I finally found the right car!

Silvera

After an exhaustive search (5 weeks and a zillion phone calls!), I finally found the right car to replace my mint '97 (42k) Civic 1.4i............
(In fact it's exactly the model, colour and spec I was looking for )


2003 Astra 1.4XE Njoy, ABS, Front fogs, elec windows, mirrors, sunroof, 29k, One owner, Full Opel Service History...........cost €11.5k.

dmck2886

Well done, by the way how much did you sell the civic for?

Silvera

€4,500.
It was worth more really, being in genuine mint condition (same cond as my new car), but I was keen to 'move on' !

Buyer (and his brother) couldn't believe it's condition when he first saw it!

.............I like to keep my cars right

Kersh

Its the only way to keep them Silvera.... congrats on the move upwards. Nice car.,

iregk

Nice one, sure the one your replacing it with seems to be of fairly sound condition as well...

Silvera

Cheers guys.

It was worth the wait ..........5 weeks without a car :eek:

Silvera

..........BTW, does anybody know where I might pick up an original sales brochure for my model Astra ?

Thumper Long

generally most brochures ive looked for in the past can be sourced on ebay for less than a fiver

Thumper Long

Ebay Brochure Linky

Silvera

Cheers TL.

But I'm hoping to pick up one here in Irl ? (i.e. possibly from a dealership)

boardsee

Tut,,, its a dirty 4 door, sure the civic you had was a better car than that, faster and reliable. Would you not have been better off keepin the civic until you could afford to insure a 1.6 or something bigger engine wise. Seems a lot of money to upgrade to another 1.4.

What coulor was the civic. I`d have given you 5 grand cash for it, if in original mode with no tack glued on

oli_ro

I envy you a bit, if I would be in a position to upgrade now, that would be the right car for me as well.

Silvera

boardsee wrote:

Tut,,, its a dirty 4 door, sure the civic you had was a better car than that, faster and reliable.

4-door ? ......... I wanted a 4-door - sick of moving seats to let people in and out! :rolleyes:
Civic Faster ? ........Not by much - the Astra also has 90bhp.
Civic more reliable ? ........ All jap cars are more reliable (than european cars), no doubt - but they are all too 'light/tinny' for my liking.

boardsee wrote:

Would you not have been better off keepin the civic until you could afford to insure a 1.6 or something bigger engine wise. Seems a lot of money to upgrade to another 1.4.

No. Insurance is not an issue for me (a 1.6 would only have cost me a few euros extra (I have 14 yrs own ins policy/ Full NCB)). Don't want a bigger engine size at present.

I got a 2.5 year old car (with same bhp!) for a cost of less than €1200 per year to upgrade.

boardsee wrote:

What coulor was the civic. I`d have given you 5 grand cash for it, if in original mode with no tack glued on

They all say that .... after the sale!
It was for sale on this site (and others) for several weeks........so you had you chance!

Silvera

oli_ro wrote:

I envy you a bit, if I would be in a position to upgrade now, that would be the right car for me as well.

Be patient oli_ro, you're time will come.

(N.B.- I'm not being sarcastic)

Regards,
Silvera.

Dilbert75

Congrats - always liked Astras myself. Just take care to get the belt and water pump done at 40k very latest. Should cost something like €350 at an Opel dealer.

stratos

Congrats on the new car Silvera.

Silvera

Cheers Dilbert75, stratos.

I plan on changing the belt at c.35k miles, and will probably do it myself.

A Timing Belt Kit costs only €157 (incl VAT) from OTTO in Ranelagh.
(They supply VW/Audi/Porsche/Opel parts) ......from Opel dealer - €255!

Silvera
(Ex-Panel Beater).

Alfasudcrazy

Well done Silvera - thats a clean looking Astra. As you know I am into a bit more Italian flash myself but when the old man wanted to replace his Mk 2 Escort he gave me a brief to get him a 4 door hatch with a hitch in good condition for €900. The Astra was the first car I thought of and after a bit of searching got him a fairly good 1995 model within budget.
Whatever people say about Opels my experience is that they are quite reliable and as you say you feel your driving a car of substance rather than that Japanese cardboard feeling I always get when driving them.

Silvera

Alfa,
You 'old man' sounds very like mine, i.e. won't spend much money on a car

My father will not part with his 1991 Golf no matter what I say to try and change his mind :rolleyes: ............he's never spent more than £/€1000 on a car in his life !