The company said the vehicles affected were Adam, Corsa and Corsavan models registered since May this year.
Vauxhall said that, "as a precaution, these vehicles should not be driven prior to inspection."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29387561
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I'm assuming that whatever the issue is its pretty fundamental for them to decree that it should not be driven.
So will dealers be sending out recovery trucks and loan cars to affected customers as they should not drive them?
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Its probably legal back watching just in case someone plants one in the scenery and claims millions because the "steering broke".
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>> So will dealers be sending out recovery trucks ... to affected customers
Yes. I've pulled in two Adams for the recall this week :)
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If I was unkind, I'd say that Corsas are probably best not driven anyway.. :-)
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>> If I was unkind, I'd say that Corsas are probably best not driven anyway.. :-)
>>
If I were equally unkind, I would say that most Vauxhalls are best not driven! :-l
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As someone who's actaully driven a 14 plate Corsa in the last few months, they're really not *that* bad!! And actually I far preferred it to the Polo Avis had given me the week before - better equipped, better ride, more comfortable seats and a far quieter engine. Both however were as slow as a very slow thing, it's just the Corsa responded far better to being thrashed ;-)
Though I had I known it might not go round corners I might have been a bit less hard on it... !!
And as an aside, the 14 plate Polo needed the key putting in a lock to open it - no remote central locking!! In 2014!! We had a Citroen Saxo almost 20 years and that had remote locking...
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My dad had a 14 plate 1.4 SXI model for a month while his i10 was in the body shop for very minor repairs. Compared to the 1.2 i10 he found it slow. It was awful badly equipped it had just two airbags! The car had a list of £14,000 and it was not worth anything like that, it was a pretty little car though .Build quality was very bad, the glove box didn't fit or shut properly and the plastics were on par with my £6500 Panda. The ride and handling seemed a lot better than the i10 and Panda though.
The other problem with the car may be related to this recall, the indicators never self cancelled properly and the people at the hire place warned my dad about this. I wonder if this fault is connected with the steering column?
Either way we both agreed Corsa was a bit of a pointless car as the car is average, not cheap enough for the budget motorist and not special enough for the car enthusiast. I guess fleets by it because of good fleet terms and private motorists buy them because they offered deep discounts. I know my local VX dealer always has very big discounts on new Corsas.
I am probably been a bit harsh on the car, as it was a very refined car I don't see how VX could justify a £14,000 list price!
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The faulty bit is the universal joint at the base of the steering column.
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So not a bit of cutting edge technology, pushing the frontiers of the possible in new imaginative ways?
Just an old-fashioned bog-standard component involving basic engineering, successfully used in millions of cars for decades.
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Just had a look at the Vx website, the check is -
A. Vin number in range, if so -
B. Check the production code on the cast part of the U/J.
C. If code as specified, don't drive it.
Looks like a duff batch of castings.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sat 27 Sep 14 at 16:23
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B bothers me. Is the code in a place where Joe (or Josephine) Vauxhallowner - who, let's face it, has has bought a Vauxhall new, so presumably isn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree - can find it to check? If not, does he/she drive to a place where someone (autocorrect offered 'simian' there; did it know I was thinking of Vauxhall mechanics?) can tell him/her not to drive it?
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What is it with this website that brings out the Vauxhall haters in droves? Vauxhall have the second largest sales figures in the UK and as Autocar recently pointed out the Corsa alone outsells the entire UK sales of some mainstream manufacturers - not bad for a 7 year old design just about to be replaced.
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>> What is it with this website that brings out the Vauxhall haters in droves?
>>
I was wondering about that, too. I can only think it must make them feel better for some reason.
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Problem in this case seems to be that you have to grovel in the footwell among the mud, leaves, shingle and dog poo, rotating the steering if necessary to read a small batch number on the part. To see if it's one of these fragile porous castings which have somehow got into a General Motors production line. Tchah!
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I'm not at all anti-Vauxhall or anti GM by the way JB. Driven a few good ones in my time. Really fancy a Holden/Monaro or V6 coupé. Or Opel Commodore, mmmmm.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sat 27 Sep 14 at 20:43
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...Autocar recently pointed out the Corsa alone outsells...
