Having to grow up a bit

[jbmitchell]

I am a dad of 2 growing girls, I have just changed job (no more 3 hour daily commute, now its a 10min drive :-D ) and I am getting older, balder and fatter, I feel it is time to trade in my fun little Prelude VTEC for a sensible car. I wanted something powerful and a little different and have settled on a Galant 2.5 V6 (the vectra just looked so ... vectraish!). I do, however, have a few questions before I start looking properly:
What do i need to look for when buying one?
What normally goes wrong with them?
What are your experiences of them for the daily (4 mile) commute?
Are they expensive to maintain and source bits for?
What's the best way to persuade the wife it's a good investment :-D ?

If there is a faq on this site then please tell me where it is. I will happily go there and stop bothering you all!

[ritch_w]

things to look for;

if its a sport it should only be a couple of years old, so not much really , make sure its HPi clear, not written off - all the usual used car checks.

the car should drive very smoothly with no clunks or bumps,
if you go for the tiptronic go for a test drive and sit at 50mph then floor the kick down - it should go like stink and redline in second around 80mph.
make sure the tiptronic works
check all the elecs are ok
check front wish bone arms/ front suspension these seem to go frequently with hard use - see the VR4 chaps about this. i havn't had this prob yet.

if its a dark car - check the front for stone chips.

thats about it - great cars!
i regularly get 30mpg, when i go through to the office i do a 4hr commute effortlessly.
ive done manchester & back in a day no probs (8hrs +)

the boots big enough for prams and kiddies stuff

what can i isay you wont regret it!!!

why not buy mine and then i can get a VR4!!!! :D :D :D

[SGHOM]

If the car is maintained properly, then you will have no problems with it. the engines are virtually indestructable, although one or two members on here are trying to destruct !!! :-D
great cars to own & drive, but.........PLEASE !! try one with the couple of turbocharges bolted on !! obviously a bit more to insure & maintain, but the extra VA VA VOOM is worth every penny !! :welcome:

[Nick Mann]

Welcome!

Servicing and parts costs are higher than average, but the car should be more reliable. The V6 is a smooth motor that still has the noise and ooomph to make you smile. For a 2.5 V6 it appears to be relatively frugal, although I had the manual version, which must have helped. It is a comfortable car - the suspension is possibly slightly soft on the V6, so good for rough roads, motorway cruising etc, but not tuned for fast solid cornering. Don't get me wrong - I thought the ride of the V6 is perfect for the car it is, which is a slightly different (i.e. not mondeo, vectra, 406 etc.) large family car. As a second hand buy it is incredible value for money. I used to use mine for a 3 - mile commute, it did sterling service. I bought it at 40,000 miles and sold it 2 1/2 years later at 78,000 miles. It wasn't the cheapest to run, but nothing ever broke, and it still made me smile the day I sold it.

Things to watch for are 54,000 service. This includes platinum plugs and a cambelt change and comes in at over £500 at a mitsy dealer.
The manual gearbox can be quirky when cold - several of us have been told this is 'normal'.

There are many happy owners and ex-owners here - that should say something positive as well!

Good luck with your searching.

[jbmitchell]

Thanks for quick, friendly response.
I have been on the honda revs forum for a while now and unless you are one of the 'gang' they are generally not that amiable toward you. It is nice to see friendly, knowledgeable ( :-D ) people! :)

[ritch_w]

Thanks for quick, friendly response.
I have been on the honda revs forum for a while now and unless you are one of the 'gang' they are generally not that amiable toward you. It is nice to see friendly, knowledgeable ( :-D ) people! :)


glad you like us!!!

everyone here is very helpfull here! :D

[enigma]

Try it you wont be disappointed! Think about Interlecs suggestion though.......the two turbos really do make for fun, and if you are like me the extra power will help shift that lard around!!! :-D

Where abouts in Kent are you?

[SGHOM]

[QUOTE=bigdaveakers] and if you are like me the extra power will help shift that lard around!!! :-D

[QUOTE]
:lolz: you said it Dave !! and elecw..........eleqwe..........elequee....... well said !! :-D :-D

[Dmac1969]

I have probably one of the older 8th generation Galant V6s , a 1997 on a P reg , i think its a great car , although mine has the 4 speed non tiptronic auto box , which makes it a bit less economical than the manual and tiptronic (which are 5 speed auto) cars. What do i like about it?...well its realy comfortable and effortless to drive , its been 100% reliable in the 7 months ive owned it (mind you ive had 4 Mitsubishis and they have all been like that!), for a standard fit system i think the Phillips stereo and CD stacker are great and you get loadsa bass (certainly compared to my Skoda Octavia , the stereo in that was pants!) , the climate control is excellent too! On the negative side , i dont find it that fast (probably down to the 4 speed autobox) , and it isnt as economical as my Skoda was (hardly surprising when that was a 1.8 4cyl with 20 valves and a turbo..the vRS) and i suppose parts and servicing are more expensive than Ford/Vauxhall ect , but not (in my area anyway) up to Audi/BMW prices!

Id say have a go in one , and then see if you can afford to run a VR4 , and then try one of those...and then make up your mind!!! Happy hunting!

[zedy1]

welcome to the club mate, me thinks enough said these cars are the best and ive had the galants since 1999

[Kieran]

... which makes it a bit less economical than the manual and tiptronic (which are 5 speed auto) cars.

Not quite right there Dmac - ALL the UK cars, whether they're older-gen INVECS-IIs or the newer INVECS-II + Sport (tiptronic) boxes are 4-speeds. Only the high-performance JDM Galants got the 5-speed. In fact, I think it's only the VR-4 that actually has the 5-speeder, as the Galant VR-G and Viento have 4-speeds too.

[Spirit]

The basics have been covered well, but like others have said I would try the standard 2.5L and then try a VR4 - you will want one and better to know now than buy a standard and regret it later ;)

For another read, here's the VR4 buyers guide: http://www.p.honey.btinternet.co.uk/buyersguide.htm

[colVR4]

Hi there,

I am a proud owner of a V6 Sport. I would have to agree that the VR4 IS the pinnacle of Galant motoring, but it is not in everybody's budget. The V6 Sport is a good compromise, as has already been suggested. The performance is still very good and it always brings a smile to my face when I plant the throttle when overtaking from 50 mph.

The engine is quite frugal for a V6 and I regularly get 300-310 miles from a tank of fuel (= approx £40) and I don't tend to be very light with the right foot at times :-D

All of the reports I have read, and through personal experience, tells me that it is a very solid, reliable car. If you get the Red Zebra warranty you should have very few worries with the car. Ensure that you get a full service history and you will almost certainly have a bullet-proof car. Parker Guides and Auto trader used car guides state that there are no known faults with the car.

The advantage of the V6 Sport is that it comes with the bodykit, leather interior, INVECS-II and climate control. I picked mine up for £7,500 for a black, 2000(W) with 60,000 on the clock....a billy bargain in anybody's book.

The only way to know for sure is to test drive one at a dealer (repeating everybody else's words :dozey: ) I don't think you will look back once you do.

All the best anyway

[Dmac1969]

Kieran
Thanx for that 'gen' , looking back the only 2 cars that have had invecs II tiptronic boxes that ive seen have both been VR4s , so thats probably why id assumed all the tip cars had the 5 ratios!

[Kieran]

:) No worries!