Faults:

General wear and tear like regular oil changes, suspension/brakes/exhaust parts for MOT test.

Some interior trim wear and tear with the odd bit of plastic dashboard trim coming away - but it was used as a works car always loaded with equipment, it took a lot of abuse!

Nothing really bad, except sudden failure of the gearbox at 145K miles.

General Comments:

A decent car to drive and economical; there is not much to say about the 98-04 model Astra. It's an honest, good, everyday car, and this particular one was used as an electrician's works vehicle from new, always loaded and on the road everyday up and down the country.

Comfort was fine even on this basic LS model, no fancy features and the interior was pretty dull, but it was comfortable and not bad to drive, plus very economical.

It was decent looking for an estate car, with lots of room in the back.

Always had Vauxhalls through the 80s and 90s, and ran them to very high mileages, however this one's sudden gearbox failure was disappointing at 145K - simply because I have ran older cars to higher mileage without such serious issues. Although this car was used heavily, it was driven correctly and serviced on time, so the sudden gearbox failure was a mystery - just couldn't get it into gear one day and it would not move.

Mechanic did not bother to investigate much (but said it definitely was not the clutch and more likely the gearbox) as the car was getting older by then and was decided by my company to be scrapped and not worth repairing; never did find out what the problem was. What's interesting though is a mate of mine had the exact same car and the gearbox on his failed at the same age and mileage as well!

Still, this did not put me off Vauxhalls as I have generally found them fine, and have since replaced this one with an updated 2005 model Astra that is running fine.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Good looks, electric hood, economical and reliable.

Limited boot space.

Brakes a bit woolly.

Limited rear visibility with the hood up.

A fair weather car with the roof down, as it's not much fun to drive when it's cold and wet outside.

Faults:

I have owned the car about 10 months. I've done about 14,000 miles. The only thing I have had to do is change the front discs and pads.

I would suggest one of these as a first car. It's cheap insurance group 9 and fast; 8.5 seconds.

Mine is in silver with tinted rear windows and xenon lights.

Fuel econamy is OK for a car that 8.5 seconds to 60.

General Comments:

This car handles like a dream, best car I've had, and that's saying something cause I've owned a Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo.

Faults:

Hardly a fault of the car but the back wheel had seized on when I had a puncture.

Engine is quite noisy on idle at operating temperature, sounds as if the exhaust is blowing however I have had this checked. Quite embarrassing as it sounds like a quiet diesel on idle, there is a correct amount of oil in the system as well.

Exhaust back box corrodes quite badly and is unsightly.

The car has recently developed a coolant leak which I cannot find the cause of. Quite bad for only 40,000 miles. It never overheats however and it's only over the course of a few weeks.

More concerning however is that the car smells rife of petrol when you reach 1/4 of a tank, especially in the boot.

Electric windows often struggle to rise and make quite a lot of noise when doing so.

General Comments:

Overall I am pleased with this car.

Insurance is very reasonable at group 9 for the performance. 0-60 is quoted at 8.6 seconds thanks to the close ratio gearbox, this is a very nippy car.

However, the downside of this is that it doesn't make for a very refined motorway cruiser, it could really do with a sixth gear. You'll be doing just over 3000 rpm at 70mph, the same as what my old 1.4 Rover did.

The power delivery is as sweet as a nut, and loves revs whilst not sacrificing low down torque. Best gears are second and third for this.

The gearbox and clutch combination could be better, it's often quite difficult to get the change nice and smooth due to a notchy gear change and quite a noticeable clutch slap. There is also a noticeable amount of lag with the electronic throttle which makes for some rather annoying drive-line shunt. I've been told this is normal.

Build quality is solid, some areas of the interior feel a little cheap and the roof sounds quite tinny above the headlining, but overall better than the MKIV Golf I had previously in this respect. Driver's seat squeaks quite badly and there's only the odd rattle from the dashboard, both common faults.

The car handles excellently whilst not being overly crashy over bumps. Traction control is a con though, it's merely a light that tells you your wheels are spinning.

Practicality could be better, there is plenty of leg room for rear occupants and it's easy to get comfortable in the driver's seat, however the boot opening is quite narrow as is the opening when the seats fold flat; if you wanted practicality though you should have bought an estate.

Overall, this was easily the best car I could afford within my budget and for insurance costs. The styling is excellent and can only be improved with some bigger alloy wheels and the spoiler. Dealer fit Irmscher kits are not to my taste but in the right colour and nice alloys can look good. This is a stylish, well made and affordable car, just watch out for the above faults.