20th Aug 2006, 21:17

I am the originator of the write-up.

Unfortunately the knocking noise from the rear end has returned and is getting worse. To be fair the car is quite old now with high mileage (nearly two years old and 25,000 km).

I have ordered a Subaru Forester as a replacement as I don't need a car this big (or another Holden...)

23rd Aug 2006, 05:08

Good Luck with the Forester, you made a good choice, my Grandparents just purchased a 2006 Forester X, excellent car. It should last a while too, my 1982 Subaru 1800 is still strong and causes no trouble at nearly 375,000km.

25th Aug 2006, 19:13

To the writer of the review. You don't need to excuse the shoddy build of these cars by pointing out that it is now 2 years old and has 25k's. This is neither old nor high mileage. These sorts of problems on any car this young are disgraceful. Mind you, I do own a 13 year old Mazda 626 with nearly 250k's and it is only now starting to show minor signs of wear and tear. I had a VT for a few months as a company vehicle in 2002 and it was horrid. As the other replier pointed out, you will no doubt find your Subaru to be in a completely different league to anything Holden could hope to throw together.

31st Aug 2006, 19:48

It always amazes me the amount of people who continue to buy Holden Commodores so many times even with the terrible build quality.

I have worked with at Toyota and Honda Service centres alongside mechanics who have come from Holden service centres, they never seem to have anything nice to say about working on Holdens or the quality of the components.

31st Aug 2006, 21:32

To the writer of the comment of 25 August:

You are quite right, I consider that a vehicle that is 2 years old having traveled 25000 km as almost brand new.

I was just making a tongue-in-cheek comment about the lowest quality of build that I have ever seen in a car. The locks are playing up too now, the rear-end knocking noise is increasing in level, and the earlier fault with the rear seat belt is back.

Regards,

(Writer of the review)

3rd Dec 2006, 03:08

I currently own a 5 year old VX commodore with 100 thousand kilometres on the clock and I can honestly say I have never had a problem with it, or any previous commodore's I have owned. I understand that people have had bad experience's with Commodore's, the same as with any other car (a friend of mine owns a Subaru which is just problem after problem), but I don't think that bad experience's should turn you off Commodore's forever, the new VE's seem to have great build quality... but I guess time will tell.

26th Dec 2006, 06:45

To the writer of the last post. Unfortunately it usually only takes one bad experience to change someone's mind about a product and put them off for good. I have had a very bad experience with a new Statesman a couple of years ago, and wouldn't buy another Holden again. We just put aside all the emotion of owning a Holden, and remember they are a very big company and we work hard for our money. We are giving them our money in exchange for their product; we should not tolerate poor products and service. And that goes for Ford, Toyota, Mitsubishi or whoever. By saying things like Commodores rule and go easy on poor old Holden, doesn't help us get better products.

5th Apr 2007, 21:17

A member of my family has had 4 Commodores in a row on hire-purchase leases and all I can say is that overall the Commodore's have been excellent cars.

The VP 1993 Series II Executive had no trouble in the 3 years of ownership from new, however, every one you see now has faded paint and the bumpers are sagging.

The 1997 VS Series II Executive owned for 3 years had no major problems even doing 185,000Km. Had no issues with the known flawed power steering pump or head gasket issues.

The 2000 VT Series II S (dual fuel) owned for 6 years had only little issues in the first three years. The exhaust valve seals came loose and exhaust was coming out from under the car and fuel injector issues (due to gas). The fourth year saw the engine backfiring and cracking the air box (LPG related again). The only other parts replaced were the electric antenna, seat back pocket clip (due to too much weight two melways). The car had done 215,000km by the time it was sold.

The 2004 VZ (yes they exist), (no side airbag sticker on the b-pillar). This car has had no real issues, the suspension is too stiff and the Alloytec 190 is very whiny because of the chain drive. The interior door trims are patchy in areas, the VT was much better quality I feel.

Commodore's are good runabouts, but if you want high quality or durability go for a Honda or Toyota. I own a 1988 Honda Integra SX16, the paint is excellent, the interior is all intact, everything, but the A/C still works, even the automatic is still going and its done over 225,000Km.

8th Apr 2007, 17:36

All conects back to the driver being a negligent driver and a menace on the roads.

4th Dec 2007, 00:26

I have a 2004 VZ SV6 and have found the suspension very firm.

Can some one tell me the changes that were made from the Vy.

What changes can I make to soften the ride by sat 10% or so.

17th Jan 2008, 00:02

I bought a Holden certified lease vehicle - a Feb 2006 VZ with the newer engine in it (older engine design in 05 models apparently). I have had no issues with the car and love to drive it. Perhaps it's because it was made on a Wednesday (if there is any truth in the Monday/Friday car thing).

True, as a commodore executive, its not top of the line, but it has all I need in a basic sedan. I picked this one up with just over 40,000km and I nothing apart from servicing has been required at 120,000 (odd) km.

The Mitsubishi 380s have more get up and go (I drive a lot of hire cars) but the commodore leaves me less fatigued on long trips. I feel that it performs at least as well as a Ford SR6 and is miles more comfortable.

My previous car was a Commodore VP Series II 1993 model. I put 350,000km on that and replaced little more on the engine than a couple of timing chains and associated sprockets. It still got 10/100km on the highway when I traded it.

2nd Feb 2008, 00:42

We have just purchased a VZ Commodore and have removed the mobile telephone stand and attachments. We now have a message on the radio screen "voice in". We cannot remove by re-setting the radio and are worried that the battery will run flat. It is late Saturday afternoon and cannot contact anyone to assist. Any suggestions?

12th Aug 2008, 05:19

I currently have 2 Holden Commodores.

The first is my own. It is a 1999 VT Auto Sedan. It currently has 289,000 K's on it. This car has given me just a few minor issues - alternator went at 280,000 k's and a leaky hose from the fuel pump (this happened at 30,000 k's). The fuel pump was damaged during this, and I had to fight the dealers to replace it under warranty.

The second one is a Company Car. It is a 2007 VE Omega. Now this car has been a pain in the neck!

At just 15,000k's I was travelling from Sydney to Canberra on a cool night, and the car overheated. I will admit, I had not checked the coolant, but it had been serviced 5 days prior. After having to have the car towed back to Sydney, and been delayed for 4 weeks, they finally decided they could not find out what was wrong with it, and replaced the entire cooling system. During this time Holden did not even provide me with a hire car.

At 25,000ks, after stopping at a traffic light, the car would not go anywhere when I would go to start moving again. I would push the accelerator down further and further but the car remained stationary. All of a sudden the car would make a loud bang, and take off flying. I immediately went to the Holden Dealer, who had the car for about 5 minutes, and told me it was all fine. I went on my way.

A few days later it did it again, I went back and they kept it for a day. They dropped it off at my house that night (I thought that was nice) and they said they tightened this and that, and they it should be fine now.

It has done it several times since, but they tell me it is fine. If it wasn’t a company car, I would be more concerned.

Other things the VE does is - the steering wheel audio controls work then they feel like it. The screen above the radio that tells you the station, or cd track works about 70% of the time (just does not come on some times).

Does any one else have story’s about VE's?

Jay.