Conference terri::cars_uk

How much are you thinking of spending ? And what age car are you looking for ?

    
    I hope to get a car that is less than 6 years old and my budget is
    around about 3k. Hopefully less.
    
    What about these Known problems like 1300 camshafts etc...
    The demon RUST...etc
    
    		Gareth.

 Well, my Mum's Astra 1300 Mk1 was still going strong at 90000 miles, it hadn't
had any camshaft problems while we had it ( it had over 50000 on the clock when
we got it) and it was just as quick as the 1600 Mk2 she has now. 

		 Alan
		~~~~~~

	P.S. The only reason that we got rid of the Mk1 was because my brother
hit a couple or three things with it one day !!!

Well, I'm afraid I know bugger all about Golf's other than the fact that I don't
like them. (This is purely a styling issue). However, I am an Astra fan.

I bought one yesterday, which I considered to be a good deal. An E Reg 1300
Merit. This was for 3k. In my experience over the last week 3k will get you an
ok b reg 1600 from a main dealer, an ok c reg 1600 from another garage, but
you can probably get as good as an e reg privately.

The trouble with a private sale is that you have no-one to sue.

To my mind the best current deal is a Basic (Merit or L) 1300 E reg or a D reg
1600 GL.

Look for a rattly engine (it'll use oil) or rust around the wheel arches. Any
suspicion of an accident will be proved by looking either in the boot in the
back corners, it should be flat but will be curved if an accident has occured,
or at the front, the piece of metal that the bonnet catch is in should be
horizontal. It will be angled forward if the casr has taken a front end smack.

Lease cars are *NOT* cheap. They have only one advantage, and that is that you
can find out it's history.

M.

oh yeah, I wouldn't touch a Mark 1 with someone else's barge pole. They are
over-priced and rely on the quality of the Mark II's to keep them that way.
They're basic, noisy and badly equipped. (IMHO, of course)

The average Vauxhall engine is good for about 150,000 miles with no major work,
although they'll be using a fair amount of oil by then.

The Mark II's came out during B Reg.


M.

 Was it with the introduction of the Mk2 or later that Vauxhall reduced the
power of the 1600 engines. I know that Mums Mk2 has hardly any more power than
her Mk1 1300 did, and it feels like it too.

		 Alan
		~~~~~~

Have you thought of a Nova ?

You get better performance for the same size engine and they tend to be cheaper 
than the Astras.

If your wife wants to use the car mainly in towns/parking...get the Nova, you 
can park one where you can't fit either a Golf or an Astra !

The 1400 SRI Nova is a very nifty little car...the 1600 GTEi is (I'm biased) 
wonderful - I'm thinking of buying mine at the end of it's lease !!!


I had a 1300 CL Golf 5 years ago, it's a heavy body for the engine, so 
acceleration isn't too good, but it does climb hills ok.  BTW all the claims 
about front end crumpling on impact are true...

Golfs are more expensive in Maintenance/Parts/Repair/Purchase than almost all
cars of equivalent size. 


Both Volkswagens and Vauxhalls seem to be pretty good in the rust area,
especially with early-80's onwards cars... 

     
    Novas are a lot smaller than Astras, though, inside as well as out.
    
    Mark

Re: .8

As long as one is not having to cart around more than 2 children, the Nova is 
plenty big enough for most purposes.

Women have different requirements from a car than men.

Big is not necessarily better.

>             -< You are really good at stating the obvious Mark ! >-

We all are. It's a Mark spciality.

>As long as one is not having to cart around more than 2 children, the Nova is 
>plenty big enough for most purposes.

Or you ever intend to carry passengers in the back. I find the Nova too small
for me to drive comfortably for any length of time. Both in leg room and elbow
room. And I'm only 6ft.

>Big is not necessarily better.

That's what I keep telling her. <sigh>

    I currently own a Mark I Golf and have recently sold an early Mark II
    Astra. Admittedly the Golf is a diesel and the Astra was petrol so you
    might say there's no comparison, however I tend to drive a lot and I do
    service my own vehicles and so do see quite a few differences. 
    
    On the comfort and asthetics I guess this is completely personal but
    here are a few things I noticed. The seats in my basic Astra, model L
    where clean and adequate but for long distances my wife and I both
    found them uncomfortable. The leading edge of the seat is quite high
    and so unless you've extremely long legs the blood flow can get
    restricted here. The back illuminated light switch was a boon at night
    once the ignition switch had been located - Veedubs don't have this
    feature, neither do they have a multifunction light switch which
    enables one to turn on the interior light with a pulling action. I
    found the window winding mechanism on the Astra make me wish I'd
    done weight training classes - women please note. As for ride I can't
    say there's much to choose - both a bit hard at times.
    