And White Lightning outsells Bollinger. (And - probably - Charles Wells Bombardier too, for a fairer price comparison.). Doesn't make it any good.
Vauxhall buys business from rental fleets with discounts, and its finance arm supplies private users who look only at the monthly payment. Somewhere in there - and apparently in here - lurk a few who actually like the wretched machines, and are prepared to put up with their dealers in order to run one. (Jiggered) if I know why.
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On R5, I just listened to a lady who is concerned about her Corsa. Her dealer says he cannot book the car in for two weeks.
The motoring guy said " Tell the dealer you are rejecting the car and expect a different response".
What a shambles Vauxhall are.
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>> What a shambles Vauxhall are.
The 'don't drive it' advice here is unusual. One might have thought Vx would have provided dealers with some briefing on this.
OK, if the car has the faulty part then time, complexity et may imply delay. But getting staff primed and ready to 'triage' the problem starting with whether VIN is in scope and having a tech check the component's serial no is pretty basic stuff.
In fact you'd think it would be an SOP for ANY recall.
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If Vaxhall are saying don't drive it then I hope they are providing a tow to the nearest dealership and providing a replacement whilst ones car is off the road?
;-)
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>> What is it with this website that brings out the Vauxhall haters in droves?
>>
Strange, isn't it?
Perhaps they are people, like me, who think, that of all the cars in the world, the make of car that I would not want to own is a Vauxhall.
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What is it with this website that brings out the Vauxhall haters...?
To answer the question another way, what is it about the Vauxhall apologists on this site? The rest of us can take fun poked at 'German taxis', 'cardigan wearers', caravans - even a PT Cruiser for heaven's sake - in good part because we're here to discuss motors and motoring. So why bring a Vauxhall to the playground and then go crying to Teacher when the other kids notice?
For the sake of full disclosure, I've had one Vauxhall and appreciated others in the early 1990s before GM lost the plot and Ford rediscovered it. Since then I've occasionally wondered if any current model would suit our needs, and each time I've come away unimpressed by the products and the people who deal in them. (I could actually say much the same about Peugeot but there's less occasion to.)
So, Vauxhallistas, off the high horses, please. Are they really that much more comfortable than your cars?
}:---P
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My experience of Vauxhall was wonderful. The Viva van for £25 in 1975 lasted 6 years with minumum expenditure, was shared amongst friends, recovered and returned at least once by the police after being stolen, (who then spotted that the engine number matched another stolen vehicle :). It worked as a builders skip, pram transport with baby in pram, and a good commuter the station vehicle.
What was there not to like?
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I certainly don't hate Vauxhalls. That would of course be totally irrational. I reserve all that emotion for Renaults.
Between us, my wife and I have had 5 Vauxhalls over the years, to say they were dreadful would be a huge exaggeration, but to say they disappointed in some way wouldn't, by comparison to other vehicles we've had from a similar market sector ( eg Fords, Citroens, Nissans etc )
Never really major things, just a common thread of trim being brittle and prone to detaching itself, below average driving dynamics, uncomfortable seating etc. like I said more disappointment than anything.
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I developed a dislike of Vauxhall's after Europcar kept giving me base Astra's and 1.8 petrol insignias. Its kind of difficult to love something for which you see no purpose and cant even see why it was created........However, earlier in the year they gave me a facelift Insignia with a 160ish BHP diesel and I was very taken. Nice competent motor that I could easily live with, also had a few Meriva's which I though were OK so my opinion was starting to change.
...........until week before last when they gave me a Mokka 1.7 CDTi.....awful thing, terrible economy, noisy.....
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They're cars Jim, but not as we know them...
;-)
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I really don't get this 'make' bashing..
I have owned Fords, Vauxhalls, BL/Rovers and others, and mostly they do what is on the box.
The one exception - renault. Not even worthy of a capital letter!
On the other side, I have worked for many makes, from FSO (not good !) Ford, Peugeot, etc to Jensen, Jaguar BMW, Merc Rolls....
I have found, that on the whole for what you pay, the 'lower' makes are better VFM.
Some of the recalls on the 'better' makes would make your head spin - the fact is they are better at hiding the (non safety) recalls, because historically the more expensive the car, the longer it is dealer serviced, so that modifications can be sneaked under the radar at a service....
