Omegas etc- a miserable story that ends miserably

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I've come across this:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... 9387063209

 

Seems like a decent deal for something that allegedly only needs a bit of an EKZOHST and hammering out a dent, but it's only a 2 litre engine and the kerb weight is shown as 1738kg. It's showing as 100 miles from here which'll probably be more like 150 (I think it's 'as the crow flies')...shall I go and have a look, or is it guaranteed to be time for prayers whenever you try to overtake a reduced-mobility snail?

[Cavcraft]

{Predictable response}

 

From experience you'll be surprised how well they move. The 2.0 Ecotech is actually better than a lot of people paint them, even in a barge like this. The one I got (£220 with loads of MOT and a fair bit of rent) had about 140k on the clock iirc and pulled very nicely. It won't win many races against 'fancier' cars but will certainly shift you about and they're actually a nice car to drive. No, it's NOT a Jag or BMW but the big thing about Omegas to me is that plenty of people will tell you they're shit so you expect some comically bad heap of junk that will do your head in but turn out to be a pretty good car.

 

They're not incredibly popular second hand and can be hard to shift but the LPG would certainly help the one you've mentioned. Check the headgasket, expansion tank, oil and water before you go for a test drive and then again when you've ragged it for a while. Check door bottoms, wheelarches (there's a surprise for a Vauxhall(!) and wings and boot for rust and make sure all the interior switches/the heater etc are ok.

I bet the conversion was a good grand or so for the LPG and if you can save a few quid on pezz then it has to be a winner?

[oman5]

I agree with all the above- nowhere near as bad as, say, a 2.0 Granada mk3, I found them very underpowered- but the one thing I would add is, as this Omega is an automatic, they fitted a fancy autobox with different modes on it (economy,winter etc) just make sure this is all working fine as repair/replacement can be very expensive.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Cheers for that, Cavette! Most helpful. Unfortunately, tax is out and I don't think I can give it a proper test drive, and the seller sounded a bit dodgy, too, but it's in Milton Keynes so it's a straight line up and down the M1. Will go and have a look tomorrow.

 

The 'box was changed recently- which is somewhat worrying for a car with only 115k on the clock, but the ad says "it drives super with the new box".

[Pete-M]

I quite like Omegas. The tool-eater ain't quick, but they're not hopeless.

 

Comfy old barges with vague, woolly steering.

[mk1_4dr]

Good barges those Omegas, Ive always fancied one myself. Big, comfy, quiet, well equipped and they can get out of their own way if needs must.

 

Steering boxes rather than racks so can feel alittle old-skool but rust will be the killer, as I understand it its the suspension pickups on the bootfloor that can rot so lift the boot carpet for a proper look.

And as Billy says, the ecotec's have a (somewhat unwarrented) headgasket shitting reputation, but I know a few that have done galactic miles with little other than decent servicing.

 

It should be a nice motor.

 

I'd have a early manual V6 in purple with dark cloth.

[Albert Ross]

Watch out for uneven front tyre wear on the inner edges, suspension bush faults, uneven tyre wear, broken rear springs, uneven tyre wear, cracked exhaust manifols, tuneven yre wear, cam cover oil leaks into the plug chambers, fouling the plugs and giving rise to misfires, uneven tyre wear, yellowing headlamps failing MOT due to no beam pattern, uneven tyre wear, steering idler play, uneven tyre wear, track rod end play (meaning you have to buy the whole bastard assembly) uneven tyre wear, the exhaust rear silencers tend to rot out at the centre joint sleeve, meaning you have to replace the centres, and the bolts holding the centres to the cats snap..... meaning you have to drill and tap those..., uneven tyre wear, dashboard LCD display faults, uneven tyre wear, odd warning lamp issues relating to phantom low coolant/screenwash etc, poor camber adjustment on the front leading to uneven tyre wear, diff oil leaks. Oh, and did I mention the uneven tyre wear ?

They's not exactly a pleasant car to drive either. Clunky clutch/gear selection, vague on cornering, styled like a worn bar of soap, with no discernible corners, lunike a 740.... doesn't help for tight parking spots. They fishtail off in the mirrors, making placing it accurately a chore.

Ah yes, nearly forgot, uneven front tyre wear.

