Opel vs. Vauxhall

D'Agger

I've been considering getting a new car and one in particular that has caught my eye has been the Opel Insignia

The issue I have is that a number of car dealerships are advertising Vauxhall insignias as Opel. Fair enough they're pretty much the same car, however I can go ahead and assume that the Vauxhall was imported at lower cost.

I've come across one in particular which ticks all the boxes (price, low mileage etc.) however I'm slightly worried about the imported nature of the car. I've been told that I will find it difficult to sell on an imported car which would likely be the case in a couple of years.

I'm just looking for some feedback on anybody who has purchased or heard any stories about Vauxhall and just in general whether it would be a good idea to purchase the car or not.

colm_mcm

Vauxhalls are always worth a little less than opels, but if the car is in better condition and has better spec or is cheaper then who cares.

A huge percentage of cars in Ireland are uk imports so there isn't as much of a stigma. You should be doing your homework on any potential cars history either way.

L-M

A huge percentage of them are imports but Opel would be the one manufacturer that falls ill to a stigma.

I personally wouldn't buyba Vauxhall.

bazz26

First of all, stop listening to whoever is telling you that imports are more difficult to sell on, as they are talking tripe. The majority of imports are in better condition, come with full service histories and are higher spec. No compare that to your average Paddy used car that hasn't seen an oil change in 2 or 3 years and in terrible condition. I know which one I would buy.

Regarding Vauxhall v Opel, yes the Vauxhalls traditionally sell for a little less but that is because they can be bought cheaper in the UK.

Marcusm

Limerick man wrote: »

A
I personally wouldn't buyba Vauxhall.

Badge snob :P

Not even a well priced VXR8 or Monaro?

colm_mcm

Limerick man wrote: »

I personally wouldn't buyba Vauxhall.

Would you buy an opel though?

L-M

Marcusm wrote: »

Badge snob :P

Not even a well priced VXR8 or Monaro?

Well theyre different species.

Yeah I would buy an Opel. I would buy an Insignia over a Mondeo or Passat. Astra is a cracker, too.

colm_mcm

If you were living in the UK would you drive a Vauxhall?

L-M

Obviously.

D'Agger

Cheers for the responses lads.

Personally, it wouldn't bother me, but I do see the point that there's a stigma associated with Vauxhall. You could import an Audi, BMW etc. and you wouldn't know the difference, you see the badge with Vauxhall on it and you have stigma associated with it immediately on first glance.

I'm in the early stages of looking but had found a car that was close on exactly what I'd wanted but that badge is putting doubt in my mind!

colm_mcm

Just rebadge it!

MuppetCheck

colm_mcm wrote: »

Just rebadge it!

That's the thing. Take the grill badge off the front of an Insignia and you'll see the shape of the Opel Blitz emblem.

If you can buy the exact same car in better nick and for a better price with the only difference being the badge you'd be mad not to. Just make sure the price more than reflects what you might lose down the line on resale.

ednwireland

It's far more engaging than the version it replaced, which extensive chassis honing carried out in the UK to differentiate the Vauxhall from Opel versions of the car sold elsewhere in Europe

read this on parkers http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/vauxhall/vectra/hatchback-2005/driving-performance/ so vauxhalls can be different to opels

i was surprised to read this myself but up here you rarely see an opel!

colm_mcm

That's about the Vectra ^

dgt

MuppetCheck wrote: »

That's the thing. Take the grill badge off the front of an Insignia and you'll see the shape of the Opel Blitz emblem.

If you can buy the exact same car in better nick and for a better price with the only difference being the badge you'd be mad not to. Just make sure the price more than reflects what you might lose down the line on resale.

I can vouch for this as there was a Vauhxall Vectra in the barracks with it's badge missing and I was confused to see the recess for the Opel logo

Thanks for clearing that up! :cool:

For Forks Sake

colm_mcm wrote: »

Just rebadge it!

All good and well, what about the steering wheel?

ednwireland

colm_mcm wrote: »

That's about the Vectra ^

well duh, i was just surprised that they actually did any changes on any vauxhauls rather than just re-badging them !

George Dalton

I personally think the diesel Insignia is the most over-rated, agricultural, unrefined tractor in the class.

They look nice and they are nice inside, that is where it ends. Turn the key and the spell is broken.

