Not 100% I’ll be around for the premiere but this is quite a funny and informative video, including me almost breaking my ankle 😂😂

@larryjimbob

11 ай бұрын

You are obviously extremely underrated. The most non bs review I've seen for a while, thank you Geoff 😊🙏♥️

@larryjimbob

11 ай бұрын

.....you didn't say 'visceral' once 😁

@andyredvolvo9434

11 ай бұрын

Very entertaining 😂but I hope your ok

@larryjimbob

11 ай бұрын

I have to confess that I do like my old Fords too Geoff. Unfortunately you'd need a bank loan to buy one these days. I remember my grandfather's MK3 Cortina in orange with those lovely lines. My father once drive us around in a MK4 Cortina all the way to the south of France and back many times towing a trailer tent..... imagine trying to find an estate MK4 now, must be rare af! My late father also drove us in a gold MK2 2.8 Granada that had a lot of power then got heavily into his BMW cars in the mid to late 80's. I've been in a stupidly fast T-reg Escort RS2000 in banana yellow before, many friends had fast Sierras and I've had the privilege in the past to be able to borrow my friends MK2 Escort. It was only a 1.6 but so much fun to drive. We jumped humpbacked bridges in it 😁

@larryjimbob

11 ай бұрын

I'm 46 now and I've obviously calmed down 😉😁

I really wish the Omega would make come back in production

@sanyey8405

3 ай бұрын

It did.. It's called 5 series BMWs and E class Mercedes models 😂

Remember Victor Meldrew got his head stuck inside a Vauxhall Omega sunroof 😅

Jeremy Clarkson, pay this man to keep making car shows with real news in it.

I worked as a workshop foreman/quality control that repaired police cars when they had Omegas and Mondeos. I also had to drive the cars back to the station after repair, which was always funny, no one pulls out in front of you or tailgates you or anything, awesome. Oh and I was supposed to put up boards in the front and rear that clearly displayed that the vehicle was "on test", I did that the first time. Anyways, I drove two Omegas, one unmarked and one marked, both silver and both V6, both had been hit in the front fairly heavily, wings/rads/front panel/lights etc. We were never told how the accidents happened on any of the police cars but we all agreed that the Omegas had understeered or rear ended something.

I own one of these Geoff. A 99 preface-lift 3litre elite. outstanding cars, massively under rated. they are just beautiful too drive, well equipped without being too complicated. the V6 engines were the best and a lot of fun being rear wheel drive although the 2.5 diesel was not bad either, with masses of tourque. (bmw engine) I’ve owned loads a driven 100’s. the sunroof was so you could open it quickly without taking your hands off tbe wheel for too long. i could write a book on them as vauxhalls have been my life for nearly 30 years.

@GeoffBuysCars

11 ай бұрын

Great anecdote about the sunroof!

@trevorpalin4731

11 ай бұрын

In all fairness Geoff I preferred the older pre and hold method. That panel could be removed with it’s switch and motor and fitted to any other Vauxhall with the manual sunroof from the mk2 Astras and cavaliers onwards. All you needed to to was power it off the interior light and earth it. Simples! Easy upgrade.

I used to have an Omega Estate 3.2 MV6 in that colour - 51 reg. Great car it was too. Slightly lowered suspension and wider wheels from the normal car. Incidentally, the grill on the later cars B2, was tidied up over the original. Yours is the newer version so I think its a B2! They were all made in Germany I seem to recall.

I know a fella in Scotland that would cut a finger off for that car. His Channel is Once Driven Forever Smitten - NO NO Not a Plug just some info, I always do that very same roll BUT under my living room window when the TV licence goons chap me up. Thanks again Mr Geoff

Sell it to Dougie so he can stick a Vauxhall red top in it and a 6 speed manual transmission

Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon used to be considered the two mainstay heavyweight cars of the Australian car market, The commodore made it's debut back in 1978, The Falcon ran from 1960 - 2016 I had a Holden commodore VE Omega with a 3.6L V6 petrol (I think two models after the Holden badged European developed omega seen here, and the first wholly developed in Australia) when I lived in Australia for a few years and absolutely loved it, huge cabin space, super comfy, A great place to enjoy a road trip. They usually come with either a 3.0/3.6 V6 or a 6L V8 so plenty of power to move it's generously proportioned body.

