*cough*vauxhall*cough* Bertone Coupe- yay or nay?
Discussion
Looking at possibilities for my next car purchase, currently doing without as I've just got back from Uni, working part time at my old job until I find somewhere local full time, get some money behind me to get a car again (I hate life without one 
)
Budget was originally going to be £1500 and around £600 for insurance (being 21 is not a lot...)
I've owned a Focus before so had persuaded myself to go down this route again as my previous one was solid, reliable and had enough grunt, possibly looking out for a 2.0 ESP as discussed in my last thread. But today I saw a lovely looking Astra Coupe (sorry, a Vauxhall I know.... the shame) in black, 2.2l engine, half leather half alancantra seats, all the usual toys, very clean with 100k on the clock, Y-reg, near full history for £1600.
This lead to an insurance quote of £900, but looked at the 1.8l version and these dropped to £600, so not bad really. Scoured ebay and autotrader just now- there's some very tidy ones with 1 owner from new, 52 plate, 60k miles for example, going for as low as £2300 which seems a lot of car for the cash. Possibly worth the extra month or two of saving?
The question is... yes or no? I know its a Vauxhall, and yes from previous driving experience they seem to be quite jellyish in the gears and pretty ropey to drive, but wondered if the Coupe is any different? The 2.0l turbo is unfortunately a no no, I won't even bother trying with insurance even though I've heard its the best engine of the bunch. Might even consider the convertible version as I'm a girl and can get away (just) with admitting ownership of such a thing.
Just wondered if you thought looking at these could be a good idea, and what to look out for in general.
Thanks a lot
)Budget was originally going to be £1500 and around £600 for insurance (being 21 is not a lot...)
I've owned a Focus before so had persuaded myself to go down this route again as my previous one was solid, reliable and had enough grunt, possibly looking out for a 2.0 ESP as discussed in my last thread. But today I saw a lovely looking Astra Coupe (sorry, a Vauxhall I know.... the shame) in black, 2.2l engine, half leather half alancantra seats, all the usual toys, very clean with 100k on the clock, Y-reg, near full history for £1600.
This lead to an insurance quote of £900, but looked at the 1.8l version and these dropped to £600, so not bad really. Scoured ebay and autotrader just now- there's some very tidy ones with 1 owner from new, 52 plate, 60k miles for example, going for as low as £2300 which seems a lot of car for the cash. Possibly worth the extra month or two of saving?
The question is... yes or no? I know its a Vauxhall, and yes from previous driving experience they seem to be quite jellyish in the gears and pretty ropey to drive, but wondered if the Coupe is any different? The 2.0l turbo is unfortunately a no no, I won't even bother trying with insurance even though I've heard its the best engine of the bunch. Might even consider the convertible version as I'm a girl and can get away (just) with admitting ownership of such a thing.
Just wondered if you thought looking at these could be a good idea, and what to look out for in general.
Thanks a lot
Deluded said:
As above, I also think they look lovely. Much nicer than the hatch version.
Problem is that my one experience of owning a vauxhall, and other experiences of driving others vauxhalls have left a sour taste in my mouth which has put me off ever buying another.
+1Problem is that my one experience of owning a vauxhall, and other experiences of driving others vauxhalls have left a sour taste in my mouth which has put me off ever buying another.
yes they look great, we had a very close look at them at the motorshow the year they came out I guess there are good and bad with everything
I'll never buy a Vauxhall, myself and people I know have had nothing but trouble with themy2blade said:
Deluded said:
As above, I also think they look lovely. Much nicer than the hatch version.
Problem is that my one experience of owning a vauxhall, and other experiences of driving others vauxhalls have left a sour taste in my mouth which has put me off ever buying another.
