Hi All, further to my last post about a noisy Astra, I now have a dying Astra. Nothing has been done to it for a few weeks apart from unplugging and reconnecting the radio a few times, which was done today. The radios being swapped where the same make and model, nothing was done except take the plug out the rear of one and plug it into the rear of the other.. Now I`ve just got back frolm a 10 mile drive during which the car has cut out 3 times. It hasn`t stalled, the engine just stopped as if the ignition had been turned off, but the exterior lights and radio remained on, and all the lights that first come on when you turn the ignition to "on" came on. This happened 3 times, all while stationary. Apart from that the car drove perfectly normally, no struggling, no spluttering, no lights changing brightness. I`m loath to get anything done about the noise until this is sorted, i`m going to a garage tomorrow but I was wondering - any suggestions? I`m thinking an electrical fault that would be nice and easy to fix (fingers crossed). I`m also thinking about replacing the car entirely - I work 45 miles from home and need a reliable car (publi transport isn`t an option at 5AM :-) ). I`d be looking for something Astra sized that is comfortable and economical. Absolutely no fiats, I want a reliable car and i`m fed up of seeing them broken down :-). At the moment I do about 1500-1800 miles a month, which costs about £150 a month in fuel, driving at a steady 60mph. I`d like a car that can do upwards of 600 miles for a tank of fuel, and that can match (or even beat) that kind of fuel economy, ideally at 70mph. Does anyone have any suggestions for suitible cars to look out for? I`m happy with Diesel or Petrol, manual or automatic is fine - I want economy, comfort and reliability. Ideally around the £2k-£3k mark, but I can stretch up to £5k for something particularly good. Thanks in advance for your help!
