Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model

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Mon 12 Nov 2018 12:11
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - galwayman

Hi guys.

My wife is looking at a 2014 Vauxhall Astra 1.6i 16V Limited Edition petrol model.

Anyone got any experience with this model?

Anything in particular to bear in mind with it?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

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Mon 12 Nov 2018 15:16
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - SLO76
Well made, simple tried and tested engine and robust manual gearbox. There’s little to fear from a well maintained 1600 petrol Astra. I’ve heard of a few complaints regarding water leaks in the boot but other than that most issues on these come from the Fiat designed 1.3 and 2.0 diesels.

There’s loads of them around and main dealers have the best stock, often too much of it so they’ll usually be willing to deal. Don’t pay too much as they tend to drop in value quickly with a bland image and performance that’s a bit flat so there’s little to excite buyers. That said, they’re comfortable, safe, reliable and decent on fuel.

I’d take time to test drive it properly before buying and try a Focus 1.6, Honda Civic 1.8, Toyota Auris 1.6/1.2T and a Mazda 3 2.0 all petrol. The diesels are more trouble than they’re worth unless you’re doing a lot of miles. The Mazda is the best all rounder with better performance, economy and handling plus reliability is a given.
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Tue 13 Nov 2018 08:26
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - Oli rag
A friend of mine has one and I’ve been in it a few times. It is a nice car to be driven in, rides well and is fairly quiet. I don’t like the interior trim, it looks a bit cheap and there are far too many buttons.

His has been reliable and cheap to maintain. Personally I’d buy Japanese instead.
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Tue 13 Nov 2018 08:34
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - catsdad
I think these are on an annual/20kmile service (whichever comes first) regime?

Few cars do 20k so, with typical mileages, an Astra should have had an annual service within reasonable mileages. However if its spent its early years in a high mileage fleet, it may only have had its oil changed every 20k for a year or two.

Opinions on this site vary but most of us would avoid such cars. So if its advertised as having fsh its best to check what services it has had at what mileages.

I have always been a fan of the Astra but my confidence in the brand has been dented by our second car, a 2010 Corsa, which has lots of corner-cutting in its design. Hopefully Astras are better built but like SLO I would also consider alternatives.
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Tue 13 Nov 2018 22:49
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - daveyK_UK
The 1.6 is a good petrol engine in the current Astra , I think it comes in a variety of power outputs
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Mon 17 Dec 2018 11:57
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - galwayman

Thanks for the replies guys.

I see that the model changed in 2015. I've seen one of the newer models advertised for a good price on Auto Trader.

It seems very low priced and low mileage though (private seller).

What type of checks could one reasonably do in advance of viewing to verify that it seems okay?

Thanks in advance.

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Mon 17 Dec 2018 12:14
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - SLO76
Post a link to the advert if you can.
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Mon 17 Dec 2018 12:25
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - skidpan

Don't forget the Seat Leon 1.4 TSi preferably in 140 PS spec. Its a better car than any of those mentioned above.

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Mon 17 Dec 2018 13:37
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - RT

The Astra is one of the reasons Opel went bankrupt and were bought for a pittance by

PAS they do not wrighty or wrongly have a very good reputation for quality here in

Germany where they are made.

Opel/Vauxhall didn't go bankrupt - it's losses were down to GM Detroit double-charging them for FWD platform development - it was GM itself that was bankrupt in the banking crisis.

Opel/Vauxhalls are good enough to sell in America as premium-priced Buicks and in Australia as Holdens.

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Tue 18 Dec 2018 08:50
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - expat

Opel/Vauxhalls are good enough to sell in America as premium-priced Buicks and in Australia as Holdens.

They are having a lot of trouble selling them in Australia. Big discounts. Forward orders for more stock from the factory have been cancelled as they cannot sell what they already have. This goes for the Astra and the Insignia which is branded as a Commodore by Holden.

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Tue 18 Dec 2018 09:01
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - SLO76
It was hard to watch the decline in Vauxhall from the well engineered, mechanically straightforward cars they made in the 80’s and 90’s to the unreliable Fiat engines diesels that dominated their range recently. Electrical gremlins and mechanical woes as the firm desperately sought to cost cut its way to profit.

Saab’s demise was the best example of the folly of this thinking. The quality products they built in the 80’s were light years ahead of the poorly made rehashed Vauxhall’s they were turning out in the later years. Anyone whos sat in a 9000 then tried a 9-5 will agree, the quality was nowhere near up to the standard required of a prestige brand.

You need to invest, speculate to accumulate. Scrimping and cutting only leads downhill in the long run. Hopefully Peugeot will turn things around but I have my doubts.
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Mon 17 Dec 2018 13:20
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - galwayman

Thanks again for the replies.

Below is a link to the advert...

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20181214326...4

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Mon 17 Dec 2018 13:52
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - catsdad
£6450 for a 66 reg is suspiciously cheap. Its about half the HJ pricing tool figure.

Cheap for a reason I suspect.
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Mon 17 Dec 2018 13:54
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - galwayman

That was my initial thought too alright...

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Mon 17 Dec 2018 17:47
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - sandy56

The only Astras I can find at that price are all CAT S.

Also found 10 2015 in good condition at that price.

I find the later models to be good small cars. My son ran one for years, with minimal cost.

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Mon 17 Dec 2018 18:14
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - FiestaOwner

The only Astras I can find at that price are all CAT S.

Also found 10 2015 in good condition at that price.

I find the later models to be good small cars. My son ran one for years, with minimal cost.

You are right Sandy. THE CAR IS A CAT S.

Autotrader should display automatically that the car is a Cat S. However the dodgy lying seller must have entered an incorrect registration number to prevent this from happening.

I tried creating a new advert on Autotrader entering the correct registration number and it came up as a Cat S.

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Mon 17 Dec 2018 21:29
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - FiestaOwner

The car is now listed on Autotrader as a CAT S! Both at the top of the advert and also in the description.

I wonder if it was the seller or Autotrader who corrected the advert?

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Mon 17 Dec 2018 21:38
Vauxhall Astra - Opinions ON 2015 Petrol Model - SLO76
Would’ve seen extensive damage to have written off at this age... don’t touch it with a barge pole!
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