Why do people buy vauxhalls?
Discussion
Nickbrapp said:
I’ve got a new shape Astra for a company car
It’s quite good really, nothing remarkable
This perfectly encapsulates Vauxhall in 2018. They are simply a lower-priced, white goods product whose brand once meant something.It’s quite good really, nothing remarkable
Now I typically only see them as 2-3yr old examples bought from car supermarkets, and strewn across council estates in South London.
Nickbrapp said:
Those surveys aren’t really accurate, they all rely on people filling in the surveys, and people with kias love to shout about how great they are so they come out better than BMW who only have the disgruntled few repling
It’s the same as when you go out for a meal 9/10 times it’s great but you don’t tell people about it, but the 1 time it’s awful you tell everyone all the time it’s mentioned
Staggering naivety.It’s the same as when you go out for a meal 9/10 times it’s great but you don’t tell people about it, but the 1 time it’s awful you tell everyone all the time it’s mentioned
Folks had a 2015 Insignia Elite from new, really nice looking car was spec'd in dark green with cream leather.
It drove nicely, nothing spectacular but the 170CDTi engine and auto box were a perfect match for long motorway trips. Oddly the car had an issue where the blender motor behind the dash would shut all outputs, so you'd end up not getting and air delivered from the dash. It went back to Vauxhall a number of times to resolve, but they couldn't fix it so the car was rejected.
A few months later the next owner called up and asked if we'd had any issues with the gearbox, saying the gearbox was due to be replaced in the coming weeks. The car wasn't even a year old at this point.
Shame really, it was a good car that on the face of it seemed well screwed together and was really good at it's intended job, but the dealers and a few fairly fundamental issues didn't help.
It drove nicely, nothing spectacular but the 170CDTi engine and auto box were a perfect match for long motorway trips. Oddly the car had an issue where the blender motor behind the dash would shut all outputs, so you'd end up not getting and air delivered from the dash. It went back to Vauxhall a number of times to resolve, but they couldn't fix it so the car was rejected.
A few months later the next owner called up and asked if we'd had any issues with the gearbox, saying the gearbox was due to be replaced in the coming weeks. The car wasn't even a year old at this point.
Shame really, it was a good car that on the face of it seemed well screwed together and was really good at it's intended job, but the dealers and a few fairly fundamental issues didn't help.
nevcontractor said:
mattyn1 said:
Not a fan of the car, but regardless, those last two pics are great!
What is that puts you off them?2. I just can't warm to the style. Though I fully understand from a fun perspective they would be a giggle! But its a no from me! Maybe its my age!
Cass63 said:
I had a 96 plate 2.0 vectra Sri and an A3 Audi 1.8 turbo at the same time a few years ago, the vectra would piss past the Audi on the straight but just wouldn’t go round corners at speed, much more fun to drive, I told my kids one of the cars had to go, they said keep the Audi, I kept the vectra, sulked for weeks when my Mrs wrote it off.
Audi must’ve been broken then as it’s something like 1.6 seconds quicker to 60 and most certainly the faster of the two. nevcontractor said:
Don't forget the Vauxhall VX220,
That'll be a Lotus with a Vauxhall badge...developed and built by Lotus as well so any "build quality" is down to them. Same goes for reliability (or lack of it) apart from the engine. It is utterly un-indicative of the rest of the Vauxhall range (either in a good or bad way).
C70R said:
Nickbrapp said:
I’ve got a new shape Astra for a company car
It’s quite good really, nothing remarkable
This perfectly encapsulates Vauxhall in 2018. They are simply a lower-priced, white goods product whose brand once meant something.It’s quite good really, nothing remarkable
Now I typically only see them as 2-3yr old examples bought from car supermarkets, and strewn across council estates in South London.
These cars now being the chavs chariot of choice down to the meteoric rise of pcp etc.
av185 said:
Just like Audi Merc and BMW then. Once premium now white goods, not just down to ubiquity.
These cars now being the chavs chariot of choice down to the meteoric rise of pcp etc.
Why does this type of post always come over as bitter, envious, jealous etc?These cars now being the chavs chariot of choice down to the meteoric rise of pcp etc.
I drive different makes of cars on a regular basis and if someone gave me a Vauxhall to use I wouldn't have a problem with it, but can't think why I would choose one over something else either. Which is what the original poster was asking I suppose.
The Debenhams of the car market?
Wooda80 said:
av185 said:
Just like Audi Merc and BMW then. Once premium now white goods, not just down to ubiquity.
These cars now being the chavs chariot of choice down to the meteoric rise of pcp etc.
Why does this type of post always come over as bitter, envious, jealous etc?These cars now being the chavs chariot of choice down to the meteoric rise of pcp etc.
Believe you me there is nothing I envy about Audi BMW and Mercedes as I drive far more rapid, driver involving and interesting cars than these.
The point stands that I also rate a number of Vauxhalls too as per my previous post.
av185 said:
C70R said:
Nickbrapp said:
I’ve got a new shape Astra for a company car
It’s quite good really, nothing remarkable
This perfectly encapsulates Vauxhall in 2018. They are simply a lower-priced, white goods product whose brand once meant something.It’s quite good really, nothing remarkable
Now I typically only see them as 2-3yr old examples bought from car supermarkets, and strewn across council estates in South London.
These cars now being the chavs chariot of choice down to the meteoric rise of pcp etc.
Credit is just improving product accessibility - the brands are still hugely aspirational to the masses. To think anything else would be staggeringly naive.
