I wouldn't have bought it no even if they took the offer. They wanted me to take it without any documentation. They said the previous owner gave them paper copies of everything which they destroyed. He brought up the work invoice on his screen which came to just under 6k but I didnt have time to read it all before he switched it off again, some text at the top said 'white smoke couldn't resolve, strip and rebuild' - when I asked the guy he said they supplied and fitted a new engine, I said was it a recon engine, he said no its new. When I asked if I could have documentation of the work, he declined.
I was not prepared to spend £16k on a car which has had something significant like an engine change, when both the explanation from the dealer was vague and I wouldn't have any documentation of the work. If I tried to sell the car in future privately no one would touch it if I just claimed it had a new Peugeot engine in it but have no documentation.
And yes, totally different to the VX. Mine was a stage 1 turbo and very quick. Not sure an R would take it on the straights or on the move to be honest, I took mine on track with friends and it was keeping up with my mates 718 Cayman S on the straights no problem. The power to weight ratio of a VX vs an Astra is quite different. But I do not expect it to be as quick, what I do expect is something lively, decent handling, a nice sporty driving position, many more comforts, much easier to drive in city traffic (oh the wonder of power steering!) etc which the R delivered in spades. I really liked the gear throw too, shorter throw than the VX which felt agricultural in comparison. The body didnt roll as much as I expected, but even though it was stiff it still dealt with the iffy London roads well. Really liked the exhaust tone too. There was a lot to like about it - as soon as I walked up to it I was blown away by how good it looked.
Its definitely what I want, and yes will wait for the right one.