Dodgy purchase?

phoenix_nights

Interceptor wrote:

With the exception of the Fiat Marea I can't think of car with worse depreciation than the Opel Omega and don't even mention the Signum. The Frontera is a recovery mans wet dream - they are permanently breaking down, I've worked on several and they are second only to the Freelander for being rubbish.
'cptr

'cptr great summary of opels. Would love if you could start a thread with a summary of your experience of different cars......(but be gentle with the alfas:) )

Interceptor

Interceptor wrote:

You are either passionate about cars or you use them to get you from A to B - if you belong to the second group, you shouldn't really listen to me and would be well advised to put me on your 'ignore' list.

Its nice to see somebody who knows what they are talking about

dezine

The_Magoo wrote:

Just out of curiosity, what mileage is on the car, no. of previous owners, did it have any mods, service history, oh, cars can be put through an NCT up to 6 months early, so there is no reason why the garage shouldnt do it themselves!

67,000 miles on the clock, 2 previous owners, fsh although some of it not stamped.. Good point on the NCT bit late for that though.. Just hopes it passes 1st time or I'll be like a donkey running from the nct centre to the garage and back again, really should have checked this out better but took him for his word...

Interceptor

phoenix_nights wrote:

'cptr great summary of opels. Would love if you could start a thread with a summary of your experience of different cars......(but be gentle with the alfas:) )

An opinion is only that, and in most cases is worth less than the normal two cents charged. Cars have been my passion since before I could walk and if asked, I will offer an opinion however it might not be right, popular or even vaguely true.

I have owned a number of Alfas and driven lots of them, the worst being a 3.0 V6 166 and the best a 1983 2.5 GTV but I am by no means an expert. My Alfa 90 was full of xmas shopping and my half-sloshed wife when it spat its water pump onto the ground on St. Stephens green one xmas eve and we had to abandon it and run to get the train home to Kilkenny, but any car could have done that. I meant what I said about the Ssangyong though, you have been warned.

'cptr

colm_mcm

Interceptor wrote:

An opinion is only that, and in most cases is worth less than the normal two cents charged. Cars have been my passion since before I could walk and if asked, I will offer an opinion however it might not be right, popular or even vaguely true.

I have owned a number of Alfas and driven lots of them, the worst being a 3.0 V6 166 and the best a 1983 2.5 GTV but I am by no means an expert. My Alfa 90 was full of xmas shopping and my half-sloshed wife when it spat its water pump onto the ground on St. Stephens green one xmas eve and we had to abandon it and run to get the train home to Kilkenny, but any car could have done that. I meant what I said about the Ssangyong though, you have been warned.

'cptr

do you have any experience of SSang Yongs?

dezine

quick update. Car has been in the garage for 2 days. They are saying that they can find nothing wrong with the car even after drivng it around in heavy traffic. He said he changed a cable and the oil in the gearbox (??) and the wheels have been balanced but cant do anything else. He is dropping the car back this morning and is saying that if it happens again he will change the clutch.. but doesn't want to take this drastic step just yet.. Just wondering how much will this cost if it has to be done once the warranty runs out..

PauloMN

Having an opinion on certain cars and saying something like "let that be a lesson to you not to buy Opels" are two different things though.

The Frontera and Omega are two models that are not even sold anymore, and haven't been for a while. The Frontera was poor quality there's no doubt about it, but the Omega was a fine car, and a great used bargain for a large car. It's no worse in the reliability stakes than it's competitors.

We can all relate stories about cars going wrong. A guy I know bought an '02 average mileage Primera and got rid of it within about 3 months - endless problems with the clutch/gearbox, and the electric windows. Are all Nissans crap because of that, is that a lesson never to buy Nissan?

PauloMN

dezine wrote:

quick update. Car has been in the garage for 2 days. They are saying that they can find nothing wrong with the car even after drivng it around in heavy traffic. He said he changed a cable and the oil in the gearbox (??) and the wheels have been balanced but cant do anything else. He is dropping the car back this morning and is saying that if it happens again he will change the clutch.. but doesn't want to take this drastic step just yet.. Just wondering how much will this cost if it has to be done once the warranty runs out..

Personally I'd get them to give you a longer warranty to cover the car on the basis that if they don't, you'll kick up a fuss with SIMI, consumer rights etc.. All you want is the car working as it should.

Get any extended warranty in writing, and get them to actually state cover for the clutch (I don't think clutches are normally covered in 2nd hand warranties, are they?).

Hagar

dezine wrote:

quick update...Just wondering how much will this cost if it has to be done once the warranty runs out..

Why change a clutch cable and oil in the gearbox? Do they not know waht was at fault? Some garage I must say! Surely the oil levels etc were correct at time of sale? It's quite possible that you have an intermittant fault which they have identified but not admitted to you as it would be expensive to remedy. Now they play the game and fob you off as the fault deteriorates and the end of the warranty approches.

The more I hear, the more worried I get. Good luck with the car.

ninty9er

dezine wrote:

quick update. Car has been in the garage for 2 days. They are saying that they can find nothing wrong with the car even after drivng it around in heavy traffic. He said he changed a cable and the oil in the gearbox (??) and the wheels have been balanced but cant do anything else. He is dropping the car back this morning and is saying that if it happens again he will change the clutch.. but doesn't want to take this drastic step just yet.. Just wondering how much will this cost if it has to be done once the warranty runs out..

Do not do anything with the car, do not drive it, do not sit in it... ring the SIMI legal section in the morning and ask them what this dealer's obligation's are.
The dealer may be waiting for the warranty to run out so they can charge you for work that needs to be done. My dad had the same problem of a slipping clutch with his old Vectra and it rectified itself for a few thousand miles after some stern driving.

However there may be a serious problem with your car, have an independent mechanic look for any signs of short-term quik-fix work done by the dealer

I work in retail and when it's faulty you get a replacement with the same item within warranty or pay for repair outside warranty.

This car is undoubtedly faulty