I absolutely love vauxhall omegas

I owned a 1993 Omega 2.5 V6 CD saloon in metallic green. Bought it as my second car as a 22 year old. Loved driving the old barge - many mocked me for having it but I had the last laugh driving a manual, 170bhp rear-drive beast! It served me well until the heater matrix packed up for the second time in 18 months and I couldn’t justify the cost of fitting it as it was about twice the value of the car. Such a smooth cruiser. Tempted to look for a decent 2nd hand one. Off to Auto Trader I go!

The Holden version (as you put it) was totally different to the Opel/Vauxhall, for a start the Holden is wider, used a pushrod V6 based on a Buick design and both Holden and Chevrolet V8s. The only two parts that are common between the Opel/Vx and the Holden are the door handles and the plastic trim at the base of the C pillar on the saloons .....

@davidbusch8912

11 ай бұрын

No wonder my eyes were drawn to the door handles 😂

Had a 1996 Omega 2.0 estate which I bought in 2000 ran until 2011. Loved it for its load carrying and comfort. Great for family trips. It had a 6CD changer in the back.

I had a V6 estate in metallic 'champagne' as a company car. Then the company car scheme was killed by Gordon Brown's tax on them and we went to a car allowance instead. I bought the Omega from the leasing company for not a lot and spent the car allowance on buying my first MX5 - for fun! Thanks Gordon! I ran the Omega for several years as a family barge and it was fine until about 70K miles when stuff started to go wrong. The worst fault was the plastic cam covers warped with age and leaked oil into the V of the engine, which soaked the plug leads which lead to coil pack failure. But really, being a Vauxhall, it wasn't built for longevity and I replaced with a new Ford Focus which itself has just been replaced, after 14 years, with a new Mazda CX-30. And I bought my latest MX5 in 2021, a new ND2 in that lovely soul red, just for fun. And fun it is! Everyone should have a red sports car in their lives at least once. Cheers Gordon!

Yup. We both learned something today. Don't deceive the missus and go home with a bruised leg. "No way you did that by Commando rolling into the boot of a car! Come on who is she?".

Had the 1998 2.5 elite in metallic blue, fully loaded and it came with the traffic master system. Loved this car.

@rudedogger

11 ай бұрын

The way that Traffic Master system used to announce itself in a creepy female robot voice!

I had one a Saloon 97 P-reg plate B a 2.5 V6 CDX automatic, lovely to drive with big Slumberland seats and full climate control and cruise control and I loved the adaptive steering how it would firm up the faster you went, colour was dark green .I think the engines were 2.2 on the newer ones after this.

Army rolls, not one but room for two Harry Potter books. This one of your finest videos. It took me some time to realize the Harry Potter author lived in a car for some time. Your are brilliant and funny.

@GeoffBuysCars

11 ай бұрын

Thanks so much! If you liked this, check out my Zafira review.

Next door neighbour had an R reg 3.2v6 elite estate in the purple/ blue back in the day when it was 3 years old. I awlays thought it was a smart looking thing and the exhaust burble on start up was always music to my ears. He replaced it with a A6 allroad.

I bought a 2000MY 2.2 Omega auto saloon in 2013 for £400, had 5 months tax and test and only 60k on the clock. It also had warped discs and rampant tinworm that had eaten the front crossmember and both main chassis rails. The engine and trans is now in my 1978 Dolomite Sprint and suits it very nicely, effortless cruising with overdriven 4 speed 3 range trans, takes off like a scalded cat and with the Sprint's 3.45 axle, no aircon or PAS to hog power and 15" rims too, it does 80mph at only 3200rpm and at motorway cruise speed, delivers 45+mpg (unfortunately it prefers 99ron Esso though)

@GeoffBuysCars

11 ай бұрын

That is an epic transplant!! Love to try it, email me

@brianiswrong

11 ай бұрын

We need to see this on this channel, please make it happen🙏

“That’s gonna bruise” 😂😂

@GeoffBuysCars

11 ай бұрын

It certainly did!!! I had to ice it for hours.

