The other half has decided she wants/needs a new car. We have found a MK5 Astra 1.8 Sri at the local Vauxhall dealer. Is there anything we need to look out for in particular?

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A car that isn't a Vauxhall? 

A friend has one of these. I remember being very unimpressed. Had loads and loads of squeaks and rattles at about half the mileage of my 330d.

 

Nice seats, but the foam on Vauxhalls seems to wear quickly.

 

They'd be the first car I'd wipe out of existence if I had the choice (Vauxhalls as a whole, then Astras, then Corsas if I had to choose a model)

I have had an Vauxhall Astra and said i'd never buy another.

Had a Vauxhall as a lease car a few years ago, spent more time in the dealer for repairs than any other car I have owned

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A car that doesn't have V@*xh@11 badges on it. :-|

My boss currently has a 1.4 sri astra on loan while his car is being fixed. He's had it 2 months now and its woeful. Slow, handles badly and isn't a nice place to sit. That and the fact there is nothing sri about it apart from the stupid big wheels! Buy a Kia.

My mums zafira SRi diesel is alright. Not exactly fast but comfortable

Probably not the best place to ask I know. Yer wanted to avoid the 1.4 Chris silly engines in any medium sized car

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Had a couple of Astras

 

1 died when the fuel pump gave up and value was equal to repair costs. It was on 120k.

1 died when its ability to stay shiny side up failed. It was on 193k.

 

These were Mk4s though I think. Early 2000s.

 

Not very exciting but quick enough with the 2L TDs, didn't handle very well.

The other half has decided she wants/needs a new car. We have found a MK5 Astra 1.8 Sri at the local Vauxhall dealer. Is there anything we need to look out for in particular?

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2 mates both has mk5 1.9 turbo diesel - 3rd gear went in one of them, whole box went in another (granted, it was repaired under warranty) but still... chocolate gear boxes. 

I had a Mk5 Astra.  1.7cdti in SXi trim. Black, 5 door.

Not a bad car, pretty good mpg, not 'fast' and so-so handling for a medium sized hatch with sporty pretensions...(never realised...)

It didn't really go wrong - had a random EML indicating workshop/garage visit, but no running issues and no garage ever foudn anything wrong with it.

Apparently, from being on AON (astra owners network) there's a lot of expensive issues with the 1.9 cdti (a re-purposed fiat lump with a weak gearbox), but the 1.7 is an Isuzu unit and well proven.

My issue with it is the thick C pillars, which make rear visibility/blindspots a nightmare, especially on a motorway. I sold the thing on after one too many near misses.

Will check the service history out and ask for all the info of their system too

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My issue with it is the thick C pillars, which make rear visibility/blindspots a nightmare, especially on a motorway. I sold the thing on after one too many near misses.

 

If the Mk5 is the one I think it is, my ex Boss had a 3dr version, rear visibility was awful. 

Probably not the best place to ask I know. Yer wanted to avoid the 1.4 Chris silly engines in any medium sized car

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Well, FWIW my response was based on working for a company that  had them as pool cars for years, and on various hire cars.

The last 2 cars i have had has been astra mk 4 and 5,s.kept both cars from new for 5 years all i ever had to buy was tyres and brake pads and disks thats it. In the 10 years i had them never back to the garage and never let me down once.In december i gave my astra mk5 to my wife the car now has 93000 miles on the clock 1.4 club petrol.i bought a 1 year old scoda fabia 1.6 tdi only 5000 miles on the clock 62 plate i was wanting a diesel this time round as i drive high miles. I was hopeing i would be just as lucky with this car as i was with the astras, but after 5 months of haveing the scoda its been back in at the dealers 3 times for going in to limp mode.i did look at getting an astra diesel but it was a good grand more than a scoda . In my experiance i would say the astra would bea good car but the 1.8 petrol might be a bit thirsty. Goodluck

The seats seem to provide the support of a hammock with the comfort of a school bench all in one. Bleeding awful for any sort of distance.

Edited 7 May, 201412 yr by cheezemonkhai

The seats seem to provide the support of a hammock with the comfort of a school bench all in one. Bleeding awful for any sort of distance.

That's fair. I found the last one I was in for over 30 minutes very much like that.

Drink too much for the poor amount of power they make but if it's very very cheap, like throw away money then maybe.

 

138bhp, 10sec 0-60 and 36mpg. Better off with a VRS if you want to pay £260 tax.

 

I used to think of VX of the least worst of the budget cars but I've heard too many horror stories from too many people now and not just on the internet.

Edited 7 May, 201412 yr by Aspman

Test drove one for my missus. Ended up getting a mk1 focus. In a different league.

Yup id take a ford before a pauxhall

Yup Ford for me too but that may also be due to my VX van knackering 2 DMFs

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Test drove one for my missus. Ended up getting a mk1 focus. In a different league.

 

I had Mk1 Focus. Lovely car to drive even in in the 90hp diesel version I had.

Seats weren't great though and the centre console was prone to creaking.

Must be reliable, I still see my 2001 Focus driving round and I sold it with 64k on the clock in 2004.

My mrs focus has done 120k - it's a 1.6 petrol

Love it, cheap motoring with luxuries (ghia) at it's finest.

Might as well buy a fridge and stick some pram wheels on it, will be better in every way.

 

Just get a Focus - you'll likely get a reasonable Mk2 for similar money.