Is the Saturn Astra a good car? How is the reliability on them? Easy to work on?

[slacktide_bitog]

GM only sold it here for one year, and it didn't sell that well, but it is quite common in Europe, even being the #1 best-selling car in Europe some years. However, the Astra shared nothing with any domestic GM cars of the time.

It uses the 1.8 Ecotec, which is now common and shared with the Cruze and Sonic. But at the time, it was unique to the Astra, and it's possible there may have been some changes from Astra to Sonic/Cruze

The biggest plus is the huge panoramic sunroof, and it's supposed to drive nice.

The biggest negative is the timing belt, weird ergonomics, and possible poor parts availability. You can't get a muffler or exhaust for the Astra. You would have to find someone in Europe that will ship to the US. I did find a nice 304 exhaust at a price comparable to most Magnaflow's prices in the US. For less money, basic OE replacement mufflers are available, but I am a big fan of 304.

The biggest question is the reliability. Are these good cars?

 

[Lolvoguy]

We rented a couple in Germany back in 08ish when they were being offered in the NA market new.
We had the 1.4 gas and the 1.6 gas both with manual transmissions (IIRC in the Euro market they had roughly 3 gas options and 2 diesel).

I had the 1.4 in a convertible version on the Autobahn. It was a VERY solid little car!
It would repeatedly get up to it's max of 180kph, and it's handling was on par with some of Europe's best (not kidding).
The best parts was tooling around a few Swiss and German towns, this little car really held it's place on the road.

Not sure about long term reliability, but when we had those nearly new ones, they were terrific.
IIRC, they share the same platform with the Opel Astra (also a GM product).

 

[SR5]

OP, what year are you talking about ?

I have a 2006 GM Holden Astra with the 1.8L Ecotec 4-cylinder petrol (gas) engine. It's a rebadged Opel, sold in Australia at the AH Astra from about 2004 to 2009.

It's a nice little car, the re-sale value would be fairly low by now.

Recently it developed a leak in the the water pump. So time for a new water pump, and new Dex-Cool, and while there I got a new cam belt fitted which was due soon anyway. The alternator / serpentine belt was getting a bit old, so best to do that too, and the valve clearances as well.

Previously I put 4 new Dunlop tyres on it, a new battery, new plugs & coils, new brake rotors and pads.

The thing that caught me out was the power steering developing a leak which required a new steering rack, that caught me out - as I've never had to do one before and it cost a bit of money too. I had to do a new radiator at the same time as it also develop a leak. None of the parts were hard to come by, and only the steering rack seemed excessively expensive.

So are they reliable ? Well mine is, but I keep on top of what needs to be done. I'm not sure what I have done above is excessive or not, your call.

I should point out that most of the stuff listed above was original factory fitted, so the rotors, coils, serpentine belt etc were all well over 10 years old when I replaced them.

 

[Bailes1992]

There's a saying in the UK, nobody buys a new Vauxhall Astra, they get given them. Even when Vauxhall were offering 0% APR for 5 years and an unlimited time/100k 'lifetime warranty' they didn't sell.

They only seem to be bought new by companies who take advantage of the ridiculously cheap leasing deals.

My company car was a Ford Focus and was due to go back this month, it was to be replaced with an Astra. I opted out of the company car scheme and bought a Volvo V40.

I've driven a few colleagues Astra's, probably clocking up 2 or 3 thousand miles in them and find them very cheap and nasty inside. The driving position is horrible, the gearchange is sloppy and the gearstick is in an odd position. Then I find the seat bolsters go up the seat to far high and make me feel like my shoulders can't relax, they don't handle with anywhere near the poise and precision of the Ford Focus and the quality of the sound system leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[hpb]

Yeah, gotta say, despite the decent run SR5 has had from his, they're not something that come very highly recommended in Oz, and they were sold here for quite a few years. A friend lost an engine in hers when it was less than 5 years old, when the timing belt let go. Originally, Holden (GM) were saying to change the belt at 100,000km, then they wound it back to 60,000km after a spate of breakages in the 80,000km area - right where hers was. I wouldn't touch one, personally.

 

[Donald]

I would move past any Saturn.

 

[JHZR2]

The problem is that Saturn has been defunct for how long now? Who supports them?

Timing belt is not a downside... just replace it. You realize that chains wear and break too, right?

But if dimly consider if I knew I could find any parts I reasonably needed fairly easily, and the car didn't require replacement OE items for the interior or exterior.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted by JHZR2
….Timing belt is not a downside... just replace it. You realize that chains wear and break too, right?...
Fwiw, I couldn't agree more. And an upside, timing belt engines are easier on oil.

