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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 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

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.

a very nice day out at the severn valley railway event. the car was amongst other marques and had great attention. i intend to do as many local classic car meets as i can, they are very interesting to me. best regards keith

hi everyone, thankyou for letting me join the club. my vehicle, which i recently bought is 1936 dx light 16 tickford. it really is the tops and i can't wait to put it about. some pictures for you. best regards keith

Hello VOC, I've just signed up to the forum as I presently own a 2007 Vectra C 1.8 vvt SRi having bought it in Nov 22 with 61,000 miles on the clock. This is my first Vectra but I'm by no means new to Vauxhall having owned the following - Astra Mk2 1.8 GTE and 2.0 16v GTE. Cavalier Mk2 1.8 CDi 5 door,1.8 SRi 4 door,2.0 SRi 4 door,2.0 SRi130 5 door and Calibre. Cavalier MK3 2 x 1.6GL 5 door,1.6LS 4 door ,1.8LS 5 door,2.0 SRi 5 door,2 x GSi2000,SRi16v Redtop 4 door,SRi16v Ecotec 5 door. The majority of the above I modified some mildly and others extensively. As for me I live in Scotland and drive HGVs for living. In my mid 40s apart from a huge passion for cars,owning and driving but as much modifying and rebuilding (Not just Vauxhall but Fords from the late 60s to early 90s OR in other words pre Mondeo,Escorts up to and inc MK3s,especially mk3 in fact,MKi Fiestas,all Capris,Cortinas and Sierras. In fact,I've a large history of Ford ownership too) but I also have played guitar for a long time,love history and much more. Bob

I had my egr valve with restrictor plates on and didn’t make much difference, so last weekend I set to and put a blanking plate, which I made myself on the exhaust manifold, removed the egr cooler and bent some 15mm copper pipe to go in its place. On the egr valve I put another blanking plate on there until I can afford to get it mapped out. What a difference my 1.9 cdti 150 bhp was flying, then I put a pipercross race air filter in and whoosh she was away again, it no longer feels like I am constantly driving into a head wind, the engine sounds happy and has instant power no lag, and no smoke at all on startup, now and again she still puffs out some blue smoke which it has always done but I think it must be the dpf needs a clean. My car now is like a rocket ship, she is an 08 model Vectra c.

Hi folks. Stonham Barns is holding Vauxfest again this year. But this year they are allowing club stands too. If anyone is interested in attending the details are to follow.

Hi all new member I have a growing concern regarding this wet belt scenario I feel that it is time extreme pressure in some way should be applied to Vauxhall and other manufacturers to get rid of this wet belt whoever thought that this was a good idea I know other manufacturers use it as well as we will find out soon the cars for example bought on PCP of which more and more drivers seem to be going down that road will on average trade in after 4/5 years which means a lot of people buying second are going to experience this wet belt due for replacement not knowing this and continuing driving it with problems arising the average cost of replacing a wet belt is £1000 + where as a timing belt was on average £200 plus there a very few garages willing to tackle the wet belt replacement because of the amount of work on it I think vauxhall should either consider converting back to the timing belt or replace the existing cars with a chain that won’t deteriorate I think it is shocking that the motoring industry thought this was a good idea very poor show VAUXHALL & others Kenny L

Hi, Last summer I bought an approved second hand electric Mokka. I'm joining to ask questions - which I hope I'll post in the relevant forums! Peter, south coast England

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!

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.

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.

We had our car just over a year from 2nd hand and it started to go. I never knew what it was, when i accelerated, i got "stop the car" and allsorts and it would cut out (not good on a fast bypass up in the highlands) My pal is a mechanic and the prices he said around gave me the fear. He said play your face at Vauxhall, so i did, one free wetbelt fitted for free, and not a £600+ bill, job done, Maybe grovel to Vauxhall as they realist how garbage a wet belt is.

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!

Hi, I keep meaning to say thank you for your advise. We're a bit skint at the moment and the steering isn't playing up (touch wood), so we're saving up and hopefully get it in a garage ASAP. Thanks Ang :-)

Hi All, Recently picked up a 2012 Astra GTC VXR. Initially wanted an ST MK2 for the unbeatable 5-pot burble, but reckoned I wouldn't sleep peacefully after I'd researched the sleeve cracking issue in-depth 😅 This led me to the Astra GTC VXR. I've been pleasantly surprised with the overall package and driving experience this car offers. The performance and looks are a killer combo and a testament to a time when manufacturers were fighting to have the hottest hatch, while still letting you plonk a few buttons to unleash the dark side. Glad to be here!

