'05+ Astras.... any good?

[onca]

Gidday folks, I'm looking at buying a new ride for the missus to drive to work, and city driving primarily. I was looking at '05 Astra or something similar, budget $10k.

Are they any good? Anything I should watch out for?

Cheers

[Astranomical]

I drive an '07 AH Astra CDX...while you will be disappointed if you're coming from a Commodore, they really are, in my opinion at least, quite an underrated little car, and really quite a nice car to drive. Until I drove the Astra I was never really all that keen on getting a "buzzbox", though I have to say, it really has made a believer out of me. Sure, its no V8 HSV, but its no Hyundai Excel or Proton Satria (worst car I've ever driven) either.

As for things to watch out for, normally I'd suggest going with a 2L model rather than the 1.8, as the 1.8 is a bit of a slug for highway driving, but if its primarily for city driving I wouldn't worry too much. Another small issue is that if indeed you care, you'll need to make sure the Astra you get comes with the right head unit if you want to plug your iPod in - believe it or not the "premium" 6 disc in dash CD changer actually has no AUX input...I couldn't believe it either.

[Calaber]

Also, make sure that the timing belt has been replaced at its factory interval. They are only a thin belt and the factory recommends replacement at 60k. Replacement according to the factory includes belt, tensioners and guides, but you can safely get away with just the belt at one interval, then replace the lot at the next interval. If you are competent with car maintenance, the belt is a simple swap to do yourself and only costs about $30 to $40. The full factory service is nearer $600, every 60K, just for the timing belt and associated parts. Ignore the belt at your peril - if they break, big bux to fix the motor, as the valves and pistons get very close and personal in a very noisy manner.

[onca]

Cheers guys, I'll keep that in mind.

[naf33n]

we own 2 05 astras, pretty good little cars, the auto lets it down a bit though, my mum and sister love them, and have not had problme with them..i had a manual 08 turbo diesal when i lived in london, much better with the extra power, but had massive clutch/flywheel/gearbox failure,

[Matty.b]

the Astras these days are the Opel Astra, they are German Designed and not sure where they are built, i have worked on a few, pretty good little cars

when i spent time in Germany they are EVERYWHERE, so youd think if the Germans like them they must be ok, having said that as a German Car, they are good quality but when they stuff up....they tend to stuff up bad (see timing belt comment above)

when i was in London i also saw them there in large numbers of Vauxhall Astras (not as many as Germany but)

[Astranomical]

Speaking of Vauxhall, the British cops actually use them as persuit cars, no idea what drivetrain or anything they run though. (diesel I'd assume as diesels are wildly popular in the UK and Europe) Either way, as I said, if you find a well maintained example with low k's, they're really quite a nice car to drive.

[naf33n]

Speaking of Vauxhall, the British cops actually use them as persuit cars, no idea what drivetrain or anything they run though. (diesel I'd assume as diesels are wildly popular in the UK and Europe) Either way, as I said, if you find a well maintained example with low k's, they're really quite a nice car to drive.

yes they are diesals, they dont use them for pursuit cars, just normal patrols and traffic work, they have BMW 5 series and landrover discovery's for the faster stuff, but there is that many cameras over there, there is no need for a pursuit, there on every street in london center and on every motorway, they will find you soon enough

[Calaber]

the Astras these days are the Opel Astra, they are German Designed and not sure where they are built, i have worked on a few, pretty good little cars

when i spent time in Germany they are EVERYWHERE, so youd think if the Germans like them they must be ok, having said that as a German Car, they are good quality but when they stuff up....they tend to stuff up bad (see timing belt comment above)

when i was in London i also saw them there in large numbers of Vauxhall Astras (not as many as Germany but)

Actually, they were always Opels, even back in the dim dark mid 90's, but are marketed as Vauxhalls for the British. The previous models, TR and TS, were manufactured in Belgium until the AH arrived, and production of the TS continued for a while but shifted to Poland. I assume the AH is also Belgian made.

They are well engineered cars with good quality, sound and safe handling, only modest performance but suffer, in 1.8 engined cars, from the timing belt issue. Most other maufacturers manage to have belt change intervals around 100k, which is reasonable, but because the Astra's belts are so light-weight, (read skimpy and cheap), they don't last anywhere near as long, so the replacement interval is very short for a modern car. Other than the belts though, they are a sound car.

[Shortstuff]

We've just bought an '05 AH CD coupe for my girlfriend. It's a very nice car to drive and is manual so hopefully no gearbox problems!

'05 onwards the timing belt interval is 90000km or 6 years. I'd also recommend changing the water pump at the same time as the timing belt because if the water pump fails it has pretty much the same effect as the timing belt snapping. Genuine brakes are an expensive item but you can get aftermarket stuff reasonably cheap.

[Benboy]

Astra's can be renowned for the number of problems (design faults) etc that owners have experienced.

A member of my family has one and has experienced the following:
premature wear/failure of rear disk pads and rotors, air conditioner leaks, ignition lock failure (hot weather melts pastic parts inside of mechanism), etc. Suggest you have a good read of such reports in accompanying link:

COMPLAINTS CORNER - HOLDEN#ASTRA - MOTORSM.COM