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With my own money, and without a wife with "opinions", I'd go Ford every time. Of the 40 odd cars I've owned or had long term use of the Fords have consistently given good service at value for money prices while adding a pleasing amount of driving pleasure.
I love my company Merc, it's delightful, but I simply wouldn't put that much of my own cash on the road. It's way better than a Mondeo of course but not so much so that for me anyway, it would be worth the premium if I was paying.
However, given the straight choice between a Mondy and an Insignia I'd not have to think too hard at all before going with the Ford. Not because of marque prejudice but because of past experience.
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Now I've never spent my own money on either a Ford or a Vauxhall, though have been 'given' both in the dim and distant past as company cars, and so have no brand loyalty, residual or otherwise, to either brand
However over the last 12 weeks I've had one or two hire cars a week, and in that mix has been a smattering of Vauxhalls and Fords. Now, of course, I have no idea how much any of these cars cost but I think it's a reasonable assumption that the actual transaction costs across the marques is likely to be there or thereabouts the same, making list prices irrelevant. And I have to say that I prefer the design of the Fiesta to the Corsa, the Astra to the Focus, the Insignia to the Mondeo and the Mokka to the Kugar (or whatever the soft roader is called)
In buzz word bingo parlance, my key takeaways on the two ranges are as follows:
The Fiesta is noticeably nicer to drive than the Corsa, but far less refined. It looks better though :-)
The Astra feels more grown up than the Focus, and is a better drive. It's also better looking IMO
The Mondeo is nicer to drive hard than the Insignia, but feels cheaper and is less refined and less comfortable in normal use
The Mokka was less economical than the Kuga, but felt far nicer to drive and was better equipped
However, bar the Focus which did not excel at anything at all, I'd be pretty happy with any of the mid size hire cars as a daily drive type of car if that's what I'd been given.
When you put the French equivalents into the mix I think the Peugot 308 was better than the Focus too, but it's infotainment system was too confusing for every day use I think, and too unresponsive. Renault haven't featured, but the Picassso has and it has the same system. So it's out.
Predictably perhaps, but across all cars in the mid size category the Golf is the best all rounder in my, limited, experience. But I'd have the Merc A class ;-)
The worst cars have been, a VW Polo petrol (basic, slow, unrefined), Ford Focus petrol and diesel (shoddy interior, poor ride, unrefined) and a Peugot 508 1.6 diesel auto (spectacular mismatch of engine and gearbox!!)
Just my opinion...
Peter.
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I owned two early Astras. A 1.6 estate, Y reg I think, which was an excellent workhorse for 3 years , quite nippy with 90 horses. Then a 2nd hand 5 door, again a mark 1 I think, bought for a staff member. Both proved 100% reliable, as did my ex's recent Insignia Ecoflex which covered over 100k miles in 3 years in effortless comfort. More than can be said for the 59plate Passat which broke down twice on the motorway.
I would have no problem with running a Vauxhall, given the right model. I just prefer my old BM at the moment. Ironically, my brother got rid of his elderly Zafira 4 months ago and part exd it for a 55 plate Legacy petrol estate. He had so many problems with the Legacy that yesterday he part exd for a 59 plate Zafira diesel.
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My favourite Skoda Etelle was a rough-looking matt grey 130 coupé. Although not really as rapid as its name suggested, it was a good example in its way and I used to go very fast in it.
One night on the A29 I overtook a briskly-driven late Astra, one of those chunky ones, containing three young blokes who took being overtaken as an invitation to play. The Astra, which had 1.6 or even 1.8 litres to the Estelle's 1.3, eventually passed on a long slightly uphill straight with the three young blokes waving approvingly. I didn't drop back and they waved again at the parting of our ways. Good young chaps I thought.
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I now have a new 'Least economical hire car' award, beating even the Mokka CDTI 4x4. It's a 1.6 TDCI Focus Style Estate. In black...with privacy glass...
Style in name, but definitely not nature. Very very uneconomical. On a 60 mile journey from the airport to Dundee it has averaged, according to the OBC, 28 mpg. Yes, 28 mpg. One quarter of a tank of diesel!! Now it is brand new (27 miles on the clock when collected) but even so...Very smooth diesel engine though, but with a horribly mismatched set of gear ratios...
