Thread: views / opinions on CDTi Insignia 160 PS

With a never ending list of problems since the day i bought my B7 A4 3 years ago and with the dreaded balance shaft failure now impending ( car currently at 66k miles), i have been looking at changing my car to something newer and hopefully a lot more reliable. i would be very reluctant to ever by Audi again to be honest, but have stumbled accross a 2009 Opel Insignia that will be up for sale in a local dealer in two weeks time.

Its a 2.0 CDTi 160bhp 2009 Insignia, white in colour, SE spec with 28k miles. SE spec includes half leather, climate control w/ air con, MFSW and cruise control. Few other goodies as standard too, things i had to pay a fortune to retrofit into my "€40k premium car".

i know nothing about these cars to be honest, but have always liked the looks of the higher spec ones since the car was released. what are peoples opinions on them? any experiences? i have sat into a few at dealers and am quite impressed with the build quality, very similar to my own A4. i have never driven one though. A big thing and a must for me is reliability, i have had nothing but problems with my car since the day i bought it and since discovering the balance shaft failure prob i dont think i have enjoyed one minute in my car, freaking out that it would go at any minute. i have only ever driven japanese before the audi and in 3 years i NEVER had an ounce of trouble with them.

Opel Insignia, what do you think???

Hi there Irish,

Sorry to hear you've had so many issues with your car. On the subject of the Insignia, I've not had one myself so my only advice would be to do your research!
I'm a big believer in renting the type of car you want to buy for a week, before you spend your hard earned cash! It gives you an idea if you can live with a car day to day, much more than a hour long test drive with a salesmen sitting next to you.

Just as the 2.0 TDi appears to have been a weak link in the Audi chain, I'm sure its the same for other marques too. Perhaps a few hours searching things like Vauxhall Insignia Issues might be time well spent! I'm not suggesting you'll find anything, but lets just say the reason I bought a 2.7TDi A4 rather than a 2.0 litre, was due to a few google searches!

What ever you decide, I hope your next 3 years of motoring is better than your last!

I pick up alot of insignia's for work and don't like how they feel on the road compared to my a4. Not alot of help but agree you need to rent or try one out for a bit

I am starting to have the same thoughts about audi.
It's my 3rd A4. Had B5, B6 and now B7 2.0tdi Quattro. Car has just over 20k miles on and already had injectors changed, problem with power steering (leak from one of the hoses), new intercooler, and problem with rear caliper sticking.
I did over 50k miles in my B6 1.9tdi in around 14 months and never had bigger issue with it.
I'm thinking about selling it and going for a Focus or a Mondeo because not only they're half the price but pretty damn good to drive as well. Just sold last month my touareg which was pain in the ass as well. Think I have enough of VAG cars for now.

personally i wouldnt touch a vauxhall
the insignia has had some bad electrical issues according to a vauxhall tech i know and the older vauxhalls were s--t!
it does seem that audi have had some issues lately but i still feel they are the best built along with other vag for your pennies
bmw build quality is not as good as people say and they drive terrible in bad weather
mercs are ok but boring
the only other cars i rate personally are jap but build quality isnt as good

Just out of interest, what problems have you had with your Audi??
You mention the balance shaft thing but from your post it seems that it hasn't actually happened, you're just expecting it to.
Some of the problems people mention, like sticking calipers and leaking hoses are niff naff stuff and could happen on a £100k car.

I always only use to have vauxhalls and never really had any issues, but they are bland, run of the mill motorway buses. I wouldn't have one now through choice.

Hi Irish

Don't be to hasty to get rid of your B7 fella, as previously mentioned some issues can happen to any car at any time, I have owned and driven Audi's since 1988, road, rally & track, set aside the original Quattro, the B6/B7 platform is leaps ahead of most other competitors, yes they have their individual issues but all makes do. Wifey has had BMW's (mainly due to her daughter working for BMW) they are great for the track but on the road tail happy (although quite good fun) in wet weather and ditto to poor build quality. (IMHO)

Vauxhall's have definately moved forward, but boring, my sister loves her's though, Insignia's are the new motorway car, they are quite a bit cheaper and reports are good for dealership customer service. Faults seem to be with the power steering & infotainment system causing elctrical issues, however as mentioned customer service reports are good.

So I guess it's a case of test drive more than once, and be lucky. Happy hunting fella.

Mac

Join a vauxhall or ingisnia forum first and ask about the car your planning on buying. What engine/year to avoid, what to look out for etc. Read up on honestjohn/pistonheads for some information. I know the Euro 4 1.9 CTDI engines had a endless amount of problems with egr valves, dual mass flywheels and DPF's but not up to date on the 160 engines.