[revolting peasant]

[CortinaDave]

I think these are alright! Mate of mine had a T reg one for roughly four years that he paid £1200 for and did a shedload of miles in. It never let him down but failed the MOT this year on a shedload on mostly small bits, but as the autobox had started to play up too he decided to call it quits. It was a 2.5 Elite and a bloody nice thing to plod around in.

 

He replaced it with an S80 T6 only a fortnight ago - drove the omega down 400 miles to pick it up on the last day of its MOT and weighed it in when he got there. Got £250 odd from the bridge too, mustnt grumble.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Clunky clutch/gear selection

 

I knew GM couldn't build a good auto...........

 

 

There's nothing wrong with these. They are a pleasant cheap banger which should prove sturdy and cheap to run. A 2000 shouldn't be rotten and the facelift ones seem better built and marginally less council than the original. Weird heater/climate control panel, and that Ecotech needs a cambelt/water pump/tensioner change nice and regular - although they're really easy on these with loads of room.

 

I'm not 100% sure on what autobox these have - obviously a GM unit, but if it was the 4 speed twin sump version they could cross leak from one section into another, and the output flange nut can work loose which causes a bit of damage.

 

Buy it for a bag, do a few maintenance jobs and then run it until it goes majorly wrong. The LPG kit is worth a few quid on the Bay, and the car's worth a couple on the scales. If it lasts 6 months or 3 years, you can't really go far wrong.

[Cavcraft]

/\

 

This. Also (despite very short ownership time) the 3.0 Elite model I was running quite recently had no autobox problems at all. I should have kept it really, it was just the running costs that did for me. Bloody amazing car to drive, stupidly quick yet would just waffle along happily at slow speeds and the interior was superb with heated electric leather etc.

 

*I hadn't spotted the bit about the exhaust on that LPG one when I first read the thread. Price up the bits and the full system before you commit, seem to recall they can be silly money for these.

[r.welfare]

The 3-litre is a real goer and mine had a manual box, which made it quite economical really - I used to get about 31-33mpg.

 

The V6s do have issues with mixing water and oil, but this seems to be down to failure of the oil cooler rather than the headgasket. A bit fiddly but it's apparently relatively straightforward and these cars have one of the best online owners club forums I've come across.

 

The 2-litre with a slushbox isn't going to be rapid but should be OK. Regular cambelts and waterpumps are key but access is GR8, even on the V6. Also regular oil changes with GM 10W40 semi-synth and cleaning out of the breathers should stop the dreaded rocker cover leaks, again a fairly common issue but not a biggie - just a pain in terms of (small) oil loss which drips onto the exhaust causing smoke and smells.

 

I'm not a big fan of the facelift model's Fisher Price dashboard (but the original's wasn't exactly a paragon of high quality) but they do seem to be a little more resistant to rust. That said, nothing on an Omega seems to get dangerously flaky, just unsightly.

[Pete-M]

I'd quite like a 3.2 Estate with posh trim, but only because the 24v Scorpios can be a bit too temperamental.

 

As for the autos, if they're anything like the one in the 3.0 Carlton then mine was ok, but I've seen a shedload of dead Senator autos over the years.

 

The manual boxes are another thing I don't like about Vauxhalls.... although I think they tend to use Getrag manual boxes... the one in the 24v Carltons (mine was auto because the manual box is so shit) is a clunky old device that feels like it should be operating Victorian heavy engineering - yet they tend to whine like a stuck pig.

[Timewaster]

Watch out for yellowing headlamps failing MOT due to no beam pattern

 

And the headlamps cost a HUGE amount of money!

When I used to sell Valeo stuff a few yers ago, the list price was £365 each.

A quick ebay trawl shows they are still around the £80 touch new.

[CIH]

We see alot of these for wheel gometry as the boss has enjoyed a long relationship with the owners club. In addition to Albert's info they also go through rear springs, rear subframe bushes and the front pitman arm can have play. The front bush that usually fails is the leading edge of the front wishbone. Front and rear tie-rods are usually seized (rear especially) otherwise they're a piece of pisch to set 'em up not to ruin tyres. Getting the steering whee to sit straight is a PITA tho.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Are Omegas that heavy? I imagine a 2.0 one is quite acceptable. I had a SAAB 9000 2.0 atmo for a while, now in mother Hatred's hands, and that was quite acceptable. But I find atmo diesels quite acceptable so probably not the best person to ask.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Are Omegas that heavy? I imagine a 2.0 one is quite acceptable. I had a SAAB 9000 2.0 atmo for a while, now in mother Hatred's hands, and that was quite acceptable. But I find atmo diesels quite acceptable so probably not the best person to ask.