Thanks for the welcome and when the weather clears up and I have cleaned the car I'll get some pics

Owned from new - metallic silver with factory fitted full body styling kit + 19in alloy wheels (snowflake design). Additional spare alloy wheel (purchased when no longer being manufactured). 130,000 miles - still runs extremely well. Bodywork in reasonably good condition for its age. Serviced and MOT'd last month. Excellent tyres - all tyres purchased during this year. Genuine reason for sale - running costs now somewhat of a luxury with only doing approx 2000 miles a year - for some years now. Does need money spending on it due to following issues - Offside & nearside inner drive shaft joints severely deteriorated (MOT minor defects) Nearside rear brake pipe corroded (MOT monitor & repair if necessary - advisory) Alloy wheels (which make the look of the car) could do with refurbishment. Panel on drivers door that operates both front windows not working. Petrol cap disconnected from central locking system as solenoid needs replacing. Wiper motor/linkages need attention as both wipers sweep against/beyond windscreen rubber surround. Water ingress into front passenger footwell. Reason unknown - suspect it may be windscreen seal damage/deterioration (not visible) where wiper blade has swept onto/over the rubber seal. Car needs TLC from a Vectra enthusiast who has the skills to maintain it. It would be such a shame to scrap it as 2.0 SRi petrol variants aren't so common these days - the car genuinely looks good. All offers considered. Tel: 07733 359313.

Hi Guys and Gal's We are reaching out to all Vauxhall Owners Club members to see if there are any Vauxhall owners' looking to be a bigger part of the club and help contribute posts or help new members or simply just talk Vauxhall. We are looking for a small team of at least 6 people to be part of the team and encourage more discussion, arrange Vauxhall events within the UK and be part of a growing team. If you would like to be a club team member then message @Vauxhall Owners Club

Seller / Garage changed the battery and all resolved

hi everybody, what a terrible day for a car meet, consequently quite a few cars never turned up, only the hardy or nutters. still there was some good stuff there with my tickford being easily the oldest and well received. hope the next meeting is a little more weather friendly, i'm not sure where that may be. best regards from a wind blown and wet keith

Just posting pic of our Tigger plus wondering what the blue bit is we found in the parcel shelf. It doesn't seem to fit anywhere

hi everyone, very good, marvelous assembly of classic cars at the midland bus museum, 120 plus vehicles for the coffee and chrome meet. the dx drew good attention and the classic car weekly was there photographing it and wanting to know everything about it. looking forward to the next meet, bank holiday monday, chaddesley corbet village, 250 cars expected. getting used to the various foibles of the car now, steering wonder, double declutching, and i did a hand signal today!!!!!! best regards keith

Thank you very much for all your correspondence, I checked for miles or Kilometres, you were correct it was Kilometers, went back to garage and said to them as they put kilometre reading in miles on the MOT, they reset it to miles and now are going to inform DVLA about the error, I also am going to write to DVLA as it's on my MOT I'd done 34000 miles more than I had, was convinced the odometer was faulty, what an idiot I feel, now back to miles now, Thank you so much for your help much appreciated.

Just a quick hello. I used to be a member of this forum years ago when I had an Omega Elite. The interaction there was great, I did all the work on the car myself and there were loads of guys that really knew their stuff. I'm hoping there will be some people who know lots about the Insignia VXR as I've got some issues to fix and there is not very much technical documentation on the internet, or to buy for that matter!

I have had quite a few vauxhalls over the years the latest a meriva B. previously owned Viva HB, Opel Ascona 1.6 , Opel Manta GTE , Opel Mant 2.0 Sr, Frontera 2.4 LWB Frontera 2.0 swb frontera B RS frontera B limited, frontera B Olympus, Vectra 2.0 di astra 2.0 diesel and 1.7. So brought up with all the challenges

Absolutely spot on, vacuum filled the system, got circulation flow back to the header...ran the motor for about 10 mins then the fan went off...no head damage either!!

Just bought a 2015 Zafira Tourer SRI CDTi Bit of a come down from a 3.5 V6 Nissan Elgrand, but needs must and all that. Hoping to find decent recommendations for parts, repairs that a monkey can manage themselves etc. First job once car is delivered is replacing a cracked front grille (black bit only). Hopefully do-able on a DIY basis....

