Ouch! Lemon Astra

[Jerry Crockford]

When I feel like torturing myself (Only happens on days ending in 'y':eek:), I take a look at Complaints Corner to see what mischief car dealers get up to.

I was reading about this Astra (http://www.motorsm.com/AUS/cars/complaints_corner_p.asp#562), and the MULTITUDE of things that have gone wrong for the poor sod that owns it.:(

You have to ask yoursef: why?

I mean, I may get into mine in the morning and find that the whole car has turned to sh*t, but from experience so far at 50,000, it won't. It seems well built, well put together and apart from the roof (http://www.opelaus.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10072), it is a nice vehicle. :D

But then you look at that Complaints Corner thread, and it is a MULTITUDE of different components that have packed up.

Has the car been abused?

Mabee.

But geez... so MANY problems? :confused:

Could it be that there is some truth in the 'lemon' theory? Are some cars just heaps of crap, whereas, others, from the same factory, made the same way, from the same components are fine?

So, you geniuses out there... to quote Prof. Julius Sumner Miller "WHY is it SO??"
(http://www.motorsm.com/AUS/cars/complaints_corner_p.asp#562)

[Jerry Crockford]

Sheesh...

Returning for another bout of torture, (Beats self-flagellation coz there's no scars), I scroll down the same page (http://www.motorsm.com/AUS/cars/complaints_corner_p.asp#562), and there is ANOTHER horrible story about an Astra—about six stories down, just below the thought-provoking report about the poorly built SS ute that contributed to the driver's death.

Looks like there ARE lemons!!

[Noir]

Yep certain Astra's are lemons and I own one. Every single common problem I have experienced and Holden have covered even after warranty.

It seems TS models prior to 2002 are poorly made. Holden did a backflip by changing info in the log books...esp when it came to the cam belt. My belt snapped and caused enough damage for H to replace the head at no cost to me.

[Misguidedangel]

hmm Makes me want to write up about all the problems with the lancer... cos that thing was lemon

[Wraith]

Thank goodness I own a 'post 2002' Astra then !

I do know that older Astra's 1980's vintage were real lemons as most other older Opel models were as well.

The Calibra is the most recent Opel to really take up the lemon label - I have one which thankfully is low km's and in brilliant condition, but most other people I know with them, have constant problems.........

[Blue_Dvl]

that actually states he purchased it 2nd hand.... could quite possibly have been an ex-rental vehicle therefore had a very harsh life from brand new.

[oneightoo]

dont most cars have a lemon spec? cars arent 100% perfect, theres always going to be something that'll go wrong.. i think putting astra's into the "lemon" basket is a bit silly.. sure there'll be astra's out there that are lemons, but web sites like complaints corner give all cars of whatever has been complained about a bad name.. i've had 2 astra's my brother has one, my mates (not from OA) have had them, my parents have a vectra, none have had problems.. i think it comes down to (for 2nd hand purchases) people arent inspecting the vehicle correctly.. ive looked at 2nd hand cars, test driven them, and fallen in love with them.. its not been until ive had a good look or got my dad to have a good look at it that i've found that the car is dire need of some TLC, ie had i bought them, i too would be writing into complaints corner..

i currently own 2 calibra's, ask anyone, they'll tell you they're the biggest lemons out there, which isnt too far from the truth.. they are prone to electrical problems, sunroof problems and quite often the passenger side electric window motor blows.. but mine are in perfect working order, because ive checked them over thouroughly.. altho my first calibra did have 1 or 2 problems that to have fixed would have been more expensive than clearing the national debt of most countries, but they were easy DIY jobs..

anyway, rant over, thats my 2c..

[JR]

"i'll never by a holden again"
thats the one thing i hate bout whingers who don't see the full picture!!
just cause they had a bad experience with an astra doesn't mean ALL astras are lemons, n it doesn't mean ALL holdens are lemons.
not to mention, holden does NOT make astras
and thats the same with all manufacturers - no car is guaranteed not to have "lemon" characteristics.

the DIFFERENCE is how u get treated by the dealer/repairer - it will either make or break the car.....literally.

[pred8r]

thats the one thing i hate bout whingers who don't see the full picture!!

I agree completely. Holden is basically a reseller (except for commodore and its derivatives) which is why they have basically NFI when it comes to anything non-commodore.

[Jerry Crockford]

Wa-Da-Ya- mean, the "full picture?"

Let me tell you MY understanding of the 'full picture'...

Not being a mechanically confident type (read:I'm a mechanical duffus!), I didn't want to buy a 2nd hand car through the papers. So, I stumped into the comforting, safe and assuring arms of Armstrong Holden in Brisbane and purchased a 12 month-old Holden Certified SS Commodore with 50,000k on the clock.

Now to them, it was 'just another sale'.

To me, it was a dream and $30k!!

Was it a lemon?

Nah...

It was a frikken nightmare!

Lemeesee...

