388 replies to this topic

[barney]

just done a swap with my vxt for a BMW 325ci and some cash in hand. Plan to use the better saleablility of the BMW as a part ex on a Scooby STi. Sad that it brought a tear to my eye when filling her up this morning. Was going to call the deal off, but I knew that deep down she had to go, to make room for something equally as quick but more practical. I will still stay on here to keep up with the gossip. After ownership of 1 year, I have to say its been the most exciting year of motoring for me. Always wanted one, fulfilled my dream....... time to move on. Dare say I will be back with a VXR (if there are any left!) or a Exige 240 Cup or something. Im off now to Scooby dealership to look for STi............lol

[cwhite2]

Got a Maxda 6 company car and decided to sell the na as financially would be better off. Missed the car sooooooo much that 6 months on went out and bought a vxt, so bollo**s to the expense, after all, this ain't a rehearsal, you are only here once !!!!!

[SSH1]

Have sold VX now, as 1st child is on the way. Sorry to see it go, have been a VX owner since 2002, I remember the days of the old Yahoo forum. Have bought an RX8 as I hope it will have just enough space to cope with baby & half ton of associated items that you seem to have to take with you whenever you go out, but still be sporty enough & not too mainstream. God I nearly bought a BMW (shudders!). Its OK in its own way, seems to handle & go pretty well, but you can't disguise the fact that it just doesn't give you the same level of communication you get from a VX, all seems a bit detached. 80mph feels like 50, plus it likes a drink of fuel if you give it some welly, I forgot how economical the vx was. On the plus side it's pretty well specced, and does genuinely have useable back seats, and has 4 doors whilst still looking like a coupe, I can hear the radio at over 60mph, and don't wince every time I hit a big bump in the road. Oh and I won't have to deal with the muppets at Vauxhall, I wonder if Mazda muppets are any better, surely they can't be any worse? So long all, I hope one day to be able to return to some form of VX or Lotus, may catch some of you there in the future.

[dunky]

Moved from Northamptonshire to Nottinghamshire which was the nail in the VXR's coffin. My daily drive used to be a right blast but now it is a procession. I have done 25k in less than 2 years, Italy France, 3.5k in 7 days the Mille Miglia, etc. I never bought it for holidays, track days or driver training, but have done all of those and they were brilliant. Nevertheless I don't want an expensive weekend toy or a miserable 12m drive in a VXR so I have bought a Vextra 150 TDI 12 weeks old for the amount the VXR depreciated in 2 years. Still was easily the best value for money car I have ever had and if circumstances change I could easily see me coming back to the fold. Met some great people on here during my time, credit especially to Cheeky Chops and Tashyboy who helped make the ownership experience just that little bit better. Will still be lurking. Regards Keith

[MajorGav]

Will still be lurking.

Keith

Sad to see you sell up, by pleased to see the VXR has gone to a good home!

Still hanging on to the two-eight?

[dunky]

Yes, the VXR should see what is was made for - I hope to go see it in action some time and it's great that it is in the hands of a legend. The 2.8 is staying and I expect to have more time and attention for it. It only does a few hundred miles per year but is a great pleasure to drive - quite different to the VXR but in some ways just as much fun. I may make the National and the Powergen Trackday at Donnington plus a few other events. Regards K

[MajorGav]

The 2.8 is staying and I expect to have more time and attention for it. It only does a few hundred miles per year but is a great pleasure to drive - quite different to the VXR but in some ways just as much fun.

K

Good man. As you say, driving the 2.8 is a unique experience and a link back to a distant age.

Although I'm currently contemplating offloading the 280.

Good luck.

[dunky]

Send us some details wherever you advertise it! At the very least I'l mention it to the Mansfield CCI boys. Regards K

[ianrm]

You can always watch my video of you in Italy on the Millie to bring back the memories

[TheStoat]

Well I guess that's it for me The wee beastie is being collected this weekend and then it's on to an S2000. Still, I've got the prospect of a supercharger and before that a truly offensive exhaust to cheer me up I'll still be hanging around here and on the Tunnel Runs so I'm sure I'll get my fix of VXs from time to time...

