vectra advice

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Mon 27 Oct 2003 19:29
vectra advice - mav
hi i have been offered a 2000 x reg 2 litre vectra hatch gls with 81 k on the clock it a ex fleet car with full history how can i check the air con in this cold weather.

does this car suffer from cam belt problems that is mentioned elsewhere on this site.

what would the expected mpg be mainly on a run no town work really.

any other views or advice on this car most most welcome

thanks
rob
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Mon 27 Oct 2003 19:30
vectra advice - mav
btw it is a 2 litre petrol
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Mon 27 Oct 2003 19:44
vectra advice - madf
To check aircon: switch heater on full blast at hottest setting and run until cabin is as hot as it can be.

Then set aircon to coldest setting possible.

It should pump cold air in 30 secs.. and cool the cabin in 3-5 minutes.

(personally I would never buy a Vectra of that mileage without a full and detailed service history...included belt and tensioner changes, new front disks.
madf
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Tue 28 Oct 2003 10:41
vectra advice - robZilla
You can expect to get near 40mpg on a motorway run - nearer to 30 around town.
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Mon 27 Oct 2003 20:06
vectra advice - Dynamic Dave
To check the air con, run it for at least ¼ hour (best thing is to go for a drive) and then pop the bonnet and see if one of the two pipes from the compressor is wet with condensation. The closer you get to the bulkhead the wetter one of the two pipes should be. If the system has no or little gas then the compressor won't run at all.

As for the cambelt, it *should* be changed every 40,000 miles - along with the belt tensioner. So theoretically it should have just had it's second change at 80k. If it hasn't, then budget this into the asking price and see if you can get a bit more knocked off.
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Tue 28 Oct 2003 08:50
vectra advice - Marky Mark
It all depends on how much they are asking? I had a similar aged car with FSH, but within weeks it needed a new cam sensor (apparently very common!) & the ABS warning light came on (again a known problem with the sensor & £££ to fix!). Otherwise, not as bad as everyone makes out - good, willing engines but the poor ride on non motorways/dual carriageways made me sell it!

There are an abundance of them around, especially at auction - so don't pay too much for it.

Mark
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Tue 28 Oct 2003 16:01
vectra advice - mav
hi mark thanks for the reply how much did it cost to fix the cam sensor and the abs warning light
thanks again rob
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Thu 30 Oct 2003 16:06
vectra advice - Marky Mark
ISTR the cam sensor was c£100 incl labour (I had to pay seperately to have the fault diagnosed £25 - but you can do it yourself with a paperclip!! - try google for fault code diagnosis - there will be plenty of results!). I left the ABS sensor alone, ISTR these were very expensive & the advice I sought suggested it was very unlikely to be anything wrong with the actual ABS itself - just a dodgy sensor (this seems to be a very common occurence of the Vectra!).

www.vectra-sport.com is a useful website for all things Vectra.

Mark
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Thu 30 Oct 2003 16:25
vectra advice - AlanGowdy
Remember that aircon won't work at low ambient temperatures - so no use checking it on a frosty morning.
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Thu 30 Oct 2003 21:28
vectra advice - superannuated rocker
I last bought a cam sensor two years ago and it then cost £35. Fitting is not that difficult if you are reasonably handy with the spanners.
SR
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