Leaderboard

Hi everyone. My name is Richard and I’m based in Bristol. I used to work for Welch’s, the main Vauxhall dealer many years ago in the early 80s as a salesman and developed a passion for 80’s Vauxhall’s which has never left me. I now am fortunate enough to own a Low mileage gorgeous Mk 1 Astra GTE 3 door in polar white, unmolested and completely original, a Mk2 Astra GTE 16v, same colour, very low mileage, again completely original and pretty much concourse throughout plus have just completed a full nut and bolt restoration to a 1985 Nova Sport with a mere 47,000 miles. This car is near enough identical to when it was delivered to the dealer new, other than it has the X 17 uprated camshaft which was manufactured in Sweden specifically for Irmscher and an option at the time. They are all driven and not just showpieces.

Hi everyone, Firstly, thank you for accepting my request to join. A little about me, I’m Craig from Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. My father worked in the local Vauxhall dealer on the island (McKirdy & McMillan) and I spent most of my younger years (1990 - 1998) growing up in amongst Cavaliers, Astras, Novas, Corsas and Carltons. The owner, Jim McMillan and I had a sort of bond and I had the utmost respect for the man and we became good friends despite the massive age gap. He had a white Senator CD annd it was sheer luxury. I still remember the reg no. It was G475 VGD. I loved that car. Unfortunately he took ill and the garage closed down in 1998 and he passed away in 1999 when I was 15. My apprenticeship was served in the local Ford dealer (W. & J. Duncan) then I worked in the Local Renault Dealer (Rothesay Motor Services) before going to work for my Father-in-Law full time driving his cattle float. I’ve owned a few Vauxhalls over the years, a Nova SR, Cavalier CD and two Cavalier LS and after not having owned one for around 20 years I’m starting to look for another Cavalier, Calibra, Vectra or Astra Will see what’s available when I’m actually ready to buy . Looking forward to having a good look around the forum and I’ll probably be looking for some help and advice in the near future.

Hi. Here is a photo of our Astra at the dealership back in December 2025 on the day we agreed to buy it.

Hiya Not managed to do a thing yet sadly , all of a sudden work has got very busy, on weds morning I'm hoping to send and clean the marks and fill with paint and then colour cut at the weekend. I promise to post progress photos as I go along.

Hello Steve. Welcome to the club. Feel free to post pictures of your car for all to see and admire. Yes as was mentioned in an earlier comment, I have some knowledge on maintenance on the Astra's. I am on my 2nd mk4 Astra, and wish I had got in to them years earlier than I did. I have been doing quite a bit to my beast, which due to its age is just replacing worn out parts. The main thing to do is keep up to date on servicing, and they'll return good mileage back. My Astra is a 1.6 16 valve auto, and has recently hit 242000+ miles, and is 24 years old. Happy motoring.

lol...there's no pleasing everybody for sure!

Thank you for your kind comment, my wife and I were very taken by its look and also the cabin and seats are well fitted and comfy. The dealer tells us it has a factory "XP" kit fitted which I must say gives it a modern and purpose full look , though my Son says the brake discs look tiny thru the big wheels !

Hi all, I’m an individual vehicle owner who’s experienced a wet timing belt–related engine failure and I’m trying to raise awareness and understand how common this issue is across the UK. Independent garages are increasingly talking about wet timing belt degradation (e.g. PureTech, EcoBoost), where belt material breaks down inside the engine oil, blocks the oil pickup, and leads to oil starvation and sudden engine damage — sometimes at relatively low mileage and with little warning. Rather than treating cases in isolation, I’ve put together a voluntary owner reporting page where people can share their experience if they choose. This isn’t commercial research, a survey, or data collection for profit — it’s about consumer awareness, supporting complaints, and helping owners understand whether what they’re experiencing is common. The page also includes guidance on: • what evidence helps if a claim is rejected • who to report issues to • and how others have navigated warranty/manufacturer responses If you’ve experienced something similar and want to share, details are here: 👉 https://sites.google.com/view/wet-belt-failures/home No obligation at all — even comments describing your experience are helpful for discussion. I’m also interested in hearing from mechanics or trade professionals who are seeing this more often.

Hi Steve - welcome to the Club That should definitely blow the cobwebs out and give the battery a top up. @AndyR is your man for older Astra's advice, as and when any maintenance and repairs are needed

Today I picked up some 600 grit wet and dry and a power red paint stick and some Isopropol alcohol. Tommorow , I've told the missus if anybody phones for me " he s outside working on the motor ! " I'll sand back the paint chips , clean with IA and then paint in some colour to build up level. Then I'll let it harden as the rest of the wet abd dry from 1000 to 5000 and some polish discs for the drill need to arrive in the post , but I'm hoping to make some very neat paint repairs.

