2005 Holden Viva from Australia and New Zealand
Summary:
Worse than a lemon
Faults:
Timing belt at 45000km.
A/C problem (not sure how many kms).
Throttle body at 68000km.
Coil pack, spark plug, head gasket, oil pump at 70000km.
Oil pump at 72000km.
A/C problem at 76000km.
General Comments:
This is the worst car built, courtesy of Daewoo, slap a Holden badge on the front and you have instant brand recognition - BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, it screams, I am a mighty Holden. Wrong. I have had the misfortune of owning a Holden Viva for 2 years and something has broken down, on average, every 4 months. Holden service keep saying it's wear and tear, and I keep challenging; at 70,000km, no self respecting car should need the front end of the engine replaced. 3 months out of my 6 year extended warranty (which you of course pay extra for) the problems started, and Holden couldn't care less; their reputation it seems, doesn't matter to them.
It started with a timing belt, then it was dust on the throttle body, then a spark plug, later the coil pack, something or other in the A/C, the coil pack again, and head gasket and oil pump and timing belt, then the oil pump again, and just most recently a sensor in the A/C. In between all these repairs, the engine light comes on, several times, we take it to Holden, and they say it was "a bad bit of fuel" or "an anomaly, we can't reproduce it" - that is, until something else major breaks down.
I'm now $6,500 into repairs in 2 years, and have reached the point where I am trading it in for $5,800 because I can't afford to keep fixing Holden's problem child. More importantly, I'll never EVER buy another Holden, and I'll make damn sure to dissuade anyone I hear being silly enough to consider it.
Shame on you Holden, shame on you.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 17th April, 2013
20th Apr 2013, 06:23
I agree, the Viva is a horrible vehicle. My ex had one that was purchased new in 2006 and sold privately in 2009 for $8K with only 25,000km on the clock. Although it was sold due to being surplus to requirements, it wasn't a pleasant car to drive. The auto transmission was one of the worst I've ever encountered. Slurry and sluggish gear changes. Poor paint quality. The top radiator hose kept blowing off and dumping the coolant. This once happened at traffic lights on busy Bowen Bridge Road in Brisbane and the car stalled in the process; took me ages to get it started again so I could pull out of traffic and call a tow truck.
I have a 2007 Focus that was used at the same time, and you couldn't compare the two; the Focus is far superior. I still have it and will keep it till the wheels fall off. The selling dealer told my ex during the purchase of the Viva that it was 'the Australian version of the Astra'. Hahahah, yeah right. Played on the fact my ex knew nothing about cars.