Interesting Omega stories thus far.

Mine's a 1995 2.0i 16v saloon, with 84k on the clock, and which was generally reliable up until now. In the space of the last three weeks:

1. The head gasket blew, burning a nearby vacuum hose in the process, and costing £716 to repair, including (at my request) a new cambelt tensioner/idle pulley's.

2. Only hours after returning from the garage, the key jammed solid in the door lock, refusing to budge, and I was marooned (the remote locking gizmo gave up on me months ago and they're £25 to replace). Another £140 to get a specialist locksmith to remove the key!! It's apparently a known Omega fault with the locks.

A colleague's Omega 2.0 16v CD, also 1995 vintage, failed identically with the cylinder head gasket at 88 k recently. ***TAKE NOTE:*** Later discussion indicated that we had both found the early warning signs of what was to become impending doom - i.e, strange gradual losses of coolant from the expansion tank over a period of a week or so, but with no obvious area of leakage on hoses, faces, etc., and no obvious emulsifaction of engine oil - but WE BOTH FAILED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION!! You have all been warned....

The most persistent problem, one well-known to many Omega drivers, has been the faltering idle speed valve, which routinely needs a good clean-up overhaul (or total replacement, eventually) to prevent the oft-scary habit of the vehicle stalling on approach to roundabouts, etc., as the engine rev's drop to idle speed. Mine is a manual, so it's a case of quickly dropping the clutch and re-firing (and praying) as the warning lights illuminate and reality dawns that you are about to crash, but losing all power steering in the interim seconds can be touch and go, to say the least!!

Otherwise, it has been a nice car for my use in the Fire Service, despite the diesel-like engine noise on cold starts and irritating minor aesthetic idiosyncracies (e.g., prone to bonnet stone chips, flaking paint on the bumper moulding, rear door external trim bar flaking-off and jamming in a bent position when opening it, etc.)

I once owned two Senators and a Carlton; liked all of them, but fear GM hasn't provided similar build quality with Omegas, at least the pre-'V' reg. models. A friend has one of the new ones, which is a classy act and hopefully free of the archetypal problems....

I have a 1996 2.0i GLS saloon. Best car I've ever had, though previous transport included a Chevette and a Viva.

Only two major hassles, probably familiar: idle valve required replacement (after engine died and power steering failed; sorry about the sheep, Mr. Farmer).

Power steering pump leaked at four years old (not me, the car) - quite expensive.

Gearbox getting a bit grouchy at 68K. Otherwise a joy, especially cornering on wet cobbles and in snow.

Good to know the start-up rattle is common.

Acceleration okay for a big car but top speed is excellent.

Cheap second-hand buy. Love 'em the older they get so hope it still runs at 150K.

PS: Just spotted the first bit of rust - no problem, adds character.

I totally agree with the first comment.

My grandad brought a brand new Omega.

God, where do I start? The Omega kept cutting out.

Radio packed in 3 times.

Paint started coming off.

The Omega used to lock you out, so never leave your keys in it.

ECU went wrong.

Starter motor stopped working.

Injectors stopped working.

Coil stopped working.

There are many other things what went wrong; too much to list.

And the car he had before that was a R25 TXE, and he loved that. Nothing went wrong with that one.

That car had done loads more miles than that crap Omega.