Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: Lee A on 06 July 2009, 19:44:28
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Hey guys,
Im looking for an Omega and at the moment and have some questions hopefully you will be able to answer :) My old man had one and it served him well, i drive a mondeo td at the moment but am looking for a nicer drive for the commute, with a budget of around 1-1.5k
My question is what would i get for that kind of money? Im interested in a 3.0 Elite if possible, i quite like the earlier ones ie pre 1999 and have looked at 2, both were close to £1k in price and both had quite a few issues.
Both cars were at car dealers, and on autotrader, the first looked pretty straight, did have a few rust spots and faded headlight lenses (common problem?) but had a knock from the front and was very wallowy, had a very nice interior though. The second ran very well but was quite rough on the outside and had a few bits of trim missing etc.
I have lurked on here a while and i keep seeing that prices for the cars are low, but i have yet to see any bargain ones! What sort of car would my budget get me you think? And are the dealers being over optimistic with their prices?
cheers for the help and if anyone has a nice omega 3.0 elite for sale let me know!
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Got a 2.5 cdx estate here , basicaly sound, 6 months test, 115,000, silver, black leather, few minor issues
+plenty spares, drives very well.£350.00
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should get something decent for that money. Mondeo will handle and stop better but the omega will be twice the car and last 2, maybe 3 times longer with some work and tlc . Bit out of touch with prices but with patients and a daily visit to auto trader or where ever, youll find a goodun eventually.
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Have a 2.oL GLS estate auto, available at the right price, better than mint for year...... :y :y
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Hi Lee,
1K should get you a mint, well looked after pre-2000 model year 3.0, or a good selection of elite/CDX 2.5s as there are much more of them about so they tend the be the real bargains.
However, these V6 engines are quite complex to work on, so if you pick an iffy one you can easily spend all your money again on having it fixed, unless of course you like to do DIY, in which case it won't be so much of an issue, although I would also warn you that parts prices from vauxhall are far from cheap (I would even go as far as to say that BMW are better overall on value!! :o).
So, check points:
The light lenses you have noticed and yes, they are a common issue on pre-facelift omegas.
Rust is also a bit of an issue on older omegas, the doors and rear arches being the weak spots, so check for those. Otherwise they are generally pretty solid.
As I said earlier, the engines are generally tough mechanically, but even minor jobs such as the cam cover seals or spark plugs can be quite time consuming (and hence expensive if taken to a garage). Check for oil leaks from around the edges of the cam covers, and around the sump. A burning oil smell when warming up or oily sludge on the undertray are dead givaways there. Also run the engine at idle for a while untill the fans kick in, and make sure the temp stays between 92 and 98C on the guage. A car with history that has had regular oil changes is worth paying extra for. Also, knowing when the cambelt was last done is good as that is a 600 quid job at least!
Suspension is a wear and tear item and will become soft with age. This is not so expensive to fix and is comparitively simple DIY. So long as the tyres arent badly worn on the edges and there is no clonking/knocking (worn bushes) when driving I would say its probably normal for a 10 year old car to be a little soft.
As you are looking for a model with all the kit, make sure all the kit works too! Otherwise thats just more work/money for you.
With things like trim and spare parts, there are plenty of breakers on here that will be able to supply you with what you are looking for at a bargain price, and of course there is ebay too, so there hopefully won't be much need for you to visit the vauxhall stealership too often.
Also, have you considered the Omega 2.5 TD with the BMW straight 6 engine in it?
They are quite tuneable, very robust and pretty economical too :y
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Also, check out the cars for sale section if you are looking to buy! :y
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Thanks for the replies so far, what to look out for is much appreciated!
Its good to know im in the right area as far as price, i'll keep an eye on the for sale section and see what pops up.
I've been in touch with Simon who does the ex police cars and will go take a look at a couple he has, im quite happy to spend money to get a car thats been well looked after. I dont mind DIY and dont expect a perfect car for the money i want to spend, i suppose its like anything and you need to have some patience to have the right car come along!
