bored). Just need to get rid of some sticky stuff. I might get myself an Opel badge to replace the Vauxhall one I took off as it will cover up the holes

I ran some black t-cut over some parts of the car. The paintwork is pretty bad it doesn't really pick it up in the photo's. I will give a clean over the next week or 2 depending on how much time I get.

It also appears the wheel bearing has gone. I'll get this to the nearby garage to get sorted. It's a shame I don't have a driveway. I'll also need to get 2 new tires soon.

Also got myself Haynes manual to help with bits I can do at home

Edited by maxdb on Sunday 26th August 14:20

[VinceFox]

Get rid of that air filter.

[anonymous-user]

Yeah that eBay "chip" will probably have been contributing to rough running and although tbh I probably wouldn't spend the money myself I'd say it will run better without that cone filter sucking in hot air from the engine bay.

[duncancallum]

500 quid?

pah you where robbed I got my 113k P plate Dtl for £250.

Admittedly yours is cleaner than mine!

[maxdb]

duncancallum said:

500 quid?

pah you where robbed I got my 113k P plate Dtl for £250.

Admittedly yours is cleaner than mine!

I felt bad to go any cheaper lol.

Anyway time for an update..

Track rod parts were worn out so this caused the bad steering issues. Front ones now replaced. I ordered a carbon style air box for £35 to hopefully stop the heat soak issues as I can't seem to find any airboxes that fit on ebay?? :/



All the tyres are pretty low on tread so saw some Vectra alloys on Gumtree up for sale with some tyres with good tread - they are budget tyres though but should hopefully do the job.

I just hope they fit as they are from a Vectra C:



Just need to get them fitted tomorrow and check a UV joint in the steering as there still is a little play in the steering. After this it's the rear bushes and a oil change. I have also noticed the heater doesn't really put out cold air so this will get looked at - most probably after MOT time.

[kriskarrera]

Where did you get that airbox from?

[maxdb]

kriskarrera said:

Where did you get that airbox from?

Got it from Amazon. Hopefully should arrive this week..

New wheels fitted:



Needs some new rear tyres in the next 1000 miles so i'm told

I might do something to the front lights soon as they got a warning on the last MOT for being a bit too yellow?
The cars much better to drive now but there still seems to be a bit of play on the steering. I have checked the universal joint and it seems ok. Might be a powersteering issue?

[Max M4X WW]

The headlights don't look yellow or discoloured at all. Maybe they have 'all weather' type bulbs in?

[maxdb]

Airbox now fitted. I should get a bracket made up instead of letting it rest where it is. Car appears to run better now and engine runs a bit cooler. A Ferrari drove past me when I was fitting the airbox and it made me drop the spanner down into the bottom of the engine bay . I have managed to get the spanner out now though lol.

Next job is to get new bushes on the car so it handles a little better. The MPG appears quite low aswell. I work it out to be about 27mpg.

[maxdb]

Update time - well the MOT and Tax runs out at the end of the month and I have decided to scrap it. I don't think it's worth shelling out for an MOT and service when the car has not had any service history for 60k miles. It's been quite fun running it like a shed though

Things purchased within ownership period:

Universal induction kit - £40 - £45
Parcel shelf - £15
Replacement interior light switches £30
Alloys £150
Tyres £280
Spares £40
Small garage repair £130

Total spent on parts £690
Car £500

Total £1190

So not really great shedding by me. This was mainly with me being greedy and getting alloys and more expensive tyres as the P6000s the car came with were sh**!!

Average spend works out to be £238 per month, which was about £100 per month more than the C1!!

I should get about £150 back from scrapping the car and hopefully a further £150 back from the wheels/tyres if I am lucky so it should in theory take the total back to £890 but any money back will be good.

The next car should have a higher budget of around £1k. I just need to make my mind up what to get - any suggestions??

[maxdb]

I thought I would mention all the parts that have worn out/gone wrong in the ownership period:

- Windows steam up really easily - especially the rear
- Door key broke. I have fixed it but it can be fiddly in the lock
- Remote central locking no longer works
- Drivers seat still has movement/can wiggle around a bit
- Suspension bushes worn
- Poss engine mount worn
- Gearbox makes funny squeeky noise sometimes
- Drivers window sometimes get stuck

[v8will]

I'd chance my arm and try an MOT again, it could well go through without anything needed or at the least very very little. If it failed then sure scrap it but, Try and get another year out of it and you could drop that monthly average way down or you then have the option of punting on for minimal loss.

If you do scrap try and strip any usable parts off and stick them on eBay, that trick saw me quids in when an old Volvo of mine lunched its engine.

Edit: From your list the only thing that may be an MOT issue is the suspension bushes but I still think trying an MOT and then evaluate what to do is worth a punt. In shedding terms the other things you mention merely add character.

Edited by v8will on Tuesday 15th January 21:39

[VinceFox]

Id definitely put it in and see what it fails on.

[maxdb]

I have thought about it but I really don't think it would be worth doing. I previously forgot to mention the brakes all need looking at too aswell as the handbrake :/

[Max M4X WW]

Its worth £500 of anyone's money with an MOT.

[tbc]

spending 500 hoping for a decent shed

then shelling out anther 500 on some st you don't need

responsible shedding then