Ringpeas

They seem to get a lot of bad press. I have never driven one but they seemed OK as a passenger though.

They are selling 6 month old cars for less than half RRP near me. That is some serious depreciation and the Signum is even worse.

I'm not thinking of buying one, but would they make a good car for the daily grind?

slim_boy_fat

I have two friends both with Diesel Vectra Estates and both love the cars, one is 150bhp other is 120bhp. The 150 version is very well equiped and still averages 50mpg. Never missed a beat and my mate bought it for £11k, with 2000miles on it. Was £18k new.

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

The newer ones are not so bad but the build quality of the mk 1 and 2 vectras was awful . I have had 6, 3 of which the cambelts snapped and the fuel pump went on the 2.0l di with a repair bill of £1200.

Cockney Wideboy

iTrader: (2)

they aren't a bad car. the CDTI engines are certainly good power plants the problem is they aren't as good as the mondeo (especially the new one) and the vectra will always have to compete with the ford.
It doesn't quite have the refinement of the Passat either.

You could certainly do worse than the vectra tho.

Vauxhall are also releasing a new vectra soon

j4ckos mate

i had a mark 1, i did not have any problems with it.

gingerboy

I am awaiting delivery of a new mazda 6 estate which is due in March it seems like a millio miles away.

Anyway in the mean time I have a Vectra 1.8 petrol estate......... it's OK but the 1.8 is not the best combination in such a large car. It is very hesitant when setting off and if you are pressing on whilst on the motorway it drinks fuel like it's going out of fashion.

Other than that it's not too bad, plastics aren't great on the interior and I struggle to stay comfy on long distances. I believe that the 1.8 is renowned for being hesitant so avoid at all costs.

I did have the pleasure of driving a 2.8 VXR vectra estate and the difference between it and the 1.8 is like black and white.......... the seats were uber comfy and adjustable beyond your needs, the steering felt great, the brakes felt like someone had thrown an anchor out and the engine was superb i.e. very responsive indeedy and for a big car it handled very well.

Not driven a diesel so cannot comment on them but I know a few people who have one as a workhorse and they don't seem to have any issues with them.

Anyway, never mind that, wheres my new shape mazda 6 estate.......................... the wait is killing me, and my back, and legs

Regards

GB

dan83590

Vectras, are they that bad?

Yep.

DAVE-W

I actually think they're very good cars......I part ex'd the scooby in for one at the end of last year when I decided I needed something that wouldn't cost me a fortune every week in petrol / insurance etc etc.

I bought the car below.....a black sri spec estate with the 150bhp cdti engine. Looks good IMO and they do go very well for a big diesel. It's surprisingly chuckable too

Does 500 miles to a tank of diesel too

The Chief

I hired one once so i didn't spend ages driving it but.... not a bad car tbh, it was the cdti whilst not quick it was ok upto motorway speeds. handling was better than i thought but i'd say didn't have the composure or polish of a Mondeo.

But coming back to the question - no they are not that bad and as a comfy runabout they are pretty good.

Shark Man

Modern ones are fine. As mentioned the MK1 was truely dire, but the latest ones are nothing like the original ones. I'd just avoid the small petrol engines and low BHP diesels

Ok, its no supercar, but the 150bhp diesels go well, handle well and stop well, plus they are comfy.

What more could you want with a cheap 2nd hand ex-rep mobile?


The 2.8 turbo petrol V6 looks an interesting prospect

teamheath2

iTrader: (1)

My bro has had a couple of them, his latest used to have a 2.5 V6, but that blew so he had an MV6 fitted and this thing goes !! Its an estate aswell. He loves them nd I'm quite partial to them an all, don't get me wrong, it's no Impreza, but it is good !!

Walwal

Had mine 5 a half years a 99 V6 SRi 2.5. Never looked after it, never serviced it, and eventually the engine went (surprise surprise), but in the previous 5 and a half years, only "mechanical" problem was a power steering union went.

Good car, I liked it, and a decent drive too. Not quick, but a nice easy ride.

Andy

James Neill

iTrader: (1)

Used to have Vectras as a company car (changed them every 6 months!). Really did like them actually. Lovely inside I thought. I had a V6 Elite with 19" alloys . Really good car in my opinion. Much slated and much underated.

NotoriousREV

I had a couple of Mk1 SRI's as company cars and thought they were better to drive than the 1.8GL Mondeo I had. They certainly weren't as bad as the Daewoo I had for a day while my Vectra was being serviced.

G00ner

Mk1 GSi Estate, fantastic car, brought new and did 125,000 miles in 3 years without issue.

I think too many people listened to Clarkson, most proper reviews at the time were quite complimentary for a front wheel drive car.

wrx9181

iTrader: (2)

if you look at what cars are used as taxi s they usually indicate good daily cars reliable

matchmaker

I had a Mk 1 2.0 GLS. Nice car, if the previous owner(s) had serviced it. No oil changes in 30k miles, so engine full of crap. Sucked a bit of said crap into the oil pump. Engine died