Holden Viva

[simpletool]

Holden Viva, has anyone had any experience with these?

My girlfriend bought one new 3 years ago just when we started dating. It was too early then to tell her not to go Holden/GM/Daewoo.

1.8L, automatic, hatch. Note: Car has just come out of warranty

Anyway, the problems so far (apart from ticking engine noise, rattles and generally a poor driving experience):

1. Gearbox neutral sensor (caused gear change issues). Took 3 visits to 2 dealers to diagnose and fix.

2. ABS sensor light, about 10 times now. Been to dealer around 10 times, cleaned sensor 2 or 3 times, replaced sensor around 4 times, replaced driveshaft twice (all under warranty), still occurred again yesterday.

3. Loose and rattling rear roof spoiler (only just found the culprit last weekend, need to fix myself). Must have come undone at the occasional 80kmh Sydney speeds.

Now we take it in for a "major service" at 60,000km (although it has travelled only 49,000km) and it need a scheduled service that replaces the ancillaries belt and they check (and I presume replace) bearing and tensioner for the cam belt. Cost = $1050 !

But it doesn't end there. They call her and inform the car needs 2 x front strut mounts and bearings + 3 hours labour. Additional ~$700.

Anyway, I call up and say I can do the strut tops and bearings myself at home and just do the normal service. Material cost for strut tops and bearings:

Strut tops $115 each

Bearings $70each.

Total $370.

So obviously labour is $110 an hour, which I guess is pretty normal (but $180 at VW/Audi apparently)

Anyway, the car sucks and the GF is not happy with the entire Holden brand. Not sure why they get government money to dish up products that leave Australians feeling ripped off.

Feel free to comment/flame/agree/whatever.

Edited June 16, 2011 by simpletool

[BoyWhoCriedWolf]

Ive not had any experience with that particular model but I did have the misfortune of driving one of those Cruze things. Fkn aweful in so many areas.

[iamhe77]

Sounds all too familiar with Holden branded, Daewoo cars.

Not sure why they get government money to dish up products that leave Australians feeling ripped off.

To keep jobs in Australia... same as Ford.

[Sunkist]

Ive not had any experience with that particular model but I did have the misfortune of driving one of those Cruze things. Fkn aweful in so many areas.

my gf has one of the new cruze things.

she hates it. dont know why she has it.

her dad wants to trade it in for the new cruz with a turbo.

i said dont bother.

so now she's getting a 370z?

i dont get it lol

[BoyWhoCriedWolf]

370z. Hang on to that one, she's a keeper.

[Mohsen]

370z. Hang on to that one, she's a keeper.

+1111111111111111111111111111111

[cannabiscorpse]

My mrs best friend has had one for around 3 years now. I think its got 100-120k on the clock. I have driven it a few times, and besides barely fitting in the damn thing i can say it is f**king horrid to drive. I can however say that it seems to be quite bullet proof. It got its first couple of services and hasnt been touched since. I cant believe it still kicks tbh. She treats the thing so bad, its beyond a joke. I even noticed one day that all 4 of her tyres were shredded bald, to the point of radial. I came inside and told her she needed tyres, NEEDED them and couldnt believe it hadnt killed her. I ended up ringing her older brother who is my mate, and told him about so her f**king parents would put some new tyres on it. Btw this is her second viva, the first one got written off a month after she bought it lol. IMO the car is horrible to drive, but to still be running with someone like her that owns it, they are obviously pretty tough haha. (its a manual hatch model)

[mad082]

mates missus has one. had a few problems with it too.

Anyway, the car sucks and the GF is not happy with the entire Holden brand. Not sure why they get government money to dish up products that leave Australians feeling ripped off.

because they make cars here and to be honest, the cars the make here aren't too bad. the viva isn't one of them though. that said, i'm sure plenty of people have had bad experiences with japanese brands as well. you also have to remember that the holdens are generally cheaper than some of the other cars in the same category, so you gotta take that into consideration too. that doesn't justify shit going wrong, but it has to be taken into account when considering quality.

[SoFreshSoClean]

Worst car I ever drove. Gearshift sucks, felt like it fell over every time I went round a corner, engine buzzed and rattled.. What a Piece Of Shit.

