Opel Zafira,anything to be aware of?

hawkelady

Thinking of getting a 7 seater for the ever extending little 'uns. Zafira is on our mind due to being reasonably priced. do they give headaches?its an 07 so should be reasonably reliable . took it for a drive and thought the engine was slightly noisier than i would have thought but ive never driven an opel before so i dont know.its 1.6 petrol,btw..also the dealer told me he would put it thru the nct before i bought it,.how can he do this when the nct isnt due til april 2011.and if he can do it,will it be nct'd til april 2013 or oct 2012..
i mentioned the heavy/noisey engine to the dealer and he said it just needed a good service to make her sweet. would he be right or is he just blowing smoke and tellin me what he wants me to hear.
any advice would be great..

Grimreaper666

I wouldn't buy one as I don't have any faith in Opels tbh, they're engines aren't great at the best of times but maybe it's just me.

ltdslipdiff

The Ecotec is a gruff old lump at the best of times! There was a crossover in 2008 I think from timing belt to chain, there is a very low timing belt change interval (50,000 klms) worth checking out as I believe they have belts like rubber bands..... The boot release switch on the tailgate seems to give bother too, it allows water in and it corrodes the electrics....just a little (but annoying) one to look out for.

Ardennes1944

my buddies dad had two...never had a problem. my brother bought a 1.4 ecotec astra...no problems...so i then bought one...no problems. half german engineering to be fair

mano bano

i have a 2001 zafira 1.8 great car 112000 mls on it a still going strong

Guy:Incognito

I've had them a couple of times on hire and hated them. Comign from the missus Grand Scenic, the seats in the Zafira were far too awkward and messy to use. The middle row is a bench which I didnt like and it has to be slid forward to put the back 2 seats up or down meanign everyone has to get out if your doing it when theres already people in the car.I also have a major dislike of Opels design of everything being bloody square inside .

It may just have been the seats in the base model hire car, not that it excuses it, but everyone was complaining about really bad levels of discomfort after an hour or so on the motorway. Although most of us were comign from Renaults and I tend to find plenty of seats in other similar cars uncomfortable. There wasnt anythign about it that would sway me from the Scenic and when you have others like the C4 to choose from I cant see why people bother. It's not going to be the most reliable in the class so if thats you main concern there are better options.

Pdfile

they get nigglie little electrical problems but generally, their no tank but if you dont abuse them their sweet as.

hawkelady

cheers for the replies.. whats the story with the nct,can he do what he says he will and will it be oct 2012 or april2013?? i aint worrying about timing belt as its getting done as part of the deal

eamon234

Head gaskets blowing are usually the biggest problem with the older models not sure about newer ones.

Bodhan

They sound like tractors, they look like a box with headlights, and they are only 7 seats if you don't really need a boot. OK as a 5 seat though.

cjt156

I had a hire car of that vintage for a couple of weeks on hols and found it fine. It had the 1.9CDTi which is the FIAT/ALFA diesel engine and is far superior.
The sister has the previous model with 1.6 and its pretty grim.

JohnDigital

We bought a 07 for my wife a few months back. It has about 80,000 kms on it. We were advised to go for the Club trim level and that is what we got. I cant recall what the differences were with Club and the standard trim. My wife really chose the car I don’t have any real involvement. I was sure that I would absolutely hate it but boy was I surprised how nice it was. It is a 1.6 petrol and really very nippy. The driving position feels very car like and not like a van as I expected. It is very agile and really easy to park. Myself I currently drive a 2.0l petrol Mondeo and in fairness the Zafira is quicker off at the lights than it which makes it really easy in traffic. For a 7 seater I think it’s great. I had test driven lots of others around the same €10k-€12k price like Scenic, Sharan & Galaxy and the Zafira was the one we preferred all round.

mano bano

hawkelady wrote: »

cheers for the replies.. whats the story with the nct,can he do what he says he will and will it be oct 2012 or april2013?? i aint worrying about timing belt as its getting done as part of the deal

i think the first nct can be done 6 months before its due. so it should be april 2013

robtri

have a zafira myself, or shud say the missus has it..

1.6 2000 model, club...

100,000 just on the clock..
no problems at all with it...

easy car to work on and very reliable, parts are easy to come buy either new supurious and in breakers...

as stated the engine is a bit rough and a bit under powered in the 1.6,... but it is a MPV not a sports car....
the 1.9CDTI is a much better option if you can get it...
or if you want sports car performance get the VXR model....
237bhp....

