A review of my Astra Coupe complete with current problems

Begbie said:
2.2, altough in all fairness I don't think theres much of a difference.

Yeah nor could I they where wanting silly amounts for the turbo.

Would love the GSI bumper, altough the price is crazy. On the lookout for a cheap irmy kit :D
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You can get some pretty good replica GSi bumpers from the bay. Pretty cheap too (just gotta buy the mesh and foggers) so thats one option.

I still do enjoy the car though. I still walk upto it and get a smile on my face :)

When i get my first payday through (never worked full time) and i see all that money i may go abit mental on the car :p
 
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Have you saw the price of the fogs, altough you can get some cheap ones which are meant to be just as good.

Be careful with the cheap ones though, their quite crap though!
 
Begbie said:
Have you saw the price of the fogs, altough you can get some cheap ones which are meant to be just as good.

Be careful with the cheap ones though, their quite crap though!
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I havent seen the price tbh. How much we talking for the fogs?

I may try looking around for a second hand one...Maybe get it for £250ish...
 
Sime said:
I havent seen the price tbh. How much we talking for the fogs?

I may try looking around for a second hand one...Maybe get it for £250ish...
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About £100+ from Vuaxhall, altough reading on some astra forums you can get just as good reps for £50ish.

The reps are made from crappy plastic.

I would have a look out for a second hand one, and get it sprayed the right colour. The GSI bumper on the coupes should have been standard imo.
 
Begbie said:
About £100+ from Vuaxhall, altough reading on some astra forums you can get just as good reps for £50ish.

The reps are made from crappy plastic.

I would have a look out for a second hand one, and get it sprayed the right colour. The GSI bumper on the coupes should have been standard imo.
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Completly agree. The GSI bumper just looks superb. Gives the car a whole new modern look...

Shame there isnt some sort of sexy GSi type rear bumper :(
 
Begbie said:
Rear imry skirts, look very nice.
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The GSi skirt wouldn't fit on the coupe anyway. The coupe irmy skirts dont look bad but I think you could do better.

Ajgoodfellow, sorry to hear that you are having more troubles. It sounds like you need to get your motor looked at asap. You aren't alone with having astra trouble though. Mine had a new ECU, two wheel hubs and had the AC clutch replaced all within 3 months of being out of warranty. My advice would be to stay as far away from a Vxl dealership as physically possible. You can get just as good of a job done elsewhere for less money. I don't touch Vxl themselves unless I absolutely have to.
 
Minxy said:
The GSi skirt wouldn't fit on the coupe anyway. The coupe irmy skirts dont look bad but I think you could do better.

Ajgoodfellow, sorry to hear that you are having more troubles. It sounds like you need to get your motor looked at asap. You aren't alone with having astra trouble though. Mine had a new ECU, two wheel hubs and had the AC clutch replaced all within 3 months of being out of warranty. My advice would be to stay as far away from a Vxl dealership as physically possible. You can get just as good of a job done elsewhere for less money. I don't touch Vxl themselves unless I absolutely have to.
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Ouch sounds like you had a hard time of it.

Yeah I meant the coupe irmy skirts, didn't think there was anything else, expect 3rd party, for the rear coupe bumper?
 
ajgoodfellow said:
My first Mk4 Astra was fine - a great first car - and it's one of the reasons why I bought this one. My parents have owned a Mk4 Astra for about 4 years or so and it's been faultless

This one has turned out to be a nightmare but I fully appreciate that they're not all like this
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I just had a look at used prices on Autotrader, wow they are cheap now. Keep it, get it fixed and enjoy. Have a chat with Regal or one of the others about getting some performance bits. The 1.8 responds well to some light tuning. It wont be quicker but at least it will sound it.

You may as well enjoy it.
 
mrk1@1 said:
I just had a look at used prices on Autotrader, wow they are cheap now. Keep it, get it fixed and enjoy. Have a chat with Regal or one of the others about getting some performance bits. The 1.8 responds well to some light tuning. It wont be quicker but at least it will sound it.

You may as well enjoy it.
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They would have to be seriously light mods. As simple as a decent exhaust system, a change of panel filter and a vectra C intake. Anything else is a waste of money. I have yet to meet anyone who has had decent gains from a 1.8. The 2.2 responds far better and with the turbo the possibilities are somewhat more expensive but more worthwhile.

I wouldn't be chucking any money Regals way anytime soon no matter what I drove.
 
Thanks for the post about various mods - I'll keep it in mind but at the moment I'm rather disillusioned with the car (and broke) so it won't happen in the near future!

Does anyone know what the criteria is for body parts on the MOT? I've got one in October (along with a service and insurance renewal) and I can't really afford to replace the bumper.
 
Minxy said:
I have yet to meet anyone who has had decent gains from a 1.8.
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As I said, it won't be quicker but will sound better :D

having a look on AT near me gets a 20-30k miler 2.2 coupe for circa 4k or for a bit more a Turbo.

If I didn't need a 5 door, I would seriously be considering a coupe turbo now lol.
 
Minxy said:
They would have to be seriously light mods. As simple as a decent exhaust system, a change of panel filter and a vectra C intake. Anything else is a waste of money. I have yet to meet anyone who has had decent gains from a 1.8. The 2.2 responds far better and with the turbo the possibilities are somewhat more expensive but more worthwhile.

I wouldn't be chucking any money Regals way anytime soon no matter what I drove.
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I agree, wouldn't be putting my money anywhere near Regal.

Does the 1.8 have a precat, like the 2.2.

If so get that removed, supposidly free's up a good 4-5bhp along with the veccie air intake and a panel filter.

As you've said though, not worth throwing money at the 1.8 to tune, will cost a fortune with very little gains.

What astra do you drive Minxy?
 
I have a 2001 1.8 SRi. My other half used to have a 1.8 Sport which has now been replaced with a 2002 SRi Turbo (which I lurve to drive. :D). We have various parts sat around the house waiting to go on the latter at the moment including a new intercooler and a full miltek system which will hopefully make it even more fun. :D

If you want to do something decent for your astra, get it a decent lowering kit. Some uprated handling might lighten your mood a little.
 
Minxy said:
I have a 2001 1.8 SRi. My other half used to have a 1.8 Sport which has now been replaced with a 2002 SRi Turbo (which I lurve to drive. :D). We have various parts sat around the house waiting to go on the latter at the moment including a new intercooler and a full miltek system which will hopefully make it even more fun. :D

If you want to do something decent for your astra, get it a decent lowering kit. Some uprated handling might lighten your mood a little.
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GIT! :p

Nearly bought one of those, insurance was sky high and couldn't really afford it at the time!
 
The TC sensor (and ABS iirc) are connected with rubbish sticky pads that if come loose cause all sorts of problems, get some electrical tape and stick them down properly.
 
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