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[mcd840]

Hi all, joined this forum a couple of years ago as i found you all very helpful in relation to any issues i had with my vectra cdx, sold that and bought a rover 75 and sold it a few months back as i wasnt to fussy on it...now looking for something cheap and comfy as i have a works van so fuel costs not an issue, i come across a 03 2.5 v6 omega auto woth 60000 on it, just wondered if theres anything specific to look out for ? do these auto boxes suffer from this excellent vauxhall design feature which allows coolant into the box ? i do need to ask this because as much as i want an auto i have walked away from an astra elite and a vectra elite autos because of all the negative reviews i have read.

thanks

[biggriffin]

Cam belt history, every 40k, would budget for full service, wishbones, and at 60k a cam belt, be over on age not mileage, also a coolent   change.
If doing this all your self £250ish in parts.


Coole t in gearboxes is a fwd problem.

[biggriffin]

Will try writing again.

At 60k the cam belt isn't over due on miles, it will be over on age, 4years old,I would suspect the coolent is needing a change, and possibility of needing can cover gaskets.

[Nick W]

As said, any used Omega will benefit from some refreshing of the front suspension and a cam belt.

Any 13 year old car with only 60k miles is going to need a thorough examination for rust and other damp related issues, and changing all of the fluids would be a good idea. My experience of this sort of thing is that putting such a car into use quickly requires expenditure on brakes, tyres, bushes and electrical components that have been affected by lack of use.

[tigers_gonads]

If its on a 03 plate, it will be a 2.6 

Some of the early 2.6's suffered with valve stem failure.
Look for blue smoke on start up 

Gearboxes are pretty much bomb proof imo.
If the car is 13 years old, i'd change all fluids and filters inc the gearbox one.
The gearbox is easy enough if you can get it up on 4 ramps / tall stands but messy.
Cam belt / tensioner should be changed due to its age. These are very temperamental to cam timing and unless you have the FULL lock off kit, its impossible to do properly regardless of what any garage will tell you 
They are lads on here who can do that job for you properly for appropriate exchange of sheckles or if the buy the bits yourself, the forum has a DVD which is spot on for any level of mechanic 

Other then that, just make sure most or everything is working and listen for any taps or rattles that don't sound too healthy 

But the main thing is ............... don't be afraid to walk away if it doesn't feel right 

Good luck 

[Shackeng]

Never heard of the coolant issue affecting the gearbox on these.

[Bigron]

Surely that's because they have a separate oil cooler and fan for the gearbox, Mr. Shackeng and not that silly pipe in the main radiator?

Ron.

[TheBoy]

Surely that's because they have a separate oil cooler and fan for the gearbox, Mr. Shackeng and not that silly pipe in the main radiator?

Ron.

Not all do, that only came with later cars.

However, even those that had the ATF cooler in the rad do not suffer from coolant in ATF.

[Shackeng]

I suppose cross contamination due to internal rad failure is possible, but I haven't heard of it occurring on OOF, which is the fount of all Omega wisdom.

[biggriffin]

The coolent issue the op is referring to was an issue with vectra/sigmunds.

My 3.2 has the in built rad cooler, not the extension type.

[mcd840]

thanks for all your replys. still havent been to see the car yet, trying to get info from the seller is like getting blood from a stone. i have only asked about ten times whether it is a cdx or an elite ?!...still waiting and his gumtree ad is extremly poor.

time will tell.

[Steve B]

thanks for all your replys. still havent been to see the car yet, trying to get info from the seller is like getting blood from a stone. i have only asked about ten times whether it is a cdx or an elite ?!...still waiting and his gumtree ad is extremly poor.

time will tell.

Agreed that ad is a joke.. if it is the 65 000 one.

[powerslinky]

thanks for all your replys. still havent been to see the car yet, trying to get info from the seller is like getting blood from a stone. i have only asked about ten times whether it is a cdx or an elite ?!...still waiting and his gumtree ad is extremly poor.

time will tell.

Some sellers are a law unto themselves  . .   will have a look for the Ad
There will be other omegas  . . .  CDX's  are a good buy IMO . . . . .everyone is looking for the 3.2 Elites/MV6's and they are getting harder to find.   CDX's however , although only the V6 2.6 are available for almost peanuts .    Gone that route myself now , got a decent 2.6 CDX estate with leather for £300
No Bose of course , no rear blind or Air suspension  (which I'm not keen on myself} but spec is not that much behind the Elite. Am putting a set of late Elite/MV6 Alloys on mine, so externally it looks much the same 

oh dear, just seen ad . . . IF it is the 65K miles 2.5 saloon

Pretty poor  IMO . . .1 photo . . .very small at that

Asking price well too steep IMO . . . but there again I never pay much for my Omegas 

[Doctor Gollum]

Agreed re Cdx... Seats can be replaced with Elite ones front and rear, and as you say, externally, add wheels and a boot spoiler and you're pretty much there...

As far as buying a car goes,  buy the one with the least rust/body damage as possible and budget £1,500 in the first year to get it mechanically right

[mcd840]

Yes you have seen the correct advert...he got back to me to confirm it was cdx. Just need to wait untill hes back home. Need to see if it is indeed immaculate or a pile of shite...