|
I bought a 1996 V6 Omega (101K miles) 4 months ago and so far it has had the following replaced/ repaired: warped front discs and pads, corroded rear discs and pads, camshaft centre, thermostat, cracked cooling pipe. Does this sound like a dog or just a car that hasn't been looked after by previous owners?
|
Depends what you paid for it I suppose.
I am just Joe Public. I bought one of these (R Reg, 24k at the time) at auction last April and it has cost me about £1.3k in a year. That included
Front wheelbearing (taken in to main dealer for tramlining poor diagnosis, no difference to problem) (£180)
New set of tyres (4) due to tramlining (£330, BF Goodrich - seem OK)
Two services, including cambelt change @ 40k (c £700 in total)
Passenger door lock £25 from scrap merchant, fitted myself
and some other small costs
The car looks good and drives well, although the costs have been more than I was expecting, I have no problem with these costs except the wheel bearing.
Year 2 with the car will not be as expensive, I always anticipate year 1 to cost proportionately more as you need to rectify all the faults the previous owner was happy to live with which you are not.
I would have thought at 101k miles you would have paid a low price for a lot of car, but should have expected some expense to account for wear and tear. I doubt the car is a dog, it's just starting to wear out. I'm sure a pre-pruchase inspection by one of the professional bodies would have highlighted some of these problems. And it's worth reading the service history and looking at the general state of the car to assess whether it has been looked after by it's previous owners.
People tell me there are Omegas in use as police/taxis which cover well in excess of 200k without major fault.
|
|
Police may well run them to big mileage,but the costs involved would cripple a private motorist.
|
|
If you want low motoring costs you buy a Mondeo. It's no good buying an up market car and expecting to run it for nothing.
|
|
|
|
Hi,
I bought an Omega MV6 a year ago and have had many of the things done that you describe.
I fully agree that the 2/3/4rd year running cost for me wil be a lot lower. Wheel bearings wont need doing again for example - cambelt every 40,000 miles etc. I effect I hope that I'll get another 60/70k out of it.
I've spent a fortune in the last 12 months and need to keep the car for at least another 2 years to recoup this expense.
Do any of you suffer from "unfixable" vibration through the steering @ speed. NO its isn't wheel balancing.
Regards ....... Robert
|
You can tell how good the Omega is by the fact that the Police now use Volvo instead.
Andy
|
I understand that the Police have used Volvos (and a set of front tyres every week), becuase the Volvo cabin is a better ergonomic design, and they can get more of their kit fitted in around the driver.
I own an October 1998 3.0V6 Elite. My car was bought at auction, having done 83000 miles. The 'main dealer' service history, received from their computer on request included normal servicing plus......
handbrake adjustment, check odd popping noise when braking with cruise control on, renew worn front brake pads every 20 000 miles, fixing the sound on the Sat. Nav, cracked foglamp lens (£40), no washer nozzle on right hand front headlamp jet (£24), glove box will not open, sunroof inoperative (reprogram switch), vibration through tyres at 60mph plus (renew all tyres although all were above the legal limit), replace exhaust gasket (cylinders 2-4-6, £325, at 40 000 miles), instrument bulb, rear pads, check link assembly secure rhf, cambelt 80 000 (£425, total service was £796), renew refridgerant for aircon, replace another headlamp jet, replace leaking heater vacuum pipe, rear exhaust blowing (June 2001, and it still is but only very mildly 4000 miles later), udjustment to front bumper (lh side).
I have purchased Bilstein front dampers (£157 a pair), and had KwikFit do a Mobil 1 Service (£35, the oil alone costs £60 from Halfords). The fit of both both front glove boxes is poor, there is no sound when setting the alarm, I haven't yet found a company who makes uprated rear shocks (with the ride control facility), I have a slow air leak on one tyre, and needed a new valve on another, the radio needs a better earth, the front right side light comes on when I brake, and a conversion to lpg is too expensive for this model,but other than that I have had no problems.
There are stone chips and scrapes to the body work, but Green Flag inspected the car, and the emissions were 'spot on'. I have fitted a K&N air filter, and everyone who knows me is impressed with the car, which cost the price of a F*** Fiesta.