There was a member or perhaps former member now that purchased a Saturn/(Opel) Astra new. I know nothing about their reliability, but I thought they were a decent looking vehicle. I'd say research on availability of parts would be required prior to purchase.

 

[Nickdfresh]

My Sat (rebadged to Opel actually

) has been a pretty good car, even as I'm thinking of moving on to something like a Mazda. The downside is the shift is a bit more sloppy than I'd like, but no worse than say any other non-performance GM, Honda, Toyota or Ford. And the manual only has 5sp and not a 6sp. The resulting fuel economy is underwhelming at around 33-34 mpg in warmer months. Yes, the Euro controls take some getting used to and not having an input for a MP3/AAC/FLAC player in the stereo is annoying.

The upside is the car handles well, is distinctive and actually has a decent amount of room for a small hatch and I find it fun to drive if not all that powerful. As for support, locally the Saturn dealer locations (one of the largest volume in their day) became a used car and Chevy store and there are still many techs from the Saturn turnover. I suspect you'd look to a Chevy or Buick dealer to find techs and remember, the Buick Verano was also the later model year Astra. You can get parts from the UK and saturnfans.com has some good support links and many of the parts such at the infamous coilpack have come way down in price. It's now a couple hundred dollars instead of nearly $600 when they were new. I haven't had any major issues with mine other than some warranty stuff when I first bought it that the dealer took care of...

All-in-all, I'd only pick one up if the price is really cheap and it's a standard at this point, the autos tended to be dogs I think. I wouldn't worry about parts or support too much, the 1.8L engine is common to GM...

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted by Sayjac
Originally Posted by JHZR2
….Timing belt is not a downside... just replace it. You realize that chains wear and break too, right?...
Fwiw, I couldn't agree more. And an upside, timing belt engines are easier on oil.

There was a member or perhaps former member now that purchased a Saturn/(Opel) Astra new. I know nothing about their reliability, but I thought they were a decent looking vehicle. I'd say research on availability of parts would be required prior to purchase.


I bought mine used, but from a former Saturn salesman who sold it to the original, meticulous, owner. I know one of the guys here that bought one new was banned I think...

Also, I should mention changing the oil is easy with the top side cartridge filter, tune-ups are just basically the plugs...

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted by Nickdfresh
Originally Posted by Sayjac
Originally Posted by JHZR2
….Timing belt is not a downside... just replace it. You realize that chains wear and break too, right?...
Fwiw, I couldn't agree more. And an upside, timing belt engines are easier on oil.

There was a member or perhaps former member now that purchased a Saturn/(Opel) Astra new. I know nothing about their reliability, but I thought they were a decent looking vehicle. I'd say research on availability of parts would be required prior to purchase.

I bought mine used, but from a former Saturn salesman who sold it to the original, meticulous, owner. I know one of the guys here that bought one new was banned I think.....
That's the dude. I think he got banned from a Honda forum too. lol Iirc at one time he owned a Accord Coupe too and lived in Philly area. I think his member name had 'Audi' in it some way. That's some flashback there.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by Sayjac
Originally Posted by Nickdfresh
Originally Posted by Sayjac
Originally Posted by JHZR2
….Timing belt is not a downside... just replace it. You realize that chains wear and break too, right?...
Fwiw, I couldn't agree more. And an upside, timing belt engines are easier on oil.

There was a member or perhaps former member now that purchased a Saturn/(Opel) Astra new. I know nothing about their reliability, but I thought they were a decent looking vehicle. I'd say research on availability of parts would be required prior to purchase.

I bought mine used, but from a former Saturn salesman who sold it to the original, meticulous, owner. I know one of the guys here that bought one new was banned I think.....
That's the dude. I think he got banned from a Honda forum too. lol Iirc at one time he owned a Accord Coupe too and lived in Philly area. I think his member name had 'Audi' in it some way. That's some flashback there.


AudiJunkie?

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
….AudiJunkie?
BINGO!

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted by Sayjac
Originally Posted by Nickdfresh
Originally Posted by Sayjac
Originally Posted by JHZR2
….Timing belt is not a downside... just replace it. You realize that chains wear and break too, right?...
Fwiw, I couldn't agree more. And an upside, timing belt engines are easier on oil.

There was a member or perhaps former member now that purchased a Saturn/(Opel) Astra new. I know nothing about their reliability, but I thought they were a decent looking vehicle. I'd say research on availability of parts would be required prior to purchase.

I bought mine used, but from a former Saturn salesman who sold it to the original, meticulous, owner. I know one of the guys here that bought one new was banned I think.....
That's the dude. I think he got banned from a Honda forum too. lol Iirc at one time he owned a Accord Coupe too and lived in Philly area. I think his member name had 'Audi' in it some way. That's some flashback there.



