2003 Opel Meriva Comfort 1.6
Summary:
Nice car... if only Opel could sort out the small hiccups with service and spares
Faults:
Generally I am happy with the car.. If only you could buy replacement spares without replacing large and costly assemblies for stupid faults.
1. At first, I had problems with the car dying on me and refusing to restart (usually accompanied with slow driving). I traced the fault to a bad connection between the battery and the clamps. The problem was fixed by grinding away some of the metal on the clamp, ensuring a tighter connection.
2. Then it was the gear shifter popping out at 35 000km. The inferior plastic part was replaced by an all metal part... in my view this should have been a warranty repair... But anyway.
3. At 50 000km, the rear window winders went... a small plastic part broke on each window, and Delta insists on replacing the whole window winding assemblies at roughly R7000 a side. In my view, this is a design flaw, and should also be a warranty repair.
4. At 70 000km, the air con compressor broke... another R15 000. Which brings me to another point. How can they justify a R400 rand PAPER filter for the cabin?
My next car will definitely NOT be a Opel.. I drove a twin-cam Corolla previously - roughly 450 000km trouble free with only minor cheap repairs.
General Comments:
The ground clearance is nice.
Visibility is bad around the "A" pillar, especially approaching a intersection when the other vehicle is driving from the right and is driving at the same speed.
The armrest between the driver and passenger seat takes some getting used to in the down position, when trying to disengage the handbrake.
Ample head room.
Passengers in the rear seats are manhandled when driving a dirt road.
The radio is nice, as the kids can listen to their stuff using earphones while you are still able to enjoy the radio.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 8th September, 2008
15th Mar 2011, 15:02
Hi. I have had the same problem with my passenger windows on my Meriva. The first went at 60000 service and the second at 75000 km service. Both were a clip that broke. R7000 on both occasions.