Hello from Portugal

Hello everybody, my name is André and I am from Portugal. I have had Opel cars all my life (two Corsas and one Astra) and I really enjoy it, it's reliable and... what I can afford. I had a Ford Fiesta in between and really disliked it, gave me troubles every other day...

Hope to see you in the forums!

 

Thanks James. Currently I have an Open Astra 1.3 CDTI from 2006. I am really happy with it, I bought it used about 3 years ago and gave me no troubles at all, except with the drivers rearview mirror, I never guessed how expensive that thing can be: plastic, mirror, motor, mechanism, come on!!!

It was a major upgrade for me, I had always driven small cars, so the Astra was the next class, almost like a grown-up car. Now I do need the extra space to carry my two kids and all their stuff.

What do you drive?

 

From a Jeep to a 2000 Acura is quite a difference. I hate inspections, one time I took my Corsa to the inspection and they told me the motor had oil that I need to wash it. My mechanic did it, but then the starter failed and that was the start of a never ending list of expenses for me... Never again I will wash the motor of a car.

 

That I have learned as well with experience, don't fix your car with your friend, do it at a specialized place. The guy that usually sells me tires tried to fix me a "oil leak" that he said it came from someplace I can't recall, but after all it was from the gear box that lost too much oil and was ruined. The same happened with the starter I imagine. My "new" Astra only goes to Opel now, I can't afford a good car in a new future, so I hope this one lasts.

A Corolla is not so bad. I had also a Corsa, but I had to sell it about one year ago, big crisis here in Portugal.

 

Some basic stuff I agree that DIY is fine, but I got my Fiesta ruined because a bad suggestion from that tyre changer, so I am not too confident right now.

 

Hello Andre,

Welcome, although I must say that it would be a bit late... .... Opel cars were good and reliable, however, they are not sold anymore in India. What is the car in your profile picture? It looks like a Tata Indica which we get here in India. Do let me know.

I will connect with you on the forum.

 

Thanks oivas, actually I joined first than you.

Why aren't Opel cars sold in India? What cars do you have there? It's an Opel Corsa, I haven't even heard about Opel Tata.

 

Hello there!! hope am the youngest here...I just drove by to say Hi. I was amazed to know that Opel cars are mostly sold in India...I had no clue about it...hope I will know more about these cars.

 

No, not that it is not sold at all. It was being sold between 1998 -2002, but they were not able to make much inroads with the car. So they discontinued the Opel brands. And there is no Opel Tata. Tata is another car maker, who currently owns Jaguar and Landrover.

Tatas are India based conglomerate and they have an automobile division.

 

What do you mean, they were not able to make much inroads with the car?

 

Hi Caparica007

I mean the car did not simply sell here. People went in for the Japanese cars like Honda and Toyota, and hence despite the good specs of the car it did not do good. Also, the after sales service for Opel was really poor, since there were not much dealerships in those days.. Anyways, that was long time back.

 

It's funny to see the different brands sold in the different countries, here in Portugal we have massive German brands, Opel is big, Italian, Ford and Japanese.