11th Jan 2014, 21:54
I don't own one of these, but I have a few observations.
In regard to Chinese quality, the economic world relies on Chinese manufacturing; many of the items you use daily are of Chinese origin. Most car manufacturers source many components from China.
I use carsurvey.org to review car quality as I come from an automotive background and am always interested in motoring trends. The amount of comments on a certain make/model is very indicative of its poor points, as most submit to this site when things go wrong. Look at Australian manufacturers Holden and Ford, or earlier Korean Kias for example. The bottom line is the less said about a car, the better it is. Great Wall aren't a small manufacturer; there's a lot of their product worldwide.
I'm not Chinese, I'm a gardener who only earns the basic wage and therefore won't/can't pay high prices. I currently own a BMW e30 convertible and a Toyota Surf 4WD turbo diesel; both cars I bought very cheaply, but I had to rebuild engines, suspension, drive train, suspension etc. My own labour and eBay made this affordable.
Last point, Great Wall have their Haval in the 2014 Dakar Rally, and it's doing quite well. Many manufacturers who should be competing there, aren't. I suspect that is because they have become too soft and unreliable for anything other than bitumen. I would buy a Great Wall tomorrow if I could afford it, so I'm on the lookout for a used damaged one instead. Maybe if someone from Great Wall is reading this...
5th Apr 2014, 19:36
This is not an issue for those of you in Australia, but here in the UK Great Walls are showing alarming underbody rusting at only 12 months old. Something to be aware of anyway.
22nd Mar 2015, 12:25
It would appear that rust or not, Great Wall really was a great mistake for many. After an initial surge of sales and almost hysterical levels of self congratulating over the money saved by not buying something better, dealers are shutting up shop everywhere.
I believe things are so bad that just 21 Great Walls were registered in Feb 2015.
Meanwhile my 2 Ssangyongs that everyone rubbished me for buying have been 100% reliable, proving once again that Korean made is the cut off point for low price vs quality.
15th Feb 2013, 09:03
Well they have to try wherever they can; so far they've all looked appalling. I wouldn't even drive one if it was given to me free.