Opel Astras

Shred

Afternoon all,

I'll be looking to replace my car ('97 Accent; great car, never had an ounce of trouble with it in 5 years) in the next 4-6 months and I really like the look of the Astra. I won't be looking to buy a new car but something that's around 2-3 years old. The thing is a few people I've mentioned this to have said two things to me:

1 Opels/Astras are heavy on petrol - is this true?
2 Opel's are a bit dodgey reliability-wise - can anyone vouch for or counter this?

I have talked to one bloke I know who's now had two Astras and he (obviously) loves them. He didn't find the above to be true at all. However I do know two other blokes who have Vectras (one is about 3 yo, the other brand new) who have both had trouble with the on board computer/electronics. The bloke with the new one is still having trouble with his after being back to his garage several times and the other has had his sorted and it's been running fine for about 10-12 months since.

Although I can appreciate a nice looking car the same as anybody else I wouldn't be what you would call a car lover. So I'm not really looking for much from a car except that it's comfortable, fairly economic to run and that it's reliable. I'm getting married in Italy in June and I was thinking of hiring an Astra for the duration of my stay to test it out, but the reliability issue is a concern. I will also be doing around 500 - 1,000KMs while in Italy so the petrol issue would be a minor concern too.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Anan1

Shred wrote:

I'm getting married in Italy in June and I was thinking of hiring an Astra for the duration of my stay to test it out, but the reliability issue is a concern. I will also be doing around 500 - 1,000KMs while in Italy so the petrol issue would be a minor concern too.

I'm no expert on Astras (not really my thing;) ), but I think that's a great idea. It'll answer all your questions bar the one regarding reliability.

andrew_ireland

I drove an 05 (IIRC, it was fairly new anyway) Astra last year. I had it on hire from Enterprise for 2 days and did quite a bit of motorway driving in it over those 2 days. I had been only driving an automatic for 18 months previous and it was the first manual I'd driven since passing my test. The petrol needle barely moved in the time I had it so I can only assume that the consumption must've been fairly good, sorry I don't have the exact MPG.

Driving-wise it was very comfortable with plenty of room on the inside and moved well too so IMO it's a good'un!

Shred

Great stuff, thanks for that guys. Anyone else?

ZiabR

Well what i do know is the newer models have a new refined engine which is by all means great, from what i hear. Not sure about the older models.

supersaint3

Well I can't speak about astra's but I had an '05 1.3TDI Corsa that I just sold last week, had for year and a half- very reliable and VERY economical - 600km's on €40 if I drove it hard, 700kms if I drove it easy/ on motorway journeys

warrenaldo

was looking to buy an astra - like the look of them and got good reports from a lot of my friends/colleagues. but got good deal on a megane - so got that instead.

Shred

logik wrote:

Well what i do know is the newer models have a new refined engine which is by all means great, from what i hear. Not sure about the older models.

Hmm, well I would be looking at an 04/05.

Shred

supersaint3 wrote:

Well I can't speak about astra's but I had an '05 1.3TDI Corsa that I just sold last week, had for year and a half- very reliable and VERY economical - 600km's on €40 if I drove it hard, 700kms if I drove it easy/ on motorway journeys

Yeah, the bloke I mentioned above with the 3 yo Vectra had a Corsa before that for 5/6 years and he never had any hassle with it. TBH, I had never heard of supposed problems with Opel's up until I became interested in the Astra recently. I heard it from 2-3 people so far but it may be BS.

warrenaldo wrote:

was looking to buy an astra - like the look of them and got good reports from a lot of my friends/colleagues. but got good deal on a megane - so got that instead.

Cheers for that.

ZiabR

Shred wrote:

Hmm, well I would be looking at an 04/05.

Yeah i am just going on what i have read mate. A guy i work with has a 1.4 2003 model and he says it is heavy on juice but i think he drives it hard enough.

Go to www.parkers.co.uk and get the review on it. It will tell you all you need to know.

cold_filter

my GF has a 01 1.4, its very econimical driving a high speed but driving in m50 traffic its not great

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

My wife has had Astras for years, as had I until I went for an Vectra. The 00, 04 and 07 models we had were all very reliable and comfortable (we do a mix of motorway and rural driving 25k-30k miles pa) Fuel comsumption is excellent. No worries on either front I'd say.

slickmcvic

I drive a 01 1.8 Astra Coupe and before that had a 00 Corsa...Reliability on both are very good. Had to get a new fuel filter on the astra but apparently it was the petrol quality that caused the fault....Generally a very reliable car but I'd try and get one with a decent service history.
Read recently in Auto Express that Opel are about to overtake VW in the reliability stakes.

r3nu4l

A used car review from What Car would also be good, it gives you details of models to avoid, what to look out for, known issues with certain years/models etc. Remember that it's a Vauxhall in the UK!

