Mk4 Astra SXi info please!

Chris1712

Chris1712

Chris1712

Soldato
Joined
29 Jul 2004
Posts
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Bristol
On my outings today, had a look over some focus' (foci?, lol). Overall really didnt like the interior, the exterior, the driving position or the price premium.

So as i was pootling home slightly disgruntled i rolled into the vauxhall dealership down the road. Noticed at the back, a W plate 1.8 Sxi in blue, 3 door. Quite liked the look of it so got the guy out, had a seat and poke around inside, really quite liked it. The interior is by no means inspiring, but looked alright and was a little bit bigger than my 306.

One thing i did like about it was, it was mint. It had 30,000 miles on it, had been owned by an old geezer who just recently traded it in for the new astra, and it felt a very 'genuine' car. The chap i was talking to there, had originally sold it to the old geezer! Sceptical as i was though, its true, the receipt was in the service history and has this guys name on it. 100% dealer servicing aswell. Its up for £4300, which looks to me about right, considering its a vauxhall dealer and the mileage.


So, this is looking a real possibility for me, reading the parkers review overall its gets a decent score, and the 1.8i engine should just about be enough for me.


Now i just want to know, any owners on here? Is there a massive service waiting at 40k or something? Things to look for when i go for a proper poke around (and test drive) tomorrow?


I understand i can get a lot more for my money privately, but my mum is very worried about shifting my car, buying a car privately and what not. Which is fair enough its not something i've done, but i think this might actually be worth the dealer price. I'm sure i can get a good warranty out of him, and an average trade in on mine.


Any info guys?

Oh and last but not least, what oem bodykits were there for it :rolleyes:


TYVM!
 
Yeah yeah, 4k for a 6 year old car etc. etc.

But hey, it was as new. I dont mind paying that bit more for it, considering the 12mth guarantee/warranty aswell.

Its in line with the parkers guide price though.

tada8gu.jpg


And thats at 50k miles.

Not so interested in people persuading me to other cars at the moment. I've gone thorugh so many options now and this is coming up trumps right now. Mianly, my mum's happy with it :o .
 
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Just nipped over to get some pics. Sorry for the crappy pics, left the camera on manual mode so it was on a ridiculous ISO setting, completely forgot.


Needs a drop and better tyres, and probably the sri boot spoiler but other than that i like the looks of it.

Gonna go over in the morning, have a test drive and a better poke about, discuss warranty/getting a few scratches removed etc. and we'll see what happens!
 
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:eek: anyone know the default tyre size for this model?

I noticed the ones on there are 195/60/15, which sounds right, but i can't find eagle f1's in that size :mad:

It doesn't need new tyres, but i just think the f1's make such a huge difference to handling that i wont trust anything else now!
 
PMKeates said:
You'll need to drop the profile to 55% to get F1's I'm afraid. Drop it to 50% and the tyres will also be much cheaper, but have other effects.
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will this effect handling/speedo readings much?
 
[TW]Fox said:
You are going to spend £4.3k on a W reg one of those?

You are mad, sorry.

I know, I know, its all opinions etc etc but I will never understand personally why £4.3k on an Astra is a great idea when you can get so much more for so much less.

You'd have to PAY me to swap my Mondeo for that car and my car is worth 3 times less than it despite being pretty much the same age. I mean 3 times less! We are not talking a quick 'Well its a few quid more but I prefer it' - the price difference is immense..

Plus that looks about as Sporty as my gran playing football.

That is the sort of car I'd consider if I absolutely couldn't park and hated large cars and one went through auction for 1500 quid.

