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Should I Get A Vectra?
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Im sorry
my dad offered me his vectra and i told him where he could go with it......
its a terrible car, unreliable and uncomfortable to drive.
its a bit bigger than a few cars but nothing worth fighting for
my own car would carry more crap than his.
insurance on my car is cheaper than on the '98 vectra !!!
the vectra has too many problems and aren't the best cars in the world.
go with a jap box. it will give much less hassle ! and be lighter on fuel once you drive it right. (as per my thread i just created
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just to list some of the problems my dads vectra currently has
noisy exhaust (again for the 3rd time !)
oil leak from oil cap (2nd time to relpace it and also had 3 previous oil leaks in other places)
engine management problem that when car is started you'd be lucky if it stayed on.
electronic issues like dash sometimes not working.
key barrel broken (no steering wheel lock and sometimes car wont lock cos it thinks the key is still in it)
Handbrake is not worth a crap (garage said it was perfect but you still lift it a mile for anything to happen)
its nothing special to look at either to be fair... a bit ugle on the inside0 -
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If you want to start on a vectra, go ahead! I got one for free that was sitting up. I drove it about 40 miles before giving it to a friend to take apart. In the short time I drove it I really digged how it drove, the pull of the engine, the feel of the clutch, acceleration and the stereo is nice in them. They have 4 doors, so handy for transporting people, and a boot!
Learning in one would be nice, the power of the engine will make doing hill starts, moving off, cruising etc. really nice. 0-60 speed doesn't mean squat. It can get to it, so why worry? People read too much into "POWER OF THE ANTICHRIST" when a learner wants to start on a 1.6 or larger. I WISH I started on a saloon, it is a lot more relaxed to drive and, if taught how to drive and using a little cop, wonderful for your test.
What else can I say? The 1.6 I had had brakes all around, nice for stopping in a hurry, coupled with ABS means a nice smooth stop compared to other "starter" cars.
You'll look respectable, as you want to. If you want to buck the trend of 3 door hatchbacks, why not? Be the wheelman on peoples nights out and grab a fiver each for petrol money. Do pizza deliveries. Hell, go for a long drive and realise that it's a ****-ton comfier than the 1.3 starlet you mates drive.
In short, get something that YOU like. All cars will have there problems. Check cars with a friend that has a good head for cars and get something that you will like.
Spending your money on a nice car is a lot more sensible than pissing it away on something stupid anyways... IE. Beer.
Also, when I was getting insured, a 1.8 laguna facelift from 99 was cheaper to get insured on than the VW polo 1lite I had.
Jeeze, I post too long sometimes...0 -
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Had a Vectra B 1.8 litre for almost 2 years from new. Terrible piece of crap, drank petrol like fish drinks water. Iffy electrics and a very notchy gearbox. Can only imagine what they are like at this stage and would not wish one on my worst enemy.
Mk1/2 Mondeo and Peugeot 406 were light years ahead of it in every department.
Found a nice mondeo on DoneDeal, and insurance is 1,000 cheaper than the Vectra!! any more suggestions to reliable 4-door saloons would be great! 0 -
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Found a nice mondeo on DoneDeal, and insurance is 1,000 cheaper than the Vectra!! any more suggestions to reliable 4-door saloons would be great!
That absolutely can't be right. If I picked up correctly from earlier in the thread you are a 17 year old and taking insurance out in your own name. Think you mentioned that you were quoted €2,500 on a 1.6 vectra (which seems lower than what I would have expected to be honest), so that would make the quote €1,500 on the 1.8 litre mondeo....Sorry to be a killjoy but I'd make sure to double check that as it does not seem right to me at all regardless of your other particulars...way of the mark in fact.
Lots of people mentioning to go for a smaller engined car to save on the insurance. I found when first taking out insurance you will save a few quid on a smaller car but not a hugh lot really, there was often only a couple of hundred in it.
