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swedge
19-01-10, 10:35 PM
anyone have any experiance towing with a vectra b?
Jackroadkill
19-01-10, 11:05 PM
Yeah, not too bad if you're towing another vehicle of similar or smaller size. Just take it easy, really.
novarally
20-01-10, 07:55 AM
anyone have any experiance towing with a vectra b?

Yes, about 100k miles of it......what do you want to know?
swedge
20-01-10, 10:03 AM
well i really want to make a track car and would obviously need a towing vehicle

im not looking for a 4x4 or anything ig like that

i was looking throug ebay at the vectra b's, the 2.0 diesels and the 2.0 td

ive been reading through the towing thread and i think i would be able to tow a stripped nova on a lightweight trailor on my licence (b)
swedge
20-01-10, 10:04 AM
alot of the vectras are over 100k miles, how good are the engines? i know to look for service history etc

anything stand out that needs done on them?
brucer
20-01-10, 10:56 AM
Dti ones have pump failures. Ive got one and hasnt failed yet, unless it had been changed before I got it. Not too much power but would be a reasonable tow car.

Go for the cd or cdx model, mines the cd and has all elec. Windows,sunroof, aircon etc. The cdx should have xenons and pos leather interior.
draper
20-01-10, 12:03 PM
theres a thread on here in the last few days that confirms towing laws, IIRC paul uses a vectra to tow, ive just bought a vectra aswell lol
swedge
20-01-10, 12:24 PM
yeah i was reading that but was just looking for info on the veccy
brucer
20-01-10, 01:15 PM
Also, anti-roll bar links and the rear rose bushes are the common suspension failures.
chris gsi
20-01-10, 06:32 PM
i use to have a vectra sri v6 and that towed the nova well but i like towing with the landrover feels much better due to the weight
novarally
20-01-10, 07:18 PM
Also, anti-roll bar links and the rear rose bushes are the common suspension failures.

Yes, they certainly are, plus the springs are prone to breaking, one of my rear ones has just gone pop.

But I've done many, many thousands of miles towing with Vectra B's (both of them Estate versions).

First I had the 2.0 DTi, now I've got an SRi DTi 130, and they have both been incredibly reliable, and towed Novas (and a lot of bigger cars!) without complaint.

I would buy another without a thought, cheap to buy, cheap to run, not unpleasant to drive, and if you buy the right one, quite well equipped and not too slow.
ChrisMk1
20-01-10, 08:26 PM
I've got the pov spec 1.8LS one.
Still pulls well even at 110k on it.
used it for the last 3 years to drag the mk1 about for working on, and painting/exhaust fit.
A decent towing platform for a car much overlooked.

Chris
swedge
20-01-10, 11:19 PM
been eading up about these and the fuel pump keeps coming up and saying it is very expensive to fix
The Simps
21-01-10, 12:34 AM
I've got a 2.2 petrol sri150 and its by no means rapid for towing but does a comfortable job. Pulled my stripped out nova about ok.
brucer
21-01-10, 10:09 AM
Go to google and type in diesel bob. That site will tell you the price. Ive had mine just under a year and a half and covered 25k so far. Mileage is at 120k now. Any make/model of car you look at will have a common fault. So dont rule out a vec.
Ben
21-01-10, 10:24 AM
TBH most would of had the common fault fixed by now.
novarally
21-01-10, 11:58 AM
TBH most would of had the common fault fixed by now.

Yes, totally agree with you Ben.

I bought my first Vectra 2.0 DTi with 120k on it, it is now nudging 245k and it's not suffered a diesel pump problem in my ownership. It is now 'retired', simply because the rear bushes needed doing and rather than spend money on that I thought I'd get the later version with more comforts and power.

I replaced it with the 2.2 DTi, and have now done 25k miles in that without a hitch (apart from breaking a rear spring last week on shockingly potholed roads that no-one seems to be mending).
joff-turbo-nova
21-01-10, 04:37 PM
My Vectra estate (see WIP below) has an XE in it.

Last year I towed my Nova Saloon about 150 miles from Newcastle to Hull without too many problems (see Trailer project below)

Last month I towed the wifes new Meriva (which is a lot heavier than a nova - see Project Keeping the Mrs happy below) from Peterborough to Hull (160 miles)and to be honest with the XE it was OK on the flat but struggled up hills - had to keep dropping down gears to keep the speed up.

Personally I would get the 2.5 V6 which should be better at towing than the 2.0 16v or 2.2 16v . Diesels should have a better torque curve though.

Cheers

Joff