2000 Holden Berlina VX Series 1 3.8L petrol & gas from Australia and New Zealand
Summary:
Solid motoring at the end of the day
Faults:
Small door in centre console was broken since I bought the car.
Electric aerial has been broken since I bought the car; motor still works regardless.
Hole in the driver's side wing mirror casing and busted the LH wing mirror - minimal cost replacement, but I can no longer adjust this mirror.
LPG light on the button doesn't work - 'traction off' light and the gas tank clicking when you turn the ignition on substitute for this.
Boot would arbitrarily unlock when I released it - this problem went away by itself.
Rear AC vents don't move up or down... no major fuss, the air still flows through and I'm in the driver's seat!
As a product of shoddy mechanical work, radiator blew, as did the hose running from the radiator to the gas compressor. $680.
As a result of that, new kit fitted to the LPG compressor - another $200.
Unidentified problem that lingered for months - 'check engine' light would come on and knock the car into limp mode (had my mechanic stumped) - turned out to be a shoddy wire running from the DFI module to the computer. $480, mostly labour.
New ignition leads - $130.
Hose running to the head vents in the car detached from the main AC system - $70 to refit, but now when I turn the AC off, the air still runs through the vents that point to your head; remedied by switching the vent setting to demister.
General Comments:
After growing up with a Commodore, I couldn't wait to upgrade from my box Volvo, which was starting to show its age, and for the first few months it was a reliable and quick car.
Once I passed 200 000 clicks, things slowly started falling apart. I ended up going to an absolute charlatan of a mechanic for the service, who botched the entire thing by blowing a hole in my radiator and the hose running to my LPG compressor - and then had the freaking audacity to keep it quiet. My $250 service ended up blowing out to a $1100 overhaul of my cooling system.
After rectifying the problems that I listed above, the car once again feels like a solid piece of machinery. The acceleration is fantastic as is the fuel economy (I can get from Wollongong to Armidale - about 700 Ks - on 50 litres of fuel; petrol and gas combined), made all the better by the inclusion of factory gas.
To point out any lows with the car: it doesn't seem to matter how big Holden makes their windscreens, the visibility is still crap - once I have almost run into a car, which was completely obscured by my blind spot, and once have I almost hit a child, which ran behind my car - I'd rather both not happen again; and as functional as the dash is, it can get pretty dark in shopping centre carparks and such; it would be nice if you could turn just the dash lights on and not the headlights, but ho hum. Digressing from that, this car is a very good choice for a first car, runaround, family car - the whole enchilada.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 14th February, 2010