If you do buy it, you must:

a) Fit wheels that don't absolutely suck
b) Fit the Irmscher bodykit
c) Fit the spoiler
d) Get rid of the horrible seats

Then it'll be half decent - as it stands there, it's just a Vauxhall Astra*

* Cue 'Its just a Ford Mondeo' comments. And I agree, I'd post largely the same thing to anyone considering £4300 on a 1.8 W reg Mondeo as well.
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Unfortunately, i totally agree. BUT, i cannot get anything else. My mum insists on getting a car from a private dealer/franchised dealer. She also thinks the mondeo is to big. Thing is, i know its not worth that money, well it is compared to astras, but in the grand scheme of things its not. Believe me i would much rather spend the money on anything else, but my mum likes the astra. Unfortunately, as some of the funding is coming from her, its kinda important that she likes it. She says she wont be 'happy' with me in a lot of cars, she doesnt seem to realise that a 2 grand mondeo would also be a w plate, and be just as reliable if not more.

It totally sucks, but i wanna get rid of the dturbo and i dont have much choice right now.

Find me a W plate ghia x with 30k on the clock with one careful old man owner for 4k and ill snap it up :p

I understand the mileage doesnt make a huge difference in modern cars, but its nice to have eh.
 
spaz said:
You'd have loved the guy in the petrol station the other day fox, was bragging how he just spent £7k on a 51 plate 1.6 astra.

£4300 on a car like that seems stupid, although still not THE best for the money you could get something like a fiesta zetec-s, will be quicker, have the same amount of toys (albeit not many) already look sporty and handle much better etcetera
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Fezzers to small.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Given your rather unusual circumstances Chris I'm going to do something very rare and change my opinion - if it's not costing you personally £4300, then I guess it's as good as you'll get given the somewhat bizarre constaints put upon your car purchase by your Mum :(

But make sure you do the mods I listed :)

I'd have it over a Zetec-S, by the way. Well a Fiesta Zetec-S ;)
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2k of the money's mine.
 
[TW]Fox said:
snip

2000 X Reg FORD MONDEO 2.0 Zetec S 5dr
5 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 60,000 miles, Metallic Blue. ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Air conditioning, Alloy wheels, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Foglights, Electrically adjustable seats, Lumbar support, Immobiliser, Power assisted steering, Remote locking, Radio/CD, Traction control

£2995

I win!
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Zetec-S ftl.

I need a good condition 99-01 ghia x, with black leather and RSAP.

Just give me yours i reckon.
 
[TW]Fox said:
It's equal in specification to that Astra :p



They are so very rare though - there are 4 on Autotrader at the moment, a T reg 2.5 V6 Automatic for £1200, an R reg Automatic for £2495 (low mileage price premiums suck), a suprisingly not ridiculously expensive low mileage W reg Ghia X RSAP at a Ford main dealer for £3495 - but it's a V6 auto again, and a staggeringly overpriced 2001 Y reg for... £4995.
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Id take the zete-s over the astra anyday. Unfortunately, my mum won't even consider it. I am very much in the same belief that value for money is where its at, and mondeo's probably rule that roost at the moment.

But, ultimately, with this astra. Its ok spec, its not quite dog slow, but still no improvement over my dturbo (9.98 seconds!! :p ). The interiors not falling apart, but more than anything, it should be reliable for a couple of years yet. My mums had a vectra for 4 years, and its been trouble free. Sure enough you have no definites buying 2nd hand, but at least i have a 12month warranty from the dealer aswell.

Agh, its such an annoying predicament, but my mum can't seem to see past "dealer>*"
 
Demon said:
for astra info, pop over to www.astrasport.co.uk

It would be far more cost effective to buy one with the bodykit already on.. LMF vauxhall are a good cheap online source for genuine parts, www.lmfvauxhall.co.uk

I know what you mean about the focus interior.. love the car apart from that, luckily the new focus has the interior to match now..
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Insurance on an SRi would be a bit to steep for me, 18 0ncb!

Not seen an sxi with irmscher bits already on yet.

Just seen this on autotrader. Might try and find it tomorrow. Obviously the saving on the car will pay for insurance.

