vauxhall vectra 05 onwards .... your reviews please!!

bikingbarney

After having all the problems ive had with my cmax we have decided to part ex it in against an 05 onwards vectra as it seems you can get some cracking deals on them now the new insignia is out.
Im looking at the 150bhp diesel sri variant.
can anyone give me there experiences with the vectra, common problems and things to look out for on them.
Are there any big issues for them when it comes to servicing?(my cmax needed a dpf filter at 75000 for example which cost 400quid!)
failing that i am open to suggestions on a family car for around £6000.
cheers
Steve

bigjl

The diesel vectra is a pain in the !!!! as far as running issues go, they all seem to have issues when fitted with a DPF, lots of mates have had engine managment issues, though if you can get one and have the DPF removed or get it remapped to increase the frequency of the DPF cleaning cycle then it might make it a better ownership prospect. A remap will also help with the poor pick up from a standstill that affects the diesels.


I have used CDTi Zafiras at work for a fair few years now, not bad when they are running but they are unreliable, which is a shame. I like the later Vectras, the boot is stupidly large, I would have one but modify it as mentioned, with the remap you can also sort the EGR problems which also plague this engine, you can google Regal Autosports they do an update to the software but leave the DPF in place, they also increase the power, best part of 200 bhp is available.

Seen a Auto 150 SRi estate, 05 plate, go through BCA today, went for just shy of £3000, sounded nice and was clean and tidy, can't remember the mileage though.

The earlier 2.2DTi or 2.0DTi was more reliable funnily enough but they stopped making it before 2005, sounds like a bus though.

The early DTi models where also better on fuel, the CDTi can be juicy.

johnnyroper

the GM 2.0 and 2.2dti engines are a conventional direct injection diesel so are a bit agricultural,they suffer with injector seals going brittle allowing fuel to return to tank and be a PITA to start up again.not a major job to do if mechanically minded but £400 at a garage,the fuel pump ecu tends to expire on these engines when they get older normally anytime after 80k miles,heat and vibrations cause the fine wires on PCB to break.pumps are about £1500 new,reconned £800 or can have just the fault repaired (not complete recon) by diesel bob for about £350-400 then 4ish hours labour on top.

the fiat cdti are not the best they eat DMF's and EGR valves,they also suffer with swirl flaps breaking up and forever getting the management light on and go in to limp home mode.
the 130bhp is more reliable than the 150bhp so that would be my choice.

there are shed loads of these about so you can afford to be really picky and look for one that is average mileage,well maintained and a decent price.

harveybobbles

1.9's are lovely and smooth, but awfully hateful pieces of crap!

EGR, turbos, flywheels, DPF's, manifold flaps plus a whole host of other crap that goes wrong...

Quinny_2

Friend of mine has a 57 plate estate as a company car. It has 115k on it,and so far this year is onto it's 2nd gearbox!!!!

I was with him the first time the gearbox went, on the M180 near Scunny, and it's replacement went on Thursday. It vibrates constantly, has had 15 tyres on it, it's dreadful at starting, and some of the electrics are suspect.

He has refused to have it back after it has been repaired, because he works on motorways, and has said to his fleet engineer, that with the loss of gears, he's likely to be killed because of lack of acceleration when exiting from roadworks, and his fleet engineer has now agreed with him.

So you still want one??????

Kilty_2

The 1.9 150 has a bad reputation - the 120 is more reliable.

Different, stronger gearbox to that in the Astra/Zafira - I don't think problems like the one described above are all that common in Vectra although they are in Astra/Zafira

DPF problems don't exist if you drive it properly - don't buy a diesel to potter around town in.

bigjl

Kilty wrote: »

The 1.9 150 has a bad reputation - the 120 is more reliable.

Different, stronger gearbox to that in the Astra/Zafira - I don't think problems like the one described above are all that common in Vectra although they are in Astra/Zafira

DPF problems don't exist if you drive it properly - don't buy a diesel to potter around town in.

I have known people have problems with their DPF that have never driven around town.

I work for the London Ambulance Service, and we don't pootle about town, we hammer them all the time, we have them go off the road all the time, they are serviced above and beyond the normal schedule.

We have problems with them going into limp mode due to the EGR and due to the DPF.

Some have real issues with throttle response and low speed pick up, we have blown up more engines than on any other vehicle we have ever used.

We also have a few 53 plate, 54 plate and 05 plate 2.0 DTis, they are slower but they are much more reliable though noisy.

Our 1.9 Zafiras are fitted with the 120bhp engine, but the only real issue we had with the 2.0DTi was turbos, mainly due to them being hammered and then switched off without a cooldown period, which cooks turbos in hard driven vehicles.