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Looking to buy a second hand astra, around 05 plate, undecided on engine yet and just wondered if there is anything in particular I should look out for that current/past owners have come across.
Until recently, I had a 55 plate 1.7d. Reliable enough car. Only big items I had to deal with were an aircon condenser and an alternator. I don't think these things were astra typical though, just random stuff on a seven year old 110,000 mile car. Had the estate which was massive inside and great for bike duties.
stay wellclear of the 1.9cdti modles, there clutch and gearbox were renound for being made of material with the consistency of Philadelphia.
Why an Astra? So many better cars out there. Cam belt tensioners made of plasticine. The 1.7 diesel is an izusu engine, it's more reliable than the 1.9 cdti but is a bit rough and dated. Run away as fast as you can. I'd rather buy something French!
With the diesels - fuel can creep through the wiring loom from the fuel pump to the ECU. Pop the plugs off the ECU and check that its dry inside. Fortunately its a common enough problem that aftermarket repairs/replacements are pretty cheap - post away the ECU and get a refurbished one back for about £150 - £200 and fit it yourself. But.... a lot of people don't know that and dealer parts would run into £1000s to repair so its a good bargaining tool. You can guard against it happening by cutting the wires leaving the fuel pump and joining them with a choc block so that any fuel leaks can't run along the wire (it actually creeps by capillary action inside the insulation.
at @05 you're on the threshold between the 'G' and 'H' generation cars - with the G's another common issue is the home switch inside the windscreen motor failing and the wipers not knowing where on the screen to stop - this shows up most on intermittent wipe. Again, replacement motors are pretty cheap if you shop around and its a DIY repair.
You can read the fault codes on some DTI and CDTI engined cars - hold down the brake and accelerator pedal then turn the ignition 2 clicks (i.e. just before it starts the engine) the engine management will then flash out any stored codes - 1 flash for 1, 2 flashes for 2..... 10 flashes for zero. They're 4 digit codes which you can then google. Have someone jot the numbers down as you read them out as they flash out pretty quickly.
Just sold our gert's 1.4 petrol. It was 07 reg and we had it since early 08. Nothing at all ever went wrong with it. Chain not belt.