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Seen a few of these Astra h diesel pre dpf 1.7 for cheap. Just wondering if it’s worth a punt for couple of grand. Decent miles. Or is it too risky? If it needs a bit spending on it I’m not bothered for that money. I’d try and get the newest one I can. Thanks in advance
Edited by Vauxhall Astra owner on 04/01/2025 at 23:08
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The Astra H range were a good solid workhorse. The only one to avoid is the model with the Fiat 1.3 diesel engine. The 1.7 Isuzu based engine is definitely worth a shot.
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Despite being a good engine there’s still more to go wrong than with a simple petrol motor, but unlike most diesels it’s not one I’d completely rule out. If a good well cared for example presented itself I’d certainly be tempted as a cheap workhorse. Sadly most diesels are bought by people seeking to save money and they’re all too often utterly neglected.
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I’ve had a 1.6vvt petrol H for 5 years with mostly no issues other than wear and tear items. It just isn’t the best on motorways. This is what’s putting me off looking at a J model with same engine. But I’m wondering if the devil you know is better. There’s a lot of em around for good prices.
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The J model was a lot more complicated and more to go wrong. Think I’d stick with what you’ve got.
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If you’re looking to buy something cheap and cheerful the Astra J would certainly be worthy in 1.6 petrol and possibly 1.7 diesel form, but I’d widen the search to include other options such as the Mazda 3 1.6/2.0 petrol or the Mk III Ford Focus 1.6 petrol if you want something a bit more fun to drive. Though the Astra is a good motorway mile muncher, it was built to appeal to fleet/company users. I’d favour simplicity over performance.
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I’m not a fan of the 1.6 focus. I had a mk 1 1.6 focus and it was awful. Underpowered and noisey. My Astras 1.6 engine is much better. And sounds nicer
Edited by Vauxhall Astra owner on 05/01/2025 at 11:31
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Is your own car still ok? I wouldn’t swap one older car that’s reliable for another that’s only a bit newer unless you’ve good reason to do so. It won’t be that much better than your H so why spend the money? Better the devil you know, as you say.
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I need something bigger. An estate ideally. I need a bigger boot. To go on holiday in it. My H has no back seats and I was using it as a van. I still use it for work but I want my car to be the family car. Initially my plan was to save up as much as possible and wait until I have something around 8 k but you know how it is. I’m looking to see if I can get away with spending less. My H isn’t doing too bad but it’s got that depahsers rattle for couple of seconds on start up. I know how to sort it I’m just reluctant. It’s just old now and the body is pretty battered. It is time to change. I have considered SUVSand also 1.6 petrol auris. But the Astras are the devil I know so to speak so I just wonder sometimes if it’s easier to just have another one. I know my way around the engines pretty well. Do most jobs myself
Edited by Vauxhall Astra owner on 05/01/2025 at 11:23
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Where roughly will you be searching and what is the maximum budget?
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Midlands area. My budget depends on how much overtime I wana do this year lol. The more Saturdays and Sundays I work the quicker I’ll have it saved. But I gota be careful I don’t kill myself in the process lol. I’d say realistically top end will be around 8 grand
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Same as I had for 6yrs. Decent economy and 6sp box so it wasn’t revving too hard at motorway speeds and its simple chain driven non-turbocharged petrol motor will run and run if looked after. It’s no speed machine, but it gets down the road fine. Loads of room inside too, I miss mine. This one has low mileage and the Mot history is good, plus it’s apparently had the rear brake pipes done two years ago which is a costly job on these. Rust in the suspension components is the biggest issue on these as they age so you’ll need to get under it for a good look. No rust advisories on the Mot history that I quickly looked at. Check the electronic parking brake works properly too, though I never once had any bother with it on mine and it lived most of its life in a pretty corrosive environment.
www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202407011312135
Edited by SLO76 on 05/01/2025 at 15:21
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One owner main dealer approved used Mazda 3. Bulletproof chain driven petrol motor that’ll do 50mpg on a run and an absolute pleasure to drive on a twisty B road. Likely to be a good one as main dealers don’t typically retail stock this age. That it will have been traded in for another Mazda and it’s been owned longterm by the same person suggests it’s been a good one. I’ve not looked at the Mot history. Boot isn’t going to be any bigger than the Astra, but it’s much nicer to drive in my opinion.
www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202411166361679
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I’ve had a 1.6vvt petrol H for 5 years with mostly no issues other than wear and tear items. It just isn’t the best on motorways. This is what’s putting me off looking at a J model with same engine. But I’m wondering if the devil you know is better. There’s a lot of em around for good prices.
What's wrong with it on the motorway?
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It’s screaming 3250 rpm at 70.
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My son has a van version of the H model with the amazing but noisy Isuzu engine.
