Vauxhall/Opel Ampera - Spare parts - garvaoman

Hi, I live in Portugal and all cars here are very expensive,, and 95% of cars here are diesel.

I only do about 10000kms a year so diesel problems are sure to occur. I thought about an Ampera but I'm not sure if the spares are still readily available or going to be very hard to source. Has anyone had any problems with getting routine parts or any problems at all with the cars,i.e are they reliable.

Thanks in advance

Vauxhall/Opel Ampera - Spare parts - badbusdriver

Clever car the Ampera, and deserved more success than it got. Using the petrol engine just to charge the battery, which is what the BMW i3 range extender model does. Regarding your question, i don't have any definative answers on the spares situation, but it stands to reason that with Vauxhall/Opel's current situation (PSA group takeover and subsequent huge cost cutting) combined with the lack of sales success for the Ampera, getting parts is likely to become increasingly difficult. Unless someone knows different, i'd suggest something else. Not sure what the availability or price is like, but a Toyota Prius would be the obvious choice. A cheaper option (in th UK anyway) though still equally reliable, would be the 2009-2014 Honda Insight.

Vauxhall/Opel Ampera - Spare parts - SLO76
Not sure about prices over there but surely an Ampera is going to be hugely more expensive than buying a normal petrol model and there’s no way you’ll recoup even a small fraction of that extra cost on your limited mileage. Also over here used electric and most hybrid powered cars drop like stones in value due to the trades anxiety about battery lifespan and the cripplingly high cost of replacing them.

The Ampera wasn’t a success in the UK due to it costing around twice the price of an equivalently spacious Astra and it getting nowhere near it’s claimed economy figures in real life. Combine this with huge depreciation and it cost far far more to run than a petrol equivalent.
Vauxhall/Opel Ampera - Spare parts - craig-pd130

I would recommend visiting the Speak EV forums as they have a special forum for Volt / Ampera owners: www.speakev.com/categories/general-motors-ev-forum.../

The Ampera was a very clever car, it was launched a few years too early, really.