One thing after another!

[RobDon]

I recently bought an 05 Vectra SRi 1.9 CDTi 120 with 112k on the clock. Seemed a decent car, service history etc. etc.

But since buying it 6 weeks ago I have had to replace the following:

1. Thermostat.
2. Rear discs and pads.
3. Rear shocks.
4. Rear droplinks.
5. Rear upper control arms.
6. Front droplinks.
7. Alternator.
8. Battery.
9. New rear tyres.
10. Gearknob.

Now I find the intercooler is leaking and the rear washer has stopped working - it's one thing after another. As soon as I get one thing fixed something else goes wrong. Are they all this bad or have I bought a lemon?

[marc vectra sri]

They seem to be the commen faults on the vectra mate gutting u needing them all replaced after 6 weeks

[Ziggy]

To be fair most of those are wear and tear items. The tyres, brakes, suspension and gearknob would surely have been picked up on the test drive,. Even the thermostat I would think would have been noticed if the car wasnt warming up properly. So that leaves battery and alternator, which I admit I would never think to check before buying a car, although I do always try and turn up a bit early to try and limit the time people have to warm cars up etc.

I should add that drop links etc I admit are not obvious, but crashing suspension is, as soon as you hit a speed bump.

So IMHO not a lemon, just work you would expect to do on a 112K car.

[keith1983]

I'd agree with zigmond, all of those things you'd probably not expect to last much longer than they have. I hear of people all the time saying that they have a mint car with 100k+ miles on and it's never had anything done to it, you can look after a car as much as you like but you can't stop things wearing out.

[RobDon]

Some were noticed on the test drive yes. Worn gearknob, the rear brakes and thermostat yes, I knew I'd have to replace them but not 2 new tyres (the ones on the car were budget jobs and had pressure bulges on the insides of them). The rear shocks and droplinks were unforeseen too, I knew the upper control arms needed replacing as there was a knocking. So after getting all that fixed then the alternator fails and takes the battery with it! Now the intercooler has failed a few weeks after that and the rear washer has stopped working now too! Spent close to £1k since buying it getting all this fixed.

[chewy71]

As above,.. most are wear and tear ... tyres,.. I've just bought 4 for my car, only had it 5 weeks. But at least I know the tyres as any on a second hand car is like buying part worn - you don't know their history. alternator is just unlucky. My dad is on the original and his car is 13 years old!!

[merikiito]

Wear and tear items in the main on a car with that mileage. Might be the reason why it was sold on, not worth the spend on repairs.
Have you checked the Swirl Flaps bar, my money says that is hanging off as well.
Also make sure you have blue plugs on the injectors and not yellow ones otherwise you are going to have some more issues down the road.

To be honest I would have been looking to change most of the things on your list as a matter of course along with the front shocks and all the springs

[RobDon]

Seems like it, sold on so the previous owner didn't have to fork out for all of this, most of which I was unaware of until after buying it. Kinda feel like i've been had.

[chewy71]

Seems like it, sold on so the previous owner didn't have to fork out for all of this, most of which I was unaware of until after buying it. Kinda feel like i've been had.

Buying a car 7 years old with 112k miles on, you'v really got to be ready for fixing things. It's 'mechanical' and so these items do wear out.

My last SRI CDTI (2008 plate) still has the original front pads from new and she's on 85k miles,.. my current 58 plate SRI CDTI has covered 30k miles and now needs new pads....

Motoring expenses... maybe look at something smaller, newer if you don't want running costs?... It's luck at the end of the day and you need to be prepared to be unlucky

[rowano]

I know how you feel, I dropped £500 on new tyres, brakes and discs 6 weeks after having mine, but I least I know they are all decent now. Just need to sort out my economy issues now...