+1Problem is that my one experience of owning a vauxhall, and other experiences of driving others vauxhalls have left a sour taste in my mouth which has put me off ever buying another.
yes they look great, we had a very close look at them at the motorshow the year they came out I guess there are good and bad with everything
I'll never buy a Vauxhall, myself and people I know have had nothing but trouble with themMy OH had a corsa (first form) with the tiny 1.0, 3 cylinder engine. She had it four years, it had covered 110,000 miles and only ever broke down once (she was cruising at an indicated 95, she did this a lot - the cars top speed - and it burst an oil line or something). The car was never serviced properly, no money spent on it, never any big MOT issues and it was still going fine when she got rid for a 03 clio - which has been nothing but trouble!
The 1.8 is (obviously) less powerful than the 2.2, but weirdly it's not a lot more economical. The 1.8 is not one of Vauxhalls best engines as it's pretty thirsty for the power, so if you're able to afford a 2.2 then I'd recommend that.
FWIW I think the Astra Coupé is the best looking car in the bracket you're looking at.
Shropshiremike said:
Don't know much about these but if you do look at a 2.2 engine do some reading up about the cam chain etc beforehand. I think they had a habit of letting go on some models?
The issue with the older 2.2's was that there is an oil jet which squirts oil on the cam chain. (Chain not belt). This was supposed to keep it lubricated. However on the early cars this wasn't big enough for the job, and so there was a recall to fit a larger nozzle. This larger nozzle was fitted as standard to the later cars. Just check it's been done or indeed came from the factory with the later nozzle. If it has then you have no worries.FWIW I think the Astra Coupé is the best looking car in the bracket you're looking at.
balders118 said:
y2blade said:
Deluded said:
As above, I also think they look lovely. Much nicer than the hatch version.
Problem is that my one experience of owning a vauxhall, and other experiences of driving others vauxhalls have left a sour taste in my mouth which has put me off ever buying another.
+1Problem is that my one experience of owning a vauxhall, and other experiences of driving others vauxhalls have left a sour taste in my mouth which has put me off ever buying another.
yes they look great, we had a very close look at them at the motorshow the year they came out I guess there are good and bad with everything
I'll never buy a Vauxhall, myself and people I know have had nothing but trouble with themMy OH had a corsa (first form) with the tiny 1.0, 3 cylinder engine. She had it four years, it had covered 110,000 miles and only ever broke down once (she was cruising at an indicated 95, she did this a lot - the cars top speed - and it burst an oil line or something). The car was never serviced properly, no money spent on it, never any big MOT issues and it was still going fine when she got rid for a 03 clio - which has been nothing but trouble!
I had a 2.2 model, was nice looking car and nice inside but let down by being a typical astra driving experience. It felt no different to a regular Astra, so you get wallowy suspension and steering with no feedback. If you like driving a Focus you will be disappointed driving one of these.
Made up for by its good looks and it was very good on fuel it would average nearly 40 mpg on the motorway.
Made up for by its good looks and it was very good on fuel it would average nearly 40 mpg on the motorway.
Just done a quote on a 140 Celica, wanted one for a long time but unfortunately as expected came back at £1070... so not as drastic as I initially thought but still considering the cars are rarely under the £2.5k range at the moment, might be pushing the budget a bit too much.
Think I might go for the Astra Coupe unless something else takes my fancy by the time it comes to buying. Seen some lovely low mileage ones up for way under 2k at local garages!
Think I might go for the Astra Coupe unless something else takes my fancy by the time it comes to buying. Seen some lovely low mileage ones up for way under 2k at local garages!
Louisa911 said:
Presumably the Irmscher kit or something regarding the bodykit? Not sure about the headlights but they do look good, seen a few very standard looking ones for sale with these fitted.
I think the later SRi/GSi hatches, and all the Coupe's had darkened headlights and tail lights as standard.The Irmscher kit is nice imo - makes it look good but without being an OTT barry boys type of thing.
Louisa911 said:
Presumably the Irmscher kit or something regarding the bodykit? Not sure about the headlights but they do look good, seen a few very standard looking ones for sale with these fitted.
I personally think all of the Irmscher stuff is gash. Bloody horrible, the last thing anyone needs is a factory-chav Corsa with the exhausts from a Vectra V6 slung on the bottom.Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff