Vauxhall Meriva

[Syman]

I am looking to buy one of these.

any inside info that anyone can enlighten me with.

also looking at a Kia Rio as an alternative.

[damski]

have a look at The Honest John Website

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/index.php?url=/carbycar/index.htm

gives you a breakdown of whats good or bad on every car

[Syman]

have a look at The Honest John Website

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/index.php?url=/carbycar/index.htm

gives you a breakdown of whats good or bad on every car


i have seen taht but thanks in any case.

i was hoping an MSE'er has got one and could give an opinion

[Woby_Tide]

The A-pillar takes a bit of getting used to if you've driven other cars like hatchbacks but like all cars, you get used to driving position and what you need to do. Our Vauxhall dealer keeps calling trying to get us to book a service as it's 1 year old despite their sales pitch and literature being 20k/2 years so ignoring them for now, running fine and service light not on. Other than that can't really fault ours, got it at a good price and it's done what we needed(space for kids/family and flexibility of boot space etc.)

[trigger_mike]

Funny to say them two cars as my mate has both of them, i was talking to him the other night about them and he said they are both really nice cars, and he got a got deal with the rio like cashback and free servicing etc.

[Pink-winged]

Hi Syman

I have moved your thread over to the motoring board where you should get more replies.

Pink

[Syman]

Hi Syman

I have moved your thread over to the motoring board where you should get more replies.

Pink

thanks pink.

and thanks for the other info to everyone else

got a test drive booked tomorrow

[Dunkyboy]

I am also intrested in the Meriva, but i want the automatic one (easytronic), but these seem difficult to find.Also i can't find a review of this easytronic system , i am use to a automatic car but am not too sure how different this easytronic system is.

[Syman]

i bought one.

i jumped in with both feet and did it.

got £1999 off list price (though still a bit more than internet price) i prefer dealing face to face.

in any case i am pleased with the deal i got which is what irt is all about.

thanks for all of your posts giving advice.

Sy..

[Woby_Tide]

did you go with their finance deals where they contribute to your deposit aswell, quite easy to cancel after a month, ours equated to an extra £2.5k off the car (on top of the 'Vauxhall Partners' discount)

[Syman]

no, nothing like that was offered, but then i am paying for the car outright. we have saved up the money over the last 3 years. scrimping here and there.

[CharleneUK]

no, nothing like that was offered, but then i am paying for the car outright. we have saved up the money over the last 3 years. scrimping here and there.
Good for you, I want to trade my corsa for a Meriva, but it seems they are WAY out of my price range :(

[Gambler]

quite easy to cancel after a month, ours equated to an extra £2.5k off the car (on top of the 'Vauxhall Partners' discount)

really, can you expand please?

[Woby_Tide]

really, can you expand please?

when they offer you the various finance deals it was either 3 years interest free with a 40% deposit, 4 years low percent with 10% deposit or £2.5k towards your deposit if you took whatever APR they chose. Minimum loan amount was £1000, they put £2.5k towards 'deposit' (i.e. my deposit was car value -£1k finance), the rest of the deposit was part exchange vehicle and stooze pot. APR was about 30% as I had only taken £1k over 3 years. Paid off the £1k within the first month and ended the agreement for a £2.5k bonus for filling in some forms and a credit check. As I had the money on 0% credit card deals sat waiting to be used it was easy to pay off before any interest racked up and I gambled that I'd get 0% deals over next couple of years rather than using their 0% offer


They refer to it as 'Finance Deposit Allowance' varies depending on which model and spec/trim is on offer but their finance people will know

i.e. current Meriva offer is £2k on all models
New Zafira £1.5k on Life, £2k on Active
Astra £1k on Active and Breeze
Corsa £750 on Active and Breeze
Vectra £1.5k on everything except Expression and VXR

[BenL]

I saw one of these today at a dealer near my work.

Its a Meriva 53 Reg - £6500. It was the design model in burgendy.

Benfield Ford in Guiseley.

It looked quite nice.

Can't remember the engine or mileage though.

I drove one when they first came out as a hire car for work and I felt it was like a van with the driving position and the 1.6 petrol was underpowered on the motorway.

Ben

[Syman]

well, i bought the meriva. picked it up a week ago and have just done the first 100 miles.

although the a-frame side pillars take some getting used to, i have to say i am very happy, i think for the deal i got and for what i need it is the best car of all i tested.

so far so good

[Gambler]

which model did you go for syman?

[Gambler]

Hoping to go and test drive a 9 month old meriva design 1.7cdti at the weekend. Any comments greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[bazza1603]

Hi,

I am looking at a 55 plate Design or Breeze. Loads of space and comfortable to sit in for both me (6 foot 2) and my little lady (5 foot 5)

We are trying to decide to get the 1.6 petrol or 1.7 diesel. But first it depends on how bad the forward visibility is...

If you are near Morpeth perhaps we could get a better discount if we said we want 2 Merivas!

Anyone know what discount I should ask for on 4k 55 plate 1.7CDTi up for £9995 at a main dealer? I thought I would try £4k plus my car worth £5000.

regards

Barry

[Gambler]

looking at an 05 plate (july here), 4K £9995.

Parkers says my part ex is worth £3,600 but I emailed dealer for a valuation and they said £3-3.5K depending on an inspection.

