2008 Holden Astra Review
May 16, 2008 by Anthony Crawford
The overall look remains contemporary, despite the fact that this “AH” generation Astra has been around since 2004. Styled in Europe and made in Belgium, might explain some of that.
There’s a great range of colours too. The Black Sapphire Metallic is definitely the pick, with Moonland Metallic (a smoked Blue/Grey) coming in, a close second. Just don’t pick the Power Red as we ended up with, as it doesn’t do the car any justice.
Interior wise, its modern, but I take issue at design of the centre console. It’s got nothing to do with the switchgear, that’s mostly well positioned and quite functional.
My beef is with the angle of the console itself. Rather than sliding outwards, this console is angled ever so slightly inwards, making it almost impossible to see the various positions on the HVAC dials while driving. Let me qualify that. I’m referring to those of us over 43 years, who need to don the occasional pair of reading glasses from time to time.
Although the steering wheel is plastic on the CD variant, its plenty thick and with excellent grip. You also get audio controls in the form of a scroll wheel (far more functional than buttons) for sound and frequency.
It’s all here though, as standard kit. The seven speaker sound system is better than decent and thankfully (does anyone under thirty still use CDs?) there is an auxiliary input for your MP3 player.
You even get heated power mirrors and projector style headlamps along with a remote folding key fob.
If you’re intending on using the Astra as a family run around, safety is reasonably well provided for with 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS, Brake Assist (BA) and Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD), Driver, front passenger airbags and side impact airbags.
What you miss out on in the CD variant is full size curtain airbags and Electronic Stability Control, which is not so good. To get both of those features, you would need to step up to the CDTI or SRI.
Boot space is both deep and wide and plenty big enough for a decent length trip away for three to four people and the rear seats are 60/40 split fold.
“The Astra is a solidly built car with a broad range of talents and represents good buying”
Adrian, since when is Astra made in Australia mate?? You’ll find money spent on an Astra or on a Mazda, all goes overseas anyway. No difference.
Dan I did state that Astra’s were made overseas ,what I was saying is buy a car that is more freindly on the Aussie economy even though the Astra is built overseas it aint from an Asian car manafacturer and you can be sure a larger percentage of the money you spend on an Astra will at least stay in the country and help the economy …
No body cares anymore I guess and people want the cheapest they can find not what is going to benefit the country in the future ,so yeah let’s all have the same don’t care attitude …..shall we…
Adrian. Astra is a rebadged Opel, made in Germany. German made cars have as much connection with Australia as Asian cars do. Your point makes no sense! If neither car was made in Australia, neither’s sales will benefit Australia as much as an australian built car. Your crack pipe theory of “you can be sure a larger percentage of the money you spend on an Astra will at least stay in the country and help the economy” is just that, a wild claim.
Gotta love reading comments from people with absolutely no idea haha.
To “Adam Kaplan”
One only need to look at the words you have used to guess the kind of service one would receive from your dealership. Please get your FACTS right. The form that I signed had NO quoted price on it, it only had the list of things that were to be serviced. I rang up Peninsula Holden Bankstown the next day and was quoted “$420.00″ for the same service. Surprizing how your average quote came out to be “$481.41″!!
That’s why it’s an average Sheraz.
If you’re as dumb as you sound, it’s be no surprise to me that you didn’t know what you signed.
What Adam has said seems to be entirely accurate. You just sound like a bitter customer who hasn’t looked after their car correctly.
Good luck to you!
Goodness me.
I seriously can’t believe someone would try to crucify my business in a forum like this for $45.
Forty Five dollars and you’re calling me a “disgrace and a rip off”.
I’m lost for words….unusual for me!
But I will say this, if it’s that important to you, the next time you need a service, ring around every dealer in the world, get the cheapest quote, bring it to me and not only will I match it, I’ll also beat it by $45 so you can be comfortable that we haven’t ripped you off and in fact have provided the best value possible.
What do you say.
Adam Kaplan
Managing Director
Hunter Holden
8878 7878
Stuart
If you’re still monitoring this forum then I must apologise for not getting back to you. I thought I had signed up for updates to this thread but obviously did not.
If you’re still in the market for the car I can tell you the following;
The CDX is a pretty cool car.
Price is a moving target at the moment with manufacturer bonuses changing almost daily (I kid you not).
One thing I can say with confidence, and this is to anyone in the market for a car this year, is that every manufacturer is planning on putting prices up continually during the year to recover exchange rate losses and that NOW really is the cheapest time to buy.
I know that sounds like a car dealer cliche but just look at the increase in prices of vehicles between December and now and you’ll see what I mean. They will all increase dramatically this year.
As far as problems, there have been some transmission problems which show up to the driver by putting the car into a “limp home” mode, however they show themselves early on and are covered by warranty.
