1.3 CDTi Ecoflex Exclusiv

Gearbox Failure after less than a year!

I've had the Astra since November 2013 ('63 reg) and have covered 29k in it (company car with majority business and some personal use).

Up until recently I was reasonably satisfied with the car; it's nice enough to look at, handles pretty well, it's comfortable and even the base model is nicely equipped. It's got a massive loadspace and is really practical. My only issue up until this point was The 1.3 CDTi engine; it's very underpowered for a car of this size - 95 PS and less than 200Nm is just not enough with a full load on the motorway. You have to drive it hard to get anywhere which also compromises fuel economy, which is meant to be this car's strongpoint - I'm only achieving an indicated 49 mpg on average with mainly motorway miles.

HOWEVER - last week, the gearbox failed completely without any warning; no whines or crunches, just a sudden bang as I went to pull off from a junction. I lost all drive and at first thought it was the clutch but back at the Vauxhall dealership they confirmed a number of internal gerarbox components had failed and they'd have to swap out the unit.

Thankfully it's covered under warranty and even if it wasn't the lease company would foot the bill. However such a major mechanical failure at this age and mileage is absolutely unnaceptable and from what I can see, this is sadly not an isolated case and Vauxhall are still churning out Insignias and Astra with these major faults. What if this were to have occurred after the warranty had expired? Put it another way - on average the car will cost you around 8p a mile in gearboxes alone.

Ultimately I would absolutely not recommend an Astra to anyone, such a major failure is inexcusable for such a large car manufacturer. Buy one at your own peril.

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