Vauxhall?

Geodark

I have had a 1.6 z16xe (2002 plate) zaffy for near on 6 years now, and I absolutely love it. yes it could do with a little more power - but is definitely drivable. plenty of room in the back for loading things up. Round the doors(ish) I get about 35mpg and on a long run I can get anywhere up to 40 - but that might just be the way I drive it

CFC

35mpg is pretty reasonable to me, I thought for the size of the beast it would be a lot worse.

Geodark

CFC wrote: »

35mpg is pretty reasonable to me, I thought for the size of the beast it would be a lot worse.

Round the doors I average 110 miles from £20 @ £1.30 a litre, so thats about 33mpg - still not bad for the size of the car though. So useful with the size of the boot as well!

TrickyWicky

facade wrote: »

There is no irony. It has endured 140,000 miles of the sort of abuse that would see most cars off in under 60,0000. Wouldn't have needed the gearbox if it had had any oil put in over the last 140,000 miles.

Considering vauxhalls are built down to a price, they are among the most long term reliable cars, but they do go through sensors and switches .

I'll second that. Where I used to work we had a fleet of vauxhall zafiras. They were bought new and run into the ground. Now granted we had an onsite mechanic who would do absolutely everything to them (from body to engine repairs / replacement) but several of them had over 500k on the clock. Granted they were diesels but the cars themselves are also very strong and can take a lot of punishment. If you look after a vauxhall (even if you only repair them doing an expensive bodge) they will last years like a ford.

I remember my favourite one of the fleet.. replaced engine, clock was dead, rear door didn't lock, 1st gear was a bit knackered (there was a trick to getting it in lol), paint was faded, but it was an unstoppable force. Only a 1.8 diesel iirc but it was a tractor.. it just wouldn't stall no matter how steep the hill and no matter what gear it was in. It was a typical noisy diesel but it was just brilliant for MPG and reliability. I loved that motor I really did and there was no shortage of people wanting to buy it from the company either (no-one got the chance though as they all got sent to scrap). 538k on it the last time I drove it lol.

CFC

That's a pretty ringing endorsement Tricky, shame I am limited to the petrol.
My heart wants a Dacia Duster but my head is starting to say Zafira...

Croc_Mad

What's that about diesels on short trips? Could you clarify?

I have a diesel astra, great car. Around 50mpg combined, short trips only serm to make minimal difference to the fuel economy.

OddballJamie

Croc_Mad wrote: »

What's that about diesels on short trips? Could you clarify?

I have a diesel astra, great car. Around 50mpg combined, short trips only serm to make minimal difference to the fuel economy.

It's generally DPF problems, although I don't think yours has a DPF being the 1.3 so nothing to worry about.

DevilsAdvocate1

Croc_Mad wrote: »

What's that about diesels on short trips? Could you clarify?

I have a diesel astra, great car. Around 50mpg combined, short trips only serm to make minimal difference to the fuel economy.

Its to do with the DPF filter. You need to do some longer runs so that it cleans itself. Apparantly, it only does this on long runs.

However, even if you do lots of long runs, it can still fail as mine did last week. The garage looked very smug and told me that it was my fault because I clearly did lots of short journeys.

Their attitude changed when I explained that I had driven from Newcastle to Sheffield and the light came on 20 miles from Sheffield. I had been doing 80 for most of the journey. I also do lots of long journeys - I have 105000 miles on the clock and the car is only four and a half.

Croc_Mad

Ah, I see. Nope, no DPF on mine, I did my research before I bought it. My Mum had a Zafira for years. Took seven of us to Belgium and back in it. Two small kids, two teenagers and three adults. We put a roofbox on but were quite comfortable space-wise even with luggage and a pushchair.

ossie

No brainer really. Brand New Zafira for £9999 (if you have a Vauxhall already and Partner status). Lifetime Warranty until 100,000 miles. Cheap peace of mind motoring if you keep it long term. What other 7 seater can you buy for that price!.