1. :mad: Centre console door stopped locking. (They fixed that)
2. Total brake failure :eek: going over the Storey Bridge (They fixed that)
3. Passenger window motor stopped. ("Sorry mate, not our problem") :mad:
4. Hazard lights start up intermittently :( & won't shut off. (The couldn't fix it, so I got it done elsewhere).
5. Rear seatbelt ceased to rewind. ("Sorry mate, :mad: out of w/ty).
6. Exhaust fractured at 80,000k. "That's normal mate, :confused: we won't fix that"
7. Diff binding up when cornering. ("Hmmm.... try this additive" :confused: ) Went elsewhere to get it partially rebuilt.
7. Water pump leaking.
8. Oil leaks around sump.
9. Chewing oil.
10. Glove box door fell out.

I sold it at 105,000 as I couldn't stand the pain. :mad: :mad:

Now, I COULD have been a big brave boy and seen the 'full picture". But for me, I would be VERY hard pressed to say ANYTHING good about a Commodore. (Except near a couple of mates who own 'em coz I'm a polite little veggie :o and don't want to hurt their feelings.)

Anyway, I bought the Belgian built Astra and so far, so good.

So, yes, I can understand your annoyance at people who moan and carp about a particular car, but let me tell you, when it is YOUR money and YOUR dream on the line, the 'full picture' tends to shrink a tad. It becomes your own little pile of doo-doo. :( :(

I KNOW that cars are complex, and I KNOW that there are lots of things to go wrong and I KNOW that a faultless performance is a big ask... but then, the price is a big ask too!

Anyway...

Now that I have vented my spleen. carped and moaned and had a GREAT time ranting about my H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E Commodore experience, I've forgotten why I started writing this reply in the first place. :confused: :confused:

So I'll shut up and go polish my windscreen again. :D

Cheers,

jerry

OH yeah. I remembered my point.

I dunno what the 'full picture is', but with so MUCH at stake financially for each buyer, SURELY the dudes at Holden and Ford could take a little extra care to get it RIGHT before inflicting their product on us poor bastards.

While I know that there are STACKS more Holdens and Fords on Aussie roads than Toyatas, Mazdas, Saabs, Volvos etc, (Which means you would expect more complaints about them), when you scroll down so the Complaints Corner (http://www.motorsm.com/complaints/default.asp) index, they FAR outweigh the other brands.

I HATE it that this country just can't CONSISTENTLY build good cars. :mad:

End of whinge. :o

[Jerry Crockford]

More ranting...

And then, you read this (http://www.opelaus.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10412), and the world doesn't seem like such a bad place. :D

Why oh WHY do we have to wait till AFTER we buy them until we find out whether they are any good or not??? (Mind you, :rolleyes: as I write this, I can hear the same thought echoing in my wife's head when thinking about me. Lol!)

No matter how careful you are, buying a car is like... like... :rolleyes: entering a furken lottery. And I HATE it!!!

If ONLY you could hand over your dollars CONFIDENTLY, relaxed in the knowledge that you are NOT about to enter a bloody nightmare.

Life is SO unfair!

Cheers,

Jerry.


Feeling bad now. :o How DARE I complain about life being unfair when I have a loving home, food on the table, healthy, happy kids and a wife of 22 years who loves me!

Nah...

Stuff it...

When it comes to buying a car: Life IS unfair! :D

[kogarah]

errr, Jerry I have to say you are still lucky because you still sold the car after these sh*t.............. But I will not buy any car with 50000km on the clock in just 12 months: it must been abused.:D

I pretty much sure you guys will feel better if you have a look the Citroen forum: www.aussiefrogs.com (http://www.aussiefrogs.com). :p They are more poor people there: paid top dollars and get something like a Korea car... BY the way I am the citroen owner before and lucky I don't get these problem because I sold the car before the nightmare come true. I used 5 months to sold my car at $13000: 18 months old 30000kms and RRP is 25999, heheh, just half price. This is a company car so I am not lost anything. :D

[Dave]

My nan has had a citroen c4 for agers now and the only problem was a defective pulley and belt.


car handles like a go cart of steroids though :) i just love its suspension

[MatsHolden]

There's lemon vehicles by ALL manufacturers. Just the way it is.

[MatsHolden]

errr, Jerry I have to say you are still lucky because you still sold the car after these sh*t.............. But I will not buy any car with 50000km on the clock in just 12 months: it must been abused.:D


Not always the case. My old man's VYII SS had done 160000km in 2 years and it had not been abused. High km doesn't = abuse.

[180HOA]

Agreed - most cars with 50,000 on the clock in a year have proabably spent a fair bit of time sitting on the open road. I'd prefer that to a car thats done 20,000 km but only been driven in city traffic... you can't judge a car by how far it's been driven.

[kogarah]

The problem is how do you know the car was drove on the highway or just a sale person's car? The sale person in my company got 37K in 12 months: we are the kitchenware company so most customers are in the major city.

And high mileage obvious mean resale price is below the average whatever highway or city circuit.

My point is: Just avoid it if you are not sure about that.