Went in the garage for one thing today and ended up test driving another car whilst waiting for the prognosis of my car.
Anyway, to cut a long story short:-
Been offered £5100 for my X Reg Vectra CD (yr 2000, 2.2i Auto, with 40,000 miles on the clock) against a 5 month old Vectra Elegance (again 2.2i auto, yr 2003, 53 Reg) with 9,000 miles on the clock, priced at £12,995.
Book price on mine is around £4500 (glass\'s guide, similar pricing with Parkers)
I\'ll soon need 2 new rear tyres, and have a worn rear suspension bush (hence the visit to the garage to confirm, and the reason for needing some new tyres) costing around £230.
Do I stick with my trusty X Reg workhorse that has, up until now only needed a brake light bulb, head light bulb, and an aircon pipe (which split and was replaced under warranty), or is it time to sell it before the onset of further problems?
My insurance is also coming up shortly, and a quick look reveals the newer Vectra is approx £80 cheaper to insure.
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Factor in the cost of what your existing car needs. the cheaper insurance, and everything else, and you get £5,570.
That means the cost to change is £7,425.
The existing Vectra should be worth about £2,200 in three years' time, against £5,000 maybe for the new one). That means an increased cost of £4,625 over the three years.
So, is a new Vectra, with hopefully greater reliability, worth £1,500 a year more to you, before any interest? Financially, I can't see it making much sense unless you are very unlucky - but if a new Vectra floats your boat more than £100 in your back pocket every month, then go for it.
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And at least nobody will accuse you of buying a car as a style icon.
Seriously though, I'd kind of go with David. Unless the two Cavaliers, oops sorry - I mean Vectras, are significantly different, you are paying an awful lot of money for a slighlty newer car.
And that new car may well come with its own fair share of problems.
And what vectras lack in style, in my experience they more than make up for in reliability.
So I don't think I'd change because of running costs or potential failure or for any financial reason. On the other hand, IMO, changing simply because you want to is what its all about, so crack on.
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There is only one question to answer
Do I want it?
Simple really.
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just checked in Auction View - only 1 53 plate available & thats a diesel, so no indication of average auction price shown.
How much is new - that doesn't sound cheap. Heavy miles too - bet it'll need front tyres & a service, too.
Same price as brand new Mazda 6 Sakara (or whatever the made up name is) with lots toys as standard.
Keep the old one, or look at what else is around, instead
VB
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The thing about Dave is that he's a dyed in the wool Vauxhall man. Some might say that the wool he's been dyed in has been pulled over his eyes, but still...
I was going to say that it didn't sound too expensive, given the spec, it's an auto, and so on, and the trade in was quite generous really.
But then I found two identical cars for £10k here:
www.motorhouse2000ltd.co.uk/vaunew-v.html
and suddenly the generous trade in offer made a lot more sense.
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And Tradesales in Slough have several new shape Vectra Elegance 2.2i autos, with about 15,000 miles on the clock, at £9k
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How much is new
Similar spec to the \"Design\" model. Around 18K new.
bet it\'ll need front tyres & a service, too.
Front tyres seem ok - approx 5 mm left on \'em.
Forgot to mention earlier, as part of the NetworkQ warranty they\'re throwing in (don\'t know why - as it comes with the remainer of the 12 months manufacturers warranty and a 24 month additional warranty after that as well), it\'ll also have a small service as part of the deal as well.
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If you look at it from a financial viewpoint you would never change your car. When you look at the figures versus the level of repairs you would need to suffer before your existing car became a burden, it makes more sense to keep your existing one.
But who said buying cars was about your wallet? I drive an Alfa, for goodness sake.
If you do decide to change, the newer car does seem more than a little steep. Might be worth a shop around to see what else is about.
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Sorry Dave, I am being a bit thick here. Why does the new Vectra cost 80 quid less to insure than the old one ? I would have thought the new one would be worth more are therefor more expensive .
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Better crash ratings most likely. Less cost to insurers for injury claims therefore less costs to you for premiums.
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Sorry Dave, I am being a bit thick here. Why does the new Vectra cost 80 quid less to insure than the old one ? I would have thought the new one would be worth more are therefor more expensive .
I've been trying to figure this one out as well. My insurance has gone up nearly £90 in the last year. I've shopped around and it's pretty much the same story with all of them.
I can only assume that it's because the car is another year older and therefore easier to break into and steal than a newer one is. Newer cars have better security and the thieving scroats are finding it easier to break into the older ones.
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Why not join us Omega owners DD? ;-) Plenty of year old 2.2 CDs at the car supermarkets for 9-10 K. Probably higher insurance though :-/
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UPDATE.
Deal done. Managed to renegotiate a better part-ex deal out of the garage. I tried the trick of asking "x" amount for my car, they offered a lower amount, and finally we ended up meeting virtually in the middle of the two figures.
