21st Nov 2006, 11:43

I own a 4 year old Daewoo Lanos, It runs well when its working. Its good on petrol. I am happy with the car, but the only problem with mine is that it can give electronic problems now and a again. I replaced the coil, spark plug cables, the catalytic converter sensors and the oil temperature sensor in the last year. Its very costly too, but other than that it's a good car.

18th Mar 2007, 13:57

I bought my firstDaewoo lanos three years ago. I think it is great value for money. My only downsides with this car are the following,1-Air bag unit went after 40,000 miles and cost a fortune.2-Right hand side tracking rod end went at 60,000.Having said that it is a good car that never failed to start. Passed every mot. I was so happy with this car that I also bought another for my wife with no problems to report.

13th Apr 2007, 15:10

Daewoo have not "gone out of business": they are still around as GM-Daewoo Automotive Technologies and they produce the Suzuki Reno and Forenza, and the Chevrolet Aveo.

14th Apr 2007, 18:17

True, but Daewoo dealers have disappeared and I doubt whether a Chevy/Suzuki dealer is going to be thrilled repairing a car that isn't in their lineup and never was.

14th Apr 2009, 09:16

UPDATE - Well, I've still got the car. I don't see the point in changing it when it is still going great. Still running perfectly and still hasn't let me down yet. And the interior is still fine.

OK, it may not be the best built car in the world, and of course I would love something better, but for the type of money you can pick these cars up for now you can't go wrong.

In the 9 years (nearly) I've had this car I've probably spent less than £500 on repairs. The car isn't worth much now but I'm not bothered. It's still running fine, and for as long as it is I'll keep it, then I'll scrap it. Why change it just because some people think it looks cheap. Whether it looks cheap or not, it's getting me from A to B and has cost me a lot less in the 9 years to keep running than probably most of the new cars on the road.

28th Jan 2010, 03:38

Vauxhall Astra parts fit the Lanos engine. The 2 engines are very similar - it's good for another source of parts.

1st Mar 2010, 14:58

UPDATE - Good to know that Astra parts will fit it, but I've now decided it's time for it to go. Well, later this year anyway, but I'm giving it to my sister so I'll let her know about the parts.

Only getting rid of it because it needs a few jobs doing now, and because the car's not worth much, I don't see the point in doing them myself. I've had the car for over 9 years, so I think it's time for a change anyway. It's worth my sister doing the jobs on it though, as the car is still as reliable as anything, and the interior and bodywork is still pretty good.

The jobs that need doing are the clutch, the camshaft and the exhaust, though none of them were bad enough to fail it on its recent MOT. Needed £40 spent on it to get it through its MOT. Can't remember what it was though, some kind of boot at the back. And we were advised to change the brake pads (though it didn't fail on them), so we did, again. Been told the clutch and the camshaft are about £170 each and the exhaust about £80. So my sister will have to spend about £400. So for £400 she'll have a reliable car. Not bad.

There is a problem with some bad grinding noise almost every time I break (apart from when it rains) on the front left wheel. This problem as been going on for about 3 years now, but it's getting worse. Had it checked by my mechanic a few times and it's been through 3 MOTs just fine.

Had the brake discs, pads and break pipes changed about 3 years ago. The brake pads have been changed twice more since then, but it's not sorting the problem. So I've booked it in for a brake test at a brake specialist. See if they can figure out what's going on, as changing brake discs and pads doesn't seem to be sorting it. And if they do diagnose the problem, it's time to change my mechanic as he clearly doesn't know what's he's doing LOL. Hopefully they can find out what's causing the grinding and the brake pads to wear out so quickly (3 in 3 years), so I can get it sorted before the brakes fail, though the brakes are working perfectly (apart from the grinding).

7th Mar 2010, 13:55

UPDATE - Well, the brakes have been checked by a specialist. They said the brake discs and pads etc were fine, which is good to know as I was worried all that grinding noise was doing some major damage to the disc. The only thing was is that there was no grease around them like there should be. So they greased it all up for me (cost £25), and so far so good. But I'm not convinced that that will sort it for good. (Only been a few days though). Got a feeling it won't be long before the grease wears off and the grinding noise comes back. If it does, I'll give the car to my sister and she can have the headache with it LOL. And I might buy an Honda Civic. Don't know, not decided yet.

10th May 2010, 15:51

Well I'm sad to report, the car has gone. Not to the great big scrapyard in the sky, but to my sister, who absolutely loves it. Awwww LOL.

Brakes are still working fine, no grinding, so maybe the grease is doing its job. She's had the camshaft changed with one from a scrapyard, which cost £50 so that problem is sorted. Apparently there's nothing wrong with the clutch. The exhaust will be changed when it needs it, which won't be for a while as it's not blowing yet. It's just rusted a bit around the back box.

The only thing the car is doing now that needs sorting is the idle is too high, 2000rpm, and when you're driving you don't even have to put your foot on the pedal. The car drives itself. Took it to a garage, told it can only be one of 2 things, idle air control valve or throttle control sensor. She's getting that sorted tomorrow, again from the scrapyard so will probably cost about £80 for both. The car inside and out, now it's been washed LOL, is in pretty good condition. No dents, no rust, barely any scratches. She got a bargain, free LOL.

Anyway, I don't regret for a second buying that car. Best car I've ever owned. Now got a 55 plate Honda Civic. And so far so good with it.

14th May 2010, 11:34

One last update since the car now belongs to my sister. OK, the revving issue has been sorted. Didn't cost a penny either and they did it themselves (took a few minutes). Don't know whether it is a permanent fix, but it's worth a try if you're a bit short of cash at the moment. OK, here's what you do -

1. Ignition on

2. Disconnect idle speed control valve

3. Ignition off

4. Re-connect idle speed control valve (repeat 4-5 times if needs be. Mine only took once)

5. Start the vehicle - SHOULD NOT IDLE UNASSISTED.

Keep vehicle idling on the throttle to initialise the self learn process using the throttle and watching the rev counter to keep the engine at a reasonable idle speed (800-900 rpm). Do this for a couple of minutes, then turn the engine off. Problem solved.

If you don't know your way around an engine (though it was easy to do), just look for a diagram on the web for where the idle speed control valve is.

28th Mar 2016, 10:37

Your sister still has it? If yes, any more updates? Loved your review and updates.

27th Apr 2016, 21:49

Thank you :)

She kept the car for about a year, but sadly the fuel consumption was just too much and it had to go. She sold it for £200. I didn't see a penny of it. How's that for gratitude LOL.

The car was still going strong though. For all its faults near the end (which were sorted), its reliability couldn't be faulted.

Think I'll stick with Honda from now on. My Civic is still going strong :)