tanyatriangles

iTrader: (2)

Might be looking for a newer diesel, (not BRAND new), to replace the wife's Xantia HDi 110.

Of the three cars, which would people recommend?

One thing I DID notice is theat the Vectra is 3 insurance groups lower, but only a tiny fraction of a second slower to 60.

Should I consider any others? I don't want to pay-for-name, so VW and Audi are out. Jag "S" type?

Budget is around £10,000.

Matteeboy

Is an Astra too small? Handles a lot better than a Veccy and usefully quicker with that engine due to less weight. My 1.9CDTi 150 Astra estate has 150bhp, 235lbs/ft, does 0-60 in 8.6 yet is group 11! Almost comedy. Cheap tax too.

Not a fan of the 2.0TDI VAG unit - it's just a bit rough.

Outside choice - D5 engined Volvo? Maybe an S40?

stilover

What about a Golf GT Sport 170 TDI?

That's what I've got at the moment. Handles very well. Have mine fitted with R32 18" Alloys.

Later cars (mine) came with leather seats.

Matteeboy

Going to be tough finding a good one for under £10k though.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Forget the Seat, horrid course engine and not the most reliable, the veccy has the best engine I would say, but wont be as nice to drive as the mondeo, so that really only leaves you the mondeo which will be the nicest of the lot to drive

Tony

tanyatriangles

iTrader: (2)

Got offered an Astra today at £10,000, nice car, but the boot is small compared to the Xantia, and we use that car to go to the house in France, so it needs to have good fuel consumption, (my mate's Vectra 150 does better than the Xantia), and to be able to take all manner of stuff to the house from beds to bradawls

The car usually goes so full it's not possible to fit another toothbrush, and comes back full of wine which is STILL cheaper than over here, even at €1.07 to the £, (cheers Gordon )

Matteeboy

How about the Astra estate then (which we have)? The boot is huge!

If I thrash the nuts off mine, I still get over 40mpg...

Norman Dog

iTrader: (1)

How can anyone seriously consider spending £10k on a Vectra..

Mondeo St TDCi - Very good car, a mate of mine had one, easily tuneable to 200BHP, Nice roomy interior and really comfortable.

Seat Leon - Also a good car, car share with a guy at work with the 140BHP version, pulls well, comfortable but the interior not quite up to Golf standards.

Get the Mondeo.

tanyatriangles

iTrader: (2)

What's actually WRONG with the Veccy?

gws73

I have just purchased a Mondeo ST tdci - about 3 weeks ago. 155bhp and 295 ftlb. For a diesel its an amazing piece of kit, it weighs about as much as a house but manages 0-60 in about 8.5 seconds.

I haven't managed anything less than 47 mpg in it yet, and it has been driven fairly hard.

Also comes with loads of toys as standard... heated half leather seats (Recaro full leather upgrade if you're lucky!), heated windscreen, cruise control, total closure on the key fob, 18" wheels, good stereo system etc etc.

It's as comfy as anything I've been in, and to be fair for a big cruiser it handles really well.

Go and test drive one

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Nothing really, they are much better than the early cars, but the mondeo is a nicer all round car (and I own a vauxhall!)

Tony

davyboy

According to those in the trade The fiat engine in the Vectra both the 8 and 16 valve is a bit unreliable. So if you do get one, get a warrenty.

The whole "Vectra is crap thing" is people saying what they heard Jeremy Clarkson say.

moneys

iTrader: (5)

I had a STTDCI last year and its one of my biggest regrets selling it, a house makes up for it though, i actually miss it more than my scoob, you get mid 40's mpg all day and if you get on the motorway and set the cruise you will get over 60mpg. it can be tuned to nearly 200 for around £500 as well.

for 10k you will get a minter

The Chief

Unless the Mondeo is low mileage i'd stay well away, i know 3 people who have had major bills and nightmares with the injectors.

Someone i work with told me its how the new range of common rail diesel engines are designed, they can do big mileages but along with it comes big bills, the VAG uhits are apparently designed differently and can take big miles in their stride

For me the VAG units are a no brainer be it VW, Audi, Seat or Skoda. Why do so many cab drivers driver Octavias? yes they're as rough as a bears **** but reliable as buggery and very economical.

I'm sure someone will correct me

dpb

Bought mondeo myself and spent cash on new turbo ,new clutch flywheel starter motor . It has done a 100k tho . I await with trepidation fuelling issues .

Looked/drove passat ,full spec,and an audi a4 in fact. But went with the ford cos it was cheaper , and still is despite the costs , i think it may also be a slightly better drive - sorry never driven the vectra - but i suspect its very similar

If i get the the dreaded fuelling issues i might get to be less happy and then of course theres the body work which is suspect is not the same quality as a volkswagon
( inside is fine as far as im concerned)

Matteeboy

We had slightly amusingly titled "swell flap failure" on ours - done under warranty but it was a big job. A few others have had it. The car (Astra not Veccy) seems to have almost matured like a good wine - the older it gets (now 4 years) the less problems we have. For £10k Tanya can easily get a Veccy still under warranty.