Still poses the problem of getting rid of a rickety dturbo though,
 
Just got back from the dealership. Really can't decide. I understand that its a mint condition example, and the 12 month warranty is great. But, its just so boring. It would take me quite a while to get it where i like it, irmscher bits and whatnot. But also, its a brilliant base to start getting bits on it, i know the history of it, i know its only had 1 previous owner and its in great nick, drove like new.

Pros:
It works
Petrol quietness
Better than a crummy focus.
12month warranty.

Cons:
Not as nice outside as my 306
not as nice inside as my 306
lower mpg than my 306
Its not an SRi

306 needs replacing, its about to fall apart. Its a 1996 N with 141k on it, he offered my 600 p/x which was actually pretty reasonable. But he wouldn't budge on 6 months tax and the overall price. Bit of a bummer.

I need to find something about it to make me excited and to want to drive back down there and clinch the deal.

agh
 
[TW]Fox said:
It's not 'better than a crummy Focus' - it is a poorer car than a Focus in every respect bar asthetics. The only thing it does better than the Focus is, in your opinion, look better. It's not as reliable, it doesnt handle as well, it isn't as well built, it just plain is not as good as the Focus.

If you hate the way the Focus looks then fine - I also dont like the Focus interior (but lets face it the Astra isnt much better inside is it? At least the Focus just looks odd rather than feels cheap) but it doesnt make the Focus crummy, looks aside its far and away a better car.
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idk, i drove the focus aswell and the steering didnt feel as positive or sure footed as the astra. The interior felt about the same build quality as the focus, but didnt look like sick.
 
Yup i've decided to go for it :D

I think the 12month warranty and brilliant history is worth it, and looking around i can get irmscher kit for 500 ish plus fitting, so that within reach no problem. I will touch up the interior console with the irmscher surround also.

I think ultimately, it will last me a long time, i wont lose much on selling it on if i decide to get rid of relatively soon, but its a car i can own into my 20's and be happy with.

Anybody got any information on an ECU remap for these suckers, as that an eagle f1's will be first on the list!
 
Yup, picking it up saturday. Shame cos im at work all day but oh well, and sunday, and monday, and tuesday, and wednesday, and so on........gay.

Overall, i decided that it was worth going for. A years warranty and peace of mind is very nice to have after spending best part of 1500 on my 306 this year. I also realised, that a 3 door SXi with the irmscher goodies actually look pretty ace.....

yeah7tc.jpg


Ofcourse all IMO, but hopefully within 3 months or so i can get the irmscher front spoiler/boot spoiler/skirts on, and maybe the back box if i can scrounge behind the sofa.

I also thought, that if in a years time i wanna get rid, i wont lose THAT much on it. Looking on autotrader, there arent so many sub 60k sxi's about, especially with the history this has got and hopefully the irmscher goodies by then to.

I know its not gonna get a good reception on here. But its a car i feel i can happily own into my early 20's, keep myself happy by tweaking the styling a bit Plus it will hopefully be a darn site more reliable than my 306!
Was quite nice to hear it was 80 quid less fully comp than my 306 aswell, considering its a group 9 car.

Anyone got info on getting the screen/wheel controls to work with a pioneer hu......
 
Yeah looking at that, looks like GSi front and SRi rear? If i can get hold of a GSi front when the time comes, i will consider it. I think irmscher front/skirts, SRi rear/spolier is where i'll be heading.

Will need the irmscher twin oval pipe aswell, yawn all adding up a bit! Gonna have to save for bare time, again.
 
Oracle said:
And you'd be horriby wrong!

Its the SRi Turbo front (made by Prodrive) and SRi turbo rear. Dont confuse SRi with SRi Turbo, trust me, the SRi rear bumper never looked that good!!
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Dang i got pwnt.

Oh well, found i can get irmscher full kit for £555 inc spraying. Pretty tasty. afaik its just a masking tape/bonding glue few screws job to fit the lip spoilers, and poop off stupid plastic clip type things for the skirts.

We shall see, ill be far to poor to consider it anytime soon, but hopefully in about 3 months time.
 
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