    Driving position on the Astra is a little more demanding in that with
    hands at ten to two the arms are a great deal higher, relative to the
    shoulders, than on the Golf. Each car is similar when it comes to
    controls except that for my money the Golf has a sweeter gear change
    but having said that the clutch pedal pressure is higher (maybe a
    diesel trait).
    
    Now to servicing and build quality. The Golf has now done over 160k
    miles and is starting to show some age. I have replaced a few rubber
    gaiters and even the odd brake hose but essentially it is a minor
    marvel of solidity. The Astra on the other hand needed new brake pipes
    just before I sold it at only 6 years old! I suspect that many other
    parts would also not show the same longevity. What I did apperciate
    about the Astra was the ease with which working on the any part proved
    to be. Installing a clock in the dash board was a) cheap �12 and b)very
    easy - all connections where already mounted onto the wiring loom ready
    for plugging in.
    
    What I strongly recommend is that you not set yourself a target of
    buying either one of these very decent machines immediately but that
    you take your Thames Valley Trader and ring around over a month or so
    and go test drive a few examples both down your price range and a bit
    above. The more you see the sooner you will know which one is the one
    for you.
    
    Good Luck
    
    Ian

<---------- Excellent advice. And I agree with all comments on the Astra.

		Also, the Astra can be a bit heavy on the steering when
		manouvering at v. low speed. Parking for example. The Astra
		is very sensitive to its tyre pressures.

    
    Thanks for all the advice so far.
    
    A few comments so far......
    
    A Nova is a Nono. I have 2 large dogs and a 3 year old son. By the time
    I get all of them in I want to have some room left for other people. Yo
    would not believe how much room push chairs etc. take up. Incidentally
    I would prefer 5 doors as loading is easier.
    
    I have had an Astra GTE as a company car before and apart from the
    flimsy interior etc I was quite impressed. I never did more than 35k
    miles in 2 years though. The bodywork lasted well. No rust even in
    paint chips etc. (more than I could say for the MG Maestro that I had
    prevously)
    
    What is the Thames Valley Trader. I live in Ipswich, suffolk. Has
    anyone got any recent unwanted copies?
    
    Is it true that on the later Astra's the ride was made softer? Anyone
    know more about this?
    
    I like the Golf as it is good and solid. Loadsa room , reliable , etc
    I like the Astra for its roomy boot, Agility , shape.
    I have considered Escort's, especially the estate but all the cars I
    have seen seem to be showing signs of early body rot. ie paint bubbling
    where it is scratched/chipped.
    
     I will probably get an ex lease/company car if I can find one.
    Probably at an auction. I would just like to minimise the risk of
    getting a "lemon" by being prepared. I have read the notes on car
    auctions and feel reasonably happy that I can spot accident
    repair/damage. 
    
    Any more good pointers?
    
    
    			Gareth.
                            

The Thames Valley Trader was the original publication available for, predictably
enough,the Thames Valley area.  It has grown and spread and is now called the
"Auto-Trader".

It's available across the South of England certainly, I don't know about
anywhere else. It's like a more localised version of Exchange and Mart.

Why a lease car ? They are generally more expensive and less well treated than
the alternative bought privately. Having said that, you will at least know that
they haven't been written off and returned to the road.

M.

    
    I have found that ex lease cars can be cheaper. ie are priced at less
    than the equivalent private/dealer motor.
    At least the car has been well serviced, which is more than u can say
    for the majority of cheaper private sales. Who wants to drive around in
    a 'heap'. If it does not cost the driver to get things fixed then they
    usually get fixed properly. Private cars go to back street garages and
    get poor servicing. I would not want an ex pool car though......!  
    
    Aha...Thames valley trader = Auto trader. right. gotit.
    
    
    			Gareth.

    
    
    
    I have found that ex lease cars can be cheaper. ie are priced at less
>>    than the equivalent private/dealer motor.
    At least the car has been well serviced, which is more than u can say
    for the majority of cheaper private sales. Who wants to drive around in
    a 'heap'. If it does not cost the driver to get things fixed then they
    usually get fixed properly. Private cars go to back street garages and
    get poor servicing. I would not want an ex pool car though......!  
>>
    
    My experience of the 'proper sevicing' done on lease cars would lead me
    to disagree with your statement.......
    
    Elaine

    <------ Agreed. And how many times do you hear "Don't worry about that,
            it's not my car!"?
    
     Don't touch lease cars or dealer ex-demo's
    
    	-Jz