27th Feb 2012, 15:09
Another update:
The car seemed to lose most of its power yesterday, and wouldn't go above 60mph without a fight.
I took it into the garage today (luckily it was already booked in to have the driver's side electric window switch replaced under warranty), and they have diagnosed that the VVT mechanics are faulty.
The car has around 2 weeks left under the warranty, and I'm seriously considering taking out another, as there seem to be things failing that shouldn't be in a car that is only 4 years old.
4th Feb 2013, 14:16
Well, I still have the car and all is going well.
It has just had its third MOT, which it has passed again with no advisories.
I fitted HID lights back in December, which has improved the lights no end.
It has also had a full set of tyres - I went for Evergreen EU72's, which seemed a decent mid range. Got all 4 fitted etc for £380.
Can't think of anything else to write. It's due another service as it's now on 45k, but all is still good.
11th Jul 2014, 21:59
Probably the last review I'll write on the car.
It's coming up to nearly 60k miles now. Had a problem with the car losing power again a while ago, which took a fair bit of investigating as there were no diagnostic lights showing.
The problem turned out to be a faulty MAF sensor, which was starting to fail.
Apart from that, I don't think anything else has gone wrong, and apart from the routine servicing that I have carried out myself, the car hasn't really cost me much at all.
24th Feb 2015, 22:26
Well... I lied... this is probably the last review I will make of the car.
It now has 64,000 miles and has had the front flexi section of the exhaust replaced a couple of months ago as it was blowing slightly.
It passed another MOT a few weeks ago without anything needing doing.
I'm now looking to trade it in for a 2009 / 2010 Mondeo Titanium. I didn't realise how much these cars depreciate, but as a trade in I am being offered between £1800 - £2300... on a car that is 7 years old with 64k miles... Ouch!
In hindsight, I do still think it would have been better going for a diesel version, however you really can't argue with how reliable this car has been.
Hopefully the Mondeo will offer a bit more comfort and refinement, as that is what my real bug bear of the SRi version is.
My own fault though as I wanted a sporty version.
I hope that this fairly long term review helps people, and I would certainly recommend a Vectra.
19th Jul 2017, 21:28
I know it's been a couple of years since your last post, but thanks for all the updates, and I think this is a good review. As someone who has been buying selling and driving cars like this since the 90s, it was a good read and reminds me of the old style of motoring magazines back in the day when they did a "reliability report" after a certain age and mileage. This website in general is very good for that.
Yes, the Mondeo if you bought one by now will be both sportier and comfortable, more so than the Vectra; that has always been the Mondeo's strength over the Vectra. Other than that, there is little in it between them. The Vectra and Mondeo are both good cars, the depreciation as you mentioned unfortunately is a result of the high number of them on the road (nothing to do with low quality, they are solid cars), so as a used buy they have to be priced competitively.
Myself at time of this writing (Summer 2017) I'm looking at getting an excellent condition unmarked 2009 plate Vectra SRi with low miles and full history for less than 2 grand cash. Bargain or what? It's like a nearly new car for not very much money! And I know it will easily last another few years.
30th Dec 2011, 02:49
After having the car for nearly a year now, I thought I'd add another update to the review:
The clunk from the steering seems to have fixed itself.
The aircon compressor started making a whining noise whenever the aircon was turned on, making the car sound electric.
This was fixed under warranty by a replacement compressor at a cost of around £700, so it was definitely worth doing!
During the recent snow just before Christmas, I found that the car did tend to slip quite easily, especially when pulling away, although this could be down to the cheapish tyres on the front.
All in all, I'm still very pleased with the car, although still occasionally think that I may have preferred the CDTi 150BHP diesel version for more power and better economy... although I don't know if I could make do with the clatter of a diesel!