 

Autotrader stats seem to think it's that heavy...To be honest, I don't need it to be really fast- it's just I got scared by the combination of ultra-heavy body and smallish engine.

[Albert Ross]

I suppose I should point out that I work at a main dealer for Vauxhall, and I see more than my fair share of mouth breathing-shellsuit wearing-council estate dwelling-stupid child breeding-snot gobbling fucktards who "drive" Omegas/Fronteras/Vectra Bs, than most people, they are, to a one, hopelessly blinkered about them, and keep pouring money into these revolting cars. There are better cars out there. Much better cars.

Of course, there are people with a different outlook to mine. But I see the worst of it.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I was thinking you'd been half-joking in your previous post!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I suppose I should point out that I work at a main dealer for Vauxhall, and I see more than my fair share of mouth breathing-shellsuit wearing-council estate dwelling-stupid child breeding-snot gobbling fucktards who "drive" Omegas/Fronteras/Vectra Bs, than most people, they are, to a one, hopelessly blinkered about them, and keep pouring money into these revolting cars. There are better cars out there. Much better cars.

Of course, there are people with a different outlook to mine. But I see the worst of it.

 

Indeed, and you only see the ones that have problems, and not the 8 billion that are perfectly okay. Just because something might go wrong doesn't mean it actually will. I'm no lover of Vauxhalls, but we're talking about a £1000 car. That's 4% of what a new 2 litre auto 4 door saloon costs new so you can't really get too fussy. I know Guys who pay a grand for a set of tyres.

[fiatdaft]

Mouth breathing shell suit wearers that take their omega's to the main dealer and pouring money into them?

 

btw omega 2.0's are just over 1500 kg.

[Cavcraft]

Albert would always give the best advice on stuff like this because he's seen them day in, day out. No matter what make of car a mechanic at a dealer is really the one who's going to see common problems etc.

I'd just add (as has been said on here many time before and the Rev has implied) that all cars will have problems of some sort and if we listened to all the horror stories we'd probably all be getting the bus to work.

 

Every used car is a gamble irrespective of make or model especially when knocking on a bit.

[Albert Ross]

Mouth breathing shell suit wearers that take their omega's to the main dealer and pouring money into them?

 

Because the trims parts that fall off, the door latches, alarm fobs/ECUs, model specific electrical units, etc are only available used or from the dealers. I would avoid them..... But like I say, I see the worst of it. I wouldn't buy a similar aged Mundano either.

 

Just with you mentioning the exhaust, I would RUN away! £££££ are chasing you.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I wouldn't buy a similar aged Mundano either.

 

 

Well, what would you buy?

 

The simple cars with almost zero electronics are now just too old to use everyday and do loads of all seasons motoring in. Omegas came out 17 years ago - they are now an old, old car. My stance is this - buy a tidy example of what you want, do all the little 'just in case' maintenance jobs, add a tax disc and just get on with it. If it breaks down - call the AA and a bloke with a truck will come out and scrape it up for you. When the thing is riddled with faults and won't pass wind/MOT, weigh the bugger in.

 

 

If you want trouble free peace of mind motoring with all bases covered, a £7995 Kia is for you.

[oman5]

...or a volvo 740

[freebird]

Blimey, I assumed the subject material was £2,500 worth of car....

Its a clunker, 11 years old, gone round the clock, not even a months worth of tax and not a years ticket on it and they want a grand for it.

The engine size is, surely, immaterial, I suppose it will have the Ecotec 134 ( ish) BHP lump under the bonnet that used to propel my old Cavalier to speeds that would put me inside aswell as lose my licence. It aint goint to be a road burner but it will still do the job and not be too rubbish on fuel.

Why not just go in with a silly billy offer of, say £650? They can only tell you to piss off, which is fine, loads of cars for sale and not loads of buyers, win, win for you.

..and to put my view of over pricing into perspective, i parked up next to a tip top 99/2000 Laguna yesterday, same amount of MOT and a bit of tax for £350...

Makes no sense to me really, buy dirt cheap and get a year, maybe more out of it or buy further up the food chain and expect a FSH, lots of care and attention and longevity. sodding around at the £1000 mark seems too much of a gamble to me, just my opinion .

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I wouldn't buy a similar aged Mundano either.