Fastdruid said:
That'll be a Lotus with a Vauxhall badge...developed and built by Lotus as well so any "build quality" is down to them. Same goes for reliability (or lack of it) apart from the engine.
It is utterly un-indicative of the rest of the Vauxhall range (either in a good or bad way).
Sorry but the fundamental fact is, there's a large number of "types" who will scoff the mention of the word Vauxhall and look down on those who own them with contempt... a very elitest stance and these are the sort of idiots that brand any car wearing the badge as being crap of whatever. Regardless if the VX220 is Lotus developed, stick a Vauxhall badge on and said types will default to the usual boorish comments and announce they'd rather shag a cheese grater than set their loafer clad foot in a Vauxhall. It's really just down to badge snobbery and for a long time, Vauxhall has been seen as the marque of the poor, the unemployed, the council types and thus on disability allowance and to be honest, I'm not really sure why. Again, probably a bloke in a pub said it once and these types heard it and having no voice of their own, stuck with it... It is utterly un-indicative of the rest of the Vauxhall range (either in a good or bad way).
They are also the sort of wombles that if you give a reasoned argument for why you opted for say, a 2009 Astra SRi 1.8 like I did for my wife and paid sub £2k for it, put 20k on it and the total repair spend was about £200 all in... they'll immediately come back with "You could have had a 1935 Bentley wheel and wing for that" or "Ha ha, Harry and my chums bought a 1997 BMW 750iL for less" and you're left thinking "Christ mate, what planet are you from? Plus, at the end of the day as "enthusiasts" we should appreciate all cars as all cars have their plus points and likewise, have their negatives so for somebody to ask why somebody would buy a Vauxhall... God knows, uneducated, narrow minded and just desperate to get some online back slapping from the other so called car enthusiasts who like to rubbish X, Y or Z because it's not their chosen brand to own.
It's absolutely no different to asking why people shop in Asda? Why people go to Spain? Why the bloke is married to a right bog monster? Why people want to work in a call centre...
Anyways, back to work and have three chain driven BMW's to drag off to their fate... fantastic things that they are.
Davie said:
Fastdruid said:
That'll be a Lotus with a Vauxhall badge...developed and built by Lotus as well so any "build quality" is down to them. Same goes for reliability (or lack of it) apart from the engine.
It is utterly un-indicative of the rest of the Vauxhall range (either in a good or bad way).
Sorry but the fundamental fact is, there's a large number of "types" who will scoff the mention of the word Vauxhall and look down on those who own them with contempt... a very elitest stance and these are the sort of idiots that brand any car wearing the badge as being crap of whatever. Regardless if the VX220 is Lotus developed, stick a Vauxhall badge on and said types will default to the usual boorish comments and announce they'd rather shag a cheese grater than set their loafer clad foot in a Vauxhall. It's really just down to badge snobbery and for a long time, Vauxhall has been seen as the marque of the poor, the unemployed, the council types and thus on disability allowance and to be honest, I'm not really sure why. Again, probably a bloke in a pub said it once and these types heard it and having no voice of their own, stuck with it... It is utterly un-indicative of the rest of the Vauxhall range (either in a good or bad way).
They are also the sort of wombles that if you give a reasoned argument for why you opted for say, a 2009 Astra SRi 1.8 like I did for my wife and paid sub £2k for it, put 20k on it and the total repair spend was about £200 all in... they'll immediately come back with "You could have had a 1935 Bentley wheel and wing for that" or "Ha ha, Harry and my chums bought a 1997 BMW 750iL for less" and you're left thinking "Christ mate, what planet are you from? Plus, at the end of the day as "enthusiasts" we should appreciate all cars as all cars have their plus points and likewise, have their negatives so for somebody to ask why somebody would buy a Vauxhall... God knows, uneducated, narrow minded and just desperate to get some online back slapping from the other so called car enthusiasts who like to rubbish X, Y or Z because it's not their chosen brand to own.
It's absolutely no different to asking why people shop in Asda? Why people go to Spain? Why the bloke is married to a right bog monster? Why people want to work in a call centre...
Anyways, back to work and have three chain driven BMW's to drag off to their fate... fantastic things that they are.
While some of it is definitely about perception (i.e. Saab not getting the same justified criticism as Vauxhall), it's hard to argue that Vauxhall have made anything other than 'beige' cars for quite some time.
Lotus Carlton has long since been one of my dream cars... I just applaud the lunacy of the thinking behind it. I'd have loved to have been a fly on the wall at that board room / pub discussion. Was very fortunate to drive one for a few days and I was very much nervous that it may have been a case of "never meet your hero" but it was far from it... yes, I dear say it's probably not as sharp as an M3 CSL or not as quick as a nuclear missile and for the money you coudl have a house in Bradford or perhaps 127,000 rubber chickens or something but for a bit of a 90's Vauxhall fan, the sense of drama and occasion and indeed the presence it has is pretty spectacular. The world needed cars like this!
C70R said:
While some of it is definitely about perception (i.e. Saab not getting the same justified criticism as Vauxhall), it's hard to argue that Vauxhall have made anything other than 'beige' cars for quite some time.
Hmmm, subjective but you can't really call the likes of the VXR range "beige" and whilst not on par with X, Y and Z competitor, it think it's fair to say that Vauxhall are still knocking out some interesting stuff but again, over powered completely by the UK's desire to buy in to the premium German brands and again, being Pistonheads and thus a bit "typey" it's much like keeping up with the Jones in here these days too... admit you have or like a Vauxhall and you're viewed with an air of disdain, which is a bit of a sad reflection of the demographic in here at times. Edited by Davie on Wednesday 19th September 14:59
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