Timing belt problems are essentially a thing of the past, ie. the old model did have an issue especially if you didn’t replace it at the nominated service (80k from memory), but again, those issues were covered by warranty if the vehicle had been serviced correctly.
I just asked my senior tech and he said (not generally known to be enthustiastic about anything with less that 800HP) that they are a brilliant little car, if you wanted to nit pick, he said, there was an issue with an engine pulley causing a little rattle in the engine bay on acceleration, but Holden have a fix for this, again under warranty.
Overall a really good car.
Hope this helps. If I can be of further assistance, don’t hesitate to contact me on 8878 7878.
Cheers
Adam Kaplan
Can you elaborate on the engine bay rattle. Could it be a failed timing belt tensioner spring?
Adam you took my words out of context, i suggest you read my first post again. My comments of “Rip off and disgrace” was clearly meant to be for value of Astra in general and not specific to your dealership, and i said i would not buy from “Holden” again, where did i mention your dealership? Google and you will find scores of people who had similar experience with Astra.
God help Holden because US Govt would not help forever!
Benjie Get off your high horse. Are you Adma’s sales rep or just hoping to get a good deal with your next purchase!
To get an average of 481.00 you gotta have quotes over 500.00 from a few dealers… i seriously doubt that.
Bitter customer!! go to the follwoing link and find for yourself how many there are for Astra:
http://www.motorsm.com/complai.....sp?cls=165
Find me another similar car with this number of complaints??
Buy an Australian made car? I’d love to… if we just stop churning out big thirsty +3.0L V6 engine vehicles. Love the look of the VE sportswagon, but hate the thirst. Adrian, you are right that it would be nice to support the local car industry, but the manufacturers need more smarts in their choice of cars if they want to compete with cheaper labour in Asian countries.
Me? I’ve been looking at buying an Astra wagon (made in Belgium btw) but just can’t get over the crappy/busy dash. Also I’ve now read too many bad reviews on Astras and am stearing towards the new Euro-designed Korean i30cw wagon. A shame we don’t make anything like that here as I’d be the first to support the local economy if we came up with the goods. Toyotas are made here, but damn they are ugly.
My Mum bought a black CDX wagon from Hunter Holden too. One year after we had it I drove it to Melbourne and the battery died. RACV said it was a “dead cell” so I needed to get a new battery.
Thinking it’s a brand new car and under warranty, I got the RACV guy to start me up so I could drive to the nearest Holden dealer to get a new battery under warranty. How pleasantly surprised I was to find out that the warranty only covers the battery for ONE year, not three. Not only that, the one year mark had passed by 2 days so I was up for a $300 bill.
I called Hunter Holden to ask them to cover me, since it was only 2 days after the battery warranty had lapsed. I thought maybe they would show a bit of compassion – me being interstate, on a holiday, in our new car. But they said they wouldn’t cover it.
So we have vowed never to buy a Holden again based on the poor customer service from HH alone. I know technically it was outside the warranty period but it would have been nice to have a little less stress on the trip. By not paying for the new battery they have lost way more than a mere $300. We were considering buying an Astra Convertible from HH up until “Melbourne” happened – but now they can keep it! That’s business.
I also want to take the opportunity to say that the wagon has had its water pump replaced 2 or 3 times (covered under warranty), and the battery died AGAIN (same problem) only last week, 2 years after “Melbourne”. So we now question the build quality of the car.
I never usually write on these forums, but felt compelled to since Adam Kaplan is reading. And Adam, I’m sorry to say that nothing you do now can save this customer. When the warranty runs out, we’ll be moving on. Done and done. Hope your dealership learns from our story.
Mark, I’m no car dealer but enough is enough.
Name me one car maker that gives three years warranty on a battery?
Your car NOT new – it was over a year old and you could be an owner that never does Anything to their car. Hell, you may never have evan had your car serviced and if you did it yourself, did you use a decent engine oil.
You may also be shocking driver or a driver who regularly leaves their car with the interior light on overnight – that’ll shorten the battery life old mate!
From what I have read by Adam Kaplan he seems genuinely interested in solving any problem with his customers and will ben over backwards to make the customer happy.
Jack – Thank you
Mark – Understand your frustration…..but please understand my reality, we are a Holden (and Mitsubishi and Skoda & Elfin & Pagani) franchise. We represent their policies and procedures. If they give a 12 month warranty on a certain part, that’s all we can support. Sorry to lose you as a customer but not sure what I can learn from your experience. Cheers.
Benjie – Don’t know who you are but thanks.
Sheraz – Obviously read your comment incorrectly, apologies….and my offer stands while you still have your Astra.
Everyone – Goodnight!
hEY YOU GUYS ARE SCARING ME i JUST BGOUGHT AN aSTRA cd SECOND HAND AND NOW iM POOPING MYSELF THINKING i MAY HAVE BOUGHT A LEMON THATS GOING TO COST ME A FORTUNE i CANT AFFORD.
