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[Ralph]

Well I've reached the end of the line with my Omega, it's going to have to go.
Probably going to put it on ebay.
The tin worm is taking over & on top of other bits that need attention I don't feel like throwing any more cash at it.
Unfortunately there is no chance of finding a much newer one so time to move on to something different.
I've really enjoyed the car over the last eight years & it has been very reliable, only let me down once.
Thanks for all the help & advice I've had over the years.

[flyer 0712]

Cars are a bit like us matey..we cant go on forever,, ...best of luck with you new purchase what ever that may be,

[terry paget]

Doesn't need to be newer, just less rusty. I have a little rusty V reg and X reg Omegas, last MOT my 03 reg  had rust on the advisory list. Last year I scrapped a V reg with a rear shock burst into the boot. Trick is to find a good one. I now look at MOT history and rear wheel arches. Any other tips?

[BazaJT]

Your post reads to me as though you're leaving OOF also,you really don't have to do that ifthat's what you've got in mind.Stick around and annoy people

[Tick Tock]

Yeah stick around  but there comes a time when enough is enough. I'm throwing money at an X reg estate, which should hopefully keep it going for another couple of years, but it will still need a lot of my attention regardless of how many miles it does, and that I guess is where you have to draw the line.

[Nick W]

Doesn't need to be newer, just less rusty. I have a little rusty V reg and X reg Omegas, last MOT my 03 reg  had rust on the advisory list. Last year I scrapped a V reg with a rear shock burst into the boot. Trick is to find a good one. I now look at MOT history and rear wheel arches. Any other tips?

Wheel arches are a trivial cosmetic problem compared to rotten sills hidden by the plastic covers, crusty subframe mounts and rusty front chassis rails.

[terry paget]

11 year ago I was a 24v Senator enthusiast, appearing on the cover of Straight Six News with my family and four of them. I don't see many Senators around now. I fear Omegas will go the same way, but pray not.

[flyer 0712]

In 2001 I owned a senator 3.0 ltr ex old bill saloon..,,,it was a great car and so reliable and I did not want to part with it,but I did.now looking back at them they are so old hat that I would not have another one,funny how tastes change as we get older..

[johnnydog]

Back in 1980, looking for a bigger car to carry my growing family, I bought a 6 cylinder Triumph 2000 which then was 6 years old. Absolutely loved it, and although they had only been out of production for 3 years, scrap yards were full of them, and parts were plentiful. The 2.5PI model was often scrapped due to the lack of understanding of the fuel injection system, which if wrongly set up gave horrendous consumption figures, but that has led to them now being sought after models today due to their relative rarity. I got the bug in 1980, and currently have 5 various models in the range, which I take to shows.
I got the Omega bug for similar reasons back in 2001 after buying my first 3.2 Elite, as I wanted a heavy powerful rear wheel drive car for towing. I've since collected quite a few to say the least !
What I am trying say is that in my early days of Triumph ownership, I quickly found out the problem areas for rust, and did something about it with rust preventative measures. Today, they have virtually no signs of rust at 40+ years old. As I felt my Omegas were were long term keepers, I have done the same wth them - noted where the rust prone areas were on other cars, and did something about it in mine. As a result, I only bought a replacement Omega that had as near perfect bodywork as possible, and then set about preserving them as best I could. Today, all my Omegas have perfect rear arches, and are showing no signs of rust. I'm not saying that they will never rust, but the process can be minimised with suitable treatment. It's pointless putting good money into an example that already has rusty arches, for example, as fighting the tin worm is a never ending battle once it's there.
I believe that good Omegas, especially the higher spec'd models are now getting quite sought after, and in a few years time, will no doubt be quite a rare car. The value of them has already bottomed out and will surely continue to rise. Good examples can still be found if prepared to wait for the right car and maybe pay that bit extra for it, but then take the right precautions to keep it as rust free as possible for as long as possible.
I also have a high performance Audi, and although it's a tremendous car, overall I enjoy the Omega more for what it offers.
Maybe the Omega Elite will some day be like the Triumph 2.5 PI - once a car scrapped prematurely, but years on, a rarity and quite a classic in its own right!
All said, I intend being an Omega owner for some considerable years to come!
Sorry about the length of this post, but keeping a possible future classic car on the road to me is important and I will be doing so for as long as possible with the Omega!
John.

[Mr Gav]

11 year ago I was a 24v Senator enthusiast, appearing on the cover of Straight Six News with my family and four of them. I don't see many Senators around now. I fear Omegas will go the same way, but pray not.