This review feature will also allow you to compare it to two other vehicles as well.

[URL=http://www.whatcar.co.uk/used-car-summary.aspx?RT=2479&type=1
]This[/URL] link may not work and may redirect you back to the home page but try it.

Also, when you get to the review page you should look at the left hand side of the screen for these options:

WhatCar wrote:

Read the full test with expert trade views Whats it like?
Which one should I get?
What are the running costs?
What should I look out for?
Road Test Summary

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

r3nu4l wrote:

A used car review from What Car would also be good, it gives you details of models to avoid, what to look out for, known issues with certain years/models etc. Remember that it's a Vauxhall in the UK!

Also remember you can't compare reliability reports on Vauxhalls with Opels. The Vauxhall is assembled in Britain and has undisputed problems. The Opels are mostly from Belgium.

r3nu4l

Chad Chubby Putter wrote:

Also remember you can't compare reliability reports on Vauxhalls with Opels. The Vauxhall is assembled in Britain and has undisputed problems. The Opels are mostly from Belgium.

Yeah, What Car says that the Vauxhall Astra came 20th in their reliability survey and that one in three claims are due to electrical issues.

I have owned an Opel Corsa in the past and found it very, very reliable as well as economical...okay it was only a 1L but it was driven very hard on trips from Dublin to Tipp and back every few weekends and never seemed to cost us much. A friend of mine had 2 Opel Astras, the older version and a newer version. Both were very reliable, don't know about fuel consumption.

Shred

Thanks a lot for the opinions and pointers folks, you've been a great help!

patrickc

are you thinking of the new 04 model or the old one? just know the head tends to go at approx 80k miles on the older model

Shred

patrickc2006 wrote:

are you thinking of the new 04 model or the old one? just know the head tends to go at approx 80k miles on the older model

That's a nice tip, thanks. TBH I have only begun looking for info on Astras quite recently and I probably won't be buying a car until around August/Spetember. The thing is I want to book a car for Italy tonight and this is why I put the thread up so soon. So I'm not too sure on which model but ideally I would like to get a '05. Although that's going to depend on price/cashflow at the time!

Redshift

I'm driving a 1.9 diesel one at the moment current estate model.
It's a company car but i'm happy enough with it considering I spend a large proportion of my working day in it.

junkyard

Personally I wouldn't touch an Opel with a barge pole, as well as being overrated parts have gotten very expensive lately for some reason. There's no way will an Opel give you the trouble free motoring your Hyundai has or will and that is a fact. I've sold numerous Hyundai's and never ever have they come back to me with warranty issues or breakdowns. Opel's, on the other hand have cost me dearly with engine failures, gearbox failures and electrical component failures and these happened on new and nearly new cars with low mileage. This is only my opinion by the way before I get slated for being honest, some people around here just don't want to know and that's fine too if they're happier to live there.:D

BostonB

We've had a few astras with ECU faults and minor issues that the dealers seem unable/unwilling to fix. Been reliable enough though otherwise. Hard to know who to believe these days, New VW's have a poor rep, but then the Skoda's don't and its mostly the same car! In general Opels seems to be quite a bit cheaper than the competition. Someone in the family was looking at a 1.3 CDTI, I wasn't all that impressed with what I've seen of them so far. Basic spec and quite noisy. I thought a petrol Focus I've looked at was better all things considered.

shayser

BostonB wrote:

We've had a few astras with ECU faults and minor issues that the dealers seem unable/unwilling to fix. Been reliable enough though otherwise. ...In general Opels seems to be quite a bit cheaper than the competition. Someone in the family was looking at a 1.3 CDTI, I wasn't all that impressed with what I've seen of them so far. Basic spec and quite noisy. I thought a petrol Focus I've looked at was better all things considered.

Every word true, in my experience.

Also, the head went on mine after 70k.

Wouldn't want to tar all with the same brush but 3 dealers could not fix a problem I had. One seemed to take a trial and error approach, fixing possibles (and charging) until he might actually stumble upon the problem. He didn't.