SAL dont worry they are a great car,yes they have had a few glitches but no more than any other car on the road,enjoy your car and dont let all the EXPERTS on this site scare you.
Hey thanks John A. Its a great little car to drive and handles better on the road than my corolla did. My daughter loves it which is why I bought it in the first place as she is learning to drive and didn’t want to drive a manual. Thanks I will enjoy
The organisation I work for has been using Astras for a few years and the 2007 has been a nightmare. Transmission failures on 30% of them. Some transmission/coolant interchange. Those who were starned were very unhappy. Holden have fixed up the vehicles without any trouble but deny there is a fault that requires a recall
Hi Adam Kaplan. Thanks for the offer but it would be nice if you could send a cheque for $45.00 for the service done in Feb! you have my details.
Sheraz,
You’re fighting an unwinnable battle here, time to let go. If you were going to buy a dishwasher, fridge or other goods, wouldn’t you shop around for the best price first? Seems to me like you have massive case of sour grapes becuase you ‘forgot’ to do the same with your car service. That’s just bad luck on your part. I’m sure most people ask how much the srvice will be when they ring up to book it in – they’re all standardised fees on the service departments computers, you just have to ask them when booking it in.
Better luck next time.
Thanks Hal. I let it go the moment I paid the bill. However, I guess one of the reasons we have these forums is to share our experiences with others.
I responded only when Adam left some comments that were not based on facts.
And yeah my fault that i did not check the service cost at the time of booking…tough
Enjoy the weekend…………
The issue of service cost intrigues me.
Servicing cost of 481?? That sounds a lot to me.
I have never owned new car, but is it similar for Lancer, i30, Impreza, Civic, Corolla (ah, love that 130 cap), etc??
Just got the wifes Astra serviced 30K and was going to cost over $500. They then ring me up as say it needs all these other things done. I say how much now! $800!!!
Dont buy an Astra…
sheraz, you are a pompous idiot, its called s*&t happens, get over it. pull your head out of your butt and get with the program. I am about to buy an astra, and have had these issues with a work astra, warranty and suttons rosebery were very helpful. if you dont like it then buy a ford, that what whingers drive.
I bought an 06 Astra and I love it. At first I wanted an 07.5 + coz of the power increase but when I test drove the 06 I was more than pleased with its ability to take off. I previously drove a 1.3L Suzuki Swift so Im sure you can see where I coming from. The one thing that I have come across is a dead spot in second gear but this is a once in a while thing and Im sure its probably me. I like the Astra and I’m glad I got one instead of the Focus.
Keep up the good work Opel!!!
GET OVER IT. I paid $450 for a Kia Rio’s 2nd year service via Ultra Tune. These services are pricey for any car.
They are Not Bad Cars the Astra.I nearly bought one a few years back to replace a 2002 Mazda 323 Astina but ws put off by the fact people might think it’s my Mother or Aunties Car.Doesn’t Help If You have a Mercedes or BMW in your family
Karen said…
“Hi All
I own a astra city (4-years old) and yes all 4 disk brakes and pads needed replacing at the 3-year point at 70,000klms!!
Worse is that I am currently battling Holden over the 2 computer modules (engine servicing and transmission) that have just failed. To replace both modules it is $4000 in parts alone and from my research this is not uncommon. Holden appears to be well aware that these cars can suffer serious failure at about the 4-5 year point – NOT acceptable in my view. I would seriously advise any buyer to avoid this car! ”
Karen..You are right,..Astra is a real lemon in that it must be avoided at all cost…Owing this car is a disaster…Go for GM Daewoo…GM Daewoo is much better than GM Opel in terms of quality…
hi,
i’m freaking out! every forum i read has so much negative stuff. i just bought a secondhand 04 CD hatch astra (118,000kms) and i’m very worried that something mechanical will go wrong with it. The good thing though is that right before i bought it the timing belt and water pump were changed (for $2500!!!) at 113,000kms. I’ve done some of the other main tasks required for the 120,000kms service myself(fuel,air,oil,pollen filters, and spark plugs change, fluid checks and visual checks) using a Haynes Holden Astra TS Car Repair Manual which has increased my confidence & knowledge a fair bit.
my questions are this:
1. given time and guidance (and after just reading the process in the Haynes manual) i think i would feel confident in pulling of a Timing-belt change and Brake rotors and pad change if needed. Would anyone else recommend or has attemped this? Also, how much would the parts cost, and therefore, would it be worth just paying a mechanic to do this?
2. Finally, am i crazily overthinking this, and therefore should i sell my astra asap because more serious things than a timing belt and brake rotors and pads will go wrong with it that i won’t be able to fix. because if this does happen i really really won’t have the money to fix it!
