Faults:

Engine exhaust hose failed at around 100000km. This was easy to fix myself at around AUD$5.

Alternator failed at 175000km. This is a kicker for me. I'm looking at getting a new car instead of fitting replacement.

Drivers side seats worn, but not simply fallen apart.

The passenger handles fell to bits at around 60000km. A passenger used it on a bumpy road and it fell apart.

Rubber strip on back window fell down (faulty staple!) - AUD$1 to fix.

General Comments:

Manual Espero purchased some time in 1997 (it's now 2010!)

I live in Australia, and found this car to be very reliable, even if abused as much as mine was. Salt air, dirt roads, city short trips along with long highways. This particular car saw more offroad action than most 4WDs (SUVs). Took it amateur rallying once (no accidents and driving at high speed on dirt was fine). Survived it all.

Aircon seriously impacts on performance and driveability.

Power windows seem fine - they are only now showing hints at failing (slow to move, funny noise if 2 windows moving at same time).

Tends to wear the front tyres at a greater rate than the back (more than the other cars I've had). Make sure you rotate the tyres.

This thing has plenty of speed/acceleration around 3rd gear, and good acceleration at around 50 to 60km/h. Acceleration overall is good.

I mistreated this car pretty badly, and it still came up trumps. Maintenance was minimal other than the usual oil, water, coolant.

Watch out for the recall notices from Daewoo. There were a few, eg steering column. Mine didn't need it.

Oddly enough this car's greatest downside was the actual brand name - I got so many negative comments about it. Never understood why as it just kept on going until now. It outlasted several Commodores and a few Peug's also bought at similar times by friends and associates.

Faults:

Major repair at 78.000 - replaced belts, various seals etc. Not being performed by myself, I only have a vague idea about the cost - somewhere around EUR 1000.

Exhaust broke at 80.000 - a hole in the final end, in which one could stick a fist. As it made a terrible noise and the hole was too big to be patched, I had it replaced along with the central exhaust, as they were welded (?) together (apparently, the previous owner removed the catalyst) for about 150 EUR (parts 120 + labor 30).

As I took my car out of the shop where I had the exhaust replaced, some "thing" (excuse my technical illiteracy) which connected the gear shifting stick with the rest of the mechanism broke at 80.000, this resulting in not being able to switch to Reverse, first or second gears. Actually, I was able to switch it to Reverse, but the car would still go forward. Apart from being funny for anyone else except for myself, this required the "thing" to be replaced - EUR 30, including labor.

A constant clonking from the front-right wheel, since 87.000 km, whenever going over a bump/hole. I suspect it to be a suspension problem, but I didn't have time to have it fixed yet.

Front tires and rims need constant (every two months or so) checking and adjustments, as my girlfriend has the habit of hitting the curbs while parking the car. I have to admit, it happened to me once as well.

Front lights are total crap - I was driving last night in dense fog and I could only see about 100 meters ahead (and that using the "long-range" lights). As for the "short-range", they're even worse, so night driving is a pretty extreme experience. If anyone has any idea about it, I'd appreciate a clue - I suspect it's about the seals of the lights, which currently allow water vapors to condensate inside the light's body.

Apart from that, just the usual glitches:

- rear window defroster not working, as my girlfriend broke the connector while vacuuming the car;

- electrical windows work whenever and however they may want - some will not open from the passenger controls, some will not close from there. Fortunately, the driver-side controls are still working properly.

- speedometer malfunctions in cold weather: it starts with a ticking noise, which increases with the speed, then it goes crazy (one morning, I had just switched to the third gear and it was showing 120 km/h :|).

- central locking mechanism on passenger side broken, the door never opens properly and it must be opened from inside.

General Comments:

First of all, it's not my car, but my girlfriend's. However, as she moved in with me, I drove it daily for the past six months, to/from work (roughly 60 km round-trip per day) and on several occasional average trips (3-500 km, longest 1.000 km). Hence, I can only provide my recent experiences with the car.

Handling: as the car is really long, wide and heavy, it's very stable. I never ran into any slides or skidding, except for once, when I did a 90-degree turn at 120 km/h, in a torrential rain. As I'm still typing this - and running the Espero -, I managed to get out of that problem without any long-lasting issues - except for a quick dose of adrenaline and a "don't do it again" reminder. It's not a racer, as it wasn't ever intended to be so, but can easily do constantly 130-140 km/h. Maximum speed I got was 160 km/h, but here the speed limit on the highways is 130, so... However, even at high speeds, the car is stable and easy to handle.

Parts: Daewoo parts are pretty cheap, both here (Czech Republic) and in my country of origin (Romania, especially considering Daewoo used to have a factory there). As they went broke, the resale value of their cars decreased dramatically, owners fearing the lack of future support. No such problems yet, as most Opel Astra parts from those years also fit on Daewoos.

Running costs: the car as a LPG installation, so fuel costs are pretty low. As most of the driving is combined (half is in city traffic, half is in highway-like conditions), the average fuel consumption (with A/C running) is about 11 liters per 100 km (or 20 miles per gallon). However, bear in mind that the density of LPG is roughly 10% lower than the one of normal gas, so the mpg for gas would be around 22-24 - pretty normal, I dare say, considering the age and the size of the car.

General look & feel: the inside is very spacious, it can easily accommodate five people. The trunk is huge, even with the LPG tank inside, which takes about 20% of the space.

Reliability: the car has always started - except several (three) occasions: battery dead (twice), girlfriend tried to drive away in the morning, at -10 C, on LPG and without warming up the engine - and never left me stranded.