The Car

The car has been fabulous - fantastic performance, brilliant fun, good fuel economy, never leaked or broken down. What more could you ask for? I guess that's part of the pay off for getting a new, late model Turbo! It's been to the South of France twice, Le Mans once and all over the UK too. Everywhere it went people stared and asked what it was and I just loved the look of disappointment when I replied "It's a Vauxhall"

Niggles? Observations?

Well it's hard to fault it really. I've ended up with observations rather than anything to about which I suppose is the true test of a car

It's not especially noisy but then I had the Touring Pack from the start and on really long journeys with the roof off I wore ear plugs, just like I do on a bike. Hands free conversations weren't an option at motorway speeds when going topless but that wasn't a priority for me

The fuel gauge is a bit inaccurate when running low and can catch you out on a long stretch of motorway. That's a bit inconvenient because you never have the confidence to go over about 230 miles on a tank and I like to settle in for a good long run in the car because it's so much fun. The longer you can put off stopping to refuel the better, right?

The car handles even better on 16" front wheels and wider front tyres never hurt but that's all the icing on the cake rather than a necessary modification

I suppose the boot aperture could be expanded to allow larger bags to fit into what is really a sizeable boot. I think the Elise and Exige have a sort of D-shaped aperture which admits chubbier luggage. Provided I chose the right shaped bags I was always able to fit in my laptop and a week's worth of clothing etc without having to resort to leaving things visible in the cabin

Air con would be genuinely useful for demisting quickly but it's a trade off for weight I suppose and you can have a Lotus if a/c is a deal-breaker. My heater and fan worked fine so I never had to hang around for too long before the windscreen cleared. Maybe earlier cars weren't so lucky?

Overall Verdict?

Unbelievably accomplished car! I am so glad I got the chance to have my very own VXT in the spec and colour I wanted right from brand new. Couldn't recommend this car highly enough to any prospective purchasers. Whilst it isn't the same as an Exige, particularly not an Exige S, loaded with A/C, limited slip diff etc you can't help but admire the comparative value for money

Best of all is the way this car responds to the driver, rewarding more and more as you put more in. Definitely one of those cars to own before you die ( hopefully not in the last few seconds before you die )

[Moonkey]

OK, so mines gone now, I had a brilliant 2002 NA in silver. Loved the car to bits but an assignment abroad for a year to 18 months would have seen the VX rotting on my drive, something I wasn't prepared to do. Now I have a 98 BMW Coupe 328i sport for ththe odd ocassions I'm home. I have to say it's a car I never thought I'd own. But it's quick, big enough to fit a load of stuff in, has all the toys, was cheap and I don't care about it. It's exactly what I needed. Sure I miss the VX every time I drive or get driven somewhere. Although saying that being driven around Atyrau in a big white Mitsubishi Pajero does make you feel special in a different way. The car never wanted for anything, it was always well looked after and although I was seperated from it for more than an acceptable amount of time to sort out bubbling clams I really have no complaints. As my daily driver I couldn't have asked for a better more involving drive. Will I be back. I think I may in some form... Depending on when my assignment finishes, availability and what else is out there I think I want to stay with something simillar, possibly an Exige who knows. But one things for certain it will be very hard to better the feeling my VX gave me. Anyone thinking of getting one make sure you know why you want one, test drive it, buy it and love it. Oh edited to say I will not miss dealing with Vauxhall. It is only people like Plans motorsport that don't ruin ownership.

Edited by Moonkey, 25 May 2007 - 04:08 AM.

[mainline]

Realised I never got around to filling this bit in.