Got a 1990 3.0 gsi with 32,000km and a 1991 3.0 24v gsi with 124,000km on it. Had both about 18 years now and while they okly come out everybody one and then for a drive I don’t think I’ll sell them. They’re not worth anything here, but I reckon a under rated car. They’re awsum I reckon

Ohhhh remember the 2.5 v6

I have a silver Opel Omega B1 sedan from 1996 as my daily commuter car/work horse, put ~2.5k miles /year on it. Pretty fun since its RWD, LSD and doesn't come with any traction control (not my model). The comfort in these older cars is better than a lot of modern and I can repair it without much hassle!

But that’s a Senator, Geoff. And I’m not talking Desantis either 😂😂

I had an Omega B 1995 2.5 v6 manual, great car for motorways and clocked up 320,000 miles with only a fuel pump problem ever letting me down, still on the original clutch. Due to rust replaced with another 2000 facelift 2.5 v6 manual in 2013 that had 32,000 miles on it for £1000. That is now at around 230,000 and getting rusty, but still great to drive and very smooth.

We used nothing but omega estates as workshop recovery barge / fuel collecting vehicle at a car supermarket I used to work for. Entire boot filled with green 5 litre cans, and the fuel tank brimmed was standard protocol. All the cars on site had next to no fuel in and the petrol station guy didn't seem to mind the sketchiness of it all. The omega was the only car that was easy to siphon out when all the cans were empty again.

A great TG spoof Geoff. Loved the army roll in the estate. Love the presentation….

I had a 1999 2.5 CD and my kids (all grown up) say it was the best car I ever had. I loved it. But it was t-boned on a roundabout and that killed it.

Im loving my manual 2.5 DTI (U failed to mention there were 2 different 2.5 diesels in it, while one is a pile of crap, and the other is the best diesel in human history ->2.5tds and 2.5 dti 24V) caravan for 3 years now. Its a daily all arounder. Literally perfect for commuting to work, or hauling shit .. it eats 5.7litres on country roads at 110kmh, and 6.7 if you go on highways at 130-150kmh. The engine itself will last for eternity, too bad that cant be said about the chassis...

The first issue of Autocar magazine I ever bought myself had the road test of the Omega 2.5 V6. I'll always have a soft spot for these cars for that reason alone. Plus it's a handsome car. I've now got a Volvo V70 P3 in sliver, great car & far better than any stupid SUV for family duties.

The Holden Commodore is similar, but a much different car. At the time, Holden spent about $50 million to widen the car about 6 inches(150mm). Bodies were also made stronger, to cope with Australia's poor roads. Earlier models (89 on) used the Buick 3.8 V6, and Ecotec as base engines, other engine options were a 5.0 and 5.7 liter Holden V8's, all with 5 speed manual or 4 speed auto. Later models used the Alloyteck V6 engines, and a range of GM LS engines, between 5.7, and 6.2 liter. Also, Ryan Walkinshaw's, Special Vehicles operation, sourced bodies from Holden, to produce a range of high performance vehicles, including a 7.0 liter engine, and later a supercharged 6.2 liter (LSA and LS9), producing 427Kw.

Great video massively underated car. I've had 6 of them ranging from the 2.0 CD right upto a 3.0 Elite. There's a reason nearly every Police Traffic Division had them. My own favourite was a 2.5v6 elite in Boston Green which was an Ex diplomatic protection car with a bullet proof windscreen and armoured wings lol I can still remember the reg.

OOfft Ouch! I REALLY felt that Geoff. Brilliant vid and concise once over. Thanks again. Ice fund for Geoff please! lol

You’re dead right about the demise of the estate car; sad because they are so practical for family life. Hope the swelling has gone down

@christinarichie6171

11 ай бұрын

Interesting how it declined as the family declined..

@aidengranahan3598

11 ай бұрын

I love my estate's so practice for family and work on my 2nd in a row.

@ianchalklen1047

11 ай бұрын

@@aidengranahan3598 I’m with you as I run a V70 classic 😊

@miketaylor3007

11 ай бұрын

My family bus for the last 19 years has been a 'some versions old' Merc E-class estate with the extra seats. I've had 4: W124, W210 , W211, & currently a pre facelift W212

I hope you didn't hurt yourself too much. Is your ankle feeling any better yet? I love this video, like the Top Gear style and the funny sequences.

