I Love my stupid little plastic car. It's bodywork has always been terrible and it occassionally threatens to kill me in winter but I thought it loved me too.
I think it was March this year when i discovered it's chassis was boogered. It's obviously been in a major smash , not declared , body work replaced and then sold on quickly. Gutted obviously. After weighing up lots of unpalatable options(I'm not a wealthy chap) I attempt a repair myself. Seems successfull.
Then the engine develops a slight ticking sound which gets worse over the months. It's now a quite nasty rattle.
I started being forced into limp mode on a frequent but irregular basis by a throttle pedal position sensor disparity. If you've never tried it, being forced to turn off the ignition and re-start, at seventy mph in the middle lane of a busy motorway in torrential rain and standing water - is great fun. Three times in one journey is a bit trying. Then of course it's fine for six weeks. Seem to have fixed this now having dried and sealed the connectors over the left rear wheel arch.
My EGR valve packs in. Sorted with blanking plate and cheater (Thanks Vocky!!) , although getting the plate required me finding and giving Vaux the part number as they insisted there was no such thing for the Vx.
Then my expansion tank popped. The second one. Still i guess eighteen months is about par
I replaced the left and right engine mounts. No effect on the sound but needed doing anyway.
Tried tappet cleaing fluid, then oil flush and fresh oil, then injector cleaner all to no effect.
Removed the exhaust manifold having discovered a hairline fracture in it. Attempted to weld it (with appropriate cast rods) but ended up buying and fitting a new one.
Finally bit the bullet and paid a garage to change my cam chain. Lots of arguments en route as to price. (On the day they tried to double their quote as they 'hadn't realised what a big job it was') Thanks to info gleaned from here and Z22se got them to keep to their word (ie A print out of Vaux's own field remedy and the method and work time on the Vx left them little room to argue
)
Made no difference to the noise.
The interior light now doesn't go off with the door closed irrespective of the switch position - it dims, but stays lit.
Found a nail in a rear tyre and took it to Kwikfit to repair. Stupidly had used an old can of tyre seal to top up pressure a few weeks earlier when I was in work and had no inflator, which meant they couldn't repair it. So two new rears instead of a twenty quid repair. Incidentally they also found and showed me what looked like an identical nail in the other rear tyre. Deliberate?
Had to fit new pads and disks all round.
Right headlamp started flickering and eventually blew due to corroded contact which had happened and I thought I'd corrected same time last year.
Now it's starting to really get cold my heated seat element failed. I swapped out the one form the Pax side and after about three days that's now gone.
Then, finally I got into work at 05.45 on tuesday pulled the boot release to get my gear out and the cable snapped.
Straw.
Camel.
Kev
And breathe
Sorry , felt the need to 'share'
does sound like you have had your fair share of bad luck with the car but it will all come good and as you repair / replace you know its good for a long time 
DG
