An Astra doesn't break down

[eltax91]

Hi all

I'm working in Denmark at the moment and they have an advertisement running in which a guy tells a pal about a crazy dream he has:

'My Astra broke down and then claudia chiffeur appears in a mechanics outfit to fix it'

Then, the lovely claudia interrupts his story and says

'Thats impossible, an Astra never breaks down. After all, it's a German'

Cue a flash of the Opel badge and some drivel about finance and scoring top in a reliability rating.

Anyway, enough of the drivel from me, 3 questions:-

Does an Astra break down?

Are they not made in blighty? I thought they were but stand to be corrected. Is there any famous German reliability in there?

Do the Danes believe in the German reliability myth too?

[Dogwatch]

Saw a van today marked 'Astra Demolition'.

Yep, it was an Astra. Perhaps that's where they all end up

[ambuletz]

arent they made in luton?

[eltax91]

ambuletz said:

arent they made in luton?

I thought they were

[pringle1988]

Sure there was a very recent topic on here about an Astra VXR with many problems.

[Mr2Mike]

The Opel badged Astras are made in Germany AFAIK.

[radiodanno]

Here was me thinking the Astra was made on Merseyside.

The Isuzu diesel unit was probably the toughest diesel motor of its time, but I'm quietly confident the Astra is not "90s Jap" when it comes to reliability.

[Vxr17]

they do break down TRUST ME

[Guvernator]

Not sure about new Astra's but my parents have a 2002 Astra SRi which they've owned for the last 5 years now and bar normal servicing, it hasn't needed a penny spending on it and never broken down. Who says old Vauxhall's are crap, it's by far the most cost effective motoring they've ever had.

Seriously makes me wonder sometimes why I seem to spend so much money keeping "newer\better" cars on the road.

[ch108]

I've had my 06 plate Astra for 4 years now, and touch wood has only needed the normal wear and tear consumables. In the past I've owned both mark 2&3 Astras with no major breakdowns. Although the mark 3s sump gasket went depositing the oil over the road!

My dad currently has an 09 plate new shape Astra. Only issue has been the a/c stop working. Twice.

Edited by ch108 on Wednesday 25th June 19:51

[DKS]

Well it depends. Mk1s and early Mk2s were made by Adam Opel. ALL GTE models are German. Then they want all over the place. The Mk5s and 6s are/ were made in France in addition.
Ironically, the comment about "90s Jap reliability" is a good one as the OHC engines (diesel AND petrol) are all from Isuzu, so they should be exactly that!
My 1988 1.3 Mk2 is on 225k and only broke down once when I fitted a cheap eBay ignition amp. Put an old one back on and it's away. My old Mk3 went to 210k and the guy I sold it to still got £250 for it on eBay. I knew the history of that from new and it certainly never failed to proceed in it's life.

Like any car they've got Bosch, Lucus, Magnetti, Peirburg etc parts on it. I've always found the (Irish) wiring to be much better quality than, say, French stuff. All the friggin' wires are green on them suckers.

I blew the clutch to bits on my Mk4 driving like a tit and the alternator bearing slipped on the GTE when it was poorly rebuilt, and once the fuel pump relay failed. I'll certainly fly the Vauxhall flag for many years yet!

Edited by DKS on Wednesday 25th June 19:49

[jamieduff1981]

Guvernator said:

Not sure about new Astra's but my parents have a 2002 Astra SRi which they've owned for the last 5 years now and bar normal servicing, it hasn't needed a penny spending on it and never broken down. Who says old Vauxhall's are crap, it's by far the most cost effective motoring they've ever had.

Seriously makes me wonder sometimes why I seem to spend so much money keeping "newer\better" cars on the road.

Because you are even on Pistonheads I'm going to make a wild guess and assume you are at least vaguely interested in cars.

As such, there is significantly more to cars and driving as far as an enthusiast is concerned than cost effectiveness. I imagine you're not a member of Washingmachineheads.com or Refridgeratorregister.co.uk

If cost effectiveness was the only thing we considered when buying cars, this forum wouldn't exist.

[Bungleaio]

My dad had a mk3 1.7td, he had it for years and it never broke down. I had a mk 4 1.6 for 3 years and that never broke down either.

So based upon my experience I would agree and say yes, Astra's don't break down.

[DKS]

jamieduff1981 said:

Because you are even on Pistonheads I'm going to make a wild guess and assume you are at least vaguely interested in cars.

As such, there is significantly more to cars and driving as far as an enthusiast is concerned than cost effectiveness. I imagine you're not a member of Washingmachineheads.com or Refridgeratorregister.co.uk

If cost effectiveness was the only thing we considered when buying cars, this forum wouldn't exist.

You are quite right, but Astras are not awful, and it's also nice not to have worry too much about a large bill dropped in your lap.

[Guvernator]

jamieduff1981 said:

Because you are even on Pistonheads I'm going to make a wild guess and assume you are at least vaguely interested in cars.

As such, there is significantly more to cars and driving as far as an enthusiast is concerned than cost effectiveness. I imagine you're not a member of Washingmachineheads.com or Refridgeratorregister.co.uk

If cost effectiveness was the only thing we considered when buying cars, this forum wouldn't exist.

Oh I agree wholeheartedly, it's just SOMETIMES I do tyre of the wallet raping, especially when one gets so very few chances to enjoy "proper" motoring these days. I know the answer, I should just by yet another car which will be far too costly to maintain to use on track and get an Astra as a daily.

[98elise]

We had a Mk3 1.3 (or was it 1.4?) poverty spec that refused to die. It was my company car for the first 85k miles. It was worked very hard. I then bought it for my wifes sweet business, where it was used like a van. At 100k miles we decided we would stop servicing it, and run it into the ground, then buy something to replace it. 4 years later it was still going strong with 150k on the clock!

We then sold very cheaply to a friend, they then ran it for another 2 years without issues.

[finlo]

eltax91 said:

I thought they were

Derivatives of Renault vans at Luton and Astras at Ellesmere port IIRC.

[BE57 TOY]

I had an 04 plate Astra when it was a few months old and kept it for 2 years and 60,000 very hard miles - never missed a beat.

[MH82]

My step brother got new cars on motorbility and he has had a couple of Astras:

1996 1.6 Merit - within 6000 miles back to the dealer 4 times for engine issues which put the management light on.

2002 1.8 Club - within 800 miles back to the dealer for an engine light and cutting out. After 4000 miles there was blue smoke visible from the exhaust

He has had a Mk1 Megane and various Focus's in between and since and they have all been spot on.

Colleagues have had issues with cutting out too and one particular person had an ignition barrel lock the steering whilst driving in a mk5, a bit scary to say the least and various rough running issues.

[Pit Pony]

Last time I drove past Ellesmere Port there was a sign that said "Home of the Astra"

But GM have always treated manufacturing sites like suppliers, who have to bid for work, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were made in more than one location.