Vauxhall Ampera

Cardenkelly

KELTICKNIGHTT wrote: »

I'm in cork . I found a garage in cork that servce ev and hybrids. Plus there a garage in wexford which is only a good hour drive away

yes ryans, ten min from new ross. very good he is too. he trains others on ev cars. and he will charge up your car b4 u leave too.!!

Cardenkelly

KELTICKNIGHTT wrote: »

Ampera a nice piece of kit from all the reviews and owner reviews .pity weren't many sold here.

i love the fact ive got the only one round here in tipp. i get so many questions on it. its a very pretty sporty looking car. its low profile so very nippy but speed bumps are a problem. gotta go slow over them. if u want to test one b4 buying ill give u a run so u can be sure u like it. right im off to sleep. !!!!!

KELTICKNIGHTT

Cardenkelly wrote: »

yes ryans, ten min from new ross. very good he is too. he trains others on ev cars. and he will charge up your car b4 u leave too.!!

Sent Charles hurst a email asking to let me know when they get ampera in stock again.i drop a message if I get one.i was talking to my electrician and he quoted me 130 e to setup a changing point if I buy.

KELTICKNIGHTT

Cardenkelly wrote: »

i love the fact ive got the only one round here in tipp. i get so many questions on it. its a very pretty sporty looking car. its low profile so very nippy but speed bumps are a problem. gotta go slow over them. if u want to test one b4 buying ill give u a run so u can be sure u like it. right im off to sleep. !!!!!

Cheers.might take you up on that so see what it's like before I buy.cheers for info

n97 mini

Cardenkelly wrote: »

better to import from uk. better roads and cheaper. my vrt was only 520e
on the ampera i got

They're all UK imports. Electricautos imports them directly. You'll possibly pay more but you'll get a clean car and a warranty.

n97 mini

Cardenkelly wrote: »

no dont because all the quirks were fixed on the later model. also try get an electron over a positif as its similar price but fully loaded. fkn dream car it is,
drives better than my merc 300e i blew up.!!

Btw, the reg plate usually has no bearing on the model year. There are plenty of cars on 2015 plates that are 2012. Easy way to tell is 2013 has a full armrest in the back, 2012 doesn't. Or the 10th digit of the VIN. C=2012, D=2013.

gunnerfitzy

Another Ampera for the club.

Picked it up in UK yesterday. MY13 with 63k miles. Looks about 50% electric miles, 50% ICE. FVSH - remainder of Voltec warranty in place.

So much nicer ride than the i3.

Any advice from current Ampera owners welcome.

Alkers

gunnerfitzy wrote:

Picked it up in UK yesterday. MY13 with 63k miles. Looks about 50% electric miles, 50% ICE. FVSH - remainder of Voltec warranty in place.

Congrats, well wear!

unkel

Looks good, well wear!

coolisin

enjoy well wear, looks good in that picture.

slicedpanman

Congrats... Looks great in black

Btw a few posts back I was asking if anyone was having issues with their radio sticking with an FM channel. Mine kept moving away on its own.

I recently had my 12V battery replaced and have not had the issue once since. So possibly 12V related

gunnerfitzy

slicedpanman wrote: »

Congrats... Looks great in black

Btw a few posts back I was asking if anyone was having issues with their radio sticking with an FM channel. Mine kept moving away on its own.

I recently had my 12V battery replaced and have not had the issue once since. So possibly 12V related

I’m going to check the health of the 12v battery to see if there is any sign of it deteriorating. No note of it being previously changed in the service documentation. Halfords stock a compatible battery so first sign of a problem and I’ll change it.

n97 mini

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

I’m going to check the health of the 12v battery to see if there is any sign of it deteriorating. No note of it being previously changed in the service documentation. Halfords stock a compatible battery so first sign of a problem and I’ll change it.

Halfords sell a compatible Yuasa battery, YBX9027. Make sure it's that one. Others will fit but they're not AGM. It's also special order... Took about 4 weeks to arrive.

gunnerfitzy

n97 mini wrote: »

Halfords sell a compatible Yuasa battery, YBX9027. Make sure it's that one. Others will fit but they're not AGM. It's also special order... Took about 4 weeks to arrive.

That's the one I was looking at. Didn't know it would take that long to arrive though. If there is any indication of the current battery being on way out I'll just change it.

n97 mini

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

That's the one I was looking at. Didn't know it would take that long to arrive though. If there is any indication of the current battery being on way out I'll just change it.

In my case there were a couple of screw-ups too. Deliveries arrived with no battery, had to be chased up etc. In fairness the staff in the Liffey Valley shop were very good for keeping me updated.

Have you an OBD dongle? With Torque you can find the battery voltage. If it's below 12v with the car off (try it first thing in the morning) it probably needs to go. A multimeter will work too, but obviously you'll have a bit for faffing to do.

If the battery that's in there is a Delco, it's probably the original one.

gunnerfitzy

n97 mini wrote: »

In my case there were a couple of screw-ups too. Deliveries arrived with no battery, had to be chased up etc. In fairness the staff in the Liffey Valley shop were very good for keeping me updated.

