Used Vauxhall Astra 2009 - 2015 reliability review

What should I look for in a used Vauxhall Astra?

Many Astras will have gone to lease and rental car firms when they were new, so it is worth checking your potential purchase for marks to the bumpers, kerbed alloy wheels and any marks on the seats.

Check the service history on cars that have done high mileage as the cambelt needs changing every 100,000 miles. Vauxhall does have this job listed as part of its fixed-price servicing scheme. If you cannot find any record of the work having been carried out, then check out Vauxhall’s website and haggle, or budget, accordingly.

There were a few recalls for the Astra. In 2010, there was one for the front passenger seat moving forward without warning, another in 2011 to resolve an anti-trap malfunction on the windows and the most important, a recall in 2015 to prevent a potential fire issue – the same as the one that affected the Vauxhall Zafira. The cause in the Astra was said to be a shorting circuit in the cooling fan.

Is a used Vauxhall Astra reliable?

The Astra didn’t manage to score as well as its key rivals according to the results of our most recent survey, coming just behind the Skoda Octavia, Volkswagen Golf, Seat Leon and Ford Focus.

Vauxhall did manage to finish ahead of Volkswagen in terms of overall reliability across models. Plus, there is a large network of Vauxhall dealers out there that can fix your car should the worst happen.