Faults:

Nothing as gone wrong with the car. I have owned it for about a month.

Things that needed replacing when I bought it were:

- 3 new wiper blades

- Steering wheel badge (bought replacement from wreckers)

-Front tow hook cover missing (extremely expensive to replace with a brand new part!)

General Comments:

This is an excellent car!

It's European so you can count on it being dependable, powerful, comfortable, practical and stylish. It sure meets every one of those requirements!

The quality of the car is as if it was assembled yesterday; it's 8 years old and has done a few kms, but was ex-council car, so always treated well.

The boot space is excellent! Far better than the Asian alternatives (if you could call them that).

The cabin is far quieter and more refined than the Ford Laser I used to have.

This car is SO economical you wouldn't believe! It's more economical than the 1.3 Laser it replaced!

You can be sure of safety in this car. It features 2 airbags in the front, and all 5 occupants are protected by 5 normal seatbelts, no lap belts here (I noticed my friend's standard GL Corolla still had middle seat lapbelt in 2004!)

Assembled in Germany, you know it will be a beautiful piece of engineering. The powerful 1.8 engine is mind blowing.

This car is a real credit to Holden and General Motors.

Why bother with Japanese cars, when this will do everything better. I really do recommend this car. I will post updates every six months in the comments.

Faults:

Have owned this car for very painfully expensive years.

Had to replace wheel bearing 2 months after buying; $1000.

Air con stopped working; $1000 +

4 sets of tyres.

Rotors and brake pads replaced.

Ignition barrel twice.

Central locking doesn't work.

Boot lock sometime doesn't unlock.

Stereo jumps to max volume just by touching volume knob.

That's off the top of my head, since my books are in my car, which is stuck at the shops with an ignition barrel gone again; not ringing a locksmith on a Sunday!!!

General Comments:

The only positive things I have to say are.

Handles well.

Gets up hills really good without losing speed.

Faults:

BOTH sets of brake pads replaced by 62,000kms (brakes always squealed from new – was told by Holden this was a common problem with Astras – what the…?!!)

SIX new tyres by 65,000kms.

Major electrical part required replacing at 60,000kms costing $240 (exc installation by auto electrician).

Major service at 60,000kms …..$840 later!

ALL WHILST STILL UNDER Warranty!!!

General Comments:

After numerous problems, I opted out of using Holden for servicing altogether, and chose to wear the cost with my local mechanic (who has since advised that it would be in my interest to sell the vehicle before anything else goes wrong - claiming it’s only a matter of time until it does).

Clearly naïve to expect nothing major to go wrong with my Astra in its 3 year warranty period, I have vowed never to own another Holden! I never expected to hand over $25,000 for a new car, to have it cost me so dearly in such a short space of time.