Re the Vectra B I drove one myself for a few years but wouldn't particularly endorse it. Id consider it a pretty avergae family saloon. Far from the worst car going but certainly not the best by a long shot either. Mechanically mine gave me quite a few headaches. The headgasket went despite owning the car from low mileage and changing waterpump and coolant on time at the recommended intervals, and not roughing the car by any means. Granted the mileage was creeping up high enough when it gave but it still annoyed me. Timing belt changes are expensive, needing to be done every 40k miles...you need to buy a complete timing belt kit and water pump along with a few hours labour. Some owners will skimp on the pulleys and waterpump but thats a false economy as it may well more than likely lead to your engine self destructing in one way or another.
Fuel pump gave up on me and left me stranded far away from home. That left me with a repair bill of just shy of €500. Granted though part of that was to cover towing the car. Think the pump itself was about €320 or €340...enough loot I thought at the time. Think the main reason the fuel pump gives is because owners neglect to change the fuel filter. Utterly my own fault in my own case but you learn by your mistakes!
The car had a right healthy appetite for rear brake pads and bushings. The bushings can be expensive enough to put in. They need to be pressed in with a specific tool. Some garages will push them in by hook or by crook, damaging them in the process and pretty much your back at square one soon after. If you drive over a rough surface and find dull thumping from rear wheels area its a good indication the bushings need doing.
I found the gearchange to be quite notchy, and the ride can be pretty wallowy. Performance is far from super but the car is well able to keep up with traffic, and its not a performance car anyway as others have mentioned. Still though it didn't seem near as agile or free revving as many other similar family cars I have drove. On the plus side the car was very comfy and pretty smooth on motorways
If it were me with a budget of circa €1k looking for a car in that league I'd be more inclined to consider a Toyota Avensis/ Nissan Primera/ Mazda 323F.0 -
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If you want to start on a vectra, go ahead! I got one for free that was sitting up. I drove it about 40 miles before giving it to a friend to take apart. In the short time I drove it I really digged how it drove, the pull of the engine, the feel of the clutch, acceleration and the stereo is nice in them. They have 4 doors, so handy for transporting people, and a boot!
Learning in one would be nice, the power of the engine will make doing hill starts, moving off, cruising etc. really nice. 0-60 speed doesn't mean squat. It can get to it, so why worry? People read too much into "POWER OF THE ANTICHRIST" when a learner wants to start on a 1.6 or larger. I WISH I started on a saloon, it is a lot more relaxed to drive and, if taught how to drive and using a little cop, wonderful for your test.
What else can I say? The 1.6 I had had brakes all around, nice for stopping in a hurry, coupled with ABS means a nice smooth stop compared to other "starter" cars.
You'll look respectable, as you want to. If you want to buck the trend of 3 door hatchbacks, why not? Be the wheelman on peoples nights out and grab a fiver each for petrol money. Do pizza deliveries. Hell, go for a long drive and realise that it's a ****-ton comfier than the 1.3 starlet you mates drive.
In short, get something that YOU like. All cars will have there problems. Check cars with a friend that has a good head for cars and get something that you will like.
Spending your money on a nice car is a lot more sensible than pissing it away on something stupid anyways... IE. Beer.
Also, when I was getting insured, a 1.8 laguna facelift from 99 was cheaper to get insured on than the VW polo 1lite I had.
Jeeze, I post too long sometimes...
And that car he was talking about ended up with me
It is a lovely car to sit into, different world to Corsas, actually feels like a car not a tinbox
OP if youre handy with a spanner you can have some real bargains. Don't be afraid to buy something thats "unreliable" as with a typical 17yo budget you won't be getting anything relatively new or decent. My first car to insure was a 1.2 Bravo I got non running and falling to pieces for €400, The insurance was 6 times what I paid for the car when I was 18 :mad: most people look down their noses at such a daring choice but when they were left stranded calling for a garage not knowing what was wrong with their car I certainly was having the last laugh knowing I could sort it if I wanted to
As for "no 17 should have a car bigger than 1l" I say bollo*ks to that, I learned to drive in both a 1.6 litre car and a 2.5 litre car, both in my name at 16. So don't let anyone tell you that rubbish of small engines for 17 year olds 0 -
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