7:38 sunroof dial is brilliant - you twist it to where you want then leave the electric motors to do their slow work while you get on with your life. With a button you have to keep your finger pressing it for the entire time it takes the roof to wind itself open.

I had a silver pre-facelift MV6 for several years (3.0 V6 with manual 5-speed and BOSE audio). Had the rear arches fixed and painted, put the B FL trims on the outside. It was an upgrade from a 1996 2.0 16v with LPG. I remember picking it up and being afraid of how it pulled for the first few days 🤣Boot was absolutely massive, as Geoff says. Was able to transport a sofa bed, 3 seater sofa and a fridge (obviously not all at once lol 😀). Unfortunately it rotted away and had to scrap it.

The car you showed as a Carlton was a Senator CD. I had two of them, brilliant car.

Have the 2.2 saloon,had it 7 yrs 78,000 runs like a dream

We had one of these, used to love it!

Omega 3.2 v6 used for delivery on kitchen work tops, brill motor. Ours was a funny black colour one, mrs called it the hearse.

I had a Carlton estate back in the day. Brill car. Think it had done 200,000 miles {it had been clocked} when I scraped it. The reason, All the running gear was F***ed. The motor was fine. I used to sleep in the back when I was on a fishing week. I`m 5.11 and could stretch out in the back with the seats down.

Hope your ankle is getting better Geoff, I felt for you when I heard the crunch of your foot on the tailgate of the Omega. They are actually quite a tough car and if I was looking for a roomy estate your violent entry into its boot space would not deter me from buying it one bit.😊

@ThisIsMyRodrick

11 ай бұрын

looked painful 😂

Hi great video, whilst I working the Met Police , that had the estate and saloon before estate came out , thus car replaced the Rover 827 when Rover produced the kv6 engine Rover 825. Regards mark

Great Fun Video Geoff - very entertaining (and actually informative, but I will settle for a ham roll rather than the army one!).

Commodore used this look till 2008 and made 2 door Monaro that got exported to US as Pontiac GTO and Pontiac G8...

Spotted this in Lincoln on Saturday, recognised the rear window graphics 👍

The vauxhall omega B was a very under rated and well equipped and really reliable. It always left behind by bmw and Mercedes. I've had 2 a 3.0 elite and 2.0 ecotec and the 2.0 ecotec when I scrapped it had over 300k miles on the original engine and auto box unfortunately the work needed for the MOT was all the wishbones and bushes that out valued the car it was a sad day but still have front V grill, key and tall tax discs. The only down side owning one now is the VED is really expensive but worth paying 😀

Quasi national telco cracked the shits when the local adaption left production. The car had 1700Ltrs of cargo space with the rear seats folded filled to the roof, there was and still is nothing short of a van with such space.

The two stand out moments is your hat staying resolutely on your head when doing your army rolls and “all the Chinese people in Malvern will be sh1tt1ng themselves”😂 pure comedy gold!

We had 2 Omegas (before our current '08 Ford Galaxy 2.3 Petrol). They were both V6 petrols (couldn't tell you which V6😂) Auto Estates, very comfortable, and mostly reliable! Would highly recommend one!

As a professional australian, i can confirm that the Commodore was more "inspired by" the omega, rather than based off it. Our Commodore is allegedly wider and looks quite different, all things considered, except in profile. We did, ironically, have a trim level called Omega on the VE Commodore though... which was funny, because that was the first Commodore fully designed locally. But given it was the last generation of the Commodore, maybe the Omega wasn't actually ironic, but rather prophetic. Anyway, Commodores are good cars, ruined largely by the people who drive them. The end.

Real slick Geoff. And there's me telling the Mrs. to come check out Geoff... "he's cool". Unreal Geoff, unreal.

Omega 3.2 estate was a proper cool motor, loved it. Prefacelift is my favourite and I wish I had a nice one, mine was a bag of shit.

I've had 3 Omega's. A 2.5CDX and 2, 2.6 CDX autos. All three were excellent cars, cost next to nothing to run, had them servised regularly and loved them. They were a bit heavy on front tyres and did nearly 100k miles in each, never let me down. Solidly built, so comfortable, greatly missed 😷

The Australian Holden versions were actually slightly wider than the European made cars as they decided that they required a sensible V8 engine in them.