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RE the insurance costs, I could be way off but could it also be down to safety such as when you crash, you may be better off in the new Vectra than the old one? Just a thought.
Cheers
Adam
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Bucket, sponge, hose n polish out today then??!!
VB
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Hope you enjoy the new car Dave. I bought a new Vectra recently to replace my (new shape) Mondeo and am really pleased with it. Would be interested to hear how you find it
Marc
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Vansboy & Marc said:-
Bucket, sponge, hose n polish out today then??!!
>>Hope you enjoy the new car Dave. Would be interested to hear how you find it.
Actually haven\'t got it yet. Got to be serviced and a couple of other small jobs to be done before I get it. Just sorted out the paperwork yesterday. Besides which, no tax or insurance sorted for it yet.
However, the garage let me borrow one of their demonstrators to see if the new Vectra will fit in my garage (I know, I should have checked beforehand). It was a 1.9CDTi with the 150bhp engine & 6 speed gearbox. I was very impressed with the performance of it. These Massey Ferguson engines have certainly improved since I last drove a diesel engined car.
ps, it fitted in my garage btw; once I had obviously finished road testing it ;o)
pps, no probs with the indicators either.
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Finally picked up the new (to me anyway) Vectra today. So many buttons that after "sucking & seeing" decided to RTFM; over one hour later I was still discovering what did what. On the whole v.impressed.
Couple of negative issues though:-
1. Security issue. The multiplay CD magazine can be ejected from the stereo when the ignition is off and all the doors locked. Some oik could smash the window and nick your cd's. However, at least the multiplay is no longer in the glovebox, like it was on my previous Vectra, leaving just enough room for my phone charger and a couple of cd's.
2. The tailgate (boot) can only be unlocked via the keyfob or button on the drivers door. After a certain amount of time it locks itself again.
3. No "dog poo" lights in the door. i.e. open any door on my previous Vectra and little lights illuminated the pavement giving you advanced warning you of what you might be treading in at night.
4. The mulifunction display font is smaller, making it more difficult to read whilst driving.
As already mentioned though, on the whole, v.impressed.
1. Same engine (2.2 litre) but fitted with direct injection, giving it a few more horses under the bonnet.
2. Tiptronic style auto gearbox. (Miss the "S" sport button though.)
3. More cubby holes than you can shake a stick at.
4. V. comfortable to drive.
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We're having problems with the clutches on the 3.2 V6s at work. (Although that could be down to the thrashing they get). Owners should know that the whole front sub-frame needs removing to change the clutch. Very expensive me thinks!!!!
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We're having problems with the clutches on the 3.2 V6s at work. (Although that could be down to the thrashing they get). Owners should know that the whole front sub-frame needs removing to change the clutch. Very expensive me thinks!!!!
Standard practice these days. Clutches are 3 to 5 hour jobs now on most models.
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Owners should know that the whole front sub-frame needs removing to change the clutch. Very expensive me thinks!!!!
Isn't it the same on the Mondeo (at the mkII)?
Chad.
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We're having problems with the clutches on the 3.2 V6s at work
Even if I didn't know what you do for a living, MLC, who else than a police traffic department would have a fleet of 3.2 V6 Vectras?
Do you know if the subframe removal issue applies only to the V6s? These seem to be pretty rare cars anyway, though very cheap second hand for such a big engine...
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We're having problems with the clutches on the 3.2 V6s at work.
Thank heaven I have an auto box and 2½ years warranty left.
However, the warranty won't put right the dented radiator and the broken bumper retaining clips that was caused by the stupid dog led in the middle of the road in our village that I ran over late this afternoon. Fortunately the dog is ok, and the owners have said they'll pay for any damage.
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Re the car locking itself again, our Corsa does this unless you open either door or the boot hatch within a short time after opening the car. Do you mean the boot locks itself again even when you've opened a door? Not sure if the new Vectra has an external boot lock for the key, but is this a variation on the old Vauxhall thing of horizontal boot key slot / vertical key slot to disengage the central locking from the boot when you want to keep it locked?
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Re the car locking itself again, Do you mean the boot locks itself again even when you\'ve opened a door?
After RTFM again, I\'ve discovered that the boot automatically locks itself after 5 minutes, or when the car reaches 2½ mph. Apparantely it\'s to stop oiks opening your boot and nicking stuff whilst stuck in a traffic queue. To unlock it again you have to either press the extra button on the keyfob, or press a button on the front drivers or passengers door.
our Corsa does this unless you open either door or the boot hatch within a short time after opening the car.
As does my Vectra. If you haven\'t opened any door within 30 secs of pressing the plip, it locks itself back up and sets the alarm. Quite handy if you walk off after locking up the car and accidentally press the plip as you put it in your pocket. Central locking is so much quieter than on my old Vectra that you can hardly hear the mechanism working.
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