1997 Vauxhall Sintra Reviews from UK and Ireland

Just bought the car. It's a lovely car to drive, had a £1K bill for an MOT, but all through with new discs, pads, head, brake pipes.

Recently I have noticed that some electrical items keep coming on / off e. g the heater cuts on/off when on full, then today the fuel gauge empty light flashed on off and also ABS light, but then they go out.

I heard there's a common electrical fault on these. Any info anyone?

hotarmstrong@hotmail.com.

Very nice car, very roomy.

Persistent minor electrical problems, e.g. Fuel Gauge unreliable, warning lights going on an off, alarm going off randomly.

Water pump jammed causing Cam belt to jump resulting in over £1000 of engine damage

Headlamp glass fell off

Squeaks and rattles in sliding doors.

A really well designed people carrier, which can carry seven adults in comfort that is let down by poor electrics and general build quality problems. Handles OK for a people carrier.

Idle control valve failed at 46000.

Steering pump developed oil leak 47000.

Water hose at pump split at 50000.

Core plug leak detected, 52000, major engine strip involved.

Heater fan fails constantly if run on full power for more than two minutes.

Alarm always going off, now silenced and will remain so.

Fuel low warning light comes on in wet weather regardless of fuel state.

Air condition compressor noisy after use.

Various minor electrical problems.

The most comfortable car I've ever driven on a long journey.

Very spacious especially with seats removed.

Good tow car even when fully loaded.

Drives better loaded than when empty, body roll major factor here.

Minor rattles and glove box catch inadequate.

Exhaust manifold gasket has blown twice.

Rear brake disks have warped and been replaced 3 times.

Near side headlight glass fell off.

ABS faults on 3 occasions, which also renders the speedo inoperative!

Air condition compressor failed.

Instrument cluster replaced at 31000 miles.

Performance is good, even when towing a caravan.

Extremely difficult to obtain parts, only part held by dealers are those common to other models.

No manuals, diagrams or other data available for the DIY mechanic.

Vauxhall dealers appear to have little knowledge of this model.

The alarm system is very good, but the passenger front door lock sticks when dead locking the vehicle and will not open from the outside.

I am very pleased with the car, it is very comfortable and the extra space makes driving long distances a pleasure.

The ride is a little bouncy at times which I think you either like or dislike.

The storage space is very good and the seating design is brilliant... it can be a 2 seater van... a 5 seat family car with large boot or a 7 seat mini bus.

As with all Vauxhals there are a few odd rattles.

Steering rack failed at 12,500 miles.

Electric window failed at 17,000 miles.

Major electric problems linked to BCMs and earthing strip at 35,000 miles. Problems still unresolved. Car still in garage!

Great MPV when it works!

Loads of space inside, but the boot is small if you have 5 children like me. The Zafira has less space if you are considering buying it for a large family.

Road performance is fantastic although there are times it can be a little expensive on the petrol costs - but cruise control helps prevent the eager right foot!

The main problem is that garages do not stock most of the parts and do not have the in-depth knowledge to be able to resolve problems quickly.

Garages will replace several things rather than root-cause problems properly because it is superficially cheaper for them to do so.