SUBJECT: HOLDEN CAPRICE, 2000 - given us five years of problems

• "I bought a new Commodore Caprice V8 in 2000 and I think the car could possibly be a lemon. (I remember sitting in the Sales Manager's office when he explained the warranty and thinking "with a three year 100,000 km warranty, surely that will iron out the problems" but if only I had paid for the extra 2 year warranty - because the car has given us five years of problems and I bet more to come in the future.) The frustrating thing is not knowing benchmarks for replacing major items (like rear main engine seal at 112,000 km)! The other thing is that I couldn't happily sell this car because a younger driver attracted to the V8 couldn't possibly afford the maintenance." P Fenton

SUBJECT: FORD FOCUS LX, 2005 - paint work and panel fit problems

• "After waiting 2 1/2 months for my new Ford Focus (Lx sedan in pure silver) I went to have a look at it before I taking delivery. l was shocked with the quality of the paint work and the panel fit. How do l start - this is my list of faults just on the body:
  1. RHS front door has a hair underneath the clear coating.
  2. RHS rear door has touch up paint at the bottom corner... can see brush marks and bubbles. Needs alignment to the wheel arch; a huge dag of plastic on the door handle ... (inside trim)
  3. All the protective strips on all the doors has scratches and there is no clear coating on them.
  4. LH rear door has touch up paint at the bottom.
  5. Rear bumper needs alignment around the wheel arches ... (looks like the fitment of my old XE Falcon, and l mean after many years) - there are crows feet in the paint work (around the size of a 50c piece.) two of them, one on the bumper itself and one on the rear strip.
  6. RH side mirror has scratches on the painted section.
  7. Boot needs alignment, nearly touching paint on one side.
  8. Front bonnet needs alignment. Sits high by about 5mm near the rear edges - has two large scratches. 2 inches long, deep enough to be through the clear.
  9. Windscreen has a deep scratch on the window. l would not even pass a roady with it.
  10. Front bumper - 6 inch scratch on the drivers side trim above the fog light; drivers side has scratches also. The front bumper between the number plate and the right hand strip has scratches like its been buffed with steel wool.
• And all this just from looking at it inside their showroom. I told them that l did not want the car in the showroom but they said that it is locked and safe ... yeah right! I thought the car would be in holding yards.. ??? Bear in mind now l am paying for insurance on the car and l have not even driven it, and its already registered.
• I don't know if any other people have had this problem, but after waiting so long (they said it can be picked up last week) I was very lucky that l did not take delivery yet. If people have had this problem, what did you do about it ... and what should l do about it ... (considering this is not an early release ... its an Oct build.)
• I hope that my problems with the car will be fixed. I have a car that has a 10 year old paint job and its got less scratches. I am going to talk to a guy that is responsible for fixing it (salesman gave me his name and number) so hopefully something can come out of it. It would be funny if they said that the scratches are not under warranty ...?" Victoria

SUBJECT: HOLDEN RODEO 3000 TD 4X4 - Never again! - water trap light - engine management light

• "Holden Rodeo Ute / Never again! - I own a 2 year old Rodeo 3000 TD 4x4. I keep telling myself I must just have bad luck but I have had enough. My first problem occurred at 5500 km's and I suppose it was bad luck. After filling with fuel at Warwick I only travelled a few Km's when a warning light came on. After looking at the book to see what this silly shaped light actually meant. I found it was a water trap light. I drained it straight away as the book said to do and sure enough I had picked up water in that fuel. I checked the trap a few k's further along the trip and only a trace of water from the tiny trap. About 200kms further and almost home another strange light appears. Turned out to be the Engine management Light. In the dark and in sight of home I kept driving and reported it to my Holden dealer in Glen Innes the next day. They were very busy I was told and was advised to keep driving it as normal until later in the week when they could fit it in for checking.
• There had been no sign of the water trap light coming one after the first time and even when I told the service people the story and questioned me driving it any further without a check I was told it would be okay.One day of short running around it stopped and would not restart. After a tow and a number of days I was told that the injector pump was wrecked. They had no new pump in Australia and didn't think anyone had the right equipment in Australia to repair it. I was advised a new pump was to be ordered from Japan ( 6 weeks) and that they would have to send the old pump back to see if it would be covered with warranty or not. I was advised that quite possibly because of the water I was at fault and would be billed for the entire job (about $6000 for the pump plus Labour). My argument of course was that I had followed the directions in the book and at the first chance possible contacted Holden and was advised to keep driving it. This is sold as a work vehicle and the size of the single fuel filter if the new injector pumps are so prone to damage is way to small!
• I was without my work Ute into the third week and after what seemed like hundreds of calls to costumer service they finally arranged the use of a Ute. Another problem! I was supposed to pick it up the next morning. At 4.45pm the afternoon before I got a call that I wouldn't be able to get the replacement Ute as it was out of rego and need some work to pass. It arrived a day later, an old Junker but better then none.
• It was about 4 weeks after breaking down that I got it back. I never received another contact back from costumer service and was still worried of the huge bill that may arrive any day. She went alright for about a month then management light came on again. My thoughts were of another pump or worse. Told to keep driving to wait for a spot in the workshop. After a day in the workshop I picked it up. We can't find any fault I was told. The computer says its some brake fault and I would just have to keep driving it and see if the warning light comes back on. When I returned home with the management light flashing once again I was annoyed. I thought of what they said and got my wife to check the brake lights; guess what no sign of any. These experts had spent all day tracking a fault that the computer told them about relating to the brake lights and didn't have the common sense to check the lights. I was again annoyed - another trip to the doctor and they found a faulty light sender. Went back in to pick it up and it wasn't fixed. Parts had to come from Melbourne; probably three days. Was told to use the Ute and bring it back on Friday for repair. I questioned what would happen if I had an accident and was told that was my risk. He showed me the clip in sender unit which he said only takes seconds to fit and I could see at least 5 new utes out the back. Some without trays so I demanded they grab one out of a new vehicle to make mine roadworthy. No way, it seems that they may have but because I purchased the Holden from another dealer they wouldn't think of it. Three trips to town and I had brake lights again.
• There have been other problems but I seem to be writing an essay so I will save them. Two year birthday and Rego check, Front tyres scrubbed out and have to fit two new tyres and get a wheel alignment! Just 23000 Km's almost all on bitumen. I am Annoyed again!! As soon as the lease is up it goes" A Lane

