Holden Astra

[Franco Cozzo]

For like $13,000 she can get a brand new Getz.

[Stattic]

That'd be for a manual and probably no on road costs. Plus it's a Hyundai and they're all plasticky and horrible. I don't think she likes the
either

[Giant Cranium]

my mechanic love them.
brings in alot of dollars!
my ladie had a 01 and it was a heap of shiiiiiiiiiit.
it even stole the key in the barrel and cost her a tow and a $1000 for the repair.
it also had a broken aircon, cv's, power steer went and in the year she had it, it was on a tow truck 3 times.
she bought it 4 years old with 50000 on it and sold it a year on with 55000 on it.
dont buy one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
she ended up buying a yaris and had no problems.

[747jet]

not a good car at all i worked at holden for 10years. problems from engines to gearbox, ecu's, starter motors catching on fire and frying wireing looms. radiators cooler tanks spliting and auto trans oil mixing in to the cooling system fun job lol.and the list goes on and on. cars are a ****box i would stay away from them unless your got a heap of cash to burn lol. but at the end of the day its up to you good luck.

[dannyhilton]

Have you looked at an 04 Fiesta mate? A Mazda 323 is a solid purchase, but at $9,000 seems bloody expensive? Many 04 Fiesta models are close to the $8,000 mark, and being on my second one, I have absolutely nothing but praise for the car. A nice LX 5-Door hatch will sip the fuel, look the part, be reliable (well mine have been) and drive like a little ripper. Just a thought.

[Mr Hardware]

my mechanic love them.
brings in alot of dollars!

thats what my mechanic said too. thats how i know about the positively brain-dead engineering effort that resulted in an interference motor with a timing belt.

my brother was driving my parents camry when it snapped a timing belt at 170k, timing belt was replaced at 100k. 5sfe, so a clearance motor. just stopped, towed to mechanic, zero damage, new belt, back on road.

[irish2]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

thats what my mechanic said too. thats how i know about the positively brain-dead engineering effort that resulted in an interference motor with a timing belt.

my brother was driving my parents camry when it snapped a timing belt at 170k, timing belt was replaced at 100k. 5sfe, so a clearance motor. just stopped, towed to mechanic, zero damage, new belt, back on road.

I think you will find that all most all 4 cylinder vehicles have a timeing belt and generally will contact valves if they stop fully open when belt snaps. The days of non clearance motors are over. Every car runs 9:1 + compression ratios. This means the pistons come awfully close to the head. Open a valve half an inch into the combustion chamber and leave it there and you will see the results. Some times the belts will snap when valves are closed or close to it i.e. your parents camry. Other times aren't so lucky.

[Stattic]

04 fiestas are going that cheap? That'd be a damn good suggestion I think. I will get her to check some out and see what she thinks

[trippytaka]

As a motoring journo for the last decade I can say, without a doubt, that I am yet to drive a Holden Astra I would buy. I truly believe they are a popular because of the old "form over function" rule... meaning people want to buy them because they look good, even though they don't operate/function well.

1) Build quality is below par.
2) Steering/suspension is doughy and unresponsive.
3) Gearbox (both manual and auto) is about 6/10.
4) N/A motors lack torque.
5) Turbo motor is cool, but leads to excessive torque steer (see point 2).
6) Aesthetically, they are great and women love them.

I hope that's not too harsh. It's my honest opinion.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Stattic

That'd be for a manual and probably no on road costs. Plus it's a Hyundai and they're all plasticky and horrible. I don't think she likes the
either

I'm pretty sure its drive away, but for manual. They're going bloody cheap.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

I'm pretty sure its drive away, but for manual. They're going bloody cheap.

Also its a 5 door for a limited time, 12990 bargain!

[Windsor220]

The early/mid 2000s TS Astra are a bit bunky these days. Common problems with timing belts, fast wearing brakes, rear tyres get chopped out/noisy.
The later ones are not bad.

[dannyhilton]

Originally Posted by Stattic

04 fiestas are going that cheap? That'd be a damn good suggestion I think. I will get her to check some out and see what she thinks

Sorry mate I just read you were looking for an auto *doh* but even then they're about $10,000 and I'm sure with a bit of a haggle the prices will comes down. I can definitely recommend the WP/WQ Fiesta, mine had just under 100,000km and was still running like a little dream. Hope she likes them fella.

[Stoney!]

Yeah didn't think of that part, if she wants an auto then don't go near the astra, they are a very nice auto but proned to failure. The golf would be a much better avenue in that regard, my step dad is a mechanic (owns his own business) and said don't touch the focus with a 60ft pole, they get more problems than golf's astra's and mazda3's put together. He said they are nice for the first 30,000.... after than they are a mole of a thing and every customers car he works on can't wait to get rid of it.

Stoney!

[aussie muscle]

My sister has a current Astra and the previous model and loves them. She takes care of it and it returns the favour. She had a short stint in a Kia and quickly went back to Holden. She says if she can't get an astra for her next car, she'll get a commondore. (yes i'm trying to steer her to a Ford!)

[saber]

Originally Posted by Stattic

That'd be for a manual and probably no on road costs. Plus it's a Hyundai and they're all plasticky and horrible. I don't think she likes the
either

Hyundai have seriously lifted their game in the last decade. Gone are the days of the Sonata with random elec problems and the plastically Excels.
The i30 didn’t win awards for nothing.

[Stattic]

Even so an auto new Getz is above te price range if she was gonna pay that much she would get a nice mazda 3. Do others have similar problems with the focus? Might have to look harder fir a nice fiesta she told me she likes them

[blueoval]

Hey Cory, how did your sister go with her car choices?

To everyone else, My mrs is wanting to buy a 2005 AH CDXi Astra herself very soon, and wants to know if they are better than the TS models. What inherent problems could there be for this model?

Any help would be appreciated.