Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[TheDufster]

My silver Omega 2.2 CD (53 reg) has developed rust spots around the edge of the nearside rear passenger door. I originally brought this up with my local Vauxhall Dealer back in June 2005, however they failed to provide any assistance whatsoever. I noticed a clause in the warranty statement that you need to have the paintwork checked over regularly and the corrosion checklist completed in the service book for any paint warranty to be honoured. I had done this but they still walked away from my problem.

I eventually wrote them a letter:

Further to your paintwork inspection of the above vehicle today, I write to confirm that I disagree with your inspector’s findings that the rust spots and blemishes on the bodywork are all down to ‘stone chips’ and therefore not covered under the vehicle’s warranty. I do not find it acceptable that the paintwork on a car of this age should deteriorate in this manner and I am surprised that you have advised me that the warranty does not provide cover in this situation. Even if the marks were caused by ‘stone chips’ I would not expect any rust to show after such a short period of time.

I am disappointed that you have been quick to dismiss the matter and not offer any further help or support. Unless you write to advise me that your stance on this matter has changed within the next 7 days, I intend to obtain an independent inspection of the bodywork and opinion of the situation from a third party, as well as taking the matter up with Vauxhall directly. Following this, should it be found that the warranty does indeed cover this work, I will seek to recover any costs involved with the above inspection from yourselves.


As they failed to do anything about it, I contacted Vauxhall. They refused to do anything at all. I can't believe that the warranty doesn't cover it.

So the end of it is that I am left with these rust spots and I am now not sure what to do about them. How much should it cost to have some local repairs/repainting done? I can remember the Vauxhall garage quoting circa £400.

I only intend to keep the car for another 2 years and wonder if it will affect the resale value as it's probably worth next to nothing now anyway. I don't want to throw "good money after bad" as the saying goes.

[Jimbob]

Someone like chips away will probably fix for 1/2 that!
charged me about £70 for 1st spot and a bit more for each one after that.

Had 5 done iirc and cost about £200

[ianrobbo]

Your car is very young, I'd agree with you that it's not right. I don't see how they just dismiss it if you kept the anti-corrosion warranty stamps up to date.

If I were you (and I've never had a car that new so I'm not an authority!), I'd start making a bit of a nuisance of myself at both your local dealers and Vauxhall headquarters, with plenty of letters, e-mails & phonecalls.

So how often does one get stonechips on the rear passenger door?

Annoy the hell out of them, even if you get nowhere at least you've tried, and it might even make you feel better!

[Andy B]

........ I contacted Vauxhall. They refused to do anything at all. ........

Why am I not suprised!

[Paul M]

I just sold a 1994 Audi with more miles than the space shuttle and I'm confident in saying that I expect it had less rust than your 3 year old Omega does. Put quite simply, Vauxhalls (and GM in general) are utter junk in terms of build quality. Let them know your opinion on the matter, and make sure you tell everyone you know of that same opinion. It won't help your case any, but the more people who are warned away from this manufacturer the better!

The Omega suits me great for what I bought it - a cheap, comfortable and spacious car for doing all my mundane motorway driving and lugging stuff around. It's also RWD and has quite a good chassis for its size. However I'm under no illusions of the standard of build - I've been driving since I was 17 and never had breakdown cover as I didn't think I'd need it, but I do now! A few months after buying it my dad was using it and got stranded when the crank sensor failed (very common fault); maybe I'm being unfair as it's been fine ever since but I can't say it fills me with confidence. I'm prepared to put up with things like that and the rust though as they're cheap to buy used for that very reason - few people want them due partly to image but also lack of quality, which drives down the used price.

If you want a car that won't rust, buy an Audi (or indeed just about anything except a Vauxhall!). Unfortunately rusting is just part and parcel of owning these cars, and VX are obviously well aware of this hence why they're very reluctant to budge on the warranty issue as they'd go bust trying to fix rust on just about every car they've shipped in the past 10 years :O

[Andy B]

....... Put quite simply, Vauxhalls (and GM in general) are utter junk in terms of build quality. .........and VX are obviously well aware of this hence why they're very reluctant to budge on the warranty issue as they'd go bust trying to fix rust on just about every car they've shipped in the past 10 years :O

So Paul ...... how do you rate your Omega?      