Is it possible to get a discount even when you have a part ex?

I'd settle for my car + £6K.

[bazza1603]

Hi,

I am only buying one only if I get a good discount. You can get new 1.3 Diesel Actives for £10400 from regvardy.com. the 1.7 is approx £400 extra.

If I dont get a discount, I will then look at getting a petrol Nissan Note Se online as local dealers wont shift on price. Unless anyone working at Nissan can help me. Hint Hint!!!

Best Regards

Barry

[Woby_Tide]

I've found teh 1.6 Petrol a tad thirsty and would have probably gone for diesel due to driving patterns in hindsight. Driving position etc. is all down to personal preference. Last few cars I've driven have varied vastly from having seats that now feel extremely low to the Meriva that other people think has seating position like a van. I prefer the van style myself and found it quite easy to adapt, only occasionally do I double check ropund the pillar for blind spot but i did that in other cars just at different junctions

[Gambler]

looking at an 05 plate (july here), 4K £9995.

Parkers says my part ex is worth £3,600 but I emailed dealer for a valuation and they said £3-3.5K depending on an inspection.

Is it possible to get a discount even when you have a part ex?

I'd settle for my car + £6K.

Offered us £3,600 for our car so paid £6,400 to change earlier this morning for a 9 months old car with less than 3K on clock. I think it's a good deal.

Done a lot of research on all sorts of family cars including lots of online deals but couldn't be bothered waiting for brand new and have just saved over £5K on brand new.

[Gambler]

anybody know what category of immobilser is fitted please or where I can find out?

[bazza1603]

Hi,

My wife loves the car, but I still have problems with the pillars. I dont like that the way that cars can hide behind them if you travelling at the same speed.

I had the car for an hour, and had to stop at most roundabout, just to make sure.

Apart from that its a really nice car. Far better than a Corsa which surprised me. The 1.7 Diesel is a little unrefined, but can still shift with the best of them. Really Powerful mid range.

I am off on Holiday next week for a week to Centreparcs. I have rented a 1.4 Life for £185 for a week. I will drive it approx 400 miles and hopefully will be happier when I return.

Either a waste of £185, or an investment to save myself £5000!

Regards

Barry

[golddustmedia]

Don't buy a NEW one!!! - get it half price 2nd hand!

I bought a Meriva about 2 months ago and managed to get a great deal. I found privately a 54 reg meriva that was late registered so in fact only 1 year old. I picked it up for £6350, a massive £6000 less than the price 1 year before. Also considering the car only had 3800 miles on it I think this was a total bargain!

Now for the news on it...
It's not totally been without fault. We had the missfortune that a water pipe burst on the motorway (first sign was engine temp going up) and before we knew it the car broke down. Got towed to Vauxhall and the head gasket had gone and engine was cooked, total mileage on car was 5048 miles!!! However, even though bought privately the car was fixed under warranty so got a brand new engine.

Other fault is I'd often come back to car and find the radio was on...? Very strange. Got garage to check it and they reset it but still happened so got a new radio/cd under warranty too!

My view about the car:
As others said, the A pillar is a problem on roundabouts or turning right as creates a big blind spot at the 1pm position.
The rear seats are EXCELLENT for flexible layouts, however the boot is surprisingly small.... We pretty much totally fill the boot with a pushchair for new baby.

If buying petrol consider performance. We bought a 1.6 16v model, although we test drove a 1.6 8v model and I have to say the 16v engine has a lot more oompf!

If you want to retain 2nd hand value/sellability consider a safe colour like silver or black (as we bought). We tried LOTS of vauxhall dealers to get the car we wanted and in the end went private. Near all dealer models were silver, couldn't get a black one as demand so high. Although a burgundy/blue one may be nice for a while think about how much demand there is for it if you want to sell in a couple of years (for comparison check how much lower yellow/gold VW passats are than silver ones!).

My conclusion:
Nice car.
Not as spacious as you'd think.
Beware 2nd hand values. OR grab a 2nd hand bargain.
If you can afford it consider a SEAT Altea.

[bazza1603]

Hi,

I am after a 55 plate Meriva 1.7 CDTi either Design or Breeze. Dealer prices are 10500 to £9500 which are a lot better than new. Want either Star Silver or Lightening Silver.

I live in the North East, so may travel Sheffield/ Edinburgh distance if i can save another grand.

Regards

Barry

[Gambler]

we couldn't make up our mind which colour to go for, the dealer had 2 almost identical cars, one black and one silver.

Although we would have liked to have gone with the black (as current car silver) it was already showing up the scratches far too easily so opted for silver instead.

[xycom1]

Now for the news on it...
It's not totally been without fault. We had the missfortune that a water pipe burst on the motorway (first sign was engine temp going up) and before we knew it the car broke down. Got towed to Vauxhall and the head gasket had gone and engine was cooked, total mileage on car was 5048 miles!!! However, even though bought privately the car was fixed under warranty so got a brand new engine.

Nice!

Other fault is I'd often come back to car and find the radio was on...? Very strange. Got garage to check it and they reset it but still happened so got a new radio/cd under warranty too!


This is a common fault with the first CD30 and derivative CANBUS audio systems in Vauxhall cars. Early models of the New Astra had the same problem - and the same fix - replace audio unit under warranty.