Faults:

Speedometer jumped and did not pick up kms. Had to replace speedo sensor. Still did jump little bit and then did not pick up kms. Auto electrician found a loose earth. Put in a new earth wire. Problem solved.

Lower control arm bushes were shot and had to be replaced.

Starter had to be replaced.

Keyfob likes to give trouble. Had to be repaired a few times.

General Comments:

Nice to drive in town.

Bit slow but has good third and fourth gear.

Battle to keep power when driving hills.

Like the comfortable seats.

Feels bigger on inside than what it is.

Steers very good.

For long road it even does 130 km/h.

Aircon is excellent.

Long distance drive gets as much as 17 kms to a litre.

In town drive it is like on 10 litres I can do 150 km.

Very short 1st gear.

When doing long distance, it tires me out especially with hills as I have to concentrate on the speed lessening and when to go to third just to make the top of the hill.

Going uphill in third is the best and the 3 cylinder is rev happy... 5000 rpm is no problem.

Parts are available and like the service parts like cambelt and tensioner are over 6 times less than my previous car.

The car drives easy.

Just do not like the sound; it emanates like a loose plate by the exhaust, but no one can trace the origin of it.

Hooter is funny... sounds like a 150cc motorbike hooter.

Faults:

At 1100 km the immobilizer got stuck. Could not start the car. I have to pay to remove it.

At 10180 km the gearbox seized on my first long trip. R7800 to replace it; was told there was only 6 months warranty on it.

At 29000 km the power steering pressure switch melted. The passenger side mirror shakes loose, windows are not aligned and rattle horribly.

General Comments:

Will never buy another one and there is no resale value on it. Cannot get even 40% back on the amount I paid for it.

Faults:

As the owner of a brand new car, I didn't expect to have these problems.

First the outlet system of this car had to be replaced twice, which was done once under warranty. Then the alternator, which is busy failing again.

There after the headlights (parks) just died.

But the worst of all, after about one and a half years my dashboard started to crumble. I was trying to get Chery S.A. involved, but with no luck. In 2015 I got hold of someone in the consumer centre. The lady responded by saying "if your warranty is finished your car can fall apart, it has nothing to do with us". Wow, how dare you!

The car looks good, but when you look at the dash with big holes in it, you won't say it was brand new with one owner.

General Comments:

This is a reliable car. If Chery can sort these problems and acknowledge the manufacturer's defaults, I will buy another car from them. But for now I won't refer anyone to buy their products.

Faults:

I do a lot of driving, and when I first bought my George (my car's name is George), I figured I was the smartest person alive!! I managed to get 650k's off a 40L tank, and still had room in reserve to get to the gas station. But then things went awry.

My alternator and water pump both had to be replaced at 50 000. I live in the Western Cape, where parts are not easily come by, so I had to wait 2 weeks, just to be told that the parts would take another 2 weeks to be properly installed.

There is no air con in the car, despite it having been sold to me with one. You can imagine my surprise when I got to the garage and asked them to check my air con because it was not working, only to have them tell me that there isn't one...

When it rains - and it definitely rains in the Western Cape, my car stalls, as water gets into the engine. If it rains too hard, water gets into the engine. I've had this checked out by a few people, thinking it may be rust somewhere, but I was told it must be a "kink in the manufacture" of the car.

The airbags don't work.

The radio plays when it wants - regardless of whether it was put on.

And now, it seems the gasket of the car has blown, and the cooling system needs to be replaced.

All this from a car bought at a reputable dealership.

General Comments:

I love my George. We've done many kilometers together, but now it's just getting too expensive.

He handles nicely around corners, takes the uphills like a monster, and hums when he isn't sick.

Now if only he didn't get sick all that often...