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If you are going the ex cop car route, just bare in mind that the Omegas were the high speed persuit vehicles, so have probably been ragged pretty hard most of their lives, and thus wear and tear may be more than a normal example, so make sure its a cheap one! :y
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hi mate, i've found that the more patient you are and keep scouring the ads and websites the more likely you are to know exactly what you want and you can move quickly when that car comes along, which it will. Got me my ideal car anyway - don't rush in
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Evening Lee. If you want a nice mini facelift you'll get a pearler for £1500. The CDX/Elite is what to look for if you want luxury or the MV6 which has less toys but handles better being a tad firmer & lower but you can have the best of both worlds to a degree. ie Buy an Elite & upgrade the tyres/suspension or buy an MV6 & upgrade the leather/Bose etc (i did!!)
By my reckoning a grand will get you the car of your choice leaving you £500 to make it your own. Cheap on ebay but view before bidding. Cambelt kits on V6's need changing every 40k or 4 years so bear that in mind.
Hope you find a good'un & looking forward to the pics. Guy. :y 8-)
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hi mate, i've found that the more patient you are and keep scouring the ads and websites the more likely you are to know exactly what you want and you can move quickly when that car comes along, which it will. Got me my ideal car anyway - don't rush in
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For that sort of money I'd be tempted to sell my 99 3.0 Elite, LPG converted! And it may well be up for sale in the near future if the right Facelift estate comes along :y :y :y
Seriously though... Keep looking and you'll find a pearler :y :y
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170354994675
and this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230355401258
Both seem very good ;)
Take a look, if the links work, if not just use the item number on the bay :)
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Both strong money though! :o :o
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You think so! :(
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It seems around 1k will get you a reasonable elite, the facelift models seem to be a bit higher than that though.
I think the diesel one is a bit too much money but then people do like them. My budget is really £1500 max, will keep looking and im sure i'll find one i like soon :)
Cheers, Lee
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Good luck fella, that TD, is low miles and auto and elite, a rare combo. Prefer a 3.2 myself though. Let you know if I see anything else. Keep an eye on pistonheads also, a little known site :D ;)
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First one looks pretty good to me :)
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I thought that was a nice find also. Thank you :y
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Well, seems i have found myself a very nice 2000 W Facelift 3.0 Elite auto, red with grey leather and 78k on the clock!
Had to go all the way down to St Austell to take a peek, has a FSH and drives nice as anything, no dinks or dents, just a couple of little things that the dealer needs to sort (tracking is out a bit, self leveling warning which i read is an easy fix) and she looks very clean overall indeed.
Paid £1495 for it, which is not a bargain but im happy with it, hope to pick it up fri and will post some pics over the weekend once its had a nice polish.
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Well, seems i have found myself a very nice 2000 W Facelift 3.0 Elite auto, red with grey leather and 78k on the clock!
Had to go all the way down to St Austell to take a peek, has a FSH and drives nice as anything, no dinks or dents, just a couple of little things that the dealer needs to sort (tracking is out a bit, self leveling warning which i read is an easy fix) and she looks very clean overall indeed.
Paid £1495 for it, which is not a bargain but im happy with it, hope to pick it up fri and will post some pics over the weekend once its had a nice polish.
Make sure there's a receipt for a cambelt/tensioner change in the last 40,000 miles or 4 years, if not you want some money knocking off ;)
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Well, seems i have found myself a very nice 2000 W Facelift 3.0 Elite auto, red with grey leather and 78k on the clock!
Had to go all the way down to St Austell to take a peek, has a FSH and drives nice as anything, no dinks or dents, just a couple of little things that the dealer needs to sort (tracking is out a bit, self leveling warning which i read is an easy fix) and she looks very clean overall indeed.
Paid £1495 for it, which is not a bargain but im happy with it, hope to pick it up fri and will post some pics over the weekend once its had a nice polish.
Make sure there's a receipt for a cambelt/tensioner change in the last 40,000 miles or 4 years, if not you want some money knocking off ;)
Defiantley mate!