Mk.4 Astra Ecotec Engines

Rain Man

Rain Man

Rain Man

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Looking to buy a 1.8 Mk.4 astra for my first car

Quite low insurance at just over £1,200 and can be had for about £2,000

The cheapest to buy are the CDX and CD models but im ok with the old mans trim, will give me something to mod on them rainy days.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with the reliability of the ecotec engines with high mileage. theres a few for under £2,000 with about 100,000 on the clock. I would imagine this wouldnt be so bad because a lot of astras are used for company cars and do a lot of motorway miles.

Anyone shed light on this?

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Heres one i found

2000 VAUXHALL ASTRA 1.8i 16V CD 5dr Hatchback
74,000 miles, October 06 MOT, Service History, Air conditioning, Alloy wheels, Audio remote control, PAS, e/w, Drivers airbag. Very good condition. £2,150. NOOFFERS

astraatji8.jpg


Like i said not bothered about the old man trim, i like the astras and i like the 123bhp 0-60 in 8.5 spec.
 
I know its not what you want to hear but if that was my money i would not be spending it on a MK4 astra, had several on hire and i simply didn't like them, old man like you said, not good to drive.

You can do far better.
 
Firestar_3x said:
I know its not what you want to hear but if that was my money i would not be spending it on a MK4 astra, had several on hire and i simply didn't like them, old man like you said, not good to drive.

You can do far better.
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comments welcome. Aslong as you can spec me a nice fast good looking car that i can insure with 0ncb @ 19 im open for suggestions

ive got max £4000 for car and insurance
 
Firestar_3x said:
What group insurance is that car?
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8 and the CDX is 9. I did the £1290 quote on the CDX

This looks ok. Wil have better suspension, better colour and 3drs

astrasportxp7.jpg


is slightly slower at 113bhp
 
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I had a 1.6 SXI as a company car for a year. Looked quite nice and not much slower than the 1.8

Had aircon and electrics and looked sporty compared to the CDX's etc.

Mine was on a 52 plate and sold for 4K so you should be able to get one a little older and insure it on your budget.
 
im still quite undecided. Does anyone know how vauxhall engines handle high mileage?

or got any other cars i could look into?

help apreciated
 
As long as they are serviced/maintained well there shouldnt be a problem. Obvisouly you can't win them all but lower millage doesnt mean less trouble. I had a low millage car that dropped a valve while waiting at some lights. Full service history etc and not thrashed!
 
MK4 astras are fine, handle far better than the equivalent Focus thanks to Lotus designed suspension but have a slightly drabber interior which some prefer.

Actually, to clarify, pre MY00 was Lotus designed and tweaked, Post MY00 was Vauxhalls own intrepetation of the Lotus Design (i.e. the chassis was redone in 2000).

100k miler Ecotecs on the other hand are reliable, but must be serviced properly. You will be needing a Cambelt change at 80k which is £220 just for parts and labour.
 
My fiance's got a 2000 Astra SXI 1.8 with almost 100,000 on the clock. Its a great little car that's pretty fast and has a smooth, reliable engine. With regular servicing, cam belt changes every 40k and never owned by an over-enthusiastic driver, then it should be good for ages.

Her 100k Astra has never needed anything done apart from tyres, a new exhaust at 80k and a couple of cambelts.

Economy is about 45mpg on motorway runs at 75-80. Higher if you drive sensibly!

SXI and SRI have much better handling than CD CDX etc. Don't bother with the soft Grandads versions.

£2300-£2500 will get you a good one.
 
Fensta said:
MK4 astras are fine, handle far better than the equivalent Focus thanks to Lotus designed suspension but have a slightly drabber interior which some prefer.
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Sorry but what?

I really don't agree at all!
 
Rain Man said:
im still quite undecided. Does anyone know how vauxhall engines handle high mileage?
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Not very well, although the problem you've got is that this is quite a difficult budget - it isnt enough for the best car of this type, the Focus, nor the second best, the MkIV Golf, so it leaves you stuck with Astras and stuff.

What about a Citroen Xsara?

Although do you really need something 'fast' as a first car?
 
i think its a very nice first car, not a as good as a focus but no where near as bad as people on here make out. A vast improvment over previous astras, believe it was best in class in the short period before the focus was relesed.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Wow, you fell for that one hook line and sinker eh :p
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You wouldnt know unless you've ever driven a pre '00 Astra. They handle remarkably well (in SRi guise), and offer everything you 'might' want from a car.
 
Fensta said:
Quite simply. Yes. They completely changed the chassis and floor pan.
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'Well lads, the Astra handles great, better than the Focus which everyone else says is the best handling car in its class by far. How can we increase sales?'

'Well Sir, why not capitalise on the fact we have the best handling car and totally **** it up?'

Personally I'll stick with the thought that you are rather too kind to the Astra, it's certainly not bad but it isnt a Focus and nothing in that class is - the Focus handles far better than it really ought to, and if they'd have spent less time on the handling and more time on the interior it'd have been a better car for it..
 
You got it. GM (or Vauxhall) owned Lotus upto 1999 (might have been 2000) before the sold them off to Proton. When GM no longer owned Lotus, Lotus kindly withdraw all plans and details relating to the MK4 Astra's chassis. Vauxhall had a crack and 'monged it up'. Not largely, but still noticeably.

I like the focus, my friend has just got hold of one. It was lamely slow (1.8) but a reasonably well built and handling hatch. Maybe i'm just bland ;)
 
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