2003 Holden Astra TS 1.8 litre from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Very good and reliable

Faults:

Corrosion on the positive terminal, but apart from that, nothing really wrong with it.

General Comments:

Very quick pick up, which I really like, and it has good acceleration; I do not have to put my foot down too much to get up to 50km/h or even 100km/h.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th June, 2015

2003 Holden Astra CD 1.8 petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Very reliable and fuel efficient, great handling car

Faults:

Air con stopped working 10 days after the warranty expired. Holden would not do anything for me "Sorry, it's out of warranty". I even offered to go halves in the replacement cost; nope, no deal.

Apart from the air con, this has been an amazingly reliable car. It's never let me down.

General Comments:

It handles really well and is great on a long trip. It still gets the same fuel economy (7l/100km) as it did when new.

I still like driving it. It has lots of power for overtaking.

It's a hatch and can carry amazing loads with the back seats folded down.

Apart from the air con, this has been an amazing car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 10th June, 2015

30th Sep 2015, 03:09

A/C problem, same as mine. Found an auto electrician, had pump valve replaced, no problem since, cost $250.

2003 Holden Astra CD 1.8 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

It's cheap on petrol, comfortable enough for us, & it's been reliable

Faults:

It's been a great car for my hubby & I. We bought it with the cable already gone, & no code for the CD player. Other than that, it's been a good, cheap car to run around in petrol wise, & reliability wise & rego.

But then driving out of the driveway and up the road, I only got to 3rd gear, then no acceleration at all. The car was still running, pulled over, turned it off, left it for few minutes. The car starts, but still no acceleration. Pushed it back home, left it over night with the battery leads off. The next day we checked the fuses, pulled 'em out & in, put the leads back on, started the car & we had acceleration, & away we went.

It's been 2 weeks now & we have lost all acceleration whilst driving in traffic 3 times now. We know it needs to go on a diagnostic machine, but we're trying to save some dollars if it's only a fuse or sensor of some kind. Hoping someone might have some advice? Thank you.

General Comments:

We would like to find the problem & fix it, rather than buy another, as it's been good to us.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th March, 2015

26th Mar 2015, 18:57

You really must take it to a good independent garage or electrician. Modern cars now have a multitude of sensors and modules that can fail, and they need to be plugged into a diagnostic computer.

27th Mar 2015, 01:30

It sounds like your ECU computer has probably blown up; these are notorious for it as well as snapping cambelts (hope you had yours checked when you bought it). Be prepared for a bill of over $2000 if it is the ECU. I'm a bit puzzled why you gave it good comments for reliability though, when you've only driven it 4000km in 2 years.

22nd Jul 2015, 00:00

I bought one 2 days ago. It's doing exactly the same thing. I hope that I haven't been robbed. :-(

22nd Jul 2015, 20:16

ECUs are in the NZ$2-2.5K range. A friend's 2001 Celica had an ECU problem, which fortunately was repairable down in the South Island for $800, else it was a new computer costing $2K.

Another friend's 1998 Audi A4 2.4 had an ECU problem maybe three years ago, not repairable, cost her $2K, had to bring it in from Singapore new.

Computers in cars - like desktops or laptops - can be working for life, or could fail irreparably tomorrow through no fault of the owner; it's just the way it is.

21st Apr 2018, 09:36

I’ve experienced the loss in acceleration. I just replaced the coil pack in the engine and away she went.

Cost $95 new.

Labour: changed myself .

Went on YouTube astra coil pack to school up.