...and how did you get on with it - any end result photos yet?

Hiya , my name is Steve I'm a driver in my 60s and I have just bought my first Vauxhall. I've made 4 short trips in it since delivery in December but tommorow we make a 86 mile drive to London , give that battery a top up ! Looking forward to learning more about the Brand and my new car.

Hi Andy , thank you for posting. I certainly will take you up on your offer for advice , and I'm a monster for regular and proper oil and servicing, on any car I've owned, firm beliver in prevention over cure . I'll post some photos as I go along . Cheers Steve

I would advise to try a second opinion from a specialist as you may end up spending more on parts that may not be needed.

Took our first long drive (87 miles) in our 2011 Astra J today and I must say the car was a pleasant place to be , queit smooth , free of Drama , radio with TA now and again. We had sat the car since Dec 19th last year with a handful of small 2 to 3 mile drives , so I was pleased to give a run out, get a bit of charge into that battery. Steve

Lovely looking car and looks great in red

Hi...and welcome to the Club Interesting to read your history with Vauxhalls, from the era when they were great cars to work on. Droopsnoot Firenza, always wanted one and now wouldn't be able to afford one....good luck with your search for a classic Vauxhall. Feel free to jump into any post you feel you can answer or add your opinion, wisdom, etc. Great to have you onboard !

Hiya And thank you very much for your reccomendation. I'm only a month into this car so still getting the feel of it and I've washed it a couple of times so learning the body work and where I can do some stone chip repairs etc but so far and for my first Vauxhall I'm liking the car very much , and so is my wife and she hates cars !!

Wow! I'm totally jealous - superb cars from an era when cars were interesting and were a passion unlike todays' vehicles. Welcome to the club !

Three absolute beauties you have there

Probably need an EVAP smoke machine test to see where the leak is. if its windscreen then they need to pay for the EVAP... if its only started since the window then I would be pointy fingers You might be able to buy an EVAP Smoke test and do it yourself.. have seen a kit years ago.

Hello All. Glad to be part of this group

Thanks for reply i will have to go searcing again .saw video of pvc valve on peugeot puretech engine but valve is not in same place on vauxhall puretech

Hello Are there any Owners meets in North Essex or Suffolk? I'm new to Vauxhall ownership so keen to get the advice of the more experienced, and I always enjoy a good owners club meet up.

Now that the old girl has a new lease of life. I thought i'd give her a clean up and add some stripes to break up that silver a bit. And she has just made another milestone. 240000 miles. Not bad for a 23 year old.

Thought I'd introduce myself quickly. 2014 Insignia owner (two or three previous owners), very happy with it overall. Joined up to get help with a specific issue (I'm really not a car person so limited knowledge) but, after reading through some of the threads here, there's clearly a lot of very useful things to explore! I'm not likely to post much, I don't know anything useful about cars to share with you all!

If it's any help, I bought a chip from a German company called racechip+for £200 ,just plug the wiring harness into your car at 4 points ,follow diagram, took 10 minutes, my gtc has 170bhp now instead of 140 bhp ,they also do one that would have given me 235 bhp mine has been in 3 years now ,you also get an app for your phone so you can connect to the chip by Bluetooth and change the settings of the chip

Lenso S73 18" Alloys. Previously fitted to my Vauxhall Vectra B (1996-2002). 18x7.5. 5x110. ET35. 225/40/ /215/45/18" Pirelli tyres. Silver polished rim. Great condition with slight corrosion on polished rims. Wheel bolts, spigot rings & centre cap removable tools included. £550.

Hi Earlier this year I purchased a JC Wyvern which is a kit car using the Vauxhall Magnum running gear engine is the 2.3l High Compression slant four. Although the car look grand as he had recently a respray and a so called rebuild, I am now in the process of rebuilding it correctly. I would like to find any other JC owners so please get in contact if you own one or know someone who owns one

i have had plenty of Vaxuhalls over the years and 3 vectra b's - previouly they were just workhorses but last year i got my hads on a nearly mint N plate 1.8 gls with 36k miles and i love it. I have taken her to FOTU 2022 & 2023 and she should be on the odfs youtube channel in the coming weeks https://www.youtube.com/@DougieSRi According to www.howmanyleft.co.uk there are 2 Vectra n Reg's alive built in 1995 and 34 from 1996 (some will be p reg's) so i will make it my lifes work to find the other n plates - can people please let me know if you have one or if you are aware of one? It would be great if we can get a few together at some stage