….what should i do?? please help
2.
Dont buy an Astra….Mine nose dives front down you are thrown forward off the seat, just like a push bike rider who only uses the front brakes and then is thrown over the handle bars..Then to beat that I have almost been KILLED a few times. With no warning (once on a busy roundabout & at main road intersections)You pull into traffic and the power just dies leaving you to the mercy of traffic coming at you.You again hit the gas peddle and it pulls away.I have it back to Von Bibra at Tweed a few times The first time I was told there was no problem….Second time YES AT LAST they try to fix it , about 6 weeks later I get it back, it felt a bit better The brakes that is. Only lasted one week, back to nose diving.It has done 27,000. It is dangerous to drive in city traffic as you cant control how it brakes or if when you move on if it will die on you..My 1982 Mazda drives better…lja4159@hotmail.com if you can tell me how to fix the problems….Von Bibra will said we can trade it back, but after spending on electronic anti rust…exterior and interior protection + sheepskin covers to suit..That would be a lot to lose and cant afford it…AND I WANTED AN ASTRA ,,,WELL WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES ……SAVE YOUR $$$$ AND BUY A MAZDA 3 My daughter did and its a fantastic car Please email me if you have a cure for my car..It looks great has that going for it.
My wife bought a Holden Astra CDTi in early 2007. She is not your average performance car customer. She drives well in fcat if we are together she drives my Honda CRV. The moment the car is a “high performance” the dealer basically seems to have high prices.
However thats not the issue I liked the car to drive as well. Then came the problems the seating in the back with the kids started to break at the stitching after 3 months. The Holden rep said that that our fault as the material is attached to the moulded seat. This was not the case and after she took it back the same day they then just agreed to fix it. The centre seat belt at the back is wearing.
The cup holders which are in most other cars are non existent – Only 1.
The car fault light came on after 2 weeks and required more power steering fluid. I have never heard of this if there is no leak. The dealer couldn’t pressure test the system as they hadn’t got the fitting for that model yet.
Then came the bills replace the front tyres because they dont get rotated and the wear is on them. I should have looked but thats not my job I thought that the service would do that. After that shock we used it a bit less and used my Honda a bit more. My Honda services have been always about 1/3rd of her cars at the same service.
The final straw came today: The car was serviced for the 45,000km service but the car has only done 37,000km. They phoned to say the front disks needed replacing as did the pads etc. I couldnt believe it as the car had only completed 9000km between services. The bill around $800.00. I said no and shopped around and can get the same job done with the same graded standards of replacement parts at $400.
Then the real shock came. When we picked up the car the engine management system light warning was still lit. So we called the service guy who tried to tell us that it isnt lit when we could show him the book and that the car was running and it would not go off. How did they test the car and not see it we told them it was on.
Anyway by this stage she was really not happy so we took it to the independent chain that was going to do the brakes.
Interestingly he told us that he had another customer with this engine management system light that keeps coming on. They have taken it back to the dealer on the customers behalf and its just faulty. In addition he tells us that the rotors go very early and he suspects that after they had looked at them that its a European product and not used to the heat here. We got back into the car to move it into his workshop and lo and behold the engine management system light went out this time.
In reality we will never purchase a Holden again as you just don’t get service and they are so expensive to service its just not worth it. You lovers of Holden may all jump up and down but in reality I suspect that this company has always been an orphan of GM and now that that company has been bailed out once I think it is just delaying the day when they will be gone.
On another gripe having driven it there is a delay in the electronic acceleration in that in the automatic version if you have your foot on the brake it has a delay before it kicks in when you depress the accelerator. We have met a few other owners of this model and all complain. It doesn’t put you at risk but if you swap cars it can be a bit scary as it has this delayed response. The dealers comment it is designed like that.
So to all of those in power at Holden my whole family now only has one Holden and soon that will be replaced by anything but a Holden. We have Toyota’s and Honda’s and even happy with Fords and Nissan’s. We may even try the Hyundia i30 to replace it.
No more Holdens , GMs or Chryslers , Jeeps etc. If the company cannot make it it doesn’t deserve to exist.
I brought my AH CDX Astra 05 about 2 years ago now. Its has only done 85,000Km’s and now i have to get the pump replaced because it is cracked.
Wow!! I was really thinking about buying a brand new astra but after reading this I am not buying and Holden. I think the Mazda 3 would be a much better car for me. Thank God this website exists!
My wife spent her hard earned money on a 08 ASTRA CD. So far the timing belt tensioner has failed twice, both times replaced by dealer. Engine is using excessive amounts of oil. Rear door seal has come away from body, repaired once by dealer. Vehicle has yet to crack 20,oook’s. She is very dissapointed with the vehicle. HOLDEN ASTRA’s are garbage.