Well, its been several months since I sold up and only now am I really sincerely regretting it. Now the sun is out, my replacement car has been totalled and i'm feeling a little richer. I'm not coming back to the fold yet, but its the only car i've ever owned that i haven't been bored of when I sold.

The ownership experience was great, thanks largely to this website and the people who helped me out in person, that i met, or simply that replied to my posts. Thank you.

Vauxhall dealers I found to be shabby and uncaring, they also ripped me off good and proper for engine mounts and ignored my much better informed opinion in the process (I was right). So my advice is avoid them at all costs.

They couldn't dent the experience of owning my first proper sports car with a loud exhaust. I'm gonna miss the shop window reflections, the burble and pop, the heads turning, resting the bootlid on my forehead, having a really cool filler cap, staring at my car, people asking me what it is, friends asking if they can have a go, strangers asking if they can have a go, the engine behind my head, the little thumb rests on the wheel, a gearbox that clacks into position, the wind in my hair and waving at other VX drivers.

But life goes on innit!

See you around
Ian

PS:
I did some articles for auto-journals on the VX, never got round to telling you guys.
Article 1 - in the beginning
And right at the end - click!

[wmg100]

good stuff mainline

[jasvxt]

Good read Ian So when are you buying your next Vx, you know you want too

[SAPD]

Nicely put, sir.

Except for this bit:

...resting the bootlid on my forehead...

If the bootlid was on your forehead, I can't imagine you'd be able to see an awful lot

[mainline]

Good read Ian

So when are you buying your next Vx, you know you want too

Oooh, not sure. The plan, is to keep the new is200 and run it into the ground. Sell it when its done 200k in about 10 years. No point in constantly upgrading a luxury car IMO.

Meanwhile, the expense free nature of Lexus ownership due to reliability and zero urge for modifications will allow the 205 to be done up to nice track standard for mainly labour costs, including pillaging my mate's Xantia for its Mi16 engine, welding up a damaged innner wing and fitting a roll cage, those costs being supplemented by selling all the good bits I remove along the way. Once up to fast track spec, that can go too. Freeing up some cash to put down on a cat D / early VX.

That's the plan anyway!

[mainline]

Nicely put, sir.

Except for this bit:

...resting the bootlid on my forehead...

If the bootlid was on your forehead, I can't imagine you'd be able to see an awful lot

very true.

[flamy]

Well my VX is now sold, it was a very sad moment as it's new owner drove away into the distance last saturday Overall, the VX is a fantastic little car. I'm sure every owner would agree. The fun is endless. No matter what sh*t is happening in your life just getting into one and going for a blast out in the middle of nowhere is just a great relieving experience. I owned the car for about 13 months. In that time the only real problems were the common ones, engine mounts, tie rods, coolant tank. Servicing and maintenance costs were nice and cheap (thanks phoenix!) I payed 12k for it in October 2006, and sold it for 9500 13 months later. A bit of a loss i know, especially as I had a larini exhaust fitted, although selling a convertible car in winter is not an easy task! I now have a nissan 350z and a yamaha r6 to fill the void. A 350z is a great step-up from the vx in my opinion... you don't feel as connected to the road as in a vx, but the fun is similar. If i were to come back to vx220 ownership i'd have to get a turbo. Maybe in a few years, i could run one as a second car and start doing a few more track days, we shall see. Thanks to all the friendly people on this forum for the help and advice, I'm sure i'll be sticking around and attend the odd meet. cheers -stu

[robfenn]

Didn't see this thread... I loved my VX220 but ultimately i needed a 2nd car to justify it, as i was just getting too pissed off with it on rainy cold days. Boy do i wish i had it back now the weathers improved! Problem for me is that i NEED to be in a nice car, i can't slum it in a beater in the week and save best for the weekend... So, i now have a CSL. I am now very poor but the CSL is better than the CSL in every department (and so it should at 3x the price) other than looks so i can't say i regret it. Will always have a soft spot for the VX but not sure i'd own another. I would like an Exige though someday.