Leonard Hofstadter

The 1.8 struggles in these so God only knows how the 1.6 manages to propel the car when fully laden.

Get the 1.9 CDTI, these have the added advantage of having a/c as standard as well(1.6s have a/c and non a/c versions).

Zubeneschamali

captainspeed wrote: »

Get the 1.9 CDTI

Or get the same engine in a Fiat Multipla. I test drove the Zafira before getting a Multipla back in 2000, and the Multipla is way, way better inside.

Outside :eek:, not so much, but you don't have to look at the outside while driving it:D.

Hmm, a quick scan on Carzone shows no recent diesels for sale, so maybe they are too rare now.

bbam

We have a 2006 1.6 from new... We have 130K on the clock and it's been a great car, I'm actually supprised how well the 1.6 manages and we've had it round France a few times well loaded.. I would recommend the 1.9Diesel and would go for that in future..
If you keep it serviced (which isn't expensive) they are a great car. Ours just passed the NCT a few months ago with no problems..

Never let us down, comfortable driving position, economic and the extra seats are useful..

Issues I'd like to see sorted..
A few more storage cubbies would be nice
To be able to raise the last 2 seats without moving the back row
Spare wheel is vournable to theft, ours was stolen

Would definitely buy another

BostonB

The Zafira seems quite narrow compared to other MPV.

Chriscl1

we have one, its very comfy and is a good 5 seater with better access than an estate car for strapping in 3 babies, the boot is great, its very rare we would have to use the 6th or 7th seats but its nice to have the option if one of the grannies needs to come with us for any reason. ours is pretty quick for what it is which is handy for when im alone. no problems so far thank god. here it is.....

silverfox88

watched a scary thing recently on fifth gear (crap version on top gear!!) about the zafira, they showed the result of a rear collision with one and the damage it would cause to passengers seated in the 6th and 7th seats - they're so close to the rear window and back of the car that there was little or no protection in the event of a collision, the back of the car simply collapsed and the car it was hit by was in direct contact with the crash dummies in the back. just a bit scary, something i would have never thought of with respect to 7 seaters until i saw the programme!

Chriscl1

That's the mother in-law taken care of then lol.

Jimmy Garlic

My sister had one of these, I drove it a few times. The gearbox was...agricultural.

noeld1

Grimreaper,

For your information, the Zafira has been voted the most reliable 7 seater on the market by warrantydirect.co.uk for a number of years in a row. The number of Zafiras on the road should be proof of its' success.

The most unriable was the VW Sharan, Galaxy and Alhambra.

A few of my friends and family are on their third Zafira model. None of them have had any reliability issues.

As regards durability, one sold his (1.6 model) with 200,000 miles recently without any attention to : engine, gearbox, clutch.

It passed NCT prior to sale. Like all cars, if maintained properly, they will go on and on!

reademandweep

Take my advice don't touch a 2006 1.9 diesel zafira. Nothing but problems.....

Alternator went €500, turbo hose went, and now the diesel particle filter (€1500), as well as the inconvenience of having it break down on the side of the road 3 times.

Stevie Dakota

There is problem with electrical wires to the rear doors cracking resulting in no electric rear windows or cl. There is a kit to fix it but it is couple of hundred euro. Very common failure by all accounts.

noeld1

reademandweep wrote: »

Take my advice don't touch a 2006 1.9 diesel zafira. Nothing but problems.....

Alternator went €500, turbo hose went, and now the diesel particle filter (€1500), as well as the inconvenience of having it break down on the side of the road 3 times.

If you had read your car manual, you would have discovered that ALL diesel engines fitted with a particuate filter must be driven at over 2500 rpm for 4/5 miles on a regular basis. This clears out the filter. I drive a 1.9CDTI and AM GUILTY of not reading the manual, but luckily for me, my dealer explained it to me.

pissed

I have a Zafira 1.6 petrol 2002, the only thing I have had to replace apart from regular service materials was an EGR valve. They go on all Opels/Vaulhalls. Apart from that it never gave me a minutes trouble. Coming up on 91,000 on the clock now and still driving perfectly. Then again thats my one, friends of ours had one and had nothing but trouble with it. Maybe a monday morning car. Anyway I would have no hesitation in buying another one.