• "Holden Design Fault. - I purchased a Holden VS 5 litre ute new in 1998 . after about 130,000 K. I lost oil pressure and had a complete $3000 rebuild by Miller and Keady in Hobart. After another 30,000 exactly the same thing happened . I took it to Sunco Motor's in Marroochydore and they pulled the sump off and discovered that it was a blocked pickup and repaired if for a few hundred dollars. This recurring fault has since happened twice and despite regular 5000K oil changes nothing seems to be able to fix it, nor have I found anyone who can explain why. I'd love to hear from someone who has either had the same problem or can tell what is happening" C Jackson

• "I have a 2002 Audi A3 which I have owned from new. Basically its the worst car I have ever owned in terms of the number of problems I have
  experienced with it. These problems have occurred constantly since I bought it and each time have required a new trip to the dealership, on some occasions being left overnight. They have included:
• A rattle in the drivers door, turned out to be the side impact bar in the drivers side door that wasn't fitted properly!
  The drivers side electric window motor has been replaced 3 times.
  The passenger side electric motor has been replaced once on a separate occasion.
  The car has blown a lot of smoke and had a violent idle on start up on three different occasions and Audi have claimed each time I checked
  this with them, that they have checked the car and there are no abnormalities with it. This issue remains unresolved and i'm sure is lurking around waiting to return now that warranty has lapsed.
  A creeking noise in the dashboard when turning corners. Audi claimed that the dashboard had not been fitted correctly at manufacture and they resolved this issue, only to leave an electrical cable free behind the dashboard and this made a sliding noise every time the brakes were applied, as though the cable was sliding around at the back of the dash. This is now resolved. However, they tried to charge me for labour on this when finding the source of the noise, which was going to be over $200. I refused to pay, as the vehicle was still under warranty.
  The cars CD stacker is so temperamental that it has an error occur consistently every third or fourth CD that's played.
  Several parts have 'snapped off' in the interior. Including plastic mouldings near the sun visor as well as the centre consol ashtray, even though they have hardly ever been touched.
  The latest problem now is with the dashboard again. All the needles now go crazy on start up (and for around 10 minutes after) particularly while the car is cold (more so on cold mornings). All the gauges jump and the revs and speedo are unusable while this happens. The car is now out of warranty and Audi has quoted around $3000 for a replacement dashboard.
• Apart from this, I have found the service at Audi to be sub standard, considering their 'brand image'. This service is especially below the levels I received when I owned a Peugeot and used the 'Asquith and Johnstone' dealership, who were always excellent. Audi Sydney have been difficult to deal with (at best), and I do not trust their advice or diagnosis of any issue.
• To put all this into perspective, I have owned several different model Holden Commodore's, a Peugeot 306 (from new), a Mazda 323 Astina and a Honda Civic. None of which have ever had anywhere near the number of problems as this vehicle. I wouldn't say that I am particularly hard on cars either, I only travel around 15,000kms per year on average and they are regularly serviced. This is obviously quality German engineering at its best.
• I have advised everyone that I know not to buy an Audi. I know this has persuaded two prospective buyers (at least), and I will keep telling people about this. I am in the process of replacing the car, and I will never buy another Audi again." M Roles