Zafira 1.6 club 02 reg

[Nickzx6r]

Hi all,

Sorry i know not a vec ques - but it's still vx

I have the opportunity to swap the wife's 04 astra 1.68v active 65k miles for an 02 zafira 1.6 club with 20k miles the wife's car and 1k.

Does this sound like a deal??

Does anyone have any experience of this model zaffy?? ANything to look out for - any pro's - any cons????

Thanks for any thoughts or knowledge on this one

Nick

[Gsi3.2]

it's very juicy and a touch under powered...but it's still a decent car..

[Nickzx6r]

cheers mark,

I've been reading mid 30's for the consumption - d'ya reckon thats a little off the mark??

The most it'll do is a couple of school runs a day and then a bit of camping down south every few weeks.

Anything you know of that goes on them - spottable (is that a word?) on a test drive

Nick
saves me doing the service on the astra too ;-)

[chief29]

Used to borrow my sisters. 3750rpm at 70 mph which makes it very noisy on motorways. The CO2 is higher on early models therefore higher road tax (£210). It was reduced 03 models onwards. Complete lack of power when fully laden (six adults) and handling not the best either. Unless you need the flexibility of 7 seats go for an estate car. If you do want a Zafira I had a 2.0dti vectra c and would suggest the engine would be far better.

[Gsi3.2]

I went car shopping last year with a very good friend who wanted my second opinion on his next purchase.. and it was a zafira he was after..

the 1.6 does struggle.. look for all the obvious signs.. oil leaks around the engine bay ( shouldn't be any)..trim fit and the state of it inside ( they are family barges after all) they do damage very easily inside ( speaker grilles etc etc)

Test drive...just listen.. carefully.. if there's any funny noises then it's not a goodun.. Zaf's should be as quiet as the vectra.. they are well built cars and don't suffer from rattles..

Watch out for paint damage/panel repairs.. the zaf is a big car with disappearing bumper corners and big flat sides which will suffer from a lot of trolley damage or worse..really take your time wandering round it, get close and examine the panel gaps and the lay of the flakes/colour/shade differences..

Buy with your head....it's an okayish deal, but not a great one...

[Nickzx6r]

Thanks for the sound advice mark.

I certainly will be buying with my head as i am in two minds anyway. Whilst we would love the space for the two little uns and the camping stuff we still need a reliable car - after all it will be our only one for a while.

I know the astra's quirks and have in the back of my mind that it's better the devil you know!!!

The biggest thing i will be looking for is history as i reckon that 20k over 6 years needs to be warranted to be believed!! I've done more than that since june last year!!

I went up to a vx dealer to see what they had and they offered me a meriva at 5300 with 2500 for the astra !!!!!!!! 1) the money was leg lifting I thought and 2) the meriva hasn't got anywhere near enough room over the astra to warrant the upgrade!!

I'm off for a drive in it now - i'll let you know how i get on.

[Signum_CDTI]

My uncle does a lot of driving and also has a young family. He traded in his 2001 Mondeo Diesel with 200k on the clock and bought a 2003 03 Plate 1.6 Zafira. Think he realised the mistake - very underpowered for what he needs (cabin crew trainer for airlines) and very noisy on motorways (he does prob around 50 - 60k a year).

Think he's getting shut after just a year of it.

[signumart1]

Don't forget that is actually an Astra underneath so the same mechanical issues will arise as those you may already have experience of.

[Nickzx6r]

well - i took all the comments oboard and took it for a test drive.

I ummed and ahhed a bit - especially as they can't produce the service history - but i'm g'teed it has one and was offered a month whereby if you change your mind they take it back and give money back.

I looked round and it looks like a 25k mile car - tyres coming to end of life but walls have perished - indicating they have been on the car a long time!! These will be replaced.

It drives fine - pulls the same as the astra (although i understand it will be less than full) but the most we will put in it is me the wife our 5 year old and our 7 month old - we just need space over weight.

All in all it seems a sound car and we will probably take 5 years to put it up to the mileage our astra has on it .

You know where i'm going with this one - I bought it. I pick it up on friday. I hope i've done the right thing, if not i'll get another veccy :-)

[Gsi3.2]

Top job Nick...

hopefully it'll be the deal for you by the end of the 30 days..