God forbid you ever have to deal with Opel Ireland. Never again an Opel for me.

It's been said to me recently that a lot of the new 1.9 CTDIs are coming back in. That surprised me cos all the reviews for this engine (FIAT) were good.

furtzy

On my 6th Opel and only had minor issues with any of them. The old model Astra was a fine car and the 2 I had had no issues at all. For every bad story on a make model theres always a good one.

Mitch Connor

furtzy wrote:

On my 6th Opel and only had minor issues with any of them. The old model Astra was a fine car and the 2 I had had no issues at all. For every bad story on a make model theres always a good one.

you'd want a lot more then one good stroy for every bad, a 50/50 chance of your new car being crap ain't that good!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Tauren wrote:

you'd want a lot more then one good stroy for every bad, a 50/50 chance of your new car being crap ain't that good!

Myself and the Oh have had 14 Opels between us (mostly Astras) and NEVER had a single problem with any of them. They have proven very reliable and have great comfort on long journeys. Fuel consumption is good as is the whole driving experience. I suppose there are so many different cars on the road because so many people look for different things in cars and none is perfect.

furtzy

Tauren wrote:

you'd want a lot more then one good stroy for every bad, a 50/50 chance of your new car being crap ain't that good!

Nah just saying that everyone has their opinions.

Mate of mine has always bought Renault Lagunas and never had any trouble whereas a 05 E class went on fire of its own accord in the car park at work recently.

DO0GLE

I had a '99 Astra which I just sold last week. I had it for 5 yrs, put 96K miles on the clock and never had any trouble with it. Very reliable, very comfortable, solid and cheap to run.

bazz26

shayser wrote:

Wouldn't want to tar all with the same brush but 3 dealers could not fix a problem I had. One seemed to take a trial and error approach, fixing possibles (and charging) until he might actually stumble upon the problem. He didn't.

God forbid you ever have to deal with Opel Ireland. Never again an Opel for me.

Very true. I bought a brand new Vectra back in 1999 and it was the greatest piece of rubbish every made. Numerous electrical problems, window regulators blowning every couple of months, cd player not working when the mood suited it and the climate control gave up when the car was just outside of warranty. Found the Opel dealer to be arogant and unhelpful in fixing any of these issues. Went to Opel Ireland and found them to be equally unprofessional and rude. I also found the gearbox to be knotchy, the 1.8 litre petrol sluggish and heavy on juice. I got so fed up I sold the car after 18 months and lost a fortune in depreciation as Vectras are worth feck all second hand.

Saying all that I have no experience of the Astra itself.

kluivert

patrickc2006 wrote:

are you thinking of the new 04 model or the old one? just know the head tends to go at approx 80k miles on the older model

Mind went at 60k miles, but I knew that before I bought the car that they have problems with the head.

I got that fixed for 200e at Opel dealer.

That was 3 years ago and now with 101k miles I have no problems.

I am speaking about the pre 04 models.

They give 40mpg avg, they like long travel distances, dont like short travels or town driving, sitting travel, consumes petrol pretty quick. I got 46mpg going from Monaghan to Waterford one day. I thought that was pretty good.

I service the car every 10k miles at the Opel dealer for 100e.

Car was broken into, repairs where cheap as astras are 2 a penny.

I reckon the car will keep going for another 100k miles no bother.

I am a big fan of these cars. check out www.astrasport.co.uk

rebel.ranter

TBH I would be looking in the direction of the Ford Focus if I was in the market for an Opel. We have a number of Focuses (Foci?) as pool cars here in work & not one of them has given trouble. We are on our second batch of them & most of them are up at the 85-90k miles mark.
Parts are cheap & most mechanics know Fords well.
One of my colleagues had a 98 astra and the head gasket went in it. My mother also has a 98 and that has had lots of issues in it's lifetime, both were purchased new.

Shred

Well I have to be honest I don't particularly like Fords & I was never a fan of the Focus either. It's good that some of you have contributed your negative experiences and I'm now undecided about whether I'll bother with an Astra. I've been thinking about it and, although I'm not crazy about the look of the newer models, I might actually just go for another Accent. As someone pointed out they're very reliable cars and (having had a brief look there) I could probably get a '05 for about the same price as a '04 Astra. I must say I do like Octavia's also, I've driven my sister's '03 Ambiente and thought it was a lovely drive. Plus it's pretty well kitted out features-wise.