[TheDufster]

Thanks for the replies peeps. I am of the mind to maybe get it repaired (I tried chips away but they failed to turn up!) and I am counting down the days when I can get rid of the car for good, but I have 21 more monthly payments to make on the outstanding loan which is about double what the car is worth (it's a long story!).

The car has served its purpose (and it still continues to do so)  - I needed a cheap big car for the family, and for £9,000 with 15k miles and under 1yr old, at the time it was a bargain. I still find it comfortable to drive, but the image, performance and service levels from dealers let it down. Apart from Peugeot, I haven't come across a more obnoxious, obstructive and "couldn't care less attitude" bunch of people.

My wife's car is a Toyota and on the rare occastion that it has to go into the garage (i.e. for a service) the difference in the level of service is remarkable. Even without doing much, they actually make you feel good when you hand over your credit card to pay.

I don't even understand the mentality of the Vauxhall garage managers - the environments are hardly the soft of place that makes you want to shell out £££ for a new / nearly new car. The showrooms are a mess!

Oh well that's enough moaning for now - I'd better stop otherwise I could go on and on and on and on............

[mar892ree]

Hopefully Taxi Driver will be along shortly, he's an expert when it comes to getting VX to do rust spots on his 03 plate Omega  
Try going to another dealershit   whoops meant dealership, and ask !

Taxi Driver seems to get on famously at his dealership regarding his little rust spots and i'm VERY sure he didnt keep up his bodywork warrenty

[TheBoy]

I just sold a 1994 Audi with more miles than the space shuttle and I'm confident in saying that I expect it had less rust than your 3 year old Omega does. Put quite simply, Vauxhalls (and GM in general) are utter junk in terms of build quality. Let them know your opinion on the matter, and make sure you tell everyone you know of that same opinion. It won't help your case any, but the more people who are warned away from this manufacturer the better!

The Omega suits me great for what I bought it - a cheap, comfortable and spacious car for doing all my mundane motorway driving and lugging stuff around. It's also RWD and has quite a good chassis for its size. However I'm under no illusions of the standard of build - I've been driving since I was 17 and never had breakdown cover as I didn't think I'd need it, but I do now! A few months after buying it my dad was using it and got stranded when the crank sensor failed (very common fault); maybe I'm being unfair as it's been fine ever since but I can't say it fills me with confidence. I'm prepared to put up with things like that and the rust though as they're cheap to buy used for that very reason - few people want them due partly to image but also lack of quality, which drives down the used price.

If you want a car that won't rust, buy an Audi (or indeed just about anything except a Vauxhall!). Unfortunately rusting is just part and parcel of owning these cars, and VX are obviously well aware of this hence why they're very reluctant to budge on the warranty issue as they'd go bust trying to fix rust on just about every car they've shipped in the past 10 years :O

Vauxhall, in my experience, are no worse than Ford/VAG (Audi aside) or most others for rust.  Prefacelifts did have an issue with just under the rubber strip by windows, granted.

Vauxhall are let down by their dealer network, which is almost as bad as Renault and BMW, which is a shame, as the cars ain't that bad (Astra-H excluded :p).

Every car I've ever owned (or been responsible for in case of company vehicles) has let me down - the Omega has only done so once (crank sensor, like yours), so again from my experience, no worse than any other car I've owned/responsible for, in fact better than most. Even my supposedly utterly reliable Honda broke down with a known, common electronic failure.

I bought my MV6 for a specific reason, and only intended to keep it 6 months. Thats was over 3 yrs ago. There is nothing to replace it with for what I'm prepared to spend (5 - 6k).


I'm certainly not a Vauxhall fan, never have been, but the Omega ain't that bad really. Obviously, it won't suit everyone. Generally, most problems are due to lack of proper maintenence, though it has got one or 2 bits that probably could have been better designed (eg, running of crank sensor wiring).

[Andy B]

.....Vauxhall, in my experience, are no worse than Ford/VAG (Audi aside) or most others for rust.   .....

