Opinions wanted - 2004 Astra 1.6 - Potential purchase

johnson293

Just after some opinions, please.

Have a Renault Scenic 1.5DCi at the moment, and looking to trade this in for something smaller, up to £4000 inc trade in value (£2500 max).

Have seen a 2004/54 Vauxhall Astra Hatchback, 1.6 Club - Looks a nice car, decent enough spec, and has 37000 miles on it.

Just wanted some opinions from current and/or previous owners, good and/or bad, as want to avoid any potential issues with it, and am prepared to look for something else if need be.

Cheers for any advice offered.

MJ

harveybobbles

Well your Scenic will probably run on fesh air and the Astra will do 30mpg. I've heard some people getting in the 20's from them! Similar stories with the Focus 1.6 too.

Flearoy

I would not swap the Scenic for an Astra. If your Scenic is working well, why bother selling it for a smaller car, especially one that will cost more in fuel like the Astra will, so you wouldn't even be getting a boost in fuel economy to offset the reduced space.

LandyAndy

I thought the 'Club' was the rock bottom spec on Vauxhalls of that time.

LandyAndy

You don't give any details of your Scenic (age, mileage, reliability etc) but it doesn't strike me as a good swap.

johnson293

Cheers - that is partly what is worrying me going back to a Petrol - The scenic does between 45 - 50mpg (depending how careful you drive it) and obviously I realise a petrol comes at a cost in economy - but dont want to be fuelling every few days.

Have a 13 mile (each way) commute to work, with a mix of urban and motorway, and average roughly 200 miles/week in total.

So would be happy enough with about 35mpg, but worried if it could drop into the 20's.

Also looking for something reliable, as have had soem 'issues' with the scenic engine, hence the desire to move on.

johnson293

LandyAndy wrote: »

I thought the 'Club' was the rock bottom spec on Vauxhalls of that time.

This one has Elec front windows, Alloys, Air Con, CD - which is the min spec I'd want. maybe they were added as options?

LandyAndy wrote: »

You don't give any details of your Scenic (age, mileage, reliability etc) but it doesn't strike me as a good swap.

The Scenic is 2004/04, 1.5 DCi Dynamique, 75k miles.

Reliability is the issue - have an engine 'issue' and have already replaced the Turbo, which didn't sort it. Its looking like a potential money pit. So reliability is the main factor int he next car, but also want something half decent, with a reasonable spec and hopefully reasonable economy.

Also had engine issue's with my previous car which was a Clio Dci, so may have been put off Renault's now.

Aslo wondering whether Turbo Diesels in general are worth the potential hassle/cost when it comes to engine problems.

johnson293

Also, while the space in the scenic is good, we dont necessarily need a car as big, hence why I was considering downsizing to a Astra/Focus sized hatchback.

LandyAndy

How about something like this

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201037368430188/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/4000/model/mazda3/make/mazda/postcode/sp61ej/quicksearch/true/radius/1501/page/3?logcode=p

06 reg Mazda3 1.6 petrol, 54,000 miles, TS2 spec(mid range). £3695.

Got to be a better bet than an, 18 month older, Astra.

vikingaero

At 40k the Astra will need a new cambelt kit and water pump.

johnson293

LandyAndy wrote: »

How about something like this

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201037368430188/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/4000/model/mazda3/make/mazda/postcode/sp61ej/quicksearch/true/radius/1501/page/3?logcode=p

06 reg Mazda3 1.6 petrol, 54,000 miles, TS2 spec(mid range). £3695.

Got to be a better bet than an, 18 month older, Astra.

Cheers - just done a local search on the Autotrader for Mazda 3, and the results within my £4k budget are all High milers (90k+).

The Mazda 1.6 are tax band H too, which is £99/£180.

The Astra is band G (£86/£155) which is probably the max I'd want to pay for Road Tax.