Originally Posted by Sayjac
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
….AudiJunkie?
BINGO!

Yep!

I think he had passed down the Astra and was driving a VW IIRC...

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted by Nickdfresh
My Sat (rebadged to Opel actually

) has been a pretty good car, .......

All-in-all, I'd only pick one up if the price is really cheap and it's a standard at this point, the autos tended to be dogs I think. I wouldn't worry about parts or support too much, the 1.8L engine is common to GM...


Hey Nick (or any other Astra owner),

What oil do they say to use in yours ?

My OM says either 15W-40 or 10W-30 in ACEA A3/B3 or A3/B4, no mention of ILSAC or API. In Europe they also suggest a synthetic 0-5W40 A3/B4 oil.

But I think this engine should be able to run a ILSAC 10W30 without problems, so I'm interested to hear what the US spec is.

 

[SR5]

BTW OP, if you want a car that you buy and then forget, get a Toyota or similar. You need to pay attention and look after an Astra, not a problem for a BITOG member.

I had an older Audi 5-cylinder, and that was a much nicer drive, but more expensive and annoying to keep on the road than the Astra.

 

[nthach]

The Astra was GM's effort to revitalize Saturn and along with the Pontiac G8/GTO that was a Holden, to bring some international flavor that wasn't Korean to GM dealers. From what I know, it's an Opel/Vauxhall with a Saab V6 that was the basis for the Cadillac 3.6L V6 if I'm not mistaken.

Expect the usual Opel/Saab quirks, but didn't GM also use the Astra's platform on the Chevy Cobalt as well when the Cavalier was put out to pasture?

 

[DweezilAZ]

Originally Posted by JHZR2
The problem is that Saturn has been defunct for how long now? Who supports them?

Timing belt is not a downside... just replace it. You realize that chains wear and break too, right?

But if dimly consider if I knew I could find any parts I reasonably needed fairly easily, and the car didn't require replacement OE items for the interior or exterior.

There are GM Saturn Authorized Service Providers. Mine is the Chevy dealer here in Tucson. Easy to check online.

Saturn has been gone for 10 years almost. My brother has my old 95 SL1 and I have an 05 ION and have no problem finding parts. Since the Astra is a wholly rebadged Opel, then parts may be a bit more complicated to get, but I doubt impossible.

The other problem is the US only got them for one model year [2008], while Canada got an 09, IIRC.

Best to treat it as an odd ball with special needs and be willing to have it laid up for varying periods of time waiting for parts delivery if one really really wants one.

 

[DweezilAZ]

Originally Posted by nthach
The Astra was GM's effort to revitalize Saturn and along with the Pontiac G8/GTO that was a Holden, to bring some international flavor that wasn't Korean to GM dealers. From what I know, it's an Opel/Vauxhall with a Saab V6 that was the basis for the Cadillac 3.6L V6 if I'm not mistaken.

Expect the usual Opel/Saab quirks, but didn't GM also use the Astra's platform on the Chevy Cobalt as well when the Cavalier was put out to pasture?


No, the Delta platform was introduced with the Saturn ION, then the Astra a year later, then an improved version for the Cobalt whose upgrades were shared with the ION.

The L Series had the Vauxhall V6 built in the UK and the Ecotec 4 cyl. [an engine that had far fewer service intervals than the 1.8 in the Astra ]. It was based on the same platform as the Opel Vectra,

Both the L Series and the Catera used the 3.0 V6 as well as the Saturn VUE. But not the Astra.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by DweezilAZ
Originally Posted by nthach
The Astra was GM's effort to revitalize Saturn and along with the Pontiac G8/GTO that was a Holden, to bring some international flavor that wasn't Korean to GM dealers. From what I know, it's an Opel/Vauxhall with a Saab V6 that was the basis for the Cadillac 3.6L V6 if I'm not mistaken.

Expect the usual Opel/Saab quirks, but didn't GM also use the Astra's platform on the Chevy Cobalt as well when the Cavalier was put out to pasture?


No, the Delta platform was introduced with the Saturn ION, then the Astra a year later, then an improved version for the Cobalt whose upgrades were shared with the ION.

The L Series had the Vauxhall V6 built in the UK and the Ecotec 4 cyl. [an engine that had far fewer service intervals than the 1.8 in the Astra ]. It was based on the same platform as the Opel Vectra,

Both the L Series and the Catera used the 3.0 V6 as well as the Saturn VUE. But not the Astra.

I know I was getting something mixed up, I thought the L-Series and Astra were the same car, but differently sized. The Vue did use either a GM V6 or the Honda J35 V6.