Used Vauxhall Astra cars for sale

The Vauxhall Astra is a solidly safe family hatchback choice, but it’s a bit short on space, and the cabin could be nicer. We've got a fantastic selection of used Vauxhall Astra cars for sale. Every used car has a full history check and has been through a thorough mechanical inspection. All our Vauxhall Astra cars are available only from trusted dealers, are all less than nine years old and come with a 14-day returns guarantee.* Looking to buy a used Vauxhall Astra? Get a full car history check.

See our range of used Vauxhall Astra cars for sale

How buying a used car through carwow works

Find a car

Use carwow to browse and compare used vehicles, advertised by a network of trusted dealers. You can search by make and model, or apply filters to find the perfect car for you.

Contact the dealer

Once you’ve found a car you’d like to buy, you can contact the dealer to arrange the next steps, whether that’s asking a question or taking it for a test drive.

Buy the car

When you’re happy to buy, you can do so at a fixed price, safe in the knowledge all models sold through carwow are mechanically checked and come with a warranty.

Used Vauxhall Astra pros and cons

  • Great styling

  • Short on rear passenger space

  • Large and practical boot

  • Automatic ‘box can be jumpy

  • Balanced setup

  • Not the most fun to drive

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Is a second hand Vauxhall Astra a good car?

For 40 years, the Vauxhall Astra has been providing affordable, sensible family transport to car buyers across the UK. It’s a bit like C&A — remember C&A? — in that it’s not always the most exciting purchase around, but usually a pretty safe bet all the same. The Astra’s an alternative to the likes of the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, and Toyota Corolla

The current version of the Astra is the most stylish and most contemporary-looking version yet. It uses Vauxhall’s current ‘visor’ front end, so there’s a big, black, mostly blanked-off radiator grille, with sharp-edged LED lights at either end. With certain colour schemes — notably red or metallic yellow — this is a really handsome car. 

Down the sides it’s still good, with a forward-leaning rear roof pillar, and across the boot lid there’s the word Astra spelled out in classy-looking letters, and some more slim lights. 

Unfortunately, the cabin isn’t as handsome as the outside. It’s fine, up to a point, with big digital screens for both instruments and infotainment, and still some proper physical buttons for air conditioning — which is a major bonus. The steering wheel is also a fairly sporty-looking three-spoke affair. 
The main screen is okay to use, but not the best in class by a long stretch, although at least you do get standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The digital instruments also look a little dull. Some of the plastics used are also rather cheap, and the fit and finish of some of the panels isn’t quite straight. 

The Astra’s also not the roomiest car around. It’s fine in the front, where you’ll find comfortable and supportive seats (optionally, the higher-end seats come with the approval of the AGR, the German bad back association — yes, that’s a real thing) and there’s plenty of storage space, including a neat spring-loaded drawer, lined with felt, that’s perfect for stashing keys and loose change as nothing will rattle around in there. 

However, the back seats are actually quite cramped, with limited rear legroom. A Skoda Octavia has way more rear seat space, and the Focus and Golf are better too. The only comparable hatchback with less rear seat room is the rather cramped Toyota Corolla. 

On the upside, the Astra’s boot is massive, at 422 litres. Now, again, that’s well-beaten by the Skoda Octavia, which has a huge 600-litre boot, but the Astra is well ahead of the Golf, Focus, and Corolla in terms of boot space. 

If you need maximum space, there’s the Astra estate, which has a massive boot (beaten by the Octavia, again) but no extra space in the rear seats. If you go for the plug-in hybrid model, it loses boot space to battery capacity, and so the available volume falls to 352 litres, which is still more than you get in a Golf e-Hybrid. 

Speaking of the plug-in hybrid Astra, it uses a 12.4kWh battery to offer an electric-only range of up to 40 miles, but it’s rather heavy and not very nice to drive, not to mention it becomes quite thirsty on long motorway runs. There’s a sporty GSe plug-in version too, but it never feels like a proper hot hatch. 

There’s also an all-electric Astra, which has a range on one charge of up to 252 miles, and that’s a much better bet, feeling smoother than the PHEV version, and which avoids the jerky automatic gearbox of the PHEV models.

To be honest, the best Astra engine is the basic 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol turbo, which comes in 110hp or 130hp forms, and which has a standard six-speed manual gearbox. This is a zippy, sprightly engine to drive, and it easily averages 50mpg. It’s much lighter than the other Astras too, so it’s nicer to drive. 

None of the current Astra versions feel as sharp to drive as a Ford Focus nor Mazda 3, but they're about on par with a Skoda or Toyota, and the light steering makes any of them easy to use in town. The ride comfort can be a bit too firm, though, especially for the PHEV models. Adaptive cruise control helps with longer motorway journeys (standard from GS models up) and Vauxhall has fitted more sound deadening to help keep the Astra quiet at a cruise. 

While it’s not a car that’s a knock-out in any one area, the Astra’s a solid family car, and one that’s definitely worth adding to your used car shopping shortlist.

What to look for when buying a used Vauxhall Astra

There is a known issue with the Astra’s 1.2-litre petrol engine, which is shared with Peugeot and Citroen models, and which uses a ‘wet belt’ system, where the cambelt passes through the engine’s oil supply which can weaken the belt over time, and cause clogs in the oil feed. Changing the belt ahead of schedule and making sure you get regular oil changes should help you swerve any issues. Other than that, the Astra seems to be solidly made, with no recalls for issues so far. 

The Astra didn’t feature in the most recent Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own list, and Vauxhall finished 26th in the overall customer satisfaction survey, out of 32 brands, with a relatively poor showing for quality.

Vauxhall Astra FAQs

It’s a little early to tell how reliable this generation of Astra will be, and there are mixed signs. So far, there are no major reported recurrent issues, beyond concerns about the 1.2-litre petrol engine’s ‘wet belt’ layout. However, Vauxhall didn’t score well for quality in the Driver Power car owner satisfaction survey.

If it’s maintained properly, and serviced correctly, there’s no reason why an Astra shouldn’t easily rack up 150,000 miles.

If you go for the basic 110hp petrol engine with a manual gearbox, then yes the Vaxhall Astra is an ideal first car, although it’s worth remembering that the smaller, cheaper Corsa is an even better bet for new drivers.

Depending on the model and trim, the Astra varies from Group 16 through to Group 28 for insurance.

Yes, it can. Depending on the model, the Astra’s towing weight varies from 1,200kg to 1,450kg on a braked trailer.

The current Vauxhall Astra has two ISOFIX anchor points, one for each outer rear seat. They’re a bit of a pain to get to, though.

The Vauxhall Astra hatchback’s boot measures 422 litres up to the luggage cover, unless you buy the plug-in hybrid model, where the size of the battery means that the boot shrinks to 352 litres. For the Astra estate, those figures are 597 litres, or 516 litres for the plug-in hybrid.

The Vauxhall Astra is built at the Opel factory in Russelsheim, near Frankfurt, where it’s made alongside the identical (badges apart) Opel Astra.

* In line with the Consumer Rights Act 2015