1998 Vauxhall Sintra CDi 2.2

Summary:

Eccentric

Faults:

Excellent car for space & comfort, but in my experience, the water pump fragmented and jumped the cambelt off the engine causing £900-00 of damage. Have been told it's a common problem to Sintras & affects Zafiras. Also told that these cars are unusual in that the cambelt drives the water pump. Sintras' engines are crammed into a relatively small space so when the engine needs repairs it takes a long time and costs more. Having said that the Vauxhall service centres are excellent value for money and I would NOT recommend taking these cars to local garages. They usually don't have the necessary knowledge

Battery inaccessible, costly to replace

CV Gators constantly wear out

Have suffered electrical problems.

General Comments:

Super car

Costly to run, costly to maintain

Keep an eye on the cambelt & water pump particularly

Better on long journeys than short ones-massively more economic.

Lovely riding position. Despite the above problems, I still love this car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th September, 2004

2nd Nov 2005, 15:56

Battery looks difficult to replace, but with a little patience and basic knowledge it's quite straightforward.

New battery cheapest from Vauxhall.

14th Sep 2006, 15:49

We found battery very awkward and time consuming to replace. The Sintra has been out of production for a few years, and I think a lot of the batteries are past their best, we bought a new one from a Vauxhall dealer, and it lasted little more than six months, we have have the connectors on the leads changed to accomodate a normal heavy duty battery, much better.

We've read some very negative comments about this car, but we love ours, and with 3 kids, it is a must, and the sliding doors invaluable for getting them in and out, in todays inadequate parking spaces.

28th Sep 2006, 14:38

Battery is tricky, but I have it down to 20 minutes and agree with previous comment, cheapest from Vauxhall. Have had mine converted to run on LPG and get equivalent to 60-65 mpg. Initial cost his high, £2000 but even when towing a large caravan performance doesn't suffer.

20th Apr 2010, 12:16

I paid £900 for my LPG conversion.

1998 Vauxhall Sintra CDX 3.0 V6

Summary:

Having seen one with over 140,000 miles on it, I think I am looking at a long time ownership

Faults:

We had water penetration in to the bulkhead, at the drivers side.

This occurred when the front washers were used, IE: use of the pump to spray water on the screen. It was a simple job to fix, as the pipe that feeds the water had come away from the connector.

Super glue was used and this is now, not a problem.

General Comments:

The car is very large inside and easily accommodates my family with room to spare.

All seats have 'proper 'seat belts, except the center row, center seat. Can't have it all.

As for speed, being a family car comes first, but if you want FAST this is like the driving a torpedo.

Road holding is great, thanks to the wide body and large tyres. Anti-lock breaks are there in case you get in to difficulty.

All round disc brakes stop you in plenty of time.

Vision is great, all round.

You feel very safe in this car as it has Side impact protection AIR BAGS in the seats, wow!!!. As well as two in the front.

Well done Vauxhall.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th October, 2002

1998 Vauxhall Sintra CDX 3.0 V6

Summary:

The best people carrier on the market

Faults:

The wind screen wiper arms came loose and went off the screen.

General Comments:

Plenty of space in the back, especially with the seats out.

Unbelievable acceleration.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th April, 2001

8th Oct 2002, 15:07

Yea, right. OK then if I was a first time visitor to this page would I have a clue as to what you where talking about? Yes, but I think you could have done it a little better. Instead of short answers you could have told the readers what you did to get it fixed and where you had to go to do it.

I sense you are not a happy owner and am sorry that you feel that way, as I am very happy with mine and sympathize with you for the distress you are suffering.

3.0 CDX owner.

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1998 Vauxhall Sintra CD 2.2

Summary:

A great large family car

Faults:

Alarm would go off now and then for no apparent reason - now mended.

Nothing else.

General Comments:

Really pleased.

Rear sliding doors very good, especially for children.

Air conditioning is used most of the time and is really needed.

Some minor (but annoying) squeaks and rattles.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th August, 2000

5th Dec 2000, 16:47

I purchased a 2.2CD Sintra in June 2000 and have been very pleased overall.

Fuel consumption is better than expected and it has good performance.

Seating arrangement with all 5 rear seats removable is excellent.

Only complaint is a rattle from the passenger windows. Open and shut them and the problem goes away for 4-5 weeks.

Air conditioning is very good, but this is my first car purchased with this facility.

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