1998 Vauxhall Astra 16v Sport 1.6 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Good quality reliable car

Faults:

Steering column/rack 'snapped'. Causing grinding a noise when attempting to turn corners (dangerous). Which occurred at approximately 25000 miles.

Oil leak(was recently repaired). Advised the fault was a 'worn' engine sump gasket.

General Comments:

I am very pleased with the look and (factory) performance of this car.

Main negative point: I have found (for the above faults), that repairs have turned out rather expensive (using a Vauxhall dealer)!

Maybe surprised with the faults, with consideration that car is only a few years old.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 10th October, 2001

1998 Vauxhall Astra Sport 1.8i from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Good idea, but poor build quality

Faults:

Hydraulic hand brake fault - 15 repairs (13 in the first 6 months).

Camshaft speed sensor at 12,000 miles.

Speakers vibrate after 2,000 miles.

Engine has erratic running at 30 MPH in 4th gear.

Passenger air bag faults at 30,000.

Rear screen washer pipe broke at 80,000 miles in the ceiling of the car.

Wheel motion sensor fault at 50,000.

Condensation in front lights.

CDR player jumps in the cold and radio reception is poor.

Front seats needed stitching at 60,000 miles.

General Comments:

Car handles well, but is prone to losing the back-end when taken to it's limits.

Traction control is not smooth.

Wind noise from the boot, when traveling on the motorway.

Brakes are great, when they work!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 28th September, 2001

10th Jul 2006, 02:09

The only point I'd like to make is that the user manual states to run the car between 2000-3000 revs, so if you up your revs, your car should idle correctly. Don't change to 4th gear until your revs are around 3000, which is about 40mph. Remember you're driving a performance vehicle, it wants to be pushed! I know as I had the same problem in my 1.8i 16v 1998 Astra Sport.

1998 Vauxhall Astra LS 1.4 16v from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A excellent car with great looks, without the cost

Faults:

I have owned the car six weeks now, and the only thing to go wrong was a small steering problem, which was repaired free of charge.

General Comments:

When you are over 3000rpm the car goes like a bomb, but when traveling at 80 MPH revs are quite high at 4500rpm, while on a Nova 1.3 it was near 3500rpm.

Interior is great, the black dash and black and blue cloth gives it a sporty image, much better than the grey interior seen on the latest models.

Good fuel economy, averaging about 40MPG.

The 3 door version looks very sporty, but without the insurance hike, only group 4 for the 1.4 16V.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st August, 2001

19th Jan 2003, 10:37

I've now owned this car for around 19 months and it has 43,000 miles on the clock. I haven't had any major problems with it since my last review, but I'm now had it up for sale for a few months and the major put off that I've had back from possible buyers, is that they don't want a 3 door model. The only problem that I've had with the car is that the sunroof wouldn't open. I took it to my local Vauxhall dealer and they informed me it would need a whole new sunroof for £450 plus fitting! I then went down the independent sunroof specialist and they fixed it for £50 (they said that main dealers will not even touch sunroofs). I'm still not pleased with the high revs at 80 mph up-wards, I know its only a 1.4 16v, but it is a bit excessive, but it still does 8p per mile on the motorway so its not all bad news.

1998 Vauxhall Astra Arctic II 1.6 8v from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Great estate, fantastic economy, dreadful dealers

Faults:

None, I've had no problems with the car whatsoever. However, the dealer I bought the car from I could have hit with rage.

Although the Network Q "114-point service" had 'apparently' been done, the wiper blades were so soft, the wind-screen was getting scratched.

There was thick mud under the wheel-arches.

Number plate lights didn't work.

When I picked the car up I found it hadn't been serviced (oil, etc) and had to wait for the dealer to change the radio (3 times) because they hadn't got the code.

General Comments:

If I bought another Vauxhall, it certainly wouldn't be from a Vauxhall dealer. The cars are extremely overpriced from a Vauxhall dealer, which I found out later.

The car is an estate and it is a fantastic estate, bags of room for cargo. Not much room for rear passengers, but the front is great for space, comfort and the ride is superb.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 6th February, 2001