Vauxhall Astra Van

[061 Leigh]

Hi again from Australia.

There is a 2001 Vauxhall Astra Van for sale here in Aus! As far as I am aware it is the only one here.

It has a 1.6 petrol motor with an LPG conversion, done 80,000 km. (I believe it is a Z16SE motor)

Are these any good? Any problems with the motor, gearbox, diff I should look out for? What other motor will fit without too much mucking about?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers, Leigh.

[061 Leigh]

Well,
it seems no one wishes to add anything useful to this request.

I have decided not to buy it in case I am getting lumped with a problem in the future.

I thought forums were all about sharing information

[020 Brad]

Hi Leigh.

Have you asked on any UK sites?

Unfortunately we never received the Vauxhall Astra van as far an I'm aware, so with no experience with these vehicles it would be a little hard for us to comment.

Even our (Holden) Astras recieved the 1.8l X18SE I think it was, rather than the 1.6l engine, so again, we would have limited experience with this engine, probably only in the Holden Barina if anything.

Good luck with your search! I'd like to say the Astra will be a great little vehicle if you do end up buying it.

[001 Neville]

Sorry Leigh, as Brad says, if people have no experience of car/engine, then they maybe don't want to speculate how good or bad it may be and lead you astray. It may be a perfectly good engine.

Did you see this Opel Monza GSE for sale in Melbourne?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Opel-Monza-Hatchback-Coupe-VC-VH-VK-Brock-HDT-Monaro-Torana-LX-/121063419175?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&nma=true&si=zefh9EPJ4jdDrkbbn2EPXc%252BlfQU%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

[127 Gordo]

Closest I recall seeing here was the UK Corsa/Aussie Barina based vans and I'm not in the least sure of what they had in them.
If you were seriously interested in that Astra (assuming it wasn't something else from the Orient, badge engineered), you'd be much better off checking out the UK forums, TBH.

As with the others, I wasn't, and aren't, familiar with the thing and so am not in any position to advise either way. if you can positively identify what it is, then perhaps some help would be forthcoming?

[168 Derek S]

We used to have Mk2 astra vans in the company fleet in the UK
I used to get the job of buying the company cars, when it came to vans the final selection was mainly price driven
We went between escort and astra vans, both of which are pretty bread and butter stuff in the UK, we have a good run out of both, but the Astra's seemed to hold together better and have a higher residual resale value than the escorts.
both are generally car based from the b pillar forwards, so mechanically the info on the cars is a good bench mark

driving them however is a bit different to the cars

I would quite like an astra van, they are a very good base to transfer the higher spec items out of a donor car into and end up with something that looks different and performs like a sports wagon.

[061 Leigh]

Thanks to those who have now replied. This is exactly what I needed from the first post!

I have very little (no) experience with the post 2000 models so I dont know whether the motors should be avoided or if they are good. Not sure what else fits, etc.

A few years ago I had a chance to buy a Vauxhall Astra here but did not as I found out the front wheel drive Astras (1.6) Have a different motor to the front wheel drive Holden Camiras (also 1.6 but totally different). Did not want to buy a car I could not get parts for.

Shortly afterwards the Daewoo was introduced to Australia which was identical to the Vauxhall excepting badges. Oh well.

I would have thought the drivetrain of the Astra van was the same as the Astra wagon it was derived from but you seem to indicate it is not. More homework to be done.

Leigh.

[168 Derek S]

the drive train is basically the same as the car...as long as the car is a 1.6 version.

the only subtle changes will be in the suspension and maybe the brakes, depending on the exact spec of the vehicle.

the interior will be very commercial and basic, but that's to be expected.