Hi....welcome to the Club I used to have a 73 Sedan de Ville.....such a huge car but not so by todays standards with the size of some cars on the road Good to have you onboard!

Hi everyone and thank you for allowing me to join. I have been the proud owner of a astra J 1.7cdti sports tourer, yes she has high milage but wow what a car so comfy in the 1st 4 months of owning her I did 10,000miles I just can't keep out. No exactly the most economical but she's mine and I love my car to bits. Keep up the good work guys and gals.

For sale is my mk3 Vauxhall cavalier GLS. 2L automatic petrol. The car is fantastic, it’s out of MOT but will be good to a new home. It’s been in the family for 25 years and well maintained and serviced. Car has some signs of wear and tear which is expected for its age of 29 years. It drives spot on with plenty of power in the engine. Easily pulls away faster than other cars without trying! Gearbox is good as well. 4 speed automatic. Looking for £1000 but open to offers. V5, 2 keys and has fuel in it.

Hi there, cheers , been a very long time since I owned a vauxhall, back in the 90's lol was a cavalier 2.0 glsi or something like that, there was a, g ,s and I maybe an L lol from sitting in the cockpit on my new one they've definitely come a long way , it's a really nice comfy place to sit and love all the dash layout, drives nice and straight too,inside is spotless, looks new , only bad bits are ,the passenger side sill has a straight long dent about a foot long which I can correct myself when the weather is warmer , done body work before , drivers side mirror casing was broke, I've replaced that and I was able re use the mirror cap as that was fine and saved me spraying it lol, one back light has a tiny piece of the corner broke off so I'll replace that in the next week or so, once those things are done the body will look spotless too. Things I've done so far, mod wise, swapped all interior bulbs for white led, black/red seat covers to keep the upholstery clean, ordered some replacement headlight led's, will be doing a chrome delete around windows, prep and respray the alloys cuz there's a few little scuffs, going change glow plugs and filters too, don't know when they were last done, once all that's done I'll either leave it at that or see what else I could do, I do this with all my cars basically, I like get them to look spotless 😊

This is what I'm sure my wife is now chanting in her head after I finally sold my Ford Focus and bought a 2012 Astra GTC in the Yellow that seems to attract all of the bugs. I've finally joined her and her family in owning my first Vauxhall! Hello new Vauxhall fam. 👋

It is definitely a car that will stand out in a crowd. It looks longer, and sleaker.

Vauxhall Omega/Carlton/Senator Mk2 full service manual on microfiche (1990) These microfiches contain the full workshop service instructions for the Vauxhall Omega, Carlton and Senator models. My late father got them when he owned a Mk 2 Carlton in 1990. Rather than just chuck them I thought I'd check to see if anyone could make good use of them... an invaluable resource if you're embarking on a restoration project or just trying to keep one on the road! The microfiches are marked "06/90" (presumably June 1990) and "2nd Revised Edition". They were bought with an H-reg vehicle so that aligns perfectly. The document identifier seems to be TSD-1506/2-GB and the "article number" is 93109. There are five microfiches in total. All are in excellent condition (they were only ever used in a DIY context and never in a commercial garage) and are still in the original Opel branded envelope. The five microfiches contain: I Sections A to H II Section J (OHC petrol & CIH petrol engines) III Section J (DOHC petrol and OHC diesel engines) IV Section K V Sections L to R The section headings are: A Maintenance, body and chassis sheet metal parts B Paint C Body equipment D Heating, ventilation and air conditioning E Frame, front wheel suspension, wheels and tyres F Rear axle and rear wheel suspension [G is omitted] H Brakes [I is omitted] J Engine and engine aggregates K Clutch and transmission L Fuel and exhaust system M Steering N Electrical equipment and instruments [O to Q are omitted] R Optional equipment and accessories Microfiche readers are readily available at relatively low cost on eBay and there seem to be people that offer a microfiche-to-PDF transcription service as well. Drop me a message if they're of interest to you...

