2.2i Astra Bertone

Tomcat825

Tomcat825

Tomcat825

Associate
Joined
23 Sep 2010
Posts
1,331
Location
Bucks
Was scowering over Autotraders looking at potential next car and stumbled across this: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...ode/tn57eg/page/10/quicksearch/true?logcode=p

Thought it was pretty tastey, average mileage for its age, seems good condition.

Anyone have any experience with these or heard anything about them? Personally I've never heard of it before today so have no idea if anything is unreliable on the car and whether, like the rover 200's, certain things go wrong (head gasket).
 
Tbh I think these are actually alright - have driven a few (long time ago now right enough). They aren't quick and need strangled to use what they do have but it's enjoyable enough to do so, they look decent enough, tend to have good seats and are fairly comfortable.

Oh and cost about 2p - can't complain really

No idea on reliability/ common faults.
 
Its an astra...but at that price, would it matter if it were to break? I mean its cheaper than corsa's of that year/mileage! :o
 
A mate had one of these, it was a bit slow and he had trouble with the engine management light coming on randomly, mayo in the filler cap and getting through a lot of oil. He never got to the bottom of what caused it. Apart from that it was alright, he wished he had got the 2.0 turbo though.

The engine was developed by lotus and is in the VX220.

Also, don't get a gold one. They did a very nice blue on this car that is much better in my opinion.
 
From my experience, anyone I know or have known with Astra's or even old Vauxhaul's haven't had any major issues and only minor issues that you'd expect from any car so I'm happy with the reliability.

Aye you're right Black, it's 1k, but It's still 1k... good to find out on poor reliability issues beforehand. ;)

I like the gold personally. :P Not a chav or anything but think it looks quite nice.
 
If you can look past the colour, the styling, the awful interior and general chav-ness of the model of car it might be alright for £1000.

I wouldn't buy one though.
 
Looks nice, not a fan of the colour either, in silver it would look great.

Had a 2003 Astra, solid as a rock, got drowned, water up to windows yet drove away the next day with all electrics working. Ford fiesta in less water and only 4 years old didn't even start.
 
Looking closer at the advert I would avoid that specific car;

Advert said:
just had a full Major service 600mils ago
Click to expand...

A major service is a couple of hundred quid if done correctly and fully. There is no way someone has just spent £200 servicing that to sell it for £1000. They've basically done an oil change and done their best to hide anything that looks dodgy.

Advert said:
very nice to drive and super fast.
Click to expand...

No, it's not either.

+ the Halfrauds DVD headunit makes it a massive no go. It's one good point is that it is cheap, but there are also thousands of other cars that are also just as cheap.
 
Last edited:
Peerzy said:
Looking closer at the advert I would avoid that specific car;



A major service is a couple of hundred quid if done correctly and fully. There is no way someone has just spent £200 servicing that to sell it for £200. They've basically done an oil change and done their best to hide anything that looks dodgy.



No, it's not either.

+ the Halfrauds DVD headunit makes it a massive no go. It's one good point is that it is cheap, but there are also thousands of other cars that are also just as cheap.
Click to expand...

You sir, have just put me off the car. Thanks for the summing up. :D
 
Tomcat825 said:
You sir, have just put me off the car. Thanks for the summing up. :D
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with a cheap £1000 car, we've all had one and they are great at what they do. Personally I'd just keep things as simple as possible. No need for special edition Astra's, or 'hot' versions of cars. Find something that is a decent car, reliable and in good condition.
 
Have upped my budget to £1600 now after having a chat with the old man so just looking around atm. Had my rover 214 for 3.5 years now so craving a bit more oomph.
Not expecting huge power in this price bracket, but there has to be something around that'll do the job. ;)
 
My wife had one back in 2001 and although not anything to set the world on fire performance and handling wise, it was a reliable plodder. I found the engine a little lacklustre performance wise, it just felt asthmatic when pushed hard (overtaking and the like), but it was well equipped with trip computer, cruise, aircon etc, so was a nice place to do journeys of any great distance. Seats were pretty good as well.
 
Nothing wrong with an Astra at this price bracket, had a 1.8 SRI myself - they come fairly well equipped for what they are, interior is bland but squeak free and it's nowhere near as bad as the lolvauxhall hate on this forums suggests. The engine is not bad, however make sure you have a read:
https://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&out....,cf.osb&fp=ddc48e83889475dd&biw=1326&bih=523

A replacement engine is not cheap, I think you can get the chain replaced for around £300 and it will be failry bombproof after that. They made an uprated bolt in post 2003 cars iirc that cures this or if it's had the timing chain done it will be fine for the rest of the car's life, but if the chain snaps you are looking at a replacement engine.

1,6k means there are plenty very good 2.2 Astra's to choose from, so shop around.
 
I had one, they are pretty lethargic. Still got a bit of power, but needs ringed to get anything out of it. The car is too heavy for the power.

Nothing really went wrong with it mind. Servicing was dirt cheap (done myself), handles like a dog though.
 
Ive a 1.8 Special edition one, the europa blue colour with the half blue alcantara / half leather interior.

The performance is fine, its not "fast" but its above average for the typical daily. Suspension needs a tighten up at the rear - a whiteline RARB is the job and makes the car drive very well.

The paintwork on these now is getting to the stage of needing a little love but rust doesnt seem to be much of an issue and the paintwork is actually pretty good from the factory.

Reliability isnt great. Mine has 127k miles and its onto its 2nd engine (Piston deteriorated and destroyed the bore). The good thing is that the 1.8 vauxhall engine is so common you can pick up a low miler for a few hundred quid no problem. Everything is just an astra so parts are very easily had for it.

Inside, the dash is dull - no doubt about it. If the car had plain cloth then it would border one of the dullest around however with the special edition having the half/half and the sporty irmscher steering wheel then its not too bad.

Driving wise, simple, easy, effortless but wont set the world alight. For the money theyre going for theyre not a bad buy. The only reason ive still got mine is that its worth more to me in metal than the £1000 its probably worth on the market. Could be worth a bit more in years to come if kept clean as they become a bit more of a classic. The coupes are very rare in N.Ireland, not sure about in the mainland but it always receives compliments.

(Coupe doors are great!)

HTH
 
Yes, a 2.2 NA engine 147bhp is horrible, especially when you can take it to 170bhp with an airbox, pre cat removal and remap.
VAG does so much better with the 2.0 116bhp in the generation, or Ford with their 2.0 130bhp. Sure it won't handle as a focus but a lot of people drove an Astra van at some point and think that the SRI's are the same.

Same with the interior, it's not like a Focus is that amazing and you pretty much have to spend twice as much money for an equally quick Golf.

The only valid counter argument is this:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...rds/v5/radius/1500/postcode/ec1a7aj?logcode=p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom