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[D]

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Any issues, negatives, positives, experience etc?

[X30XE]

Negatives :

It's an Insign-ificant-ia
It's FWD
It's a post 2003 soulless heap of ... GM product
It's £12k, which would get you an E320 CDI (albeit slightly older) that would be far far far far far far better.

Opinions may, and will, vary. 

[Doctor Smeagol]

Sorry no.

But, I suspect those that do would prefer the omega you already have.

[05omegav6]

A relatively rare beast... plod use a manual 4x4 version which is quite thirsty and apparently shreds tyres... in front wheel drive guise I suspect it will be more economical but choise tyres carefully as I suspect it will become quite a handful if you press on a bit

I would be wary of that much oomph going through the gearbox being an auto, but even so, alot of car for the money, especially given the mileage and main dealer seller Just double check that it hasn't been a rental car

As a car, the estate is the preferred choice as the cabin feels alot less cramped in the back with the slightly higher roofline than the hatch, but as with most modern designs, visibility is lacking, especially to the rear. A reasonable family choice imho.

Although if you fancy a Merc, I might know of a full history E220 estate going... be a bit more than that though

[D]

Thanks Al. A friend is looking at it and I offered to go along to have a look.

Any known issues with the engine?

[D]

Negatives :

It's an Insign-ificant-ia
It's FWD
It's a post 2003 soulless heap of ... GM product
It's £12k, which would get you an E320 CDI (albeit slightly older) that would be far far far far far far better.

Opinions may, and will, vary. 

So what would you suggest in that age, mileage and price bracket with the toys and space that this car has? Happy to listen to any constructive suggestions which I can put forward to my mate.

Ps: He would like something with that sort of power and is not a DIY chap, so things like the Omega or a old Merc/BMW are out of the question.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Not a massive fan of them. But, to be honest as you say, if he's not willing to get his hands dirty, then you could do a lot worse than the Insignificant. Don't 'feel' anything for fatherdear's, have no 'interest' in it, it doesn't have a 'soul' to me -  but has it ever caused a spot of trouble? Has it ever missed a beat? Has it ever failed to deliver what it promises? Sadly the answers to all those questions are 'no' And two guys I know (one a mechanic) own one, estates, and really like them. One chose his Insignia over an XF, saying it just 'felt a nicer place to be'

[D]

Thanks DBG, that is exactly what I need to know. Is it reliable, any issues or long term expenses that may crop up. Its is a piece of metal to transport family safely, swiftly and effectively. Not a woman to make love to. 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

£8995 would be closer to the mark for a 4 year old car. You should be able to achieve this figure in a private sale.

High overheads means the dealer charges £2000 to wipe the car down with a damp cloth.

If you have cash I would go the private sale route.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

More than welcome 

Vauxhall tagged it as the most ambitious car they'd designed for years, or words to that effect. They really did throw a hell of a lot of effort at it, scrapping the Vectra name, a whole new chassis, first 4wd platform since the Cavalier, new generation of engines and so on. Perhaps aware that the Mundane-o was going to be something special - and it was - plus BMW kicking volume manufacturers in the head with massively increased sales, they really did try with this one.

Personally don't feel it has any 'soul', but no doubt that's what every generation thinks of newer cars. Marks DTM will probably have an excellent mechanic's eye view of what to avoid / which engines he never sees and so on. I see this is an Elite = good. I'd say always try and get one with decent spec. SRis are a bit pointless for me personally as they don't do either 'well equipped' or 'sporty' very well, they seem to fall a bit short in either category, if that makes sense. But that's splitting hairs. Comfy seats, big boot, economical if you want, very well made.

As with any modern generation diesel, there's that filter that clogs up if you do mainly town driving (I think they call it 'progress') but that's more a criticism of the system, and EURO emissions rather than the car. 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Also, as Mr Opti says, a haggle, shopping around and so on should see a significant saving. The right car is always there, just needs finding.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Motability car?

Low mileage suggests it may be.

[05omegav6]

Have to disagree wrt specs of the Sri... They aren't the poor cousin to the old CDX/Diplomat spec that they used to be... My 4x4 diesel Sri Sports Tourer was well over £30k new.

That car is an Elite, so very well equipped, and being petrol, I would say decent fuel and regular, frequent quality oil changes should see it remaining reliable for a couple of hundred thousand miles...

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Fair enough. I can imagine your 4x4 Sports Tourer would gain a few things over my old man's pre facelift SRi which is a 1.8 or something fairly 'small', given that Insignias are a fairly fat old barge, too, it doesn't shift with any great urge.

I'm comparing my CDX Omega to an SRi Insignificant, which may not be totally fair. But things like heated seats, rear blind, dual zone climate control, electric seats, Sat Nav are all missing from his spec sheet, compared with the Omega it replaced. And I was expecting it to have that natty VXR adjustable air suspension set-up, but it doesn't.

Have driven in a friend's Elite Estate and found it felt really, really nice, and compared very well to such as a newer E-Class, in overall 'feel'. Maybe I just have a downer on my old man's SRi in particular!   

In short would I recommend someone buy an Insignificant? - yes 

[05omegav6]

My CDX reference was wrt Cavaliers etc

Insignia Sris get front fogs, electric windows all round, rear air vents, heated electric mirrors, full cabin lighting with reading lights front and rear, heated sports seats and suspension... extras include body kit, bigger wheels, parking sensors, leather and various audio options

That 1.8 isn't a bad engine, but with 140bhp and no torque it will always be a bit dull... but my '11 ST is a world away from the '63 prefacelift130 2.0 cdti Exclusive Hatch that I had last year. I actually enjoy driving the 4x4, whereas I hated every second of the hatchback... I had tried to make a sensible considered business decision and failed miserably:-[

The estate looks the part and goes it too

Those 2.0 petrol turbos are a pretty rare beast, and worthy of a second look if you want summat a bit left field. Shame it's not a 4x4 though as that turns a dullish repmobile into a competent cross country tool, especially with the bigger engines