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05/54 Vauxhall Astra 2.0 Turbo 5dr NOW £500.00


dougiefourspeed

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Alright gang. If you've read my other thread on here you'll know all about this but I've just got around to writing a proper advert for it so here we are. This is going to be a LONG READ, so make yourself a brew, or get someone to do it for you if you're one of life's success stories.

 

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: This is my 2005 Vauxhall Astra SRi Turbo 200 + Exterior Pack (catchy name, innit), I've owned the car since last September/October and in that time I've covered approximately 6000 miles in it. It has the 2.0 litre Z20LER petrol engine, which I believe is a sort of cross-over between the Z20LET motor used in the old Astra GSi and the full mentalist-spec engine from the later Astra VXR. When they brought out the VXR this Turbo 200 model was killed off so it carries the distinctions of being both quite rare and the most powerful five-door Astra to date. 

 

What's good?

 

  • Starts, stops, goes left and right and also backwards should sir require. Mileage is about to click over to 119k.
  • MOT until March 2019. Only advisories this year were rear tyres getting low and front exhaust minor leak of gases.
  • I serviced it just before the MOT. Filters, plugs, correct grade oil. Approx 1500 miles ago. I also replaced a leaking rocker cover gasket which is a common Z20 foible. Oil level hasn't moved a nanometer since. 
  • Cambelt and water pump done by Vauxhall Eastbourne at 91k in 2015. Invoice to confirm.  
  • The PO also said the clutch had been changed around the same time. Although no paperwork to confirm that. 
  • The six-speed 'M32' type gearbox is in fine fettle. These can give trouble on Astra and Vectra of this era but this one seems very happy. No baulking, crunching or whining in any gear. 
  • No signs of any rust that I can see either above decks or below. 
  • Turbocharger seems very healthy. Boosts when it should, doesn't do anything it shouldn't. 
  • Has a cat-back stainless steel exhaust system fitted from legendary chavvy pipe-bending outfit POWERFLOW. This is a good thing because the OE exhaust system is specific to the 200hp model and is either NLA or eye-poppingly expensive from Vauxhall (can't recall which). Anyway, its not noisy or annoying, and gives a nice bassy tone and a satisfying WHOOMPH! on gearchanges. 
  • Goes like fuck. I don't know if its been chipped or hacked or interfered with by a laptop-wielding ECU whisperer, but its an overtaking weapon. I had a Vectra GSi a while back and this feels like it would kick the shit out of that.  
  • Has oodles of history, invoices from Vauxhall and such like to show it has been looked after well through its life. Original manuals, 2 keys etc. 
  • Taxed to get you home, obvs. 

What's not so good?

  • The main issue with the car is that it is running hot. The previous owner helpfully fitted an aftermarket temperature gauge as Vauxhall didn't bother. When I first got the car it would run at around 85-95 degrees when cruising, and 100-110 when under heavy load or in traffic. One day I was blezzing along on my way to work when I got a LOW COOLANT warning flash up on the dash. I was only about 1000 yards from the office and it wasn't overheating so I free-wheeled it into the yard and after a bit of investigation found a split top hose. I was about to go away for work so I parked it up for a week or so whilst the top hose was on order. I got a new hose from Vauxhall and boshed it on about a week later but when I started the car up, it was chucking a bit of white/grey smokiness out from the exhaust. Not plumes, but it was defo there. By this time I had needed to swap the insurance from the Astra to another car to commute in, so I couldn't test drive it further than up and down the car park it was being kept in which was never going to get any proper heat into the engine, but even if I ran it for twenty minutes, it was still a bit smokey. 

    I didn't want to keep swapping cars on my insurance because Lloyds charge £25 a pop (WANKERZ). So I dropped the exhaust at the centre section in the hope that any liquids contained within would drain out, I left it alone for a week and then slapped a day-insure on it, put the exhaust on and went for a spin. And lo, not a wisp of smoke to be seen! Temp was holding steady and no LOW COOLANT warnings. So I then put it back into service as my daily runner. However, all is not as well as I thought, a couple of days later I pulled out to overtake some slower traffic and noticed the temp gauge creeping steadily up. Since that day, it has been running alright but it now seems to run at anything between 90 and 105 degrees on the open road and will creep up in traffic or under load. The highest I have seen it go is 120 degrees in traffic, but I have been consciously avoiding traffic hotspots. It doesn't seem to actually overheat, the temp light doesn't come on and the fan cuts in at around 120 degrees and will slowly bring the temp down in traffic. But I'm sure it isn't right, it wasn't like this before the top hose malarky. 

    So whats wrong with it? The short answer is I do not know. If I'm being totally honest, I think it could potentially be the head gasket starting to let go. But that isn't a given. I haven't had it tested professionally. The oil is clean, the coolant looks a little murky but that just be where I stirred up a bit of crud from the system when I did the standard-procedure "bleed it with a hosepipe" when I did the top hose. The coolant level seems to be holding steady and it hasn't at any point so far overheated or been hot enough to trip the temp warning light. If the PO hadn't fitted the temp gauge, I probably would never have even known about it. That being said, it might not be the head gasket, the oil is nice and clean and the white smoke has not made a reappearance in the 500ish miles I've done since I saw it last. There's an invoice in the file from Vauxhall saying that they have flushed out the rad on this car before as it was blocked. They don't say what it was blocked with mind, but it could be something to do with that. 