Also the Bluetooth doesn't work with iOS 8.whatever. No cruise control. Hideous blue and white backlighting to the instruments. And wing mirrors that vibrate when you go faster than 70 ;-)
But is black, which as RDF pointed out in an earlier post, does count for something ;-)
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>> Very very uneconomical. On a 60 mile journey
>> from the airport to Dundee it has averaged, according to the OBC, 28 mpg. Yes,
>> 28 mpg. One quarter of a tank of diesel!!
Helly Blood!! That's worse then I get from the 'lingo with a ton of caravan and its 9 foot high sail profile in tow.
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The 60 mile route is M90, A90. Were you speed testing the Focus? The A92 is shorter, just over 50 miles, but slower.
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>> The 60 mile route is M90, A90. Were you speed testing the Focus? The A92
>> is shorter, just over 50 miles, but slower.
>>
M/A90 is the route I usually take, and did this evening. I was keeping pace with traffic, but not the fastest on the road...
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Didn't leave the handbrake on did you? Style is one up from bottom of the range, so lack of CC not really a surprise.
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I get 53 give or take a couple from my 1.7tdi Mokka 4x4 measured brim to brim.
Keep it in low gears as long as possible then change up once at cruising speed.
I drive mine really hard. If I am careful I can get 60+ from it.
I like it and despite some teething problems which have been sorted, it is one of the lowest cost company cars that I have had, but is far from the worst and is definitely the best equipped, beating several that cost more than twice as much!
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I don't think so ;-)
I only comment on the CC because, bar the Polo and Corsa every other car has had it. The 208 and DS2 had cruise and Bluetooth (that worked...). Every single mid range car, which I think the Focus is, has had it. Including Vauxhall, Peugot, Citroen and Hyundais ...as well as Audi and BMWs. So an odd omission IMO
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I suppose a lot of low-end Focuses become the sort of company car that has 'Xerox' or something similar on the sides. That kind of fleet buyer is happy to keep the spec very basic.
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No cruise control on the new Audi A1 I've just bought. But I guess I'll be happy playing with the flappy paddles for the gear changes as compensation :-)
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I have recently bought a Toyota Yaris 1.4 diesel, the engine is still a bit tight but it is averaging 55mpg, better than I expected. It is well equipped for a supermini, auto dual zone climate control, cruise, auto lights and wiper, it only has one on the front. The touch screen controls the media player and little used car setup features like auto light sensitivity, etc. It also functions as an additional trip computer display with journey history. I did not opt for the £600 satnav function, I prefer a portable one.
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>> Also the Bluetooth doesn't work with iOS 8.whatever.
That's a bug in IOS 8.x.x, and is currently unresolved.
So if you have an Apple device that uses Bluetooth to talk to your car of any make, and you haven't yet gone to IOS8 - don't. There's a good chance it will no longer work.
PS wifi is pretty nadged too.
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>>
>> >> Also the Bluetooth doesn't work with iOS 8.whatever.
>>
>> That's a bug in IOS 8.x.x, and is currently unresolved.
>>
>> So if you have an Apple device that uses Bluetooth to talk to your car
>> of any make, and you haven't yet gone to IOS8 - don't. There's a good
>> chance it will no longer work.
>>
>> PS wifi is pretty nadged too.
>>
I made the mistake of updating to the first version of iOS 8, which stopped Bluetooth working in the Merc. Updating to the current version fixed that, but it doesn't work with the Ford :-(
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Right... confession time!! It appears that the car described by Avis as a 1.6TDCI Focus Style is not in fact a TDCI. It's a petrol of some kind - called ecoBoost, which I assume is a LPT petrol engine
Now in my defence it was late, and I was impressed by the refinement of the diesel engine ;-)
But yes, I should have noticed that it red-lined at 6.5k RPM not 5k...which I did this morning Still, 28mpg is still poor - that's worse than a 2 litre petrol auto BMW!
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>> Right... confession time!! It appears that .............
Don't fill it with diesel, it won't do much for its refinement. :)
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>> >> Right... confession time!! It appears that .............
>>
>> Don't fill it with diesel, it won't do much for its refinement. :)
>>
While its refined for a diesel, its pretty poor for a petrol ;-)
Very disappointed in myself for not cottoning on last night... :-(
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Further inspection leads me to believe that its a Ford Focus Zetec S 1.0T 125PS EcoBoost Estate, which with the few options seem to be fitted seems to retail at around £23,000!!
