Faults:

Nothing major has gone wrong with the car since I've had it, but I did have a costly experience with the idle of the vehicle.

For the past 6 months, the car has had a rough start and erratic idle. After changing numerous sensors, coil pack, leads, spark plugs etc, and taking it to Holden dealerships and other car repair places, only to be told it's running fine, when I know it's definitely not. When I got it, the idle was dead smooth, you couldn't tell the difference when it was on or off, that's how smooth the car was, and it got so bad, it was revving by itself and back firing etc.

All the heartache and headache was caused by a simple "purge" hose located under the throttle body, which no one seemed to pick up. I changed the $10 "purge" hose, and the car runs like it was new again, so apart from poor dealerships and mechanics, I'm very happy with the car, as it's never failed me.

General Comments:

The car itself is fantastic when it comes to looks and quality. I think though that you do need to own one of these cars from new to really appreciate it.

Having broken speaker grilles, broken map pockets and some other small bits and pieces, I went through the car with a fine tooth comb when I purchased it, and fixed everything that needed fixing, and due to me looking after the car, I haven't had any problems whatsoever with plastics breaking etc, although my foot rest has snapped off a couple times; I guess it's me being used to driving a manual, and I put pressure on it every time I brake.

Faults:

Rear brake lights stopped working. The dealer said it had a broken cable, so we got that repaired for $180.

Sometimes when turning lock to lock, the steering wheel makes this whining sound, usually in the morning.

Wheels keep making a squeaking noise, found out that it was just the hub cap being loose.

A lot of water keeps dripping when opening the boot during or after a rainy day.

Some of the rubber seals between the exterior panel joints have cracks in them.

When I was parked up my driveway on a rainy day, the driveway being steep, for some reason water got through the door sill. It was probably from the wind shield installed on that side, but it's just unacceptable how water can get in so easily. There was lots getting in. Don't seem to have that problem anymore, even though nothings been done.

Build quality is alright, some of the plastics joints are separating. My first car was a Mitsubishi Sigma and the plastics in that looked more up to the job than in the commodore. The main family car, a 2000 Camry, overall feels more reliable and solidly built, but this is just a minor issue, it's not like the commodore feels like its going to fall apart.

General Comments:

Overall it's a very good and reliable car, currently having no mechanical problems other than the rear brake lights.

Though there seems to be a lot of problems with the car (with all the list that I wrote), they're actually only minor problems, nothing serious. I can live with them and I would still recommend this car to a buyer.

Engine is very responsive, but sounds rough when going past 3000rpm and is let down by an automatic transmission that doesn't know which gear to choose. It sometimes makes a huge 'clunk' noise when downshifting.

Good fuel economy. I average about 11.9L/100km, that's a mix of highway and city, but more of highway.

Seats are comfortable, and the interior is huge, since I've only been in small-medium sized cars. Being a P-plater, this is an awesome car to have and has more than enough power.