Fuel consumption is truly staggering and being German built it’s one to keep.
Known as the stealth vehicle on motorways it’s the car /van that will always overtake you no matter how fast you are going.
Same engine in the Honda Civic dating back to the early 2000 s
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It’s screaming 3250 rpm at 70.
Peak power is 6k rpm and peak torque is at 3.9k rpm, so 3250 can hardly be described as "screaming"!, but more importantly, it's not straining the engine in any way.
Maybe look into some sound deadening for under the bonnet and/or between engine bay and cabin if the noise is that much of a problem?.
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It’s not a problem really. I just over think stuff. And I wanted to do some sort of upgrade. If I’m honest I have no faith in anything that I’m reading about. Most stuff seems to have some sort of issue. And the stuff that doesn’t I’m either not a fan of or it is too expensive. I’ll keep putting the money away and decide closer to the time. If only there were still newish Astra H around. If so I’d just get another one. I really like em. Can still get em with low miles. It’s an option. Realistically how long would it last thow when your talking 16 years old
Edited by Vauxhall Astra owner on 05/01/2025 at 14:04
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. If only there were still newish Astra H around. If so I’d just get another one. I really like em. Can still get em with low miles. It’s an option. Realistically how long would it last thow when your talking 16 years old
What sort of annual mileage do you do? and how diligent are you with preventative maintenance? Mine's a 1.6 Astra on an 08 plate with 130k on the clock and I have to say has been extremely reliable. I'm confident of at least another 5 or 6 years use. Maintenance is obviously key but on these it's so reasonably cheap to do.
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10 to 12 k a year. Depends where I work really but I’ve landed long term work with a 30 mile per day commute. All A and B roads. Maintenance wise I’ve done pretty much everything to my 1.6vvt. Clutch, cambelt, thermostat, water pump, coolant is changed regular, coil packs, spark plugs, solenoid valves, cam shaft depahsers , oil changes every 8k miles. I have done a lot to it. It’s had coil springs on it and swivel pin bushes but other than that I gota say it’s been solid. No wheel bearings or anything like that have needed doing. Tyres obviously. I know these engines inside out now really. It’s not let me down once. I had it on 37,000. It’s now on 90,000. But the bonnet and body is looking its age now. I might look for another one that’s mint with low miles.
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10 to 12 k a year. Depends where I work really but I’ve landed long term work with a 30 mile per day commute. All A and B roads. Maintenance wise I’ve done pretty much everything to my 1.6vvt. Clutch, cambelt, thermostat, water pump, coolant is changed regular, coil packs, spark plugs, solenoid valves, cam shaft depahsers , oil changes every 8k miles. I have done a lot to it. It’s had coil springs on it and swivel pin bushes but other than that I gota say it’s been solid. No wheel bearings or anything like that have needed doing. Tyres obviously. I know these engines inside out now really. It’s not let me down once. I had it on 37,000. It’s now on 90,000. But the bonnet and body is looking its age now. I might look for another one that’s mint with low miles.
Only 90k miles and a list of items which would last much longer on a Japanese car. Based on your experience, I would avoid any Astra : obviously money pits.
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Only 90k miles and a list of items which would last much longer on a Japanese car. Based on your experience, I would avoid any Astra : obviously money pits.
Not particularly. I'd say pretty much the clutch is the only big stand out item there, and that's not unheard of on a Japanese car depending on the life it's had. The OP said they'd been using the car as a van.
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I have to agree. But the stand out item for my is the camshaft dephasers. That’s an expensive job. Something that is a common issue in the z16xer but I think is improved on the A16XER and B16XER. I think they redesigned the depahsers to retain oil when the engine stops. Could be wrong thow. The dephaser rattle is definitely something more prevalent on the z16xer thow. The other items I’ve mentioned I would say would go wrong on any car. Even Japanese. I think Japanese engines are superior by a mile but the bodies and rust let em down. The Astras are like tanks. Mine is spotless underneath and it’s an old car
Edited by Vauxhall Astra owner on 06/01/2025 at 10:23
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www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412187393201
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It’s screaming 3250 rpm at 70.
Hardly screaming, pretty average for a 1600 non-turbo petrol in my experience.
Before buying diesels and turbo petrols the cars we had were 1600 to 1800 cc and most were doing nearer 3500 rpm at 70 mph.
If you want screaming get a car from the 60's or 70's. Only 4 speed and 4,000 rpm at 70 mph was pretty normal. Worst I had was a 1975 1600 Avenger, 4,400 revs at 70 mph (and that is assuming the speedo was accurate - very few were or are).
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If only there were still newish Astra H around.
There aren't simply because the 5 door and estate Astra J replaced it in 2009, that means the newest would be 16 years old.
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