24 replies to this topic

[Winstar]

But be warned, as mentioned above these are specialist cars and 'when' things go wrong, it will cost!

As I've said many times there's 3 levels to parts prices on the VX

1 Common to other GM cars = V cheap
2 Common to the Elise family = reasonable but vauxhall will try to charge a fortune for them.
3 Specifc to the VX = £££££££££

As for cost as said above the cars are very tightly packaged to to fix any thing requires the removal of lots of body work which mount up the labour cost if your paying a garage. Also if you fix anything on the suspension then it normally means the geo needs to be redone adding an hour or so.

[luna_s]

just don't go to a dealer for parts, most of them won't serve you as they aren't authorised vx220 dealers, tbh they wont even offer much help either just use autovaux or similar

[Jamez]

From reading this topic it seem that there are a few things that go wrong on the VX's??? A few people seem to have spent quite some money. I thought they would be fairly sturdy being GM and the fact the engine has been around for quite some time. I still want one though!

[ChazUwe]

From reading this topic it seem that there are a few things that go wrong on the VX's??? A few people seem to have spent quite some money. I thought they would be fairly sturdy being GM and the fact the engine has been around for quite some time. I still want one though!

I think for the type of car it is they are very study and much more reliable than the K series lotus's! I have covered 30000 miles in mine now including 4 2500 mile road trips across europe without any issues. The main costs have been for upgrades so be aware once you get hooked (particularly if you partake in track days) the costs can start spiralling! Wheels/sticky rubber, suspension upgrades, brakes, engine mods, harnesses etc etc.....

There are things that go wrong sometimes but nothing too major, many more people total them compared to those that have serious engine problems. Also those who have and serious engine problems are the unlucky victims of known issues that can be addressed and avoided.

As others have said the issue with the VX is the cost of engine work, obviously access is severly limited with it's mid engine layout configuration, but that is the price you pay for sublime balance and poise

[slindborg]

Ive gone from 28K to 53K since Aug 06. The biggest cost was a new headlight unit as that was broken... that was a rarity. IF you buy any car used you "should" get the cam belt changed... the same technically goes for GM chain engines too as its only £100 (same as a cambelt kit) and a bit of effort to have peace of mind. For the milage I do its cost less in terms of servicing/consumables than my Omega (and that was supposed to be a big milage taking car) yes the engine mounts have a mind of their own for failing, but they are not a big task (esp if you are local to someone on here handy with tools). but nearly all cars have thier quirks of faults.... fcuk the MK4 astras had a habit of eating their rear calipers @ £200 for a new set lol