The Car

Today in work was hell on toast, and that is all that needs to be said regarding that.

So yes, the car. The big red car I posted the other day is indeed my new ride. Yes, it's a Vauxhall. Yes, it's a Vectra. Yes, it's an SRi.

It's in very nice condition, and drives really well, has a fresh MOT and is nice and comfortable. I don't know what it's going to be like on fuel, obviously worse than the AX, but I've read that the 2.0 can be half-decent on fuel if driven gently. It cost the same as the AX did to fill it up. The insurance was naturally more than the AX but not as much as you might think. I know two people with Vectras who love them so that's why I was looking for one. Unfortunately there are very few diesels about so I ended up with this one.

The weird thing is, unlike the Cavalier and later Vectras, on this model, SRi is just a trim level and there are no changes to the engine or suspension. So other than the alloys and the trim around the windows, it's not more sporty at all. This is a bit aggravating as when I was sorting out the insurance, the guy told that my excess had to go up by £50 just because it says SRi on it.

It does have gadgets, which worries me a little. I've been bitten before by leaking sunroofs, electric windows that stick down when it's raining and central locking which doesn't work right. This has got a manual sunroof, electric windows, electric mirrors, ABS, remote central locking, and I think it even has traction control.

So far everything seems OK except the central locking and alarm, which doesn't seem to disarm when you unlock the doors and some doors seem to randomly stay locked and unlocked. It would probably just be easier to disable the central locking altogether if it's going to be troublesome though.

There's also a third party CD player which was working when I picked it up but died on the way home but that's OK as I'll rip it out and put my faithful Alpine in it. Also there's a screen in the dash that should display the date, time and temperature but it's dead, which is pretty much universal in older Vectras.

The AX? The garage took it off me. They didn't give me anything for it though. I feel guilty that I don't miss the AX but I don't, at all. It should have been a good car, and if it had been any other AX, it probably would have been. But that one was literally damaged goods, and I never should have bought the damn thing.