Life 1.8i 16v 5dr Estate

Been a good Car

I bought this from Motorpoint when it was 9 months old and have had it for nearly 10 years , it was an absolute bargain as Motorpoint had got a load of these in as the insignia had been launched

Clarkson described it as a "bland euro box " , but I have found it to be very good , huge boot in the estate version that I have , comfortable to drive with good seat and steering wheel adjustment , and lumber support adjustment

The handling at first I had to get used to as on uneven surfaces it can get caught out a bit , also wet weather starting off you have to be careful - maybe its the tyres I use , I don't know.

The indicators were the main bugbear as they are these electric switch type that vauxhall have now abandoned - they switch off too soon - got used to them eventually


Not long after getting it I had a warning light come on , and found out that it was a blown bulb , but could I find out which one ! - eventually I realised that this car has a backup system for the brake lights - if the brake light bulb fails , it automatically uses the rear light as a brake light , shame this is not the same on all cars with all the ones running around with faulty lights.

Have had it main dealer serviced all the time and the only things apart from bulbs and wiper blades that I have had done is the cam belt at 10 years old ( as per manufacturers recommendation )

On occasion the electrics play up but this is very rare - speedo not working , restart the car and it works - happened twice in 10 years . Radio coming on too loud and distorted , again restart the car and it is fine - has happened about 10 times in 10 years

Have thought of changing it as I usually do at 10 years old , but can't really see anything that takes my fancy at the right price so will hang onto it for a a while longer

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