I think the Omegas will go the same way, look at how many parts are NLS for the Senator now, which doesn`t make it viable unless you do very low milage, the Omega will follow that pattern I`m sure as Vauxhall don`t support older models any more.
Just look on ebay for timing chain guides 

[johnnydog]

There are also quite a good number of genuine Omega parts that are now not available from VX, and, although aftermarket parts are available for some, the age old question of quality comes into it. If a car that is out of production has a good enough following, then companies may take the plunge and make difficult to get or unobtainable parts. But if there isn't the following for them, and the cars are being broken up for parts, or owners are not repairing them, then that is the start of the slippery downhill slope that will only get worse. Unfortunately, some Omegas are worth more in parts that as a whole car which doesn't help the situation.
Comparing them to the Triumphs I own, there will be very good Omegas out there still - it is still possible to find good original Triumphs if you are prepared to put the time and effort in, and to pay the appropriate price for the right car......it's just finding them, but if you do find one, then I would make every effort to preserve it as best as you can.
Just my thoughts that's all.....
After all, what is there out there that in anyway compares with what the Omega offers without spending good amount of money?

[Diamond Black Geezer]

I'd second what johnnydog says in that last post and the post before; and I'm on record before on the forum as saying how I feel/hope the Omega will one day be remembered as the last car that gave the 'everyman' a decent smooth ride, on a proper 6 cyl rear-drive platform. We live in a world where Porsche make SUVs, BMW make MPVs, and one of the cooelst big cars american cars is electric! The world is changing, as it always has and will, but the old Omega, and Sennys, Carltons, before are dinosaurs. A glorious time in motoring we'll never see again.

[Nick W]

It's just a car reaching the end of its life, like many others. There are still plenty of them about, and they're cheap. And getting cheaper. They will never be worth much because the demand won't be high, which is the only thing that drives prices up. How many mk1 Mondeos/mk3 Cavaliers/ Sierras/mk2 Astras/mk4 Escorts/Alpines which were all street furniture a few years ago do you see any more?


Consumable parts supply won't be an issue(just like it isn't an issue for many 40 year old cars) because you can still walk into any supplier in the country and get whatever you need: timing belts, gaskets, bearings, brakes, sensors, radiators etc etc. Many of them are shared with other models, which is one of the advantages of buying mass-market vehicles. I suggest that there are already more parts than cars that need them.The biggest reason that such parts become hard to find is simple stock control: when it no longer becomes worth stocking this sort of stuff it will get thrown away. Although it wasn't car parts I've done it myself, as I needed the space that two pallets of legacy parts took up. This is how specialists get much of their stock, often by actually doing the hard work of getting the stuff out of the warehouse and off site. Anyone who visited RG Grimes(a long term acquirer Rootes/Peugeot parts) will have seen loads of worthless crap; last time I was there I spotted a broken crate of NS headlights for RHD Talbot Sambas, the quantity of lamps easily outnumbered the cars that might have needed them.

[dbug]

There are also quite a good number of genuine Omega parts that are now not available from VX, and, although aftermarket parts are available for some, the age old question of quality comes into it. If a car that is out of production has a good enough following, then companies may take the plunge and make difficult to get or unobtainable parts. But if there isn't the following for them, and the cars are being broken up for parts, or owners are not repairing them, then that is the start of the slippery downhill slope that will only get worse. Unfortunately, some Omegas are worth more in parts that as a whole car which doesn't help the situation.
Comparing them to the Triumphs I own, there will be very good Omegas out there still - it is still possible to find good original Triumphs if you are prepared to put the time and effort in, and to pay the appropriate price for the right car......it's just finding them, but if you do find one, then I would make every effort to preserve it as best as you can.
Just my thoughts that's all.....
After all, what is there out there that in anyway compares with what the Omega offers without spending good amount of money?

Have to say its easier now to get parts for my TR4A, than it was back in the early 80s when I rebuilt it

[johnnydog]

There are also quite a good number of genuine Omega parts that are now not available from VX, and, although aftermarket parts are available for some, the age old question of quality comes into it. If a car that is out of production has a good enough following, then companies may take the plunge and make difficult to get or unobtainable parts.

Have to say its easier now to get parts for my TR4A, than it was back in the early 80s when I rebuilt it

Also having been a Triumph owner for over 35 years, there is a plentiful supply of aftermarket / remanufactured parts to keep them on the road or for restoration purposes, but I have to question the quality of some of these parts. My experience is that generally these parts are nowhere as good as genuine / new old stock parts; the supply of new old stock genuine parts is virtually none existant. Many aftermarket parts from a well known supplier based in Lincoln have a reputation for being very poor quality for example. I think it depends largely how much these aftermarket suppliers are prepared to invest in the remanufacture of parts as to their quality.
I have been collecting genuine Triumph parts for many many years so as a result I rarely have to buy parts from anywhere else. My view has been that if it is cheap enough whether I needed it or not, if I could afford it, buy it. If I didn't need it, then there would always be someone who would buy it off me. I have been doing the same (to a lesser degree) with Omega parts as I intend running my cars as long as I am able to, and if I find genuine or difficult to find parts at the right price, that I am likely to or may need, if I can afford them, I buy them.
I'm not talking about service items, but the more specific items to the Omega that I have had to replace going off my last 12 years of Omega ownership.
In my view, genuine parts are generally superior to aftermarket, not all, but the vast majority.
I doubt however, there will be the investment in the remanufacture of Omega parts unless the demand is there; and the cars need to be around for the parts to be required. It's a vicious circle.