I feel that VW/Audi have been living on their past reputation for building good cars, which now simply isn't the case. I can say that the next car i buy won't be VAG after having two previous VAGS. I think i'll go for a nice Merc instead.

Originally Posted by rowdy_in_da_audi

Hi there Irish,

Sorry to hear you've had so many issues with your car. On the subject of the Insignia, I've not had one myself so my only advice would be to do your research!
I'm a big believer in renting the type of car you want to buy for a week, before you spend your hard earned cash! It gives you an idea if you can live with a car day to day, much more than a hour long test drive with a salesmen sitting next to you.

Just as the 2.0 TDi appears to have been a weak link in the Audi chain, I'm sure its the same for other marques too. Perhaps a few hours searching things like Vauxhall Insignia Issues might be time well spent! I'm not suggesting you'll find anything, but lets just say the reason I bought a 2.7TDi A4 rather than a 2.0 litre, was due to a few google searches!

What ever you decide, I hope your next 3 years of motoring is better than your last!

i have been doing quite a lot of research on it lately and opinions on the insignia are very mixed. some say its an amzaing car and others think its terrible. whilst there did appear to be some electrical issues when it was first released, these seem to have solved by recalls etc. and yeah it appears the 2.0cdti engine appears to be the weakest engine in there range. why is it impossible for car manufacturers to make a good reliable 2.0tdi engine? i bought my 2.0tdi A4 thinking it would be far stronger than than 1.9 and becasue it was more powerful. i also spent a lot longer looking for the 2.0tdi as there was fewer around when i bought. my GF has a 2002 Audi A4 1.9tdi that has 110k miles, almost twice mine. her car dosent get looked after or serviced properly (she was layed off last year and cant afford to) yet it seems to and always has run better and smoother than mine. i wish i had bought a 1.9tdi now!

am in mixed opinions on the insignia now. i have sat in one in the dealer and it does appear solid and well built. to my eye, as good as my audi. i dont know what its like on the road though, i guess a good test ride will tell a lot....

Originally Posted by rowdyboy

Just out of interest, what problems have you had with your Audi??
You mention the balance shaft thing but from your post it seems that it hasn't actually happened, you're just expecting it to.
Some of the problems people mention, like sticking calipers and leaking hoses are niff naff stuff and could happen on a £100k car.

I always only use to have vauxhalls and never really had any issues, but they are bland, run of the mill motorway buses. I wouldn't have one now through choice.

where do i start rowdyboy! i bought the car in march 2009 with 33k miles. since then i have had to replace some hose leading to the turbo and had to replace the fuel filter one way valve at 41k, the driver seat (original ones frame was broken and so the rear of the seat moved backwards when accelerating and forwards when braking) at 42k, aircon unit packed in at 44k, issue with glowplugs at 45k, the armrest cover (just broke when opening it) at 47k, the motor in the driver door for the power windows (just stopped working) at 58k, LHS engine mount, polybelt tensioner and rear shocks all gone at 61k and clutch and DMF packed in just before christmas. on top of that there is small issues like buttons on centre console worn and showing white since 50k, arch lining in front RHS came off whilst driving and i nearly crashed and there is now a wine and shudder from power steering rack. + have impending balance shaft failure problem.

i know some of these issues might seem like wear and tear items (engine mounts etc) but i think these are failing very prematurely (60k miles) and are just adding to my frustrations with the car. having to replace a driver seat, air con unit, armrest and window motor before the car is even 5 years old? i personally think that is ridiculous, especially for a car that cost €47,000 new.

but the thing is i still love my car. it is by far the best looking car i have owned and still turns heads no matter where i go. it gets minded like a baby, is never driven on, is always left cool down after a spin, serviced way before the intervals, fluids changed way before there due and is never left wanting for anything. but still things just fail and fall off it. as much as i love it, i dont have much mass in it anymore and cannot afford to keep replacing things that go wrong, especially on a car that is now nearly 7 years old. i dont know did i just get a bad example or is it a case that cars are no longer built to last but i have had enough! also audi's inability to simply put there hands up when something goes wrong ( balanced shaft failure) and will instead see thousands of owners crippling themselves to pay for a problem that was clearly a design issue from the start that could lead to potentially writing cars off gets to me. especially as i now drive my car knowing that it could happen at any moment. in 4 years of ownership of hondas, including cars with much more mileage than my audi and ones that got driven on hard (Integra type r), i have NEVER had to replace anything on them outside of normal servicing.

rant over guys! just very frustrating when you work so hard for something (i took out a big loan for my car at the age of 20) and put so much time and effort into something to have all the problems. im not saying the Insignia will be any better, but my parents and sister have owned Opels without issue so it might be worth looking more into. or maybe ill just go back to jap!

