Hi 'landers,
am considering buying an opel omega 2.0 with ecotec engine, automatic transmission.
can anyone who has had experience driving and maintaining this car give a review of it?
in terms of maintenance, spares availability, fuel consumption, durability and adaptibility to nigeria cause i don't see much of it on the roads.
Your inputs will be well appreciated.

Thanks

Siena:

The 1,998cc Ecotec 16V motor in the Omega / Vectra suffers from cylinder head porosity.

They are troublesome even here in the UK, I certainly wouldn't recommend it.
Certainly not in Nigeria, where the problems would be worse, in terms of repairs / spares.

You are very correct. I owned one in the past and I have left it with the Mechanic since July 2007. The problems are too much. DON'T BUY IT, except you have cash for its maintainance.

The 16v Omega is considered by some to be the worst Vauxhall/Opel ever made, myself included. If i were you, i would steer clear of the car, the vectra is better if you can get it, but then, it uses the same engine, and they are particularly prone to cylinder head failures, especially the the "red top variant". I had the previous version Omega with the C20NE engine, and it remains one of the most reliable cars i,ve owned till date. But, the same can't be said for its younger brother.

Siena:

Problems started when Vauxhall / Opel began to cast their own cylinder heads, and produce their own cranks to cut cost.

Them think say e easy.

But seriously, back in 2000 or so, I bought this car for a friend from Germany. And the guy used it for 5 years before selling it and didnt have a day of bother. Witht he engine that is. Duriing his fourth year of ownership, he started experiencing gear box issues. (it was an automatic). Changed the box a couple of time till he got a good one and the car was back in business.

I concur baba Siena,

i think opels in themselves are not bad cars, provided you know the engines to beware of.

I have a opel omega 2002 model. Somehow since day 1 I purchased the vehicle the warning light keeps giving me problems. Emission warning, exhaust warning, I took the car back to service station many times already and problem still exist.

Do above mentioned issue has ever occred to one of the people at up stairs.

Thanks
Buck

@bucktsai: in most cases for Opel cars, the engine warning light is because of a faulty sensor than anything else. I formerly owned an Opel Vectra with EcoTec engine for 5 years and it was built like a tank! very reliable car except for two things: (1) the engine management/engine warning light comes on often because of an easily-spoiled sensor which is apparently very sensitive to hot ambient temperatures; and (2) a easily gummed-up throttle body leading to sluggish acceleration and increased petrol consumption.

@iCON: It really depends if you really like the car. I suggest, however, that you find out as much as you can about it (i.e., technical specs, usual problems) in Opel- or Omega-specific forums. There are a lot out there, you just have to search online quite a bit. Better invest in some time to learn more than invest a lot of your hard-earned money now and regret it later.

good hunting!

To: jtoliver

Thanks for the info. What you mentioned is very very close the the problem I experienced since I purchased the car. At beginning, the indicator only came on once every week, but now it came on every two days. Like you said the acceleration slower and fuel consumption increased( same as described in car user manual). Whenever I took the car for service and mentioned these problem to them they ALWAYS say to me that while they testing the car, the warning sign does not come on,

Must I live as it is now and forget the problem or is there a way to SLOW DOWN the frequency that the warning sign come on.

Great thanks for any tips and experience sharing.

Buck

pls can anyone advise me about the 2000 audi A8 quattro all-wheel drive.i'm about to buy this car. is it a good buy pls?

siena, i really need your contribution

thanks

@bucktsai:

I would assume that along with the check engine light, you are also experiencing erratic idling (RPM goes up and down like a swing). Anyway, there are some simple and inexpensive ways that you yourself (if you are car savvy) can do to see if your engine management light would go away:

One is to have your air filter element checked and, if really dirty, either cleaned (with compressed air) or replaced. I would advise the latter, though.

Two is to have the insides of your car engine's throttle body sprayed clean with carburetor/throttle body cleaner. This would dissolve the gunk (oil and other dirt) that has accumulated there. The throttle receives warm air from the engine manifold and along with it some oil spray, which through the years builds up and hampers the proper operation of the throttle body. Of course, cleaning the throttle body entails removing the attached hoses to expose its insides. Anyway, like I said, you can get a lot of guidance online. Just search for something like "cleaning throttle body opel" or similar.

Third, you might also want to have your Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor cleaned and/or replaced.

Fourth, check the engine's oxygen sensor and replace if faulty (it is usually located along the exhaust manifold).

Fifth, and the most overlooked but probably one of the most important part of maintenance, is to have your car's spark plugs checked. The plugs tell a lot about the condition of your car. If one or two are in bad shape, replace them ALL. But make sure that they are properly gapped according to your car model's specifications (it's indicated in the car user manual).

Anyway, your friendly Opel service center should know what and where these are located in engine compartment of your car. Try suggestions 1, 2 and 5 first before changing any of the sensors I mentioned. Good luck!

@jtoliver

please can anyone advise me about the 2000 audi A8 quattro all-wheel drive.i'm about to buy this car. is it a good buy please?

thanks

To: jtoliver

Thanks extremely much for the infos, I believe that with the info you provided, I can finally soon put those problems behind me for good.

I will print out those advises and give them to the OPEL service manager to identify the actual cause of problem before I ask them to service my car again. Whenever I service my car, they always give me many "new problems" I was not aware of and ask for money to repair them before dealing with the warning sign issues.

Yours sincerely,

Buck

well, good luck buck (that rhymes)! and dont forget to update us on what the Opel service center says.

@ all

Thanks a bunch.


Ciao

To: jtoliver

Sorry for the late reply. As I said previously, I print out your suggestions and hand it the serivce department. The technician had cleaned air filter and some other points you mentioned. Result: still not fixed. I will take the car to some other places and see if they can find something with your suggestions.