Commodore was sold in Australia with abs brakes optional and it's possible to stumble onto 2003 model year without. They upsized to large disk brakes and those cars without abs are renowned for being prone to unexpected lock up. 3.8L & 5.7L included.

Hubnut, You're sacked 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I still have a mint condition vauxhall omega 3.2v6 litre elite on the road. Never seen another on the road in the 8 years I have owned it.

I have three 3.2's, all with some minor upgrades.....great cars and still pretty quick, but not really an every day beater unless you are a pretty good mechanic. As the spares situation can be a bit sketchy sometimes, but collectively in time ownership I have had these three cars for a total of fifty years plus, and will be keeping them until some sort of Government scrappage scheme is forced upon us.

@larryjimbob

11 ай бұрын

Are the different makes Geoff mentioned with the car interchangeable?

@kenharding8437

11 ай бұрын

@@larryjimbob Not a great range of interchange really, as the US Catera came as a 3.0 V6 only and with a different front grill and rear light cluster. But throughout Europe and the UK then a full range of engines were available including a 5.7 V8 which never made it to market. Australia is a little unclear as to the lower powered models and they may just have had the V6 models, the body shape was pretty similar , but the front grill was typically Holden.

@larryjimbob

11 ай бұрын

@@kenharding8437 I was just thinking about interchangeability as you have obviously already done 😊🙏

@kenharding8437

11 ай бұрын

@@larryjimbob There's a lot of aftermarket parts i.e brakes, suspension and service items, but generally virtually no body panels, so you have to source those from cars that are being scrapped, I've recently had to get a couple of new parts from the US by using the Catera as a reference.

@larryjimbob

11 ай бұрын

@@kenharding8437 Might be some old police stock? Back in the day in my area there were a lot of Omega's on the motorways.

a friend of mine had an Omega, all i remember was it was comfortable and well equipped and the headlights were tricky to change with large hands

Cadillac first used the Catera title on a 3 litre Senator. Only 50 were built for prototype assessment. I've had one of these (wish I still had it!) and I've had the Omega based Catera too. Not bad cars but not a Cadillac by any stretch. I always loved the Senators, far better than the Omega; but all in all probably the Senators and Omegas were the best to come out of Vauxhall since the PB Cresta with its hydromatic 2 speed box. I'm negotiating for a PB at the moment

Hi Geoff, I have a 2006 VZ Holden Acclaim Station Wagon down under. Have had it since 2008. Still going strong with only 101,000 kilometres. Cheers

Interesting to note that although the Omega is a commodore here in New Zealand/Australia, two key differences. 1) engine options. Over here, there were 3 engine choices. All petrol. A naturally aspirated 5.0 litre V8, a 3.8 naturally aspirated V6, and a supercharged 3.8 V6. The V6s' are Buick engines, and the V8 was Australian built. It was updated to a 5.7 litre V8 ripped straight from a Chevrolet Camaro/Corvette. All variants were rear wheel drive only, with a choice of a 4 speed automatic, or a 5 speed manual. 2) The interior is greatly different between the Vauxhall and the Holden, in particular the dashboard. They sold in the hundreds of thousands in New Zealand and Australia. Aussie in particular had more of these Commodores than any other manufacturer at the time. Now that GM has shut Holden down, it's not uncommon to see examples for sale close to $100,000 !

@GeoffBuysCars

11 ай бұрын

Could you email me a link to some of these for sale? geoffbuyscars@gmail.com, keen to see more about what you're saying. An Omega over here with a 5.0 V8 would have been amazing!

@Investment_Hedgehog

11 ай бұрын

Email sent. Includes a bonus link to a long wheel base variant 👌 ironically none for sale at the high price point I mentioned, as those examples get sold quickly, presumably to collectors.

Sorry mate, but the replay of you wacking your ankle was pretty damn funny !

@GeoffBuysCars

11 ай бұрын

Ha ha, and THAT is why I put it in.

