Sparkly black, Surely - you can't go wrong! ( but it can, and it does!) (Vauxhall Astra LS ECO4 1.7DTi 16v 5-door Hatchback)

Member Name: tigger1978

Product:	Vauxhall Astra LS ECO4 1.7DTi 16v 5-door Hatchback
Date:	20/05/09 (92 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great fuel economy, beautiful shape and colour

Disadvantages: expensive repairs - although when i bought it i thought vauxhall repairs would be cheap

A few years back I stumbled upon the Vauxhall Astra ECO 1.7 Dti model. it was sparkly and black, so what could I do, but buy it!
I love the shape of this car, and the cabin design is pretty nice too. I am going to steal a little section from my general review on cars later on.

The first year the car was fantastic, well, after screwing the engine back in to place - one of the screws sheared off and the others were loose so there was a funny noise and a bit of vibration - one day i had the sense to stop the car and havea look - lucky as i think this is when the screw had just fallen to pieces. This was of course not covered under the warranty. My dad came to rescue with a couple of car jacks and a new screw. With the engine firmly back in place my next 30,000 miles went very smoothly. I had it serviced when I should (unlike my older cars) - my husband is a bit of a fanatic when it comes to doing things at the right time!

So, a year and a bit... car running like a dream, i must say that it was a little uncomfortable on long journeys - think this is to do with the padding in the seats. Then one night, cold, in a bad area of haverhill, the car will not start again. Unbelievable. No problems at all on the way to the place... and then it doesnt even turn over. Call my husband who is a member of the AA, so he makes the hour long journey to come and rescue me. By this point I am dying for a wee. Once m,y hubby arrives I steal his car and go in search for a loo to use! sainsburys i think, must be open 24/7. No. garages... No, cant find any - I don't know haverhill very well, so just drive around for a little while. at this point I had been needing to wee for a couple of hours. Desperation makes me think I will drive down the service road next to sainsburys, nice and quiet, n-one will notice. I pull over and then decide it is much too bright here and theres no way I can go. back to the roundabout where a police car decides to follow me! Of all the times to choose! So I end up in a dark housing estate, theres a patch of ground with some trees... - perfect. No. I can't bring myself to get out of the car here, its too dark and scary, I would rather burst my bladder than get knifed whilst peeing! MMhhh. I seem to have digressed a little, turns out I wait for the AA man to tow the car away and visit a garage on the way home.

Sorry, back to the Astra. So, my first break down.

The car has gone to some garage way out in the sticks. We talk to them the next day, they have had a quick look, but need more time to make a diagnosis. Fine. A couple of days later... The computer that controls the fuel pump has packed up... its nearly £1000 to fix it. Well, car cost me 4000 only a year prior. We go for it on the basis that up to this point I could not fault the car. Fixed, my bank account is a little lighter, but nevermind, the car is running lovely again.. until a month or 2 later when the oil pump fails.....then a couple of months later (a week after a service and new tyres) the car started making a funny noise and it turns out that the oil pump broke. - ok, 600 pounds (mates rates) to fix - bit of a gamble as they did not know whether it would run afterwards - may have wrecked the engine.

OK, well, after spending a grand a month and a half earlier I decided to risk it.
It all went well and the car was running lovely for another month... until... da.. du.. duh... my husband spotted a little oil leak... back to the garage... CRACKed engine. Would you believe it!

At this point we decided to sell it (to someone who knew about the crack).

Overall I really loved this car. - ok, i think really i loved the shiny black shape with its cute little spoiler. But, when it was running well, it ran lovely.
I would probably still get another one even though I got my pockets so burnt!

Useful things to know... Cheap TAX, Great economy, Nippy despite being 75BHP.... bu buy one at your owwn peril! - I guess its like most things though, sometimes you're just a little unlucky!

Summary: love it hate it relationship.

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