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

2000 Holden Berlina VX 3.8 V6 petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Comfort and power, all you need

Faults:

Center consol is badly scratched (poor paint work)

Thermostat for climate control broke before I owned it.

General Comments:

Over all a very comfortable car. Having only owned it for a month I am very delighted with what it has going for it.

I have been doing my research for a while looking for the right car. The owner was fastidious making this car in almost original condition.

Handles and travels very nicely with a good measure of performance and luxury combined.

The 3.8L gives ample amount of power to take off with the car fully loaded or towing, but it is mainly toque so go bother trying to make a racer out of it.

Features such as climate control, CD player, alarm, remote central locking, ABS, traction control give this car a secure and comfort feel.

My only objection is that the total finish of the car isn't the greatest for a semi-luxury car. Cheap plastic and bad fitting parts sort of spoil this great machine.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st March, 2004