1997 Vauxhall Vectra CDX 2.0i 16v petrol
Summary:
A lot of quality car for the money
Faults:
Hydraulic boot arms leaked, resulting in the boot either not staying up or coming down unexpectedly on my head when unloading the shopping. Easily repaired, two new arms from the Vauxhall were £18 and 15 minutes for me to fit.
Required a new idle adjuster and hose a week after purchase due to engine cutting out and high fuel consumption, returned to where it was bought, who sent it to Vauxhall for the repair free of charge.
Recently the revs just began to drop off when changing gear, resulting in the car cutting out; problem identified as mass air flow filter, £300 to repair - ouch!! But now running like a dream.
Other than that the car has been an excellent purchase and is proving to be reliable thus far.
General Comments:
This car is built for cruising long distances, and having been on holiday in it a couple of times, it has proved to be a relaxing and comfortable journey, with one of its many gadgets (cruise control) proving its worth with good fuel economy. Town driving is also not a problem with the car handling well, but not so economical with the fuel.
It has a spacious cabin that is very comfortable and has plenty of room both front and back for a family of four. It has also been built to a high standard, with all knobs, switches and dials still working 11 years on.
This is solidly built good quality car that has so far served me well. When it is washed and polished with its alloys, spoiler, metallic paintwork and front fogs (as standard on the CDX) it looks stunning. Although not my first choice, as the car was bought out of necessity after my Celica was stolen and was intended as a stop gap, I must admit I have enjoyed owning this vehicle and intend to keep it for the foreseeable future.
If you are going to by a second hand Vectra of this era, go for the CDX; it seems to have a superior build quality to other models, bearing in mind it was £22,500 brand new.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 6th March, 2008
26th Sep 2006, 01:47
I bought my Vectra GLS (1977) only a few weeks ago, but I am seriously considering getting rid of it and going back to my old 1989 Citroen BX19, which is still parked in the drive. I've never had any problems with that old bus, we only bought the Vectra because my wife didn't think the Citroen would survive the trip to Germany to attend my son's summer party.
The Vectra did the trip with no problems at all, however, last week, the ECU light came on and stayed on, so I joined the Vauxhall Owners Club in order to avoid an expensive diagnosis test, about £70+vat. They told me how to do it with a paper clip! I got the fault code out, 1530="air flow relay", but after spending many hours dismantling, cleaning and testing all the air intake components, the light still stayed lit.
As the car still runs excellently, I suspect it's a false alarm from the ECU unit itself, and as they are about £1000 to replace, I located the wire that connects to the light and cut it, there.
If there really is a fault, it will reveal itself eventually. No, I would certainly not buy another one if it was gift-wrapped!