A big thank you to all who contribute and......keep it up!

We've added this section to keep all those who have contributed up-to-date with the interest that the site is generating. There are some additional links in the left hand navigation menu which will tell you about interest from the press and the opportunity to link your site.

It's been five months since we launched this site to try and gain some understanding of how many people have been affected by Vauxhall Zafira spare wheel theft and generate awarnwess to the problem. As of Saturday evening of 6th November 2004 we've had 126 registrations which represents about 25 registration a month and over 60 people have contributed their story to the site. A special thank you goes to all the guys and gals at The Band of Gonzos for your support.

A number of the stories we've had have been from disguntled Zafira owners who have been Vauxhall customers for many years but are so disgusted with the level of customer service they have received, they will be making their next purchases through other manufactures.A recent BT advert with Jeremy Clarkson makes reference to the increased costs for 'winning' new customers over developing repeat business through existing customers. It's a well known business fact but one that Vauxhall seem to think they are immune to!

Other stories indicate that on some occasions, Vauxhall seem to make exceptions to their policy, and have created works orders with dealers which supply and fit the a lock at their expense. In some instances the cost of the replacement spare wheel rim and tyre has also been covered. Maybe you have to catch the customer services manager on a good day!

The Zafira is a good all round family car

Based on the Vauxhall Astra chassis, there are quite a few similarities between the two cars, such as the general driving ride and the quality of the car as a whole.

There have been a few problems that general users have seen with the cars, such as:

• The engine cutting out when idle.
• The In car radio not functioning correctly.
• A squeaking noise from the brakes after only 10,000 miles or so use.
• Spare wheel thefts.
• A necessity to keep refilling the oil on diesel models (1 litre every thousand miles or so).
• Small storage space.
• Strange engine noises which can not be located or fixed.

Saying this, however. The car is very practical and does have some very good points. The innovative ?Flex 7? seating system makes it very easy to switch the car from 5 to 7 seats without too much hassle.

Other nice features include easy access to the car thanks to the wide opening doors, ideal for families with small children, and an anti-stall device. Designed to stop the car from stalling a low revs.

The car is generally very good and although a minority of owners have had some problems, it represents extremley good value for money and provides a great means of getting the whole family from one place to another.