BMWs always seem to be in far better nick age for age than a comparible Vx - probably reflected to a degree (discounting snob value) in their far lower depreciation costs.

[TheBoy]

.....Vauxhall, in my experience, are no worse than Ford/VAG (Audi aside) or most others for rust.   .....

BMWs always seem to be in far better nick age for age than a comparible Vx - probably reflected to a degree (discounting snob value) in their far lower depreciation costs.

The older ones - such as the classic early nineties 5 series, yes. The one that replaced it in late nineties, I'm not convinced judging from the beemers I know (come from a family of BMW drivers).

Omega's finish was improved greatly with the facelift model - you don't see many rusty facelifts (nor should you at that age!)...

[Andy B]

.......
Omega's finish was improved greatly with the facelift model - you don't see many rusty facelifts (nor should you at that age!)...

Is that apart from TheDufster's car?  :-?

[TheBoy]

.......
Omega's finish was improved greatly with the facelift model - you don't see many rusty facelifts (nor should you at that age!)...

Is that apart from TheDufster's car?  :-?

[Paul M]

....... Put quite simply, Vauxhalls (and GM in general) are utter junk in terms of build quality. .........and VX are obviously well aware of this hence why they're very reluctant to budge on the warranty issue as they'd go bust trying to fix rust on just about every car they've shipped in the past 10 years :O

So Paul ...... how do you rate your Omega?      

It's actually not that bad when you take into account the used price reflects the (lack of) quality

I'm quite happy with a car that is inevitably going to rust here and there, as I bought it in full knowledge of that fact and I just wanted a cheap car with reasonable power and handling for enjoyement when I hit the B-roads, along with plenty of toys and space for going snowboarding trips etc. Basically a cheap luxo-barge that can do all the things I don't want to or can't in my BMW (like carry more than 2 people ) that admittedly isn't particularly well built.

If I'd paid £27,000 for it (or whatever it cost new), it would be a completely different story! It amazes me that any private buyers actually pay that sort of money for a new Vauxhall, they make decent used buys because of their savage depreciation but the new buyer gets a double-whammy of a mediocre quality car combined with a huge depreciation hit :O

[Paul M]

.....Vauxhall, in my experience, are no worse than Ford/VAG (Audi aside) or most others for rust.   .....

BMWs always seem to be in far better nick age for age than a comparible Vx - probably reflected to a degree (discounting snob value) in their far lower depreciation costs.

The older ones - such as the classic early nineties 5 series, yes. The one that replaced it in late nineties, I'm not convinced judging from the beemers I know (come from a family of BMW drivers).

My 840Ci is actually slightly older than my Omega (1997 vs 1998), and although it has probably had a much easier life the difference between them is quite amazing. Open the driver's door on the BMW and it feels absolutely solid, no play whatsoever and it shuts with a good thud. Seems like you could lift the car by the doors. The Omega on the other hand... well sometimes you have to use the key before opening as sometimes the remote locking doesn't quite lift the catch enough to unlock it (probably just needs oiled but still).... then you're greeted by a door that flaps about because the check strap has ripped itself out. Inside, start the engine and you often get a slight hunting idle, start driving and the gas pedal can feel like an on-off switch in slow traffic. Give it too much gas at low revs and it sometimes splutters (classic misfire symptoms, probably leaking cam covers). The BMW on the other hand idles perfectly, pulls like a train from 800 RPM even in 6th gear, oh and the HID lights actually illuminate more than about 2 metres in front of the car

Granted, the 840 cost £64,000 when it was new and is currently worth about 9 times what the Omega is worth, but the difference in quality is huge. Even though it's a V8 most things are loads easier to work on too compared to the Omega - I could change the crank sensor in 10 minutes, atlthough I don't expect I'll need to as they rarely fail due to not being routed right next to the exhaust and oil pipes!

Don't get me wrong the Omega is a decent car as a used purchase, just don't expect it to be trouble free, and don't expect it to seem like the £27,000 car it once was

PS I'd agree that newer BMWs seem to be taking a nosedive in quality. They're certainly still miles ahead of Vauxhall but not so much compared to several other mainstream manufacturers. And the interior design seems to have taken some major steps backwards :O