Worth it??

john_g83 · 10-07-2006 10:43pm #1

Hi, I have planned to buy a car this week and was looking around today. I was looking for something in the 3-4K range, and was thinking about the old reliables like corollas and polos.

Today I saw a Opel Vectra, which I had not not considered beforehand, but I looked at a 1.6 1998 with 70k miles on it and took it for a spin and must say it was a nice ride. I do not know too much about these cars...what are peoples opinions of the vectras?? They are asking €3500, but could probably talk them down to 3k. Any thoughts?? Cheers
John

junkyard · 10-07-2006 10:51pm

A 98 Vectra is worth 1750 euros tops. They're not a great car tbh, make sure the timing belt and pulleys etc. have been changed. The engines have a habit of blowing up for no apparent reason. You'd be better off with something Japanese, Toyota Carina/Avensis, Nissan Primera or even a Ford Mondeo.

ninty9er · 10-07-2006 11:07pm

My dad had a previous model vectra for 3 years and it caused no trouble to 110k anyhow

bazz26 · 10-07-2006 11:10pm

john_g83 · 10-07-2006 11:10pm

junkyard wrote:

A 98 Vectra is worth 1750 euros tops.

This seems pretty low.I checked out others on the net and the buy and sell and 3k seems to be fair enough.

If I thought I could get for less than 2 grand i'd jump on it!

junkyard · 10-07-2006 11:48pm

Try Merlin Car Auctions you'll get one there....and put any thoughts of a Renault Laguna out of your head, they're rubbish too.:)

ToxicPaddy · 11-07-2006 9:35am

Ive a 97 Mondeo and have 165k miles on the clock and shes still going strong. Have had the usual few things that need done over time, shocks etc but thats to be expected with the mileage I've put on her.

Still getting the guts of 500 miles from a tank of petrol, not bad for a 1.6 ltr.

Definitely recommend one.

I've heard too many horror stories about vectras and the older model lagunas to advise getting one.

As someone here said, the Avensis were a great car and there are still a load of them on the road. Sure look at the amount of them being used for Taxi's. That kinda says it all really.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=447706

Tox

gyppo · 11-07-2006 9:42am

I owned a 96 vectra for a while, and it was a continuous headache. The engine drank oil, the EGR valve gave endless trouble, it wore the inside threads of the back tyres all the time, despite the best efforts of the garage to get the geometry set up, the passenger door deadlock stuck closed, and both rear door wings were starting to rot at the spot where the strikers bolt on.

And this was a 2 year old car with 30k miles at the time:eek:

What was worse was that I had traded in a 92 mazda 626 with almost 200k miles against it. The mazda was a far better car, so I should have kept my money in my pocket.

My advice - dont go near a vectra. Buy anything japanese if you want an easy life.

Black Sky · 11-07-2006 10:23am

I got €1750 on a 98 Vectra 1.8 GLS with 96K on the clock recently on a trade in.
Got it new in 98, built like a tank, mechanicals solid on it. I got 50,000m out of the original battery. It was near the end of the "B" model vectra's so expected all the kinks to be ironed out of it at that stage.
Did need a regular service, every 10K, always felt sluggish before service, but much better for next 5000 miles.
Suspension was crap, and this was about the only thing (apart from styling) that the reviews at the time marked the car down on.
Electrics, were the thing that gave most odd problems, 2 alternators in past 1.5 years, (fine until then), ABS light stayed on more or less continously for past 3 years, chewed bulbs at the rear end, replaced a couple every couple of months.

Always a concern that the 1.6 engine was a little light for the vectra body, but was the most popular size. Probably explains why the 1.8 was €200 less on 2nd hand price in soem guide I saw recently.

Worth it??

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