Brilliant video Geoff, love the omega, dad has an ex cop one, bloody lovely it was

Nice car but sadly the tax is £395!!! this is the reason good old cars are vanishing, the gov are pushing them out through money grabing.

@sanyey8405

3 ай бұрын

How is the tax too much on an old car? Isn't tax cheaper and cheaper as the older car U get?

*Great Video Geoff !*

I had 2 Holden Commodore station wagons, a 1997 and a 2002. Both had the Buik 3.8 lt V6, a beautiful all cast iron engine. I traded both at 500,000km. Engine never missed a beat. Oil changes 7000 km.

@davidbusch8912

11 ай бұрын

Just proves the importance of regular oil changes

Mk1 Skoda Fabia has the same sort of knob for the sunroof. I quite like it

I'd love a 'Planet Ocean'. I'd have it on a metal bracelet though. As for the car; an old Manager of mine had one. He loved it. It was very reliable, and he had it for many years.

Loved my 2.5, but boy, it loved petrol!

Nice car always liked the Omega. A few years ago while on holiday in Iceland I saw the Cadillac version of this model a very rare car indeed.

Just an update on the opel omega A and omega b the A medel was the last in 1993 as a L reg and also they brought out the omega b on a L plate I have a 3.0 manual on a L plate that I've own for 20 years

Commodore gone, Ford Falcon gone. Biggest sellers in Aussie now are duel cab utes.

Great I had one back in the day and a senator straight six

Your Carlton pic was a Senator mate. Nice car though and v informative.

I use to call my omega sideways sally because she loved going sideways usually on roundabouts when you least expect it. I did love the big old girl but she did try to kill me at least once a week.

Love this. That’s why I have a 2004 9-5 Aero estate.

Looking like stretched Vauxhall astra van . Cool. What is mpg. What size engine. This one must have past me by. Mmm

I just watched your video cos I just bought an omega and I love your video Comically I bought a 2000 with 71000 miles on to do a rally in Europe and we are doing it up like a police car

1:17 That's a Senator, not a Carlton, which in mainland Europe was called the Senator.

I blame the scrapage scheme for the loss of these and other cars

They are so nice to drive very smooth but good on handling if u need too

SUVs are so dangerous as well compared to those estate cars.

Loved my 2.5 v6 manual omega test drove an automatic , did an emergancy stop and it clanged and lagged going back into gear, time to walk away methinks

Maybe the most common older cars in Australia. I’ve got a 2001 vx v6 wagon with 450,000km. Gonna scrap it next month. Super reliable, cheap spares and easy to work on…. Pretty thirsty…

We all drive vans in the Peak District for obvious reasons!!

🌟Excellent work 🌟

I had 2 of these - the first was a 1999 2.0 and the second a 2002 2.2 (facelift like the one here). It was a hard choice between that and Rover 75 but I needed to get 2 child seats in the back and this was better for that. I had a 120 mile a day round trip commute at the time (this would have been early 2000s) and they were both very relaxing cars. Not particularly quick, in fact the 2.2 didn't feel to me to be much faster, just used more petrol. The experience was only spoilt by appalling Vauxhall dealer service.

That looked and sounded very painful! Hope the ice packs are working mate Paul from Malvern I recognised the location where you filmed your combat roll lol

@GeoffBuysCars

11 ай бұрын

Ha ha thanks Paul, I did ice it all night but it’s ok today…!!

I have this car for more than 14 years and its still really good it has over 400k miles and its rare too

I got the Holden Commodore VX 2001 wagon . I plan to drive it until it stops .🚗

Fantastic cars. I had a 2.5 V6 about 20 years ago, put 80k on it in four years and it needed nothing but tyres and regular servicing.

Interesting in sport mode my carlton 8 valve auto revs go round to near 7000 rpm pretty much maximum revs.

I sold a LOT of these from 1999 to when they finished production. All ex-daily rental, 6 month old cars. Great cars. The 3.2 Elite auto was lovely to drive. The good old days! Vauxhall's range these days is nothing compared to what they used to produce. Now owned by Peugeot, says it all!

As far as i'm aware Holden shut down recently and Australia now no longer has a domestic manufacturer.

Commodore and the holden brand died in 2017. Along with ford and toyota, we no longer have a domestic car market in Australia