Looking at Vauxhall Astra

Inactive

Soubrette wrote: »

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Of course this is only according to the seller Edited to add - this is a trade seller so I assume I have way more rights than a private sell.

If you see a motor dealer and his/her lips are moving, assume they are lying...;)

mikey72

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Because 2 crap ones in 25 years is 2 to many. Never had a single gearbox issue with manuals in my life, and I'd guess most others haven't.
It's simply the fact if an auto box goes wrong it's likely to be very expensive to fix. Not too many people are prepared to take that risk unless they specifically need one

More reliable ones I've had were automatic, (borg warner).
No thrust bearing to go, no clutch to change, no synchro's that give up, or gearlever bushes that fall apart, no notchty gearchange, and great in traffic.
And most pull 40mpg+ in reverse.

cyclonebri1

mikey72 wrote: »

More reliable ones I've had were automatic, (borg warner).
No thrust bearing to go, no clutch to change, no synchro's that give up, or gearlever bushes that fall apart, no notchty gearchange, and great in traffic.
And most pull 40mpg+ in reverse.

Based on our experiences, maybe you and me can drive better? , as in being mechaniclly sympathetic.:D

Soubrette

Had a look at the car - a few very minor scratches by the boot and one tiny dint plus small deep scratch on the inner part of back door opening.

Apart from that in very good condition. The salesguy was very nice but was selling a yarn about how this was the cheapest he could find this car on the internet (there are others at a similar price) and how the second owner didn't know it was a diesel so they got it dirt cheap, allowing them to price it keenly (price has nothing to do with supply and demand )

Oh yes, they'll pay us £300 trade in for our old car which is actually quite reasonable bearing in mind condition (we don't clean cars or really care about them cosmetically although we do keep on top of oil changes, tyre pressure checks etc).

OH would like to buy it I think but I'd prefer to look around and not buy the first car we look at.

jd82

At this price it really needs to be in brand new condition. The story also brings alarm bells. In my expensive experience people trade cars in early because they want to get rid of a lemmon. Also the new model Astra is out now which means the old model will loose value a lot quicker. You actually be able to buy a brand new or pre reg old shape one for not much more than this.

Inactive

Soubrette wrote: »

OH would like to buy it I think but I'd prefer to look around and not buy the first car we look at.

Very sensible, it sounds like it has had a hard life for a 2 year old car.;)

goldspanners

Soubrette wrote: »

Apart from that in very good condition. The salesguy was very nice but was selling a yarn about how this was the cheapest he could find this car on the internet (there are others at a similar price) and how the second owner didn't know it was a diesel so they got it dirt cheap, allowing them to price it keenly (price has nothing to do with supply and demand )

so the previous owner regularly filled it with petrol then? this could cause serious problems.

do you honestly beleive the dealer knows the story behind every single car on the fourcourt,the part about previous owner wanting to go back to bmw's is bulls**t im afraid. is it a bmw dealer you are buying it from? if not then i doubt the previous owner bought a new bmw then went to the vauxhall garage to sell them thier astra.

salesmen like this who treat thier customers like fools deserve to have no customers at all. find one somewhere else and don't line this guys pockets,you will be rewarding him for treating you like crap.

Soubrette

Sorry goldspanners - my fault, the owner knew it was a diesel but the garage didn't - so they priced it as a part exchange based on it being petrol rather than diesel. Still think it's rubbish though, unless garages don't do any checks on number plates etc.

Went to see a ford Focus this afternoon - 18 months older, petrol but in much worse condition bodywork way.

OH very keen on the Astra

cyclonebri1

Go away and make your own mind up based on the valid opinions posted. As in, "the car is crap, so don't by it"

Or come back in 3 weeks time with the "how do I get my money back post",

Sad but true, again.;)

Soubrette

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Go away and make your own mind up based on the valid opinions posted. As in, "the car is crap, so don't by it"

Or come back in 3 weeks time with the "how do I get my money back post",

Sad but true, again.;)

We must be reading different threads

I'm mostly seeing a discussion on why automatics are crap - not something we're going to change and the salesman was a bit of a wally - not something new there surely


Negative Comments specifically about this type of car and not including comments about it being auto.

• hateful engine (never did find out what that meant)
• be cautious about the fact it's had two owners in such a short length of time (definitely something I take on board)
• At this price it should be like new (surely even a new car gets stone chips or light scratches within 2 years? Not entirely convinced qand even less so after seeing the bodywork of an 18 mth older car, but willing to listen further)
• Old model will lose value quickly (although not the only model at this price on the internet - pretty much the best for mileage and only about 5 other cars that are that age and price - no evidence that a better deal could be made. I can't find any new models on offer for cheaper but I'm open to links showing me some , I've also looked at other autos of a similar size, guess what? About 8K seems to be the going offer price)

So I'm not entirely convinced by much except that I should be cautious about the two owners and the consensus is that autos are crap . I'm open to a bit more detail about the astra in general though or this car specifically apart from the auto part.