Originally Posted by Macdoon

Hi Irish

Don't be to hasty to get rid of your B7 fella, as previously mentioned some issues can happen to any car at any time, I have owned and driven Audi's since 1988, road, rally & track, set aside the original Quattro, the B6/B7 platform is leaps ahead of most other competitors, yes they have their individual issues but all makes do. Wifey has had BMW's (mainly due to her daughter working for BMW) they are great for the track but on the road tail happy (although quite good fun) in wet weather and ditto to poor build quality. (IMHO)

Vauxhall's have definately moved forward, but boring, my sister loves her's though, Insignia's are the new motorway car, they are quite a bit cheaper and reports are good for dealership customer service. Faults seem to be with the power steering & infotainment system causing elctrical issues, however as mentioned customer service reports are good.

So I guess it's a case of test drive more than once, and be lucky. Happy hunting fella.

Mac

i understand that any car can have any issue but when they all start happening together and costing €1k a go to fix it gets a bit ridiculous. i do love my car and if i havent had some of the problems with it then i wouldnt be even thinking about getting rid of it. maybe i just got a very bad example!

yeah will just have to look into the insignia more. i do like its looks (not for everyone) and the 160bhp would more than do me (have a 140bhp A4). just have to look into there issues some more!

Originally Posted by Fahim

Join a vauxhall or ingisnia forum first and ask about the car your planning on buying. What engine/year to avoid, what to look out for etc. Read up on honestjohn/pistonheads for some information. I know the Euro 4 1.9 CTDI engines had a endless amount of problems with egr valves, dual mass flywheels and DPF's but not up to date on the 160 engines.

I feel that VW/Audi have been living on their past reputation for building good cars, which now simply isn't the case. I can say that the next car i buy won't be VAG after having two previous VAGS. I think i'll go for a nice Merc instead.

will do! In my opinion and experience (and that of my VAG specialist mechanic), Audi stopped building good reliable cars at the end of the B6 platform. Having had the issues i have, i dont think i would ever buy Audi again (unless new, but im never going to have that much money!) and would find it difficult to recommend to anyone to buy them.

and one more thing that i find frustrating, i have been visiting a lot of garages lately with my dad as he is trading in his 2008 Mazda 3. We have visited Ford, Opel, Toyota and Hyundai. All of these manufacturers cars are not considered premium cars and all are costing him less then €20k. yet all of these cars are coming with 4 or 5 year warranties. why is it that when people spend €50k + on premium cars, that you only get a 2 years warranty............??

i like my audi and touch wood apart from brakes tyres cambelt which comes with running a car the only thing thats failing is the dmf and clutch but 129k now and mapped with lots more torque thats expected, but scares me to read other model with there problems it seems my b6 as just about the most reliable engine vag have produced..... dont think ill be buying another diesel audi though ill be going back to petrol as dont seem to be as many horror storys with fuel pumps,injectors,turbo's failing......

without slagging other models off think there all as bad as each other with the same similar issues, as lots of models use the same make pumps injectors and so on..... my m8 at work swopped is 320cdi merc which i thought was a tool for a insignia sri which he loves better than his merc so its going to be swings and round abouts who ever you talk to...... sometimes it takes a change to realise how good your previous car was

It's interesting someone mentioned swapping to a Focus earlier in the thread. We did the opposite after our Focus spent a week with the Ford dealer trying to fix the engine management warning light coming on plus limp mode. It had several visits to the dealer and initially they didn't believe there was a fault. I was forced to take my laptop and OBDII cable with me to and from work to catch the fault code when it happened. Even then they seemed reluctant. Eventually I wrote to Ford UK which suddenly made the local dealer all helpful. So finally they took it off us for a week and swapped so many parts that they had no real idea what fixed it in the end. They apparently kept phoning Ford technical UK to ask what to try next.

So, once we got it back fixed it was traded for a A4 B7 2.0TFSI, we just didn't trust it anymore. The Focus was a lot cheaper to service but to be honest through this whole incident it became clear Ford's have some hard to diagnose issues whereas the VAG issues seem to be well known.

Originally Posted by scotty76

The Focus was a lot cheaper to service but to be honest through this whole incident it became clear Ford's have some hard to diagnose issues whereas the VAG issues seem to be well known.

Yeah, because VAG cars break down all day so the symptoms are well known. Fords clearly hardly ever break down

Ford's are appalling. The number of issues I have had with my C-Max. It's also irritating that it enters limp mode randomly but the Ford computer does not hold a log of issues so unless the issue manifests itself at the dealer, then they can't locate the fault.

Can't wait to get rid of it.