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[raywilb]

what i miss mostly about my omega is the car i have doesn,t require me to do anything. tinkering about on my mig was i realize now quite therapeutic. services, brakes ect were quite satisfying once done. now i have a shed full of tools which are redundant. plus the last mig was an estate which would carry just about anything i now have a car which only just has room for a couple of shopping bags. long live the omegas 

[Mister Rog]

what i miss mostly about my omega is the car i have doesn,t require me to do anything. tinkering about on my mig was i realize now quite therapeutic. services, brakes ect were quite satisfying once done. now i have a shed full of tools which are redundant. plus the last mig was an estate which would carry just about anything i now have a car which only just has room for a couple of shopping bags. long live the omegas 

Ha.
Exactly the reverse to me. I had 4 Omegas, just great to drive, carrying loads etc. But I am not a DIY person. I hated the maintenence requirement. I did not do my own work so it cost a fortune paying a garage. Otherwise I would still have one.

[Doctor Gollum]

what i miss mostly about my omega is the car i have doesn,t require me to do anything. tinkering about on my mig was i realize now quite therapeutic. services, brakes ect were quite satisfying once done. now i have a shed full of tools which are redundant. plus the last mig was an estate which would carry just about anything i now have a car which only just has room for a couple of shopping bags. long live the omegas 

Well, I guess that's what you get for swapping an executive estate car for a stylised family hatch

I would wager that the Citroen is nearly new, alot easier to get in and out of, and uses a third of the fuel. If that outweighs the therapeutic and practical aspects of the Omega then that was the right choice for you

You were clearly a bit of a pseudo masochist though running a diesel omega... So there's that

[Rangie]

what i miss mostly about my omega is the car i have doesn,t require me to do anything. tinkering about on my mig was i realize now quite therapeutic. services, brakes ect were quite satisfying once done. now i have a shed full of tools which are redundant. plus the last mig was an estate which would carry just about anything i now have a car which only just has room for a couple of shopping bags. long live the omegas 

.   


Got to agree with you , pound for pound my old 2.6 was the best car I've owned only cost me £1995 when I bought it & never missed a beat, I bought from a VX main dealership who had supplied & maintained it from new for its first owner & they looked after it superbly for me for 5 years, if I'd have had a double garage at the time I would have certainly kept it , they were great cars no doubt about that.

[johnnydog]

As there are now fewer Omegas on the road, I regularly have people coming up to me at petrol stations, or when I'm out and about, or delivery people coming to my address that say,  'I had one of those - brilliant cars. Best car I ever had'.
In their day they probably thought that, but unless they can 'tinker' with them to keep the maintenance costs down, many may not have the same thoughts now.
Although I totally agree with their comments.... 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Dont worry Ray. It wont be long before your plastic French car starts giving troble and you can dust off your tools again. 

[Doctor Gollum]

The Omega isn't inherently unreliable, there's a handful of things that will give issues on any Omega and a couple of items that are engine dependent. Typically all these issues crop up somewhere between 80-120k miles, and it stands to reason that if you keep one long enough you'll be doing them twice. And buying one now will either cost you in purchase price as everything will have just been done, or it will need a grand or more spent on it fairly quickly to get things right. And that's ignoring their single biggest threat... Rust.

They were a decent car in their time, and like most underrated cars, still tick alot of boxes. I don't think that I will ever have another though.

As for tinkering, as long as you are physically able, there's alot to be said for carrying out routine bits and pieces on even a new car... Brake servicing, intermediate oil changes, bits and bobs as they crop up. If it's under warranty, then dealer servicing matters, but that doesn't stop you doing other work... Pads/balljoints etc which can help offset the cost of the dealer services. And this time of year, digging leaves out of the nooks and crannies is a full time job in itself 

[ronnyd]

Must agree with most of the sentiments. While the Vectra is goodish to drive and i even quite like manually changing gear,   it is leagues behind the Omega in comfort and satisfaction. If i could afford to keep 2  cars, one as a toy, then i would have another Mig. But i need a daily driver, so practicalities rule.

[Olympia5776]

Interesting subject .
I've had my '99 facelift for 17 years now .
Due to the fact that I have a van for day to day duties and my wife a new(ish) Yeti it covers very little annual miles. I enjoy maintaining it myself and find all parts reasonably priced .
Having recently retired Mrs Olympia suggested that I dispose of the van and treat myself to a new( ish ) car . After pondering it for a second I said that I'd rather stick with the Omega as it is still the most comfortable and versatile car that could ask for and would easily cost € 20K to replace in size /comfort and reliability .
Insurance and road tax has been crippling over here in Ireland but now it will be eligable for classic insurance and will be added to my other classic policy making it much more agreeable .
I've noticed that , over here , the value of them has been steadily rising again so it could be a win win ..
I still find them an attractive car that hasn't dated as much as others.

[B52]

Out of interest, what's your view of the Insignia?

I've likewise had an MV6 for 17 years since it was a year old - I test drove an Insignia around 2008 and never saw it as a compelling next car.

[Doctor Gollum]

A 4x4 Insignia is a rare but entertaining car regardless of the engine. Estate boot is better than it looks but the boot opening on saloon/hatch is a stupid shape. Better than the Vectra C but not quite a premium product

[456lbft]

Interesting subject .
I've had my '99 facelift for 17 years now .
Due to the fact that I have a van for day to day duties and my wife a new(ish) Yeti it covers very little annual miles. I enjoy maintaining it myself and find all parts reasonably priced .
Having recently retired Mrs Olympia suggested that I dispose of the van and treat myself to a new( ish ) car . After pondering it for a second I said that I'd rather stick with the Omega as it is still the most comfortable and versatile car that could ask for and would easily cost € 20K to replace in size /comfort and reliability .
Insurance and road tax has been crippling over here in Ireland but now it will be eligable for classic insurance and will be added to my other classic policy making it much more agreeable .
I've noticed that , over here , the value of them has been steadily rising again so it could be a win win ..
I still find them an attractive car that hasn't dated as much as others.

That's a very tidy looking estate car, and will deserve to go up in value as supply and demand dictates market price. 

[Nick W]

Out of interest, what's your view of the Insignia?

My view of the early Insignia? It's hideous.


The current one looks OK, but I can't remember the last time I saw one.


No idea what they drive like, and don't expect to find out.

[Olympia5776]

Out of interest, what's your view of the Insignia?

I've likewise had an MV6 for 17 years since it was a year old - I test drove an Insignia around 2008 and never saw it as a compelling next car.

I hired a 9 mile estate car some time back. Found it incredibly difficult to see rear and rear 3/4 view. The SR seats were incredibly hard and uncomfortable ,the electric handbrake a huge PITA . Getting back into the Omega at the airport was like putting on a nicely worn pair of Cheaney brogues..
All in all the experience made the model invisible to me from then on . Even now when I see them I look beyond...

[Nick W]

That's a very tidy looking estate car, and will deserve to go up in value as supply and demand dictates market price.

Very few are likely to go UP much in value, as the demand for Omegas is small. This has always been true of large Vauxhalls.
Smart, tidy, well-kept, usable examples probably reached their lowest value some time ago, and might recover slightly.
Snotters are, and have been for some time, worthless and won't get any better. These are not just the scruffy cars that have been ignored, but tidy ones that haven't had the more expensive jobs done because the car isn't worth much. We are the only buyers of such examples, won't pay much for them and even then will be very selective


Working estates are still properly useful cars, and will be in use for some time still. Owners know how hard they are to replace, so don't expect them to change hands. Which has been true of estates forever.


Very few car models break this cycle!