Astra Convertible - lemon?

[oneightoo]

fires are very hard to prove tho..

[btm]

fires are very hard to prove tho..

so you've heard

[Wraith]

On a second observation of all those complaints above, it does seem some of them are well a bit of winge....or maybe as others have said, just out of pure frustration and anger.

"Car creeks like an old Fairlane" ??
"Black strips at front keep coming off" - what black strips at the front ??
"Resprayed front bumper and under doors" - sounds like this car was repaired from a bad accident, maybe that's why nearly everything on it has been affected and or changed

One things for certain, the car is fatally flawed, it's certainly an isolated case and NOT representative of the whole 'breed'

The worst I've ever heard regarding these cars to date is some cases of water leakage and too high a wind noise at freeway speeds !

Don't have that or any other complaints with mine

[xplosv57]

LOL yeah some things sound a bit driver error but is also disappointing that the car has had so many issues in under a year!!!

The black strips on the front i believe would be the little black lip on the bottom, easliy broken when you smack the car hard on steep driveways = driver error!!!

Unfortunately it happens, one bad egg in a batch of good ones, working at a dealer, i do see it, and i do feel for the owners, so i also believe Holden should give him a new car or refund his money, i know other places do!!!

[woody]

It's a shame he's not been treated well by his holden dealer, buying a lemon is a bitch for those that get them and there really should be a law to help the consumer.

Although probably not an isolated case, i belive alot can be attributed to the dealer who this guy has been going back to - i have had problems with my Astra but due to the dealer i went through (Hunter Holden in St Leonards) my Cylinder head was replaced and i was given a courtesy car while it was done .. alright not the best car.. but it got me from a to b - and the whole process was painless...

now thats one incident and he's had many so it's not comparable but you can't blame an entire company for that. yes they should have replaced his car.. but should it stop people from buying a holden.. probably not.. there are lemons from every car company.. sh1t happens.. its just unfortunate that the consumer does not have more protection.

[Wraith]

I agree Woody.

And it's probably because of the fact that cases like the above are not very common that manufacturers or others powers that be havn't done anything about it, so far as having some sort of protection/benefit for the consumer against this kind occurance.

[seldo]

I also want to raise a point which covers not just this bloke but many others.
When I was in the industry it used to fascinate me how some people seemed to almost attract problems. I recall one bloke who had a Jag XJS that used to come in on a flat-top at least once or twice a month. We spent a squillion trying to fix this bloke and make him happy but to no avail, and I ended-up trading it back on another car. Then, I thought - this car is so bad I can't sell it to anyone else because it will just be creating new problems. So - I drove it myself.....and I drove it.....and I drove it - for almost 12 months, in which time it never missed a beat. And guess what - the new car he bought was nearly as unreliable as the Jag had been....or so he claimed. I put it down to him being someone who was a totally non-car person and every time he thought there was a little noise, or it took 3secs to fire-up instead of 2secs, he thought there was a problem. In short, he seemed to manufacture his own problems....How or why, I have no idea, but he wasn't the only one. Many people who claimed to have problem cars, always had problem cars even after changing them several times....
So I'm questioning whether our lemon-lipped poster is just a drama queen or whether he too really does have problems.
I also wonder whether he's just seeking more sympathy and attention......"Look at me...Poor me....Look at me....Poor me..."
After all - WTF would you drive around with your car covered in stickers...?

[astraman]

I can relate to the guys problems. Since my ownership of an 03 convertible - see previous threads posted.

Under warranty
My car has run out of oil twice - holden stated oil consumption in my car is normal - 2.5litres per 10,000km - changed to a different oil consumption isn't as bad but fuel economy has gone down.
Had the steering pump replaced.
Had steering pump rewired
Had drivers seat base changed
Climate control changed

Outside warranty
Lost radio reception - no big deal but holden wanted to charge a day's labour to "replug" the radio antenna
Reverse lights now cease to work - seems the reverse switches have a short life span.
Rattles all over the place but it is a soft top convertible

Overall
Solid feeling car, nice drive, but it is a car and will break down, question is when. Would I buy another one - yes but a turbo convertible. These seem to have fewer problems than the 2.2s

[platypus]

why would the car run out of oil?

should be a weekly check (like every fill up or that evening)

yes i agree that oil use is a little excessive, BUT for it to run out is insane

and brake dust? are you joking? whats not designed for australian conditions? what you mean stopping? thats just plain dumb

rattles in a rag top? my god! surprised they didn't mention its just not as precise as the hard top options...

some people shouldn't own cars - even ones that have small problems

[digifish]

...I am starying to wonder about my 6900 km CDTi, I am still waiting for some parts to finally have the oil leak fixed.

Since new...

Gearbox is a pig to get in gear (particularly reverse and 1st) when cold. Then once warm will occasionaly be difficult to select 1st or reverse. Actually I think the clutch is not fully disengaging as I can get a tweak of drive out of it off the synchros when it's having trouble going into gear.

My power-streering has developed a whistle when turning corners.

Have to get the dealer onto both of those.

such is life

I so love driving this thing, and nothing major is wrong, just niggles.

This is my 5th brand new car, and the most trouble by far

...but all pales into insignificance next to a 10 yr old Jaguar XJ6 III I owned for 5 years. My bills show and average repair cost of $1800/yr over that time

digifish