Fuck me this is dull to read! Anything else?

 

  • Yeah actually, there's a miss around 2500 RPM which is most likely the coil pack. Vauxhalls of this era seem to suffer badly with them failing. 
  • There's a bit of a rattle from the N/S/F. They didn't pick anything up on the MOT but I reckon (based on absolutely NO in depth checking whatsoever) that it is most likely a drop link. It sounds like a drop link.
  • One of the door trim panels is inexplicably blue. 
  • The fuel range computer thing is a fucking liar. Apparently all early models of Astra 'H' are like this, ignore it. 

Surely you could get £1500 for this if you fixed it?

 

Yes, I probably could. But I don't currently have the space, the tools or the time to get stuck into this right now. My life is currently an infinite loop of work trips and sorting out my house/garden. I paid £1350 for it, but I'm willing to take the hit and move on with my life. It's a nice car and has real potential but it ideally needs someone with more 'hands-on' experience with spanner twirling than me to get it back to its best. 

 

Can I drive it away?

 

You can. But if you live like 200 miles away I'd recommend you drive it in the evening when its cooler, take it easy and have some breakdown cover. It hasn't boiled up on me, but my commute is 20 miles each way and I've been driving it very gently. I don't know what it would do in a twelve mile tailback on the M6. If you're in the Orkneys or something, I'd say you'll want to shiply it etc. 

 

WHATS UR BEST PRICE M9 TAKE IT 2NITE?

 

It's £695. Which would make it by far and away the cheapest SRi 200 for sale in the UK. It may well be the only one for sale in the UK actually. Included in that price will be a decent Bosch second-hand alternator I found in my stash which is correct for this car. If a shiter buys it I will also include a new head set to help you along as I think it is likely to need one sooner or later. 

 

The car is located in Hastings, East Sussex. If there is anything I've missed let me know. I will roffle if enough interest but someone will have to talk me through it as I've not done one before!

 

It will be available from next Friday. By which time I should have my E36 on the road. 

 

Thank you for reading my drivel. Photos to follow in a minute. 

 

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If whatever original temperature reading device is not flagging up any problems, why not remove the aftermarket gauge and sell it via Gumtree/Ebay as a perfectly good runner?

 

Good question. Simply put, I'd rather not have to deal with the great unwashed on eBay and Bumtree who almost exclusively expect a showroom-fresh car with main dealer warranty and finance facilities on a thirteen year old Astra. I could do that and sell it for £1500 or whatever, but if it blows up two days later I don't have time to deal with the aggro of "U SOLD ME A DEATHTRAP...I WANT MY MONEY BACK...SMOLL CLAIMS COURT M9".

 

I'd rather be totally honest about its issues and offer it up on here to people who know the score and will most likely be able to resolve the problem more easily than me. Yes I will lose cash, but I've bought and sold enough old motors over the years to know its the game we play. I bought it, it went wrong and I can either fix it or sell it. Either way it'll cost me. I've come to terms with that and I am at peace.

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You'll get some right dickheads round if you put it on Bumtree. Basically just wanting to rag it round.

 

Aye, I try and avoid it when possible. I once took an old A3 in p/x and put on on Gumtree for £250. It had six months ticket and an engine light on or something. Two blokes came down to look at it and after taking an hour to inspect every single nook and cranny of this 20 year old hatchback they offered me £80!

 

They got a bit shirty when I told them to fuck off and stop wasting my time in those exact words. 

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My exact experience. All you have to do in my eyes is turn up, be pleasant, don't be a know it all wheeler dealer type and make a reasonable offer. I can't see why its such a struggle for a worryingly high proportion of the population.

 

Absolutely. Speaking of which, I'm open to sensible offers on this. Up to and including a straight swap for a Citroen AX GT, a Rolls Royce Silver Seraph, the Pontiac from Knight Rider or a date with Natalie Dormer. 

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This thing popped another rad hose this morning. Luckily I was very close to work so no real damage done. Obviously pressure is building up in the system somewhere and it’s finding the weakest point to escape from.

I’m going to swap the insurance to my BMW tonight because I want to drive that.

I’m sick of this car now and I just want it out of my life so the first person to hand over £595 can have it.

Hasn’t overheated, starts drives but would recommend trailering it or at least having decent breakdown assist. I will buy and fit a replacement hose before it goes.

Please will someone just take this thing out of my life!

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is still floating about in my works yard. I'm waiting for the replacement radiator hose to arrive (hopefully today) and once I've fitted it I'm just gonna wack it on the bay £0.99 start with a £500 reserve. So if anyone wants it for a monkey gizza shout. 

 

I believe the head gasket is starting to fail but not enough to let water into the exhaust system or oil, which in turn is pressurising the system, the coolant then forces its way out of the weakest point in the system. 

 

Runs and drives, but I wouldn't want to take it too far. If you had the time and kit to change the HG then you could probably punt it on for £1250ish so there's money in there for the right man. I am not the right man.

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