Hello,
My Omega/Catera story began in the fall of 2006 when my parents test drove an Opel Omega C. Early in 2007, a black 2002 Omega 2.2 DTI Design Edition wagon with 156k km became our family car.
I moved to the USA in the summer of 2008 to go to college. After my freshman year, I decided to buy a car (until then I had driven my aunt and uncle's 1989 Volvo 760 Turbo with 230k miles). In September of 2009, I got a one-owner 2001 Catera with 57k miles.
Two years later, my cousin got a 2000 Catera with 63k miles; he traded it in a few months ago.
My dad also replaced his Omega a month ago after reaching 280k km. I'm still a happy owner of my Cat with 84k miles on it now.
What was replaced on my car (not chronologically):
- brake pads and rotors front and rear, calipers rear,
- front right spring,
- tie rods,
- head gaskets at 58k, then engine oil cooler and gaskets at 83k miles,
- multifunction relay (random radio, On-Star, and trunk release problems are gone since),
- engine coils (ACDelco) and spark plugs (Bosch Platinum IR Fusion),
- oxygen sensors (Bosch),
- crankshaft position sensor,
- timing belt,
- instrument cluster bulbs (now orange) and headlight/tail light/blinker bulbs,
- fuel filter,
- oil and oil filter every 3-3.5k miles,
- coolant a couple of times,
- cabin air filer (Bosch),
- engine air filter (K&N),
- fuel cap,
- battery,
- left mirror (previous owner cracked it a bit),
- wiper blades a couple of times.
Fixed:
- A/C recharged with a refrigerant-sealant mix,
- refinished right headlight (in and out),
- sealed right fog light and a new connector put in.
In December of 2011, I hit deer which resulted in a 2-3" crack in the bumper, cracked headlight and its bezel, loosened fog light, cracked grill, and a dent in the hood. The car was repaired professionally with brand new parts (luckily they couldn't find used ones and the insurance covered everything).
To be replaced/done:
- shocks front and rear (I bought Monroe),
- pinion and axle seals (they're still OK),
- black brushed aluminum vinyl wrap for radio/A/C bezel and transmission shift bezel (the rubbery stuff started coming off, I got grayish patches after removing it).
Things that don't work and I don't really care about:
- gear shift indicator LEDs while lights are on,
- below 20 degrees, I need to warm up the car in order to shift into gear -- I'm guessing that the transmission lock freezes.
Upgrades:
- 18" factory GM wheels from Pontiac G6 GT/GXP (showroom takeoffs; offset different by 1mm) with Uniroyal Tiger Paw 225/45 tires, aftermarket lug nut covers, and Opel center caps,
- DDM Tuning 35W 5000K HID Kit in headlights,
- DDM Tuning 35W 3000K HID Kit in fog lights (the only way for the right fog light to stop blowing halogen bulbs due to rusted casing which is the negative connection),
- white LED strips over headlights (just installed those a few days ago),
- Opel stickers and Cadillac "V" logos,
- Opel license plate frames.
Abandoned ideas (at least for now):
- lip spoiler,
- new radio with GPS navigation,
- LEDs in tail lights (every time I turned the lights on with LED bulbs in tail lights, one of the LEDs in the middle break light would light up!).
I'll take nicer pictures once the weather gets a bit better. For now, just a small collection of older shots of my parents' Omega, my Catera at various stages, and my cousin's Catera. Hope you'll find those interesting.
-- Matt