Woeful performance (which might explain my fuel economy) and with what I know now is an unrefined petrol engine (but refined for a diesel...!!) Disappointing levels of equipment considering its position in the range hierarchy, but quite a large boot
Black with privacy glass has the look of a hearse though ;-)
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>> Further inspection leads me to believe that its a Ford Focus Zetec S 1.0T 125PS
>> EcoBoost Estate, which with the few options seem to be fitted seems to retail at
>> around £23,000!!
>>
I would say either you were ragging it or it was duff. I had the same one, only a hatch in titanium trim - over 300 ish miles gave me just over 50mpg. Journey was Bristol to Chester and mostly free flowing so not hanging about.Not really sure I could have got it down into the 20's
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>>
>> I would say either you were ragging it or it was duff. I had the
>> same one, only a hatch in titanium trim - over 300 ish miles gave me
>> just over 50mpg. Journey was Bristol to Chester and mostly free flowing so not hanging
>> about.Not really sure I could have got it down into the 20's
>>
I'll freely admit I was driving in a what might charitably called an assertive, making progress kind of way along a road with more than a few inclines. But I wasn't the fastest car on the road, and it is, by a margin of 10% or so, the least economical car Avis have provided me with.
The more time I spend with it the more frustrating it becomes!! I'm wiling to accept that as its brand new the economy or performance are not representative of what the car/engine is capable of, but I can't forgive the sheer mediocrity of the thing, or the penny pinching cost cutting in both equipment and execution.
Plus it's black with privacy glass ;-)
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Just re-read my own post about "if it was my own money I'd buy a Ford etc"...
Yesterday I was thinking about that as I was slogging down to Central London and back with an 03.30 start and a late finish.
I decided that actually I was talking Horlicks on Sunday.
Even with my own money now I'd have as much wafty E Class as I could afford to buy and run and hang the expense.
;-)
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Know what you mean, Humph. My regular airport taxi firm runs middle-aged but still wafty E saloons, A6s and one quite wonderful A8L. (They also have some Sharan type vans but they know I don't like them so don't send them any more.)
Last time out, though, they sent a 2.0D Passat. Quite a recent one too, but despite having reasonable space in the back it was completely waft-free. Tough and reliable, probably, but not what I'd choose for 10,000 miles a year, never mind 30,000.
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I hadn't previously appreciated how important waftiness is. It is in fact the only thing that matters in the end.
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I like waft too. I quite like the idea of a Merc E, but know nothing whatsoever about actual models in the range.
Thought experiment for you, for some man maths.
Current car - assume I keep it for three years. No loan on it, so trade in value perhaps 10k ish.
So I have 10 or 11k to spend. Running costs for the next three years will be zero road tax, £350 p.a. insurance, and 40k miles at 60mpg petrol.
If I didn't want the hypothetical E (non-Estate preferred) to cost me any more over the next three years than all that added up - what would I look at? Or isn't it possible to get anything sensible?
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No it won't add up. But you could just get some earplugs and a cushion and stick with the current car. Maybe a tenner all up.
;-)
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>> Just re-read my own post about "if it was my own money I'd buy a
>> Ford etc"...
>>
>> Yesterday I was thinking about that as I was slogging down to Central London and
>> back with an 03.30 start and a late finish.
>>
>> I decided that actually I was talking Horlicks on Sunday.
The C5 was pretty wafty and I never appreciated that until I got the V60. The problem is that nearly the whole sector is set up for sporty / driver entertainment. Its what the marketing guys tell us we want!
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>> The problem is that nearly the whole sector is set up for sporty / driver entertainment
Tell me about it. Due to a bit of family relocation I now find myself covering 700 miles every other weekend. What do I want 18" wheels, bucket seats and sports springs on a diesel estate car for?? It's brilliant day-to-day but not nearly wafty enough for super-long journeys.
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Wafty.... CX Pallas is what you need :-) In fact 2, to cover the time one will spend off the road chasing the rust!
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I have heard on the grapevine, that one of the 'better' makes will shortly be issuing a steering recall...
... I'm interested to see how public it will become, once it goes live.
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Not surprised by that. I imagine the offending components are made by one supplier for several different manufacturers.
Few quality managers will be twitching
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>> What is it with this website that brings out the Vauxhall haters in droves?
>>
Please don't take it personally.
I sure that most people are, like me, simple folk who have had bad experiences with Vauxhalls. We don't wish to repeat those experiences and so we refuse to buy or run Vauxhall cars when there is some element of choice.
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Careful Duncan - one of the Vauxhalleros gave me a scowly for my explanation on Sunday. With weapons like that they can be dangerous people - even if their cars don't always go where they mean them to.
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>> I sure that most people are, like me, simple
No, it's just you ;)
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>> >> I sure that most people are, like me, simple
>>
>> No, it's just you ;)
>>
When I typed the word 'simple', It did cross my mind that someone would pick up on it.
Glad I have not been disappointed.
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Perhaps Vauxhall are losing confidence in their product: www.carkeys.co.uk/news/vauxhall-reduces-warranty
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>> Perhaps Vauxhall are losing confidence in their product: www.carkeys.co.uk/news/vauxhall-reduces-warranty
>>
"Vauxhall is justifying its decision by saying that customers no longer hold on to cars as long as they used to. "
If they don't keep them, then as the lifetime warranty only applies to first registered keeper what's the issue?
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Re the Vauxhall bashing and Ford praise.
I have owned or driven both marques in my time and on balance have had more problems with the Fords, along with a real "I couldn't care less" attitude from their main dealers when the engine mount failed on a 1 year old Fiesta Mk3 almost writing off the car when the engine fell out. It had just been for its service as well. Other Fords that I owned were rust buckets or had other expensive problems.
But I think the real test is that for the last three companies that I worked for, none of the lease schemes had Fords on them. They had pretty much every other marque and I was told that couldn't get the discounts from Ford which coupled with the depreciation that they suffer made them more expensive than equivalent prestige brands. These were all major lease companies.
Regarding Vauxhall, some of the deals that they do can be fantastic. I once got a brand new Corsa SXI for 50% of the list price from the lease company as they had extra stock and a new model was due imminently.
I see that they are heavily discounting the current Zafira to under £11k from about £20k. This has to be one of lowest cost new 7 seat car on the market and one can see the appeal to a family buying one of these with a full warranty over the equivalent Ford or VW which would probably be 3 to 4 years old for that price. I know the Zafira won't be the best to drive or have the latest toys or technologies but for the average motorist it will be more than satisfactory.
Last edited by: zippy on Fri 3 Oct 14 at 10:08
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>> I see that they are heavily discounting the current Zafira to under £11k from about
>> £20k. This has to be one of lowest cost new 7 seat car on the
>> market and one can see the appeal to a family buying one of these with
>> a full warranty over the equivalent Ford or VW which would probably be 3 to
>> 4 years old for that price. I know the Zafira won't be the best to
>> drive or have the latest toys or technologies but for the average motorist it will
>> be more than satisfactory.
Pentagon are knocking out 1.8 Exclusiv Zafiras for £9999 - you cant really knock that if you need 7 seats. Factor in if you are quick you will still get the lifetime warranty there really is nothing else close at this price point
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>>Pentagon are knocking out 1.8 Exclusiv Zafiras for £9999
Can't see that on their website. Am I looking in the wrong place?
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>> Can't see that on their website. Am I looking in the wrong place?
Some reference here:
www.pentagon-vauxhall.co.uk/offers/new-car/new-vauxhall-zafira-exclusiv-mpv-offer
£9995 is a 'partners' price and while text suggest partner status is easily acquired I've not investigated. Even at the £10700 non partner price it looks a bargain.
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Last April I bought a new 1.6 Zafira Exclusiv (mk 2) with the lifetime warranty for £10,995 with £200 down and £200 a month on 2% flat rate over 5 years (so no balloon).
I have previously owned a mk1 Cavalier - many moons ago now. A car I hold nostalgically to my heart.
With two young kids and all the gumph plus with my wife not working an annual milage of no more than 8,000 a year the price of the car, the 7 seats, petrol not diesel, a decent spec and low finance added to the lifetime warranty I bought it with a 5 year service plan and said that it wasn't going to be changed unless someone totals it or we win the lottery. It is a car bought with the same sort of affectionate appeal as a washing machine but now we have it the flexibility and 7 seats are great.
