Energy 1.7 CDTi

Disappointing in the long run and not recommended.

I bought the Meriva second-hand with 12,000 miles on the clock. I chose it because I liked the high ceiling and good leg room in the rear as my passengers were both 6' tall. Initially it ran OK. I thought that the build quality was poor, having previously driven a Toyota Avensis, and was surprised at how flimsy the bodywork appeared to be. Parts seemed to wear out much more quickly than on the Toyota, although the MPG was good, at about 50 mpg.
In 2010, the car developed an irritating fault, stalling a couple of times after first ignition. I didn't think much of this, assuming that it was cold, needed a service, there was a problem with the fuel etc. Despite a full service, the problem continued. The stalling after starting became more regular and I noticed that the car stalled at low revs until the engine was warmed up. My garage fitted a new ECU, but this didn't solve the problem. However, in the summer it was less of a problem and I thought that it had been a temporary fault.
In Winter 2011 the problem returned and the car now stalled on every occasion it was started, and continued to do so for about five miles of my daily twenty mile commute. I took it back to the garage ( in the meantime, changes of various filters, plugs, upgrading fuel quality etc. had made no difference). The alternator was changed, but the problem continued. In summer 2012 the car continued to stall regularly when the revs dropped below 1000 rpm and by autumn 2012 did so on every single occasion that the revs dropped below 1000rpm. I searched the internet to find that this particular engine ( 1.7 turbo) had this fault but that Vauxhall were not conceding it. People had spent a great deal of money trying to find out the cause - fault codes were not showing anything untoward - and like me, were struggling to resolve the problem. By October 2012 the car was almost undriveable. My garage had another look, tried all fault codes, checked fuel pump etc but could find nothing wrong. They rang Vauxhall who said that they had never heard of this problem! In late October, I sold the car, with two owners, and under 100,000 miles, and full service history, for £350 to a used car dealer who bought it for parts. No-one else, even internet car buying companies, wanted it. I will never, ever, buy another Vauxhall and would strongly advise anyone thinking of buying a Vauxhall Meriva with a diesel engine to at the very least Google 'Vauxhall Meriva keeps cutting out' and read the many similar stories to mine, before spending money on this model of car.

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