Excellent use of the multiquote function! 
First thing I'd say though, is you're comparing cars to ones that aren't really similar. A petrol mondeo is very different to a tdci if it was engine problems (though thats a poor example as the 2.0 TDCi in the mk3 is also terrible lol). Equally, a Vectra isn't an astra.
The ride on the Vec was that bad yes, rear end Iis bouncy as hell, and the fronts are so soft they don't rebound before you hit the next bump which just becomes a horrible crashy mess with the dash, parcel shelf and everything else jumping around and vibrating.
As for paint, red cars almost always have issues (but flat red is usually a free colour anyway lol). Mine was lightening silver and was peeling on the edges of panels and where stone chips broke the paint. Not really acceptable for a 6 year old top spec midsized salloon car imo!
But what I recommend is you go and test drive some cars... I got fixated on one or two cars that I hated when I actually tried, and ended up buying one I hadn't even considered lol.
First thing I'd say though, is you're comparing cars to ones that aren't really similar. A petrol mondeo is very different to a tdci if it was engine problems (though thats a poor example as the 2.0 TDCi in the mk3 is also terrible lol). Equally, a Vectra isn't an astra.
The ride on the Vec was that bad yes, rear end Iis bouncy as hell, and the fronts are so soft they don't rebound before you hit the next bump which just becomes a horrible crashy mess with the dash, parcel shelf and everything else jumping around and vibrating.
As for paint, red cars almost always have issues (but flat red is usually a free colour anyway lol). Mine was lightening silver and was peeling on the edges of panels and where stone chips broke the paint. Not really acceptable for a 6 year old top spec midsized salloon car imo!
But what I recommend is you go and test drive some cars... I got fixated on one or two cars that I hated when I actually tried, and ended up buying one I hadn't even considered lol.