Vauxhall Astra, Opel Kadett & Vauxhall Belmont full service manual (microfiche) 1990 These microfiches contain the full workshop service instructions for the Vauxhall Astra and related models from 1990. My late father got them when he owned a Mk 2 Astra in 1990. Rather than just chuck them I thought I'd check to see if anyone could make good use of them... an invaluable resource if you're embarking on a restoration project or just keeping one on the road! He also had a Carlton at the same time so I'll be putting a similar post in that group... The microfiches are marked "08/90" (presumably August 1990) and "6th Revised Edition". They were bought with an H-reg vehicle so that aligns perfectly. The document identifier seems to be TSD-1448/6-GB and the "article number" is 93133. There are four microfiches in total. All are in excellent condition (they were only ever used in a DIY context and never in a commercial garage) and are still in the original Opel branded envelope. The four microfiches contain: I Sections A to H II Section J (OHC petrol & CIH petrol engines) III Section J (DOHC petrol and OHC diesel engines) IV Sections K to R The section headings are: A Maintenance, body and chassis sheet metal parts B Paint C Body equipment D Heating, ventilation and air conditioning E Frame, front wheel suspension, wheels and tyres F Rear axle and rear wheel suspension [G is omitted] H Brakes [I is omitted] J Engine and engine aggregates K Clutch and transmission L Fuel and exhaust system M Steering N Electrical equipment and instruments [O to Q are omitted] R Optional equipment and accessories Microfiche readers are readily available at relatively low cost on eBay and there seem to be people that offer a microfiche-to-PDF transcription service as well.

Part 4 of my nova saloon road race build. https://youtube.com/watch?v=zANHgX1-QDI&feature=share9

I drive a Black pre facelift 2005 3.0 v6 cdti ELITE

Hi, thanks for allowing me to join your club. I am a retired electronics lecturer from Ashington in Northumberland. I look forward to reading some good posts and also submitting some.

Thanks 🙂 yes, we'll see, won't we... in my defence, Your Honour, I would also say that I only do 5 or 6000 miles a year now, and drive in a pretty relaxed fashion, so mine may have a better than average chance.

Not anymore

Hi all. I joined the forum just over a month ago but was at work (on a ship) so I didn't have a chance to get a pic of the car the Mrs had bought while I was away. But now I'm home, here's a couple of pics. I've got an 04 Astra 1.7cdti SRi (the 100bhp model). Slightly underpowered compared to my previous car that shat itself on its MOT (I had a Ford C-Max 2.0tdci that made 140bhp roughly, but the mot failure would have coated about 2k to fix). I'm liking the car. It doesn't have the space like the previous car, but that's understandable considering my previous car was an MPV. This is the first Vauxhall I've owned. But my dad has had many Vauxhall's in my childhood (Senator, Carlton, Cavalier, Omega etc etc, he was a cabby). There are a few niggles with it though, are parts interchangeable between the early to late Astra H's? Many thanks if you've taken the time to read this! Jamie.

Hi all returning to the fold after a few years away. Picked up a Corsa burg and just getting back to the Vauxhall scene. Looking forward to it.

Hi and and thanks for the joining to you all. I don't have a Vauxhall at the moment but just selling my Caravan so will be looking for an Astra to replace my Jaguar. I ordered the First Mk1 in England in 1980 and it was great for 10 years really loved it. Then worked through a Magnum, Cavalier, Frontera, Carlton & 2 Omega estates. So hoping to pick up some reports through you Guys on Astras 11 - 16 ish. Peter PS that's farther in law and wife not me

I must admit that whilst my car runs just aswell with the newer E10 petrol, the fuel economy doesn't seem as good as the E5

Thanks Andy. Not too much covering to be honest. The battery was removed and cleaned externally so that I could tidy up the battery terminals. I covered the alternator with a bag throughout. When I was jet washing the underside of the bonnet and the tops of the inner wings, landing panel etc I also covered the whole engine with a black bag. I had the crossover off along with the tophat pipes at one point so that I could get in about the back of the engine. Any open pipes like the valve cover inlet/outlets and the coolant and air intakes were covered using good quality nylon gloves. They're very versatile and always a good fit 😁 ... cut fingers off to cover over smaller pipes and use whole gloves to cover over the larger ones(always at least two layers 👍 It was a sunny day when the job got done so when it was finished the bonnet was left open for everything to dry. Car's been out for a few runs and is ticking over nicely.

We have just added a Tigra to the household. Looked at several and ended up paying top dollar for an exceptional Opel Tigra with just 17K miles. I suspect it must be one of the best Tigras around.