Where can you get more than 210bhp in a rear wheel saloon for £6400 (at auction). It is a civilised luxurious car, that goes like the wind when you press the button on the gearbox that puts it into 'sport' mode. And the volume on the radio automatically goes up and down with your speed! My friends have a 1.6 Golf and when I had a lift in it the other day, there was more noise inside it tootling down the high street at 30mph, than there is in the Omega at 70+mph. The 2.8 litre BMW 5 Series that Used Car Buyer are running cost £32 000 second hand (and had depreciated by £7000 9 months later). It did not even come with a single CD player.
I have had the car wax injected and plan to keep it for some time. I highly recommend them.
|
|
|
|
Had mine cruising at 145 mph abroad, rear seat passenger was only aware of increased speed once we slowed down into traffic. Quiet, steady, and no wobble. Still able to accelarate noticeably at that speed so I suspect that it is electronically limited at the 149 which the spec states.
btw if any of you remember the post from just before my trip, the xenon (sp?) headlights are right-dipped by a lever in the light cluster - it's in the owners handbook. Very effective it was too, no need for stick-ons.
My one remaining problem is that sometimes it is reluctant to acknowledge the remote locking signal unless the sender is close to the driver front pillar - other times it works from 20 feet away or more from any direction. I can live with that. (On the other hand, if someone knows how to fix it....)
|
|
So its not just my remote then!
|
|
|
|
|
|
They are like any expensive car, expensive to run. Plus, it's not exactly in it's first flush of youth. Make sure it has had the timing belt, AND the tensioner changed, otherwise it could just get even more expensive
|
|
Vx are now saying that they should BOTH be changed every 40,000 miles!
|
|
|
|
Re Smokie amd low Mondeo running costs
You have to be joking. Ive got one and its been the most expensive car I have ever owned. VW next time.
Disgusted from Huddersfield
Bill
|
Bill
You say VW next time
My 1999 T-reg GT TDi has had under warranty:
Air mass meter (£700+)
3 x window regulators - window disappears into door with a crunch
(cost - a lot)
800 miles short of warranty end - injection pump
UK spec car with FSH
To Endo I say you got what you bought
|
|
|
|
2001 Golf PD - new diesel pump, new injectors (and yes it was run on decent fuel), central locking repaired too many times to count, CD worked intermittently, clutch replaced (seized) at 6k, water in headlight, .....
2000 Beetle 1.6 - new clutch, new cat, door mirrors inoperative, radio / CD failed, central locking failed.
Complacent dealer.... no more VAG
The reason most fleet managers like Ford isn't just because they get big discounts.
|
Between us, my brother and I have owned four Omegas over the last five years. They've all gone now but the last, a one year old ex rental 20,000 mile example was the best.
Brother's now got a Merc E320cdi and whilst it is better the the Omega, he had to pay £15K more for it. The Omega is nearly as good, in both our reckoning.
They do suffer from faults, like early waterpump failure, dodgy cam belt tensioners, drivers door lock solenoids and, on the early ones, fragile paint.
At the end of the day, the weakest part of the Omega is the dealer network, who are mainly crap.
If anyone is considering a good value, superbly comfortable and spacious family saloon/estate there are few better deals than obtainable from the Car Supermarkets at 6m to 12m old. Most of these will still have the bulk of the Vauxhall 3 yr cover to go. Best with the auto, IMHO.
Just driven Skoda Octavia for similar money secondhand - it's a dog by comparison. Don't believe the reviews (or me) try one yourself.
|
|
|
|
|
I've had quite a few hired Omegas over the years, left and right hand drive. I thought they were fine but the 4 cylinder ones are a bit gutless. No idea how they wear their miles but there are far worse cars wearing more prestigous badges.
|
|
|
'You ain't heard nothing yet; (Al Jolson, for our younger readers.
Bentley S2 valves are £100 each plus VAT and I have just had to buy 16 of the b...........
Plus the rest of the engine innards. Headex doesn't help at all (and that is a pill, not an engine additive)
Idris
|
|
So you can easily afford a speeding fine then?
|
|
|
|
