1997 Vauxhall Vectra CDX 2.0i 16v petrol from UK and Ireland

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

1997 Vauxhall Vectra LS 1.8 16V from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A lovely car let down buy poor reliability

Faults:

Radiator leaked and had to be replaced

Engine management system was seriously faulty

Gearbox blew

Many oil leaks

Many, many other little problems too numerous to list.

General Comments:

This car broke my heart and my wallet. I loved the looks of the Vectra which I know are not to everyone's taste, as well as the size of the car; You could fit all of the weekly shopping into the boot and four adults inside comfortably. I also liked the ABS, power steering, electric windows and the upholstery on a car that cost me just £1400 to buy second hand.

However, all of the above was ruined by the very high running costs and unreliability of the car. I spent thousands keeping it on the road as one thing after another went wrong. I spent £700 on getting the gearbox, clutch and engine management system fixed for the whole lot to break all over again just a couple of months later.

In the end I had the car scrapped and got just £50 for it. Sigh!

My advice is that if you want a family sized Vauxhall then buy an Astra or a cavalier and leave the Vectra alone.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th February, 2007

1997 Vauxhall Vectra GLS 2.0 16V Petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Great car whe reliable, watch out for sudden engine cut out, SCARY!!!

Faults:

I have had two auto estate Vectras and have been disappointed with both.

The worst fault (which happened on both) was that the engine management light came suddenly and the power steering died, and you only have seconds to pull up and the brakes are limited, very dangerous!

Back and forth to the garage with the 2nd one, on the diagnostic computer it was always a sensor error. The last one being a cam shaft sensor, which was replaced and was costly!

On both I have had bad oil leaks and have suffered petrol fumes flooding into cabin (hole in breather pipe)

The reliability is not there, and after having two on the trot that did the same cutting out fault, it was upsetting and scary, especially after it happened in rush hour traffic and then wouldn't start!! Someone behind me nearly ploughed into me.

General Comments:

I would never have another one, I don't know if the cutting out is a Vauxhall manufacturer fault, but it makes the car so unsafe. I have heard of other Vectras that do the same.

The thing was serviced regularly too. Every six months.

Don't buy one for the reliability. It will cost you a fortune in bills. The garage owner knew who I was on the phone without me having to say who it was, the car was there so often.

On the plus side.

Big and roomy.

Lots of storage.

Wonderful big boot.

Goes fast and smoothly when functioning properly.

If it was reliable, and didn't cut out and scare me to death, I would have kept it as I did like the car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 6th August, 2006

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!

5th Dec 2006, 09:21

I like my Vectra, but I've had problems with cutting out twice - both times it was a sensor.

I've got a problem with it cutting out again now so I suspect it's a problem inherent in the design.

I also owned a Cavalier 2.0 GL at the same time and had no problems whatsoever with it. I only got rid of it because it had done 140,000 miles. I should have hung on to it as the Vectra just doesn't seem as reliable.

22nd Feb 2009, 14:49

My vectra was losing power suddenly when accelerating.

It turned out to be a faulty brake light switch even though the brake lights were OK. new switch fitted no more problems.