Opinions sought on reliability please, Vectra, Insigna etc..

[TonyRPH]

I'm looking at buying another car.

It doesn't have to be fast, I just want something that's likely to be relatively rust free and reliable.

Budget is up to £2.5k

So far, the Vauxhall Vectra and Insignia seem to be looking like good value.

I realise that many of these may have been repmobiles etc. and are likely to have been clocked - however I see quite a few around with 70k miles or so for around the £2k mark.

Do these suffer from many well known issues?

I need something large(ish) so am ruling out small hatchbacks at the moment.

I also note that most of the Vauxhalls I see out and about seem to have quite clean bodywork, suggesting good corrosion resistance.

Is there anything else worth considering in this bracket? Obviously there are also loads of Volvo and Saabs too.

Thanks.

[culpz]

With reliability being key, I'd say a Lexus IS250 should do the trick.

[nunpuncher]

I have no personal experience of any vauxhall cars. Mainly because my dad had loads of them as company cars, several of which were Vectra. And every one was an unreliable pile of ste.

[Twig62]

nunpuncher said:

I have no personal experience of any vauxhall cars. Mainly because my dad had loads of them as company cars, several of which were Vectra. And every one was an unreliable pile of ste.

Ignore the above op. It's just another load of "Jeremy Clarkson says" b***ocks from a snowflake ! As he says himself, he has no experience of them himself whatsoever !

Edited by Twig62 on Thursday 24th December 15:46

[RazerSauber]

I had a Vectra C 1.8 and only had a master cylinder go in 18 months of abused motoring. I remember leaving it for about 4 months after I bought an ill-fated E46 that broke down on me. Quick jump start and it fired into life like I used it yesterday. Quick trip down the road for petrol and to pump up the tyres and off I went. Never had another issue with it. That being said, it is a Vauxhall and that means the crank oil seal WILL leak. Doesn't matter if you replace it, engine swap it or stick a Vauxhall badge on a Tesla. It'll make up a crank seal, then have it leak. No idea what they make them out of but it only lasts 5 minutes! Out of the 6 Vauxhalls I've had in my household, all 6 have had crank oil seal leaks. I even had one replaced on my Calibra as part of a full engine rebuild and that's leaking again, 3 years and ~500 miles down the line!

The diesels were in all sorts. Fiats, Alfas and god knows what else. Apart from the M32 (I think) gearboxes being a bit fragile, they seem pretty robust cars. I've always said if I ended up on the bones of my backside and needed my own transportation, that's probably where I'd look first. Cheap, reliable, spares are plentiful, comfortable and not as bad to drive as Top Gear made out.

[clockworks]

I had 2 Vectras as company cars back in the day. Both went back with well over 100k on the clock.

Vectra B petrol, think it was a 1.8. The only problem was a rusty petrol tank bracket at the first MOT.

Vectra C diesel, 1.9 CRDT. Only problem was a porous inlet manifold that caused limp mode a few times. Eventually fixed under warranty, but took a while to find the fault.

The 1.9 diesel was a decent car, 150bhp so reasonably fast for a repmobile back then, and easy to get 50mpg.

[ZX10R NIN]

The Vauxhall's are a very good option

Insignia SRI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012046...

Exclusive

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012157...

The other good buy at this price point is the Laguna2 they're very reliable & you can get a nice one in budget.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012026...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012117...

407 SE

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011136...

Gen2 Citroen C5

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010275...

Saab 9-3

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012036...

[Defcon5]

I’ve had a 2008 Vectra 1.8 SRI since 2016. Cost £1600 with 75k on.

This is the longest I’ve kept any car, currently on 135k.

It’s very reliable, other than routine maintenance it’s needed a couple of shocks, and a backbox. Average mpg over the last 4 years is 37

It’s massive, takes 4 lads camping a few times a year with everything in the boot/under seats etc and gets me to work and back daily with no bother.

[TonyRPH]

Thanks all - some useful suggestions there.

[Eddie Twadds]

Ran a 55 plate 1.9 CDTi 150bhp from 30,000 to 90,000 miles. New clutch and DMF at 60,000 miles (£600.00) which is known issue but common to many cars not just Vectras. 2 broken springs and knackered front shocks and a hole in the aircon radiator. Decent torquey shove from the diesel unit. Utterly uninspiring to drive but perfect for A roads and m-ways.

[Kateg28]

Eddie Twadds said:

Ran a 55 plate 1.9 CDTi 150bhp from 30,000 to 90,000 miles. New clutch and DMF at 60,000 miles (£600.00) which is known issue but common to many cars not just Vectras. 2 broken springs and knackered front shocks and a hole in the aircon radiator. Decent torquey shove from the diesel unit. Utterly uninspiring to drive but perfect for A roads and m-ways.

We had the same car from nearly new (3 month old demonstrator) and in the first two years it had a plethora of things going wrong. Steering rack, rear suspension etc. It was a plagued car and my old Mondeo was much more reliable despite being 5 years older.

It was eventually written off in an accident (TP at fault).

I have driven a new (hired) Astra and liked it but the vectra soured our experience and we would never get another.

[clockworks]

Weird how experiences vary so much.

I did 28 years as a computer field engineer, driving between 30 and 40k a year in a mix of Fords and Vauxhalls.
Most were company cars, but I did run my own old sheds for about 5 years - a couple of Carltons, three Granadas and a Probe.

In all that time (and around a million miles), I only called the AA 3 times:

no oil in a CVH Escort that I'd just been given as my first (second user) company car. Hydraulic lifters don't work with no oil!
broken clutch cable on a very sheddy Granada that had done over 150k
limp mode on the Vectra which refused to start up again due to the inlet manifold problem

I've only had to call them out once in my personal cars - MINI R53 with a totally dead battery

[Jamescrs]

I have maybe a dozen Insignias at work all diesels and maybe 2 with auto boxes, they have all been pretty much faultless with with normal servicing, they all get taken to about 100k miles before being sent to auction and no issues I can think of to mention.

[bobclayton]

Used to sell Mk1 Insignia's in a previous life (circa 2008-2013 models) - never any real issues with them. Only one I can recall is Power Steering pump belt going on one. Other than that, the 2.0CDTi engines are strong but unrefined, and the standard warning about clutches/DMF, but I'd argue that's wear and tear!

Away from the snobbery, I actually think they're fantastic bargains, and decent used buys. Of course, just be prepared for the badge to fall of the front!

[Richard-D]

A few years ago I had a 1.8 Vectra C as a banger. It was pretty much perfect for over 3 years needing only 1 spring, inner track rod ends, a thermostat and a radiator. I think the spring was £8 delivered, bits for these are so cheap. Bought with about 100,000 miles and sold with about 150,000. It had been neglected and the oil was like treacle, to the point the oil pressure light came on and it had a noisy tappet. A couple of oil changes in quick succession sorted that and the engine came back fine. There wasn't a spot of rust on it anywhere when sold and it would have been around 11 years old. The facelift models have a common fault with the steering wheel module that causes lots of annoying faults.

I know the diesel insignia has an issue with the oil pickup. You need to drop the sump and replace a seal or they can trash the bottom end. If you don't need the diesel I'd go with the 1800 petrol. It's an excellent engine, just a little breathless by modern standards.

Edit: I agree that people like to parrot what Clarkson says on Topgear so Vectras/Insignias get criticised a lot by people with no knowledge whatsoever.

Edited by Richard-D on Saturday 26th December 18:01