It's easy to bash Vauxhalls and I did for years - the Astra H changed my perception of Astras (but not Vx overall) - well made, fresh looking, good handling, at the time quickest in it's class, etc. I'm not such a fan of the Veccy but it's still not a bad car at all - very good value, great on the motorway, good on fuel and massive inside.
The Mondeo is good but Ford just don't do mainstream engines as well as Vx (I tried the Focus equivalent - it was a poor unit and slow) and they aren't as well screwed together. They do handle better overall but for me, Vx just edge Ford out with the Astra. Mondeo is probably a better choice over the Veccy overall but they are too expensive for what you get. And of course the Fiesta is MUCH better than the Corsa.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

That I can do
Out of 4 people I know who run VAG diesel engined cars, 2 have broken down (well 1 put the piston through the block, 4 years old, 60ish k on the clock and fvwsh), 1 was a skoda octavia, injectors went, 1 other just had general issues (low mileage Bora), suspension and other bits, but nothing engine related, and the last one ive not talked to for some time, but he hasnt had the car that long

Oh and my 16v 1.9 fiat engine, runs like a dream more reliable than vw diesels

Tony

Dooby Doo

I have a SRI Vectra CDTI 150 with a DTUK diesel tuning box on it boosting it to just over 200bhp suprises a lot of people and i get 60 mpg on a run, had it for 18 months with no problems so far (tuch wood), Looked at Mondeo's when i bought the veccy but the mondeo does suffer from dual mass flywheel problems and injectors giving up.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

They fixed pretty much all the injector issues with the MY04 cars, not sure about the duel mass flywheel issue though, earlier cars were prone to quite a few things shame as they are a really good car
Also, not heard of any of the 888 1.9 CDTI cars going bang, thats 200bhp

Tony

moneys

iTrader: (5)

they used to sell in the region of 100k mondeos a year, so i think i few going wrong is norm really chief, as for the VAG, everyone thinks their the best in the world wheras there just the same as every other car out there, just cos there german doesnt mean they are bullet proof, you will however pay a premium for the german badge

dpb

I thought the vectras carried the same duel mass flywheel setup , but ill wait to be corrected by someone in the know...

logiclee possibly

Matteeboy

I seriously considered this for ours (Astra Design CDTi 150) but wasn't sure if the gearbox/clutch would cope. Any issues with yours? Now had the car over four years from new and it's going very well. Pretty much nothing needed doing at the last service (and MOT was not even nearly an issue) - the car just seems to get more reliable as it goes on. Never got anywhere near 60mpg though!

A fine unit the Fiat/GM block is. I much prefer it to the VAG 2.0TDI unit and LOVE blasting off angrily driven Golf and Audis with that less powerful engine (plus they are always heavier)... It REALLY annoys them

olliecampbell

iTrader: (3)

I was going to suggest a Passat estate. Easily get them under 10k second hand.

What's your requirements (in order of priority)?:

Good boot
Fuel consumption
Drive

How about something slightly different like a Discovery?

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Those Astra 888 cars run the standard everything except the tuning box (clutch. gearbox etc) so they are more than capable of taking the power
Around 460 quid i think for the box.

Tony

MMT WRX

My sister recently spent +£1200 on the clutch, and apparently, the Dual mass flywheel on her Vectra.

We were in a similar situation to Tanya a few months ago and we went for the Mondeo estate 2.0 tdci Ghia. Pulls like a train, returns betwen 40 and 60 mpg depending what sort of driving your doing. Is very very comfortable on long journeys, and has quite a few nice bits like: climate, heated front screen, 6 speed, auto wipers, auto headlights etc Oh and its massive, you could almost get my Scooby in the boot.

vindaloo

Does it have to be a saloon or estate car? What about an MPV?

With the entire "France" thing going on, I'd suggest Zafira, Galaxy, Alhambra...

J.

duncatr

iTrader: (18)

Out of the 2 I'd choose the mondeo every time!!

I had nothing but problems with my vectra.
Fuel pump, injector seals, alternator, shocks, power steering.....
Also the main dealers for vauxhall are worse than useless (up here anyway).

Mondeo is a very nice car and gives good value for money when you look at the spec, reliability etc.

Our family car is currently a 53 plate A4 avant (last of the 1.9tdi 130 sport's) - fantastic car. Not had a single issue with it and its pretty quiete and refined for a diesel.
We are looking to change very soon and as well as the mondeo the Passat is right up there in the options.
Have a look on pistonheads at the spec for the money on some of the Passat estate's!!

A little more than the £10k you were looking to spend but this is the kinda thing we are looking for next (without the walnut dash ):-
Hallmark Motor sales : VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 2.0 SEL TDI 170 MEGA SPEC DVD NAV LTHR S/R FVWS/H

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Dunc, you had one of the 2ltr DTi vectra's then?

Tony

duncatr

iTrader: (18)

Nope. It was a 2.2 DTI SRI.
Probably the worst car I have ever owned TBH. Closely followed by my mk3 Astra!! Do you see a vxl patern developing!!

The vectra had all you could want from a diesel family car. Trip comp, 1/2 leather, A/C, nice looks, spoiler, fully colour coded, decent power........
It ticked all the boxes. But within 6 months of having it I had spent a fortune on it. Traded it in for the A4 and told the dealer everything that had gone wrong and been put right. Spoke to the dealer about 4 months later - he said that a couple of other faults had come about for the new owner too!!!

I don't think I'll ever have another one. It broke down more times than both my modified scoobs put together.

Matteeboy

The 2.2DTI does have a very bad reputation.

I did 2500 miles in a week in the previous shape Vectra - it handled so badly that it was dangerous. So it took a LOT to persuade me to get a mk5 (H) Astra Estate diesel (!!). Still glad I did though.