The mark of any true car enthusiast is surely the care they lavish on their vehicle. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an old Shed or a factory-fresh supercar, the really committed will always ensure their pride and joy gets just the treatment it deserves. Not using too many revs while it’s warming up, keeping the maintenance on schedule, investing in decent tyres – that sort of thing. If you know what to look for, it’s almost as easy to spot something that’s been loved as something that hasn’t – this Vectra, somewhat unexpectedly, looks like one of the good ’uns.

We say unexpectedly because, well, Vauxhall’s long-lived family car wasn’t all that loved back when it was new, and we’re now 20 years on from this car’s first registration. Even as a 3.2 V6 GSI with some Irmscher goodies, it would be easy to imagine a life hacking up and down motorways as it plummeted in value and probably fell into some state of disrepair. Because how often has that happened to a Vectra, Omega, Cavalier or similar? Alas, the story is different for this one; owned from almost new by the same person (and only now for sale after their passing), it’s a beautifully preserved top-of-the-range Vectra.

It’s really, really red, for starters, which isn’t always a guarantee for old Vauxhalls that once began this way, usually fading to a dusty pink over the years. It must have been garaged a lot of the time for this sort of lustre to remain. Similarly, while the driver’s seat and steering wheel inevitably show a little bit of wear, the rest of the interior isn’t far from untouched, which is some achievement for a five-seat family car of the early 2000s.

Gets better, too, as this GSI is said to benefit from a full main dealer history – for a Vectra! – and less than 60,000 miles. The MOT history is a sea of green, with just four fails in more than a decade and a half. Two of those were for dodgy springs up front, which is understandable with a chunky V6 up there. The current ticket runs until November, with just two advisories for a light misting of oil on a damper and a ‘slightly discoloured’ rear indicator. That’s the kind of condition we’re talking about.

Now it’s probably worth pointing out here that the GSI wasn’t held up as one of the greats back in the days of the Accord Type R and Mondeo ST220. What was a bit stodgy to drive back then isn’t going to have improved over 20 years. But what it will offer is the kind of experience no longer available in new cars, the combination of a big engine and manual gearbox in a family hatch having long since disappeared. A Vectra maybe isn’t what would be called a traditional classic car, but it’s starting to show the attributes of one…

Best of all, the nostalgia tax that blights so many rare old cars hasn’t made it to the Vectra. Probably because it’s a Vectra. But for £5,995 it’s easy to see why this might appeal to a Vauxhall enthusiast, to those who can remember dad having one, or simply to a person who wants to keep it in such fine condition. The least it deserves is another doting owner – could it be you?

Engine: 3,175cc, V6
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 211@6,200rpm
Torque (lb ft): 221@4,000rpm
MPG: 28
CO2: 243g/km
Year registered: 2002
Recorded mileage: 58,000
Price new: £20,980
Yours for: £5,995