Have you an OBD dongle? With Torque you can find the battery voltage. If it's below 12v with the car off (try it first thing in the morning) it probably needs to go. A multimeter will work too, but obviously you'll have a bit for faffing to do.

If the battery that's in there is a Delco, it's probably the original one.

I have an OBD dongle and Torque - never thought of using it to check the voltage, would have been messing with a multimeter! Cheers!!

Soarer

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

I’m going to check the health of the 12v battery to see if there is any sign of it deteriorating. No note of it being previously changed in the service documentation. Halfords stock a compatible battery so first sign of a problem and I’ll change it.

I've a 12V trickle charger if you want to borrow it.

Might extend the life of the original one for a while.

gunnerfitzy

Soarer wrote: »

I've a 12V trickle charger if you want to borrow it.

Might extend the life of the original one for a while.

Cheers. Must take a proper look at the battery over the weekend.

slicedpanman

Just to add to the things to note on low 12V...
So aside from the radio randomly changing channels my other grip was the charge port door. It didn't open properly at all. I'd have to press the button on the remote and and the same time give the door a gentle pull.

Since sorting the battery - it pops wide open on key fob button press.

So, unless I'm imagining all this , 2 signs of low 12v; random radio issues and charge port door not opening

Cardenkelly

slicedpanman wrote: »

It's too far and too much hassle from Limerick for me, I'll take my chances

Hi there, Vauxhall have no one up north now to service and informed me that if an independent mechanic has the necessary courses done, my warranty is still valid. I had work done in Ryan’s Enniscorthy. I’ve convinced my mechanic mate to do the course as he’ll have a monopoly in the Tipperary area.

gunnerfitzy

Cardenkelly wrote: »

Hi there, Vauxhall have no one up north now to service and informed me that if an independent mechanic has the necessary courses done, my warranty is still valid. I had work done in Ryan’s Enniscorthy. I’ve convinced my mechanic mate to do the course as he’ll have a monopoly in the Tipperary area.

Do you have this in writing/email? The talk from across the water is Vauxhall have been trying to get out of standing over the warranty on many occasions.

What is the situation if one needs a warranty repair? Will they pay the independent garage?

I would be delighted if my local EV mechanic could do the servicing and that the warranty would remain valid.

n97 mini

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

Do you have this in writing/email? The talk from across the water is Vauxhall have been trying to get out of standing over the warranty on many occasions.

What is the situation if one needs a warranty repair? Will they pay the independent garage?

I would be delighted if my local EV mechanic could do the servicing and that the warranty would remain valid.

If you're looking at warranty I wouldn't go outside of the Vauxhall network. I got ours serviced a couple of months ago in Charles Hurst and the spiel when I was booking it in was "as you know we're the only Ampera certified service centre on the island".

gunnerfitzy

n97 mini wrote: »

If you're looking at warranty I wouldn't go outside of the Vauxhall network. I got ours serviced a couple of months ago in Charles Hurst and the spiel when I was booking it in was "as you know we're the only Ampera certified service centre on the island".

I would be of the same opinion. I would need a cast-iron assurance that the warranty would be maintained by getting the service done outside the network.

How did you find the servicing experience? My 6th service is due in October. My plan at the moment is to have a small family holiday in NI and get the car done. I tried to join the VX service club but the previous owner has the car registered. The club only covers UK registered vehicles but I thought there would be no harm in giving it a go. Worth a try for the 25% discount.

n97 mini

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

How did you find the servicing experience?

All good, except the price, £250, which I didn't think they really did enough to earn.

gunnerfitzy

n97 mini wrote: »

All good, except the price, £250, which I didn't think they really did enough to earn.

I would find that to be a hard pill to swallow indeed. I think that is the going rate for a minor service. The car had an oil and filter change last Oct so it's not due one this Oct. Paying 250STG for someone to have a look around and say all's okay would get to me. But if that is the cost to maintain the warranty then it will have to be done.

Alkers

I see there's a 2014 positiv model up for 12,000 on done deal with 125k km (I think, could be miles). Looks clean

n97 mini

Simona1986 wrote: »

I see there's a 2014 positiv model up for 12,000 on done deal with 125k km (I think, could be miles). Looks clean

It's km (dash photo). 2013 model too. Not a bad price!

Alkers

We had our first NCT on Friday (no issues, valid for two years). The 0ppm readings for emissions really make a mockery of the whole system. You could have a PHEV with a tiny battery just to pass the NCT, they should really test the emissions when the ICE is running.

The car drew a lot of attention at the test centre, even the receptionist was saying she'd never come across the name before.

ELM327

It means that any plugin hybrid can pass the emissions test indefinitely. Even if you had a 5.9 litre cummins diesel with a small plugin range, you pass the test automatically.

Same for our non plug in prius, emissions not tested as it's a hybrid

zilog_jones

Either they don't know how, or don't have equipment that supports testing any hybrids. I suspect the equipment they use for measuring engine speed is not suitable (as it may be based on an alternator existing), among other things.