Hi, (sorry, long-ish post)

I have an 02 plate Vectra 2.2i SRI (150) Estate which has 60k miles on the clock and has been serviced by the main dealer I bought it from every year (it was 6 months old when I bought it from Vxl stock via the dealer)

A few weeks ago, I started the car and it was really chuggy for about 2 mins which I thought may be down to washing the car and maybe some water got into the exhaust system ( I have no idea about engines ! ) which cleared, so thought nothing of it.

A week or so later, I started the car and the engine didn't sound very good at all, sort of a metalic ticking and grinding noise and as it was a short journey, I carried on home. I checked the oil level and it seemed OK, removed the oil cap and it seemed very dry in there so topped the oil up a little and the engine seems to be quiet again.

I've since had an interim dealer service and mentioned the problems and that I seem to be using up more oil than I ever have with similar journeys, they replaced and topped the car up with oil and told me to come back after 500 miles so they could see how much oil the car has used.

Could this be a warning sign regarding the timing chain ?

Engine No. = 11208686 so it seems I may be OK (out of the range) and using the latest set up (not the recall setup) but I'm concerned that it may be on the way out and can't afford the astonishing prices I've seen on the web for repairs and the repair timescales involved.

Am I worrying over nothing ? I'm about 150 miles off the milestone set by the garage (noted earlier) so I'll mention the whole issue anyway and see what they advise, but if anyone else has experienced any warning signs, it would be good to know.

Thanks.