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Humbug · Aug 8, 2013

Hi Ho
Just saying Hello not a stranger to vauxhalls have had many, (my first vauxhall 4x4 though ) going well so far

wilma08 · Aug 8, 2013

Welcome humbug hope you enjoy the forums,and all the best with your new Antara

Grumps · Aug 8, 2013

Welcome to the forum Humbug.

Humbug · Aug 10, 2013

Thanks Wilma08 and Grumps
I am pleased so far, I tow a 1500kilo Swift Caravan no probs there excellent tow car, funny the things you take for granted in a car, Antara has no lights on indicator on the dash or eluminated switches for interior lights I assume this is normal for all Antara's and not a fault

Scottyboy · Aug 12, 2013

Welcome Humbug the forum is great for help and advice happy caravaning

Blacksmith · Aug 16, 2013

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Hi FolksApologies for the length of this post, only intended a brief introduction but decided to bore you with my new car experience and got carried away .

Was considering a big black FWD with t he word BARBARIAN or WARRIOR but was told I would need to put on 4 stone, get my head shaved and have my ears pierced, so decided the Antara was a little more stylishTook delivery of my new 13 plate Antara
Diamond (in black) less than two weeks ago, had been considering the Antara for
some time as an eventual replacement for my
9 year old work horse Merriva which I was hoping to get another year or so of service from, but...

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on
how you view the following, fate and mechanical failure decided to render my 54
plate Merriva uneconomical to repair when considered against mileage, condition and value etc.

So, my hand was forced and I became the
proud owner of what I consider to be a curvy sleek AWD
machine, I choose the manual gearbox based on economy and cost, but have to
admit, I am missing the auto boxI used
to drive, it seems so easy to go into
third as opposed to first but its early days and gear selection linkages will
loosen off over time and my wife's screams as I slowly pull out in front approaching oncoming traffic does have a good entertainment value .

Had a couple of small warranty replacement issues which were
sorted by the agent, I found the driver side rear seatbelt webbing had a small
area of fraying, think it was a manufacturing defect, certainly not wear, this has now been replaced. The panel housing the center speaker on top of the dash was
not flush with its surround, this was replaced and at the time of the vehicle being
handed back seemed OK…for a while

Disaster… yesterday (15<sup>th</sup> Aug.
2013) some gent decided not to look in the direction he was traveling…Result;
my nice new sleek over 20 grand Antara with less than 500 miles on the clock
now has a crumpled tailgate, bent cross frame section behind the plastic
styling surround (don't know the name) under the tail gate. Oh and the center
speaker panel (mentioned above) on the dash has flipped out again…Had better
days.

As you can imagine, to put it mildly this
week has not been the best, so decided to join the Antara owners forum and
torture myself by looking at other peoples none dented Antaras and share my sad new car experience.

Trying to finish on a ppositive note…the
good news is of course, no one was injured, my insurance and the third party
insurer have agreed the other guy was at fault, I am dropping the Antara off for
repair and pick up a courtesy car tomorrow.

The wife thinks I should swap the Manual
for an Auto box but I am a little apprehensive that this would stop people
running into the back of me and I would miss the astonished look on her face
when slowly pulling out in third into the path of oncoming traffic.

Will keep you informed of future progress and anticipated issues of repair process…Blacksmith

Grumps · Aug 16, 2013

Hi Blacksmith welcome to the forum. That's a sad tale. I can only imagine how upset you are. I'm still devastated to find a stone chip even after 18 months.

The only issue you might have is the length of time it might take to repair. Because the Antara is made in Korea it can take a while to get the parts so hopefully the parts you need are available and you will get it back ASAP.

wilma08 · Aug 17, 2013

Hi and welcome your wife is right automatic, and all the best with the repairs

Spantara · Aug 17, 2013

Sad news indeed.

Welcome to the forum though.I hope this will keep you sane whilst you await the return of your Antara.

JR123 · Aug 17, 2013

.Edited by: JR123

Spantara · Aug 17, 2013

JR123 said:
........ I am waiting for the police to examine some CCTV which has it all on tape but the officer has been off sick for 8 weeks so no movement on that one!

Sorry for all your problems but I am glad that they are sorted now.

Just out of interest, call the cops and then call the pizza delivery guy and see who arrives first - invariably (unless you live next door to the cop shop) it will be a young man with a steaming hot pizza! Bon appetit!

Edited by: Spantara

JR123 · Aug 17, 2013

.Edited by: JR123

Blacksmith · Sep 3, 2013

Hi JR123...Thanks for your reply...Sounds like you have been very unfortunate and Ive had an easy ride in comparisonI have now got my car back now, I was very apprehensive about what the end result would be, but thankfully I can see no indication the car had been damaged both from the outside view and after a good inspection from a garage pit.Good look with sorting things out with insurance.

KenB · Sep 4, 2013

Hi Blacksmith - a belated welcome from me too

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