[Sunkist]

370z. Hang on to that one, she's a keeper.

+1111111111111111111111111111111

lol her dad said.. " i might aswell put it in aarons name he'll be driving it the most " hahah

SCOORRRREE

[Mohsen]

Lol I tried to convince the ex to buy an s15 for a first car for that very reason.

Back on topic. Yeah it's a Holden it's farked

[Iron Chef]

The first mistake they made was calling it a Viva...

[Mohsen]

The first mistake they made was thinking it would be a good idea

fyp

[simpletool]

mates missus has one. had a few problems with it too.

because they make cars here and to be honest, the cars the make here aren't too bad. the viva isn't one of them though. that said, i'm sure plenty of people have had bad experiences with japanese brands as well. you also have to remember that the holdens are generally cheaper than some of the other cars in the same category, so you gotta take that into consideration too. that doesn't justify shit going wrong, but it has to be taken into account when considering quality.

I am taking those things nto consideration, and it's still appalling. Holdens are not significantly cheaper than competitors on product for product. Especially taking service costs into consideration, they are much more expensive. Got the car back to day and the service at 60,000km cost $1200, not $1050 as quoted.

Holden Viva

60,000km service (or 4 years)

replace ancillaries belt

replace timing belt

oil, plugs

fluids flush

check this, check that...bla bla bla

Total cost = $1200 !

I have never heard of a Japanese car requiring such an expensive service at only 60,000km.

Yes, I'm sure some people have problems with Japanese cars too, but not very many at all.

I might add that there was 1 other customer in for a service and he was pissed off too. Leaking windows and bluetooth that wasn't connecting (service rep said it was a known problem).

Anyway, obviously she has learnt her lesson so never to Holden again. And she will listen to me a bit better next time.

[simpletool]

Just a quick update. Girlfriend is on her way to work today and the engine check light comes on (car has done ~10km since service). Auto gearbox is changing gears very rough, no other problems. My bet is the mechanics forgot to put a sensor back on when they changed the belts, or broke something.

Back to Holden we go....again.

[beemae30]

God i hate new cars. My missus mother has an 09 calais. Caught fire with 80,000kms . This was just after she was telling me how i should have bought a new car not the skyline. Yeah.... New cars are awesome. Majority of people with new cars seem to hate them.

[StealthX]

Japanese cars > Australian cars.

Oooo, the bogans won't be happy with that remark!

I work at repco and while I see most of the people doing things the cheaper way, there is a holden and ford dealership across the road, Ohh the stories...

[Big Fella]

Just a quick update. Girlfriend is on her way to work today and the engine check light comes on (car has done ~10km since service). Auto gearbox is changing gears very rough, no other problems. My bet is the mechanics forgot to put a sensor back on when they changed the belts, or broke something.

Back to Holden we go....again.

They aren'r really any sensors on the front of the motor that would cause this, more likely that another part has failed (the trans selector module plays up on these things alot)

Hope you get it sorted. Time to sell it for the 2-3g that it's worth and buy a decent car??

[Big Fella]

Japanese cars > Australian cars.

Oooo, the bogans won't be happy with that remark!

I work at repco and while I see most of the people doing things the cheaper way, there is a holden and ford dealership across the road, Ohh the stories...

couldn't agree more. I work at a Holden dealer and also from home, work is dying off at the dealer but i'm getting alot more jobs thru my place.

And jap cars are waaaay better, I sold my VE SS manual sportwagon to buy the Stagea, and the stagea would destroy it in anything other than a straight line(even then it would be close)

[simpletool]

They aren'r really any sensors on the front of the motor that would cause this, more likely that another part has failed (the trans selector module plays up on these things alot)

Hope you get it sorted. Time to sell it for the 2-3g that it's worth and buy a decent car??

Turns out it was a sensor on the throttle body that wasn't connected properly. And obviously they said "it took use ages to work out what it was". Well well....would have been my first place to check, and don't they have scanners that report disconnected sensors ?

They did a throttle body clean during the 60,000km service (although I'd be 99% certain it wasn't even close to be required at 49,000km).