1994 Vauxhall Omega Elite review from UK and Ireland

Crank sensor wire snapped, so the engine management light is on.

Interior light doesn't work... appears to be missing one of the power cables!

Central locking is dead.

Electric sunroof... rotary switch has been replaced by a toggle switch for some reason. Still works, just looks odd.

Don't know if the A/C still functions - have to wait for better weather!

Outside temperature sensor shot.

Rust (see below).

I can't resist cheap, large estate cars, particularly when fitted with V6 engines, so when this came up at a very good price I had to buy it.

Elite specification with the 3.0V6 engine and 5-speed manual gearbox (no, it's not white!), this was the most expensive Vauxhall in 1995. In the intervening 12 years it's suffered 99% depreciation!

Funnily enough, from the driver's seat it doesn't feel like 30-grand's worth of car. The dashboard plastics are clumsy, and there's just air-con rather than climate control. But, there's still some serious specification here - electric memory leather seats, heated front and back, rear side window demisters, a built-in dog guard.

It drives pretty well, although it certainly feels it's size. The manual box has a long, clunky throw, but is a bonus at this age/price level - much easier to tow the car! I've been getting about 25mpg out of it so far.

These Ecotec V6 engines don't have a good reputation, but they're simple enough to work on, although I fell foul of the tensioner when changing the cambelt - I couldn't get it tightened properly so when turning the engine through one full revolution by hand, the timing marks ended up one tooth behind on the cams, relative to the crank. Ended up having to get the local garage to sort it.

The electrics can also be fun. My trip computer didn't work when I bought it, however half-an-hour removing the instrument panel and spraying the connectors with electrical contact cleaner brought it back to life.

So far so good. But the rust! OK, there's nothing life-threatening that I can see on the car, but Omegas rust in the oddest places. The base of the door windows being one area, and there's a classic rust-trap under the rubber seal on the trailing edge of the back doors.

Hopefully Opel have got their act together now, but back then all of their products rusted in one place or another.