 

 

Well, what would you buy?

 

The simple cars with almost zero electronics are now just too old to use everyday and do loads of all seasons motoring in. Omegas came out 17 years ago - they are now an old, old car. My stance is this - buy a tidy example of what you want, do all the little 'just in case' maintenance jobs, add a tax disc and just get on with it. If it breaks down - call the AA and a bloke with a truck will come out and scrape it up for you. When the thing is riddled with faults and won't pass wind/MOT, weigh the bugger in.

 

 

If you want trouble free peace of mind motoring with all bases covered, a £7995 Kia is for you.

 

Old Rev Bluebeard is never gonna get a job in the diplomatic corps, but generally I find myself agreeing with what he says. Including this!

[Albert Ross]

I wouldn't buy a similar aged Mundano either.

 

 

Well, what would you buy?

 

The simple cars with almost zero electronics are now just too old to use everyday and do loads of all seasons motoring in. Omegas came out 17 years ago - they are now an old, old car. My stance is this - buy a tidy example of what you want, do all the little 'just in case' maintenance jobs, add a tax disc and just get on with it. If it breaks down - call the AA and a bloke with a truck will come out and scrape it up for you. When the thing is riddled with faults and won't pass wind/MOT, weigh the bugger in.

 

 

If you want trouble free peace of mind motoring with all bases covered, a £7995 Kia is for you.

 

Whereas I totally disagree. I drive a 40 year old Land Rover every day, and use it for everything. Yeah, it has it's occasional faults, but £23 for a full set of brake shoes, front and rear? Gearbox gasket set £2.20. Full engine gasket set £12. Wiper blades £2 each. Complete set of front and rear lamps (headlamp sealed beams, 4 indicators, 2 sidelamps, and a pair of the interim stop/tail lamps with built in reflectors and numberplate lamp aperture, all with wiring and bulb holders) for £40-45. Tyres can be pricey, but no more than a similar tyre would cost for an Omega. Wheel bearings about a tenner, prop UJ's about £4 each. That kind of thing.

NO ECUs, no alarm to go tits up at 3am on a Tuesday just because, and it doesn't stop dead because 1 sensor tells an ECU to turn the engine off because it cannot compute. Even when the layshaft snapped in traffic before Christmas, I found that 4th gear was selectable, due to the direct drive, put it into low box, and used overdrive to go faster.... I got home. No need for a Big Yellow Taxi. I replaced the gearbox without special tools or lifting equipment in 4 hours on the 19th of December in all that frost (It's a hybrid Series 2/3 gearbox. I had to replace the bellhousing for the older one to keep the clutch release..... try that on a modern). Seems to me that an old car CAN be used every day. It's all down to choosing one that's cheap to keep on the road in good fettle. Why buy an under maintained, poor quality car, with poor residual values, when you can find something a little better for less money. I have a 21 year old Sierra Sapphire that I would use, if I could be arsed to get it roadworthy. It needs a little welding, 4 undented/unrotten doors (which I have in the correct colour) and a damn good clean up. The Scorpio 24V Ultima is a financial time-bomb, and I won't be putting it on the road any time soon. I only keep it because I am trying to find out if it's a Press car.... (N 490 EOO Any idea Stixy?) therefore making it unsuitable for breaking up!

Currently the engine block on the Land Rover is cracked by the starter motor, and losing coolant. But I keep it topped up. Try THAT on a 15 year old car. I would avoid anything made by Vauxhall since 1995. The best car they made recently would be the Mk3 Astra "F" with the Isuzu diesel in it. But buy the early twin V belter model, with the slatted grille and square mirrors, it has a mechanical fuel pump and no AFM. Oh, unless you count the current Agila... (Suzuki Splash) It's actually pretty good.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Makes no sense to me really, buy dirt cheap and get a year, maybe more out of it or buy further up the food chain and expect a FSH, lots of care and attention and longevity. sodding around at the £1000 mark seems too much of a gamble to me, just my opinion .

 

It starts making sense when you factor the LPG in, because the stakes are higher than with a normal car- for every mile you do, you save almost 10p compared to a comparable petrol car (therefore owning it for 10k gives you back the grand you spent on it), plus you can then transfer the kit to another car, or sell it off on ebay.

[fiatdaft]

People want different things from their chosen set of wheels,i for one can't be arsed with something that needed rebuilt every other time it was used.