I wouldn't even have looked at a Vauxhall without that warranty offer - I would have bought a 2 year old Toyota Verso with warranty 3 years left knowing a Toyota looked after lasts forever.
Strangely I would have to be persuaded hard to spend my money on a Ford. Every time I drive one I am disappointed. Noisy, unrefined, uncomfortable with horrible cluttered dashboards.
The comments on Vauxhall gearing are accurate however - the Zaf is great up to 60 MPH but becomes a tad raucous beyond that.
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Hardly surprising with a 1.6 engine in a body that heavy. Gearing has to be low or it wouldn't move at all.
Strictly a short journey car. Looked at one before we bought the Verso and couldn't imagine a long UK trip in it, never mind taking it to France. (And we wanted a true 5+2, not the Zafira's odd 4.5+2 arrangement with non-folding middle seats. Didn't get on with the Verso either, as it turned out, but that's another story.)
So yes, they are (or can be) cheap, and if you don't demand much you probably won't be disappointed. Not much of a sales tagline, though, is it?
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>> www.pentagon-vauxhall.co.uk/offers/new-car/new-vauxhall-zafira-exclusiv-mpv-offer
>>
>> £9995 is a 'partners' price and while text suggest partner status is easily acquired I've
>> not investigated. Even at the £10700 non partner price it looks a bargain.
>>
I get partners pricing through work, but I think the net is cast so wide you would be unlucky to not have access to it somewhere - I think you just have to have walked past someone else who may be entitled type thing
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It's one of those pretend sort of discounts which in practice everyone can get but is meant to make you feel you are somehow getting a good deal. Just marketing really but I find it kind of tiresome that you have to pretend that you have an aunt who works for a qualifying company to get "the deal"
I strongly suspect that they would let you have you the car at the "discount" price even if you claimed that you had no relatives and had never worked but just had a great big pile of readies that you wanted to exchange for a car.
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If there's a profit at £9995 a deal is asking to de done.
At £10,700 it's a blooming good one.
During the dying days of my dealership I sold cars for £50 profit just to stop the stocking charges.
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I recently bought a pre registered six miles on the clock car. Five grand off list, above book trade in.
I went home to "think about it overnight". I checked the dealers website and found the car advertised at a low APR as a headline (I was paying cash) and with the £495 metallic paint included. I returned the following morning with the advert and the salesman instantly said " That APR is wrong", I then pointed out the small print saying that the metalic paint was included. He visibly paled. I heard his end of the phone call to the Dealer principal, this was a small satellite location. They hounoured the advert but no spare wheel kit but mats as a consolation, I paid for the spare wheel kit. When I picked up the car I was told that they made £140 on the car and the other satellite location whose advert it was were not popular which delighted the salesman for some reason.
The advertisement had been amended with a higher APR and no metallic paint included by the time I got home (within the hour).
I don't know if I was spun a line but I think I won that one, a deal I was happy with.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 5 Oct 14 at 18:49
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Primarily new car sales are a pre-requisite for a main dealer, and a pipe line feeder for service and repairs, in an environment where frequently they would rather have just Service.
I doubt he paled, and I suspect that you were spun a line, and the P&L for that vehicle and the Car Sales main business contribution were no doubt pretty much in line with the dealership expectations.
However, none of that matters. If you got a car you like for a price you are happy with, then that is a "win". Whatever else happened.
And if you paid less than others would have done, then you should be justifiably chuffed.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sun 5 Oct 14 at 19:17
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Remember years back buying a Citroen Picasso for Mrs B. Cant remember the exact price paid but it was a massive discount of the ticket price.
Went to local main dealer to see if they could get anywhere near and they said I was lying and that the price I had was made up and there would be no car at that price, so I went back to first dealer and ordered over the phone as they were out of the area.
Mentioned that other dealer had said no way at that price when he told me they were selling at a loss - he was quite open and told me they were a high volume dealership and were close to getting a massive volume bonus from Citroen that made the profit on each car pale into insignificance, so he would undercut and deliver to the door just to hit target
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Vauxhall warns over Corsa steering problem - mikeyb
