Faults:

The first fault on the car was a faulty crank sensor not a major problem £70 to fix it.

The second fault with the car was the inlet manifold gasket started blowing again not a very costly repair around the £60 mark.

General Comments:

The car itself is one of the best Astra's around and has the performance to give any hot hatch a run for their money.

With a stainless steel exhaust system and uprated shocks all round the car drives, sounds and handles like a dream.

The interior aesthetics are stylish and the seats are comfortable with an interior to be proud of.

Faults:

Oil needed topping up every 500 miles. This went on for a year before they finally found the valve stem seals had gone.

Inlet manifold gasket.

Cylinder head gasket.

Cam sensor.

Coolant sensor problems.

Steering column collapsed.

Power steering pump.

Sunroof rails distorted.

Seat tilt cable broke.

Corrosion on both doors.

Squeaky seats.

Main beam freezing on occasionally.

Seat tilt and slide mechanism fault.

Sluggish performance and a flat-spot.

Seat springs require replacing on a recall.

The car has a heavy rattling coming from somewhere within the valve gear. I am awaiting diagnosis on this one.

General Comments:

The car looks great.

It drives well occasionally.

All in all the worst car I've owned, yet somehow I still like it.

Faults:

New Seat covers at 10.000 miles.

Faulty light switch.

Fuel gauge replaced (£100.00) +

Squealing rear brakes from purchasing car dealer never sorted problem after repeated attempts.

Throttle block failure costing £100.00+

Steering rack, complete rear brakes costing £1,200.00.

General Comments:

Car is generally comfortable, but the amount of repairs needed in the years I have owned the car means I would never buy a vauxhall again.

Faults:

Engine Management system needed several trips to a dealer to rectify - it needed reprogramming.

An ABS sensor on the front left passenger side wheel need replacing.

The inlet manifold sensor needed replacing, following very poor running.

General Comments:

Performance and handling are very good for what it is.

With the sports gearing, engine noise can be intrusive on motorway driving.

Cabin is very dull and lacks the solid feel of some other rivals.

Fuel economy is generally very good.

Faults:

Very poor radio reception, hence difficult to use auto-seek, refuses to lock on to station.

Cam belt has just failed today at 59,590 miles, the damage is as yet unknown!

General Comments:

I am very fond of this car, although it is quick, the revs need to be above 3000 rpm to do any good.

The gearing seems to be too low compared to the Astra 1.6 GLSi. I sometimes think that I am only in 4th gear when I am actually in 5th.

I'm very impressed with the colour, the alloy wheels, but the wide tyres make the steering a bit on the heavy side.

Comfortable and well designed cabin which makes for nice long distance driving.

Faults:

No major problems with breakdowns so far.

General Comments:

My main comments are about the design from the point of view of a passenger:

The side pockets are not big enough for an atlas.

You cannot open glove compartment fully unless the seat is far back - not possible with a rear passenger.

The cup holes in the glove compartment are not big enough for a flask cup.

There is nowhere flat for the driver to put a cup (when parked of course).

There is not a separate cold air vent - all are heated. This is useless if someone suffers from travel sickness - cold air often helps.

The head rests have no hole, which is bad for people in rear who suffer from travel sickness - it is better for them to be able to look straight forward.