Vauxhall Reliability?

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Fri 29 Nov 2002 19:18
Vauxhall Reliability? - Dude - {P}
My son is thinking of buying an Omega with the 2.2 chain cam engine to cover approx 35k miles yearly.
With all the recent adverse press reports(JD Power & Auto Express) on G.M. reliability, I would appreciate any comments from backroomers with experience of this model. I have looked on H.J`s car x car breakdown for this model which gives a conflicting picture - came 3rd from top in the Which 2002 survey and 8th from the bottom in the Auto Express 2002 report.
Any comments and advice would be much appreciated.
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Sat 30 Nov 2002 04:17
Vauxhall Reliability? - RogerL
Using a chain cam engine is definitely a good idea, as chains rarely ever break, unlike cambelts. Vauxhall have reduced their recommended cambelt change to 40k, for all models, irrespective of the change when new. Vauxhall are also gradually changing back to chain cams with each new engine.
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Sat 30 Nov 2002 09:42
Vauxhall Reliability? - TrevorP
Basically, a lot of car for the money.

BUT depreciation is heavy (so a 1 or 2 year old is probably a Good Buy)

and the reliability is "mixed",

and the Dealers? Shall we say "mixed" to be kind?

Have you considered the TD models?
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Sat 30 Nov 2002 12:09
Vauxhall Reliability? - Dynamic Dave
Can't say a lot about the Omega that hasn't already been said in this forum, mixed views as to good or bad.

However, I can vouch for the 2.2 engine. First fitted to the VX220, (Lotus Elise cloan) Detuned, not sure by how much, it was the replacement for the old 2.0 cambelt driven unit. I have the 2.2 in my Vectra. 29,000 miles, no probs as yet - touch wood. 20,000 mile (or annual) service interval (some would argue that's too long). Advised camchain to be changed at 100,000 miles.
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Sat 30 Nov 2002 14:56
Vauxhall Reliability? - rg
Plenty in the archive about Omegas.

I considered a 2.5TD estate at length before buying a Citroen XM. Basically a classy car for daft money, bags of room, long-legged cruising.

Key issues that put me off Omega:

1/ IMHO not many independent specialists who know them.

2/ Main dealers? £20 just to breathe in at the service reception desk.("well sir, it does cost us to run the building's air conditioning"). Plus workshop lads who have not started shaving and can't reach the pedals.

3/ Hints of tracking, PAS and electrical problems that cost a lot to sort out. See point 1/. Various stuff in the archive about this.

Compare with Citroen where there are plenty of good independents, and lots of knowledge "out there". Sure, everything breaks down sometime, and the more complex cars are these days, the more it costs to sort, and less chance of fixing with a jubilee clip, hammer and screwdriver. But it depends on what's around to help you.

HTH
good hunting

rg
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