“It is a life-resistant car”
The Opel Agila is not a flashy car, although this model is less old-fashioned than its predecessor. It will be Niels Meijer sausage, he bought the little one to make the daily kilometers at the lowest possible rate. We will see if that is still possible in the coming years.
No head turner
A little self-mockery is not strange to Niels Meijer. He knows all too well that the Agila is no head turner. Far from. “I notice it especially on the highway, where you get very little respect from fellow road users, especially not from the fast guys.” That took some getting used to in the beginning, he frankly admits. Until then he drove a Peugeot 206 with 2-litre diesel, which is about the opposite of the Opel in terms of performance. “Yet it comes along fine in traffic and I’m good in it, as I noticed during the first test drive. I call it a life-resistant car. Do you know what it is? I think it’s a shame to spend tons of money on depreciation. Because if, like me, you drive just under 30,000 kilometers a year and you do that with a new or very young car, then the depreciation really goes very fast. Now, partly due to corona, I have started driving less and working more at home, but I still drive from home to Terheijden twice a week, which is 85 kilometers one way.” According to Niels, the Agila is the ideal car for this. Though he could choose. “We also have a 2013 Toyota Auris hybrid with only 15,000 miles on the clock. I’ve always driven a Toyota. But also a Volvo V50, which was not to my liking, and a Peugeot with the well-known 1.2 engine, which consumed a lot of oil.”
Tossing with gas
The last 100,000 kilometers have not gone without a hitch, as we can see in the maintenance history. Thanks to a couple of good friends with technical knowledge, Niels manages to keep the costs for maintenance and repairs as low as those for fuel, tax and insurance. “The gearbox was overhauled two years ago, it started to shift worse and worse and in the end I couldn’t get it into first gear. A good friend of mine is a motor vehicle engineering teacher and did the job. The clutch had already been replaced”. Another acquaintance does all the normal maintenance. According to Niels, the gas installation is a bit of a headache. At the time it was sold by Opel as an ex works system, even though it was installed by a third party. “The problem is that a regular LPG specialist cannot do much with it because the software is Opel-specific. For this you have to go to the dealer and he in turn does not dare to tinker with it. In the meantime I have an engine that switches badly from petrol to gas. It always works out with some tricks, but this is not ideal.” The engine light has been on for years and years, so he taped it off. “It is a struggle every year to get it through the MOT, which always has to do with emissions.”
Banana boxes
Niels’ love for cars has spread to his son Lloyd, who bought a classic Renault Estafette before obtaining his driver’s license. The restoration is in full swing. And there is another driving project in the Meijer house: a Peugeot 306 convertible. “It is already 25 years old and I paid €400 for it, unbelievable. It had been for sale for a long time and the owner wanted to get rid of it. Of course there was a lot of work and in a few years we have spent a small €5,000 on it. And in the meantime, the Agila continues to deliver cheap kilometers.”
Niels wife Miriam ran a thrift store and the Opel came in handy there too. “We now know that fourteen banana boxes fit in it. A while ago I bought another steering wheel at the demolition, the old one was completely worn out. Last year the muffler tore off, you can expect that after more than eleven years. Furthermore, I now notice that he is due for a turn. The multi belt sometimes whines, still the result of the broken alternator. The power steering is a bit vague and the clutch pedal feels weird.” These are exactly the things that judge Joep Schuurman has on his notebook. If we look at the drivetrain from the bottom, it is noticeable that the metal cover on the end of the gearbox is almost rusted through. We hope for Niels that he can drive the Agila for another four years, at not too high a cost.
Owner Opel Agila
Name: Niels Meijer
Year of construction: 1976
Place of residence: Leersum
Occupation: Service seller company doors
First car: Opel Kadett 1.2 S from 1980
Previous car: Peugeot 206 2.0 HDi
What would you like to change about your car?: “Nothing.”
What is your longest journey with this car?: “Groningen.”
Maintenance history
Regular maintenance every 20,000 km
Gas evaporator and injectors have already been replaced
179,230 km 4 tires and rear shock absorbers
209,144 km service, LPG injector rail, temperature sensor
217,839 km front springs and shock absorbers
229,008 km MOT, service, adjust valves, clutch
230,575 km overhaul gearbox
233,576 km ignition coils replaced
238,653 km spark plugs
252,364 km MOT, service, 4 tires
254,005 km alternator
262,636 km front wheel bearings
What’s wrong with it?
The engine malfunction light is taped off
The multi-belt beeps after starting
There is a lot of play on the gear lever
The clutch doesn’t feel quite natural
The air conditioning pump makes some noise, but still cools
The car requires maintenance
The rear cover of the transmission has rusted through
There is a small hole in the exhaust for the rear muffler
The fog lamp lenses turn white
The brake discs are worn
The opinion of Carrec Technocenter
“The car still drives very well for what it is. I think this Opel will do well for a long time after some maintenance.”
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl