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.

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.

“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…

Keep up the good work Opel!!!

Dont buy an Astra…

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.