I think the Vauxhall version looks awful hence why they sell cheaper. Rebadging is all very well but will cost a few quid by the time you have a drivers airbag bought.

MuppetCheck

George Dalton wrote: »

I personally think the diesel Insignia is the most over-rated, agricultural, unrefined tractor in the class.

They look nice and they are nice inside, that is where it ends. Turn the key and the spell is broken.

I think the Vauxhall version looks awful hence why they sell cheaper. Rebadging is all very well but will cost a few quid by the time you have a drivers airbag bought.

I'd agree. I was in one for a bit and the engine is quieter in the smaller astra. The gearing in them is off too. It's the same in the Astra but that works around it being slightly more powerful in my yoke at least. Plus they are horrible off the motorway - they feel very wooden.

I couldn't get over how small they are in the back either.

ThisRegard

Usual nonsense. If you like the car, buy it. We have a Vauxhall Insignia and apart from a couple of plastic badges it's the same car. When it comes to selling it on all the people who wouldn't buy it because of the badge are probably all posters here anyway so I wouldn't be worrying about it, the motors forum is not representative of the car buying public.

L-M

Well we are the public and we do buy cars?

ThisRegard

Representative is the key word here.

jalan8984

I've driven Opels and Vauxhalls and I prefer the Opels tbh.

D'Agger

The people here represent a sample size of the public I would be looking to sell the car onto

ThisRegard

jalan8984 wrote: »

I've driven Opels and Vauxhalls and I prefer the Opels tbh.

So you've driven two Insignias, one with each badge, but prefer the Opel badged one, or are you talking about some other car altogether?

D'Agger wrote: »

The people here represent a sample size of the public I would be looking to sell the car onto

You'll sell the car to whoever offers the right price, you won't be looking to sell it to any particular segment.

L-M

I think you're forgetting we live in a country that had to change it registration system because of superstition.

Thats like saying someone buying a Fiesta would have bought a Mazda 121

Henry Ford III

I much prefer an Toyota Aygo to a Citroen C1 or a Pugeot 107. Much better car in every possible respect.

I wouldn't want an imported one though.

colm_mcm

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I much prefer an Toyota Aygo to a Citroen C1 or a Pugeot 107. Much better car in every possible respect.

I wouldn't want an imported one though.

Dead right too. You want an Irish one. Built in Ireland out of Toyota parts. None of your leftover Peugeot 206 keys, indicator stalks or wing mirrors thank you very much.

yeller

but it seems that people would still rather buy an opel than a vauxhall even though the vauxhall would have the better spec.
my brother is selling his 09 vauxhall exclusiv model with 79k on clock but doesnt know how to price it

R.O.R

yeller wrote: »

but it seems that people would still rather buy an opel than a vauxhall even though the vauxhall would have the better spec.
my brother is selling his 09 vauxhall exclusiv model with 79k on clock but doesnt know how to price it

The Vauxhall would have a better spec would it?

That's strange because nav is standard on the Insignia in Ireland but either optional or a different model, in the UK.

Exclusive is roughly equivalent to an SC spec here. Has some things an SC doesnr have and is missing some things it does have.

ninty9er

I know people who wholesale cars. They will wholesale UK Fords, Toyotas, BMWs, but Vauxhalls "just don't work here".

yeller

jalan8984 wrote: »

I've driven Opels and Vauxhalls and I prefer the Opels tbh.

but the only difference is the badges? RIGHT

Sam Russell

I thought our Opels were built on the same production lines as UK Vauxhalls as they are both RHD. However, they would be marketed in different trims, etc., so options would differ. Because of the way VRT works, some extras are added at the dealer to reduce VRT so things like radios tend to be different.

Imported cars can be, let's say, not quite right in mileage terms or history, but that applies to local cars too. Buyer beware.

MuppetCheck

Sam Russell wrote: »

I thought our Opels were built on the same production lines as UK Vauxhalls as they are both RHD. However, they would be marketed in different trims, etc., so options would differ. Because of the way VRT works, some extras are added at the dealer to reduce VRT so things like radios tend to be different.

Imported cars can be, let's say, not quite right in mileage terms or history, but that applies to local cars too. Buyer beware.

Looking at equivalent models Opels are actually a slightly higher spec in some cases. I doubt dealers are adding anything to the cars.