Vectra VXR

MrLOL said:
If you want a turbocharged 4 door car. Look at a 8k-10k impreza.

You'd think the impreza would cost much more to run. But in my experience of owning the VXR, i think the costs would be about the same.
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Hey thanks for the reply. I dont really like the Impreza tbh.

I'll explain my situation to everyone and see what people think.

I live in a small town and stay very close to work so running costs arent a huge issue for me happily.

Im in the lucky position of owning my house with no mortgage on it but at the same time my job isnt hugely well paying albeit im comfortable. Im also single having recently come out of a relationship so family etc isnt a problem either.

Im about to take out a small mortgage to put in a new kitchen and clear another loan and effectively was thinking about buying a car with the change.

TBH the VXR is just a car i happen to like the look of and feel on a day to day basis i could run. How do the running costs compare to perhaps a more "daft" car? i.e i could afford to buy an M3 at a stretch but feel i would be out of my league running it, maybe thats just a perception on my part and im underestimating a VXRs running costs?
 
It is a bit harsh to judge the reliability of a car after you have modified it and upped the boost to increase the torque and power. If you leave the engine standard it will have no problems with it's spark plugs or clutch (unless you drive like an idiot)

A lot of remapped turbo cars will have problems with the stock clutch when you start upping the torque it is nothing new. It is pot luck with a Focus ST if it will slip once it is remapped and a similar issue with the KO4 2L TFSI.

VAG also do the same with spark plugs, the Bosch ones are better than the NGK ones on the VAG engines. If you start to run a stage 2 remap the factory plugs are not up to the job, you won't find anyone complaining about this as they accept they have taken the engine power past what they were designed for.
 
fact of the matter is that there are so many more better engineered cars out there for the money that can cope with the extra power.

How many other cars need a whole new water radiator to cope with the increased heat from 20bhp extra for example ?


placeholder said:
Hey thanks for the reply. I dont really like the Impreza tbh.

I'll explain my situation to everyone and see what people think.

I live in a small town and stay very close to work so running costs arent a huge issue for me happily.

Im in the lucky position of owning my house with no mortgage on it but at the same time my job isnt hugely well paying albeit im comfortable. Im also single having recently come out of a relationship so family etc isnt a problem either.

Im about to take out a small mortgage to put in a new kitchen and clear another loan and effectively was thinking about buying a car with the change.

TBH the VXR is just a car i happen to like the look of and feel on a day to day basis i could run. How do the running costs compare to perhaps a more "daft" car? i.e i could afford to buy an M3 at a stretch but feel i would be out of my league running it, maybe thats just a perception on my part and im underestimating a VXRs running costs?
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Heres some sample costs :

Minor Service From VXL : £150
Major Service From VXL : £250
Full Service From VXL ( once every 4 years or 40k miles: £350

Clutch (Genuine GM parts only) £200 (got it fitted for £550 by an indy)

Most VXRs have 19s, so 225,35,19 Tyres at about £170 each

Front Pads : £100 / pair front. £50 / pair back (EBC Yellow Stuff)
Front Discs : £300 / pair front. £200 / pair back. (Courtenay Sport 16G)

All of those are parts only. But you can fit them yourself easily enough.

So all in all reasonably affordable. But it chews through the front tyres at £360 a set with alarming regularity. Coupled with most being £460 a year road tax. And insurance at group 19, the regular expenses are going to be the killer.

I swapped for the S60, halfed my tyre bill (running 17s), halfed my tax bill, improved my fuel bill (Vectra VXR averages around 24mpg and needs SUL, and likes V power / Tesco 99) and stopped having to pay out for replacement stuff like the clutch. (new owner has since fitted another and its burned its way through that as well)

You could probably keep the costs down if you kept it standard, and maybe swapped for some aftermarket 18s, But when a car like the subaru is going to cost similar amounts to run, and can run 330bhp without issues and headaches, why bother ?
 
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MrLOL said:
fact of the matter is that there are so many more better engineered cars out there for the money that can cope with the extra power.

How many other cars need a whole new water radiator to cope with the increased heat from 20bhp extra for example ?





Heres some sample costs :

Minor Service From VXL : £150
Major Service From VXL : £250
Full Service From VXL ( once every 4 years or 40k miles: £350

Clutch (Genuine GM parts only) £200 (got it fitted for £550 by an indy)

Most VXRs have 19s, so 225,35,19 Tyres at about £170 each

Front Pads : £100 / paid Front. £50 / pair back (EBC Yellow Stuff)
Front Discs : £300 / pair front. £200 / pair back. (Courtenay Sport 16G)

All of those are parts only. But you can fit them yourself easily enough.
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Thanks again for your input. To me that doesnt seem outrageous (in context)

How did you find it as a car? I know that sounds ridiculous but for the same money what would you buy?

EDIT: ignore,

You added to your post!!!
 
yeah the post was a work in progress !

In all honesty, if you don't fancy the Subaru i'd be looking at the ST220 as the ST220 is the opposite of the subaru, nice and refined, comfortable and with enough power to make progress, but without being an extrovert.

If you don't need a hatchback, and don't need folding seats, look at the MPS too. Interior in the MPS is very nice, and has a great BOSE stereo and 4 Wheel drive.
 
MrLOL said:
You could probably keep the costs down if you kept it standard, and maybe swapped for some aftermarket 18s, But when a car like the subaru is going to cost similar amounts to run, and can run 330bhp without issues and headaches, why bother ?
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Well cos its not about the bhp really. I just dont want a subaru so the performance of a subaru isnt an issue for me.

As i say, i would love an M3 and i read the BMW threads on here regularly but i accept that its no do-able. Im just checking that the same running costs for a VXR (be it astra or vectra) are less. I could go out and buy many cars as a one-off purchase but i question my ability to keep them on the road! Im just trying to build up a picture of costs and be a bit sensible about it. Again thanks for your comments.
 
I do mis it though :p

robvxrdesktop.jpg
 
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