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Had an aunt with a brand-new Holden Cruze back in the day. After years of bi-monthly trips to the mechanic for the latest demonstration of "Holden Ingenuity" she finally wisened up and got a camry. Avoid like the plague. No wonder their ads had nothing better to say about the car than "the door thud is satisfying every time"
"Satisfying" to hear that sound because you can't believe you made it home and so happy to finally be able to get out of that shitbox in one piece (physically, not mentally).
These things were actually designed an built by Daewoo initially and then the platform was farmed out to the rest of the world by GM. Kevvy 07 then convinced Holden to start building them in Adelaide with some funding. And they wonder why the did terrible in the sales market.
Oh The Irony !!!! one of their many faults is door hinge issues !!! LOL!!!!! , well the pedigree of these things is Daewoo after all , so should we be surprised even ?, probably not !
How oh how did the Craptiva not make the top of this list? True story - I kid you not - I had one of these following me down the hill yesterday...I looked in the mirror and saw a lovingly polished red Craptiva and thought - you poor bastard. Pulled up at the lights next to me. He goes straight ahead, I am turning right and out of the corner of my eye see black plumes of smoke that the special effects team from Oppenheimer would have been proud of. Shiny Crapriva convulses across the intersection.....in a smoke screen...hazard lights come on and it lurches to the side of the road. So wish I had it on dashcam! The empty box trailer it was towing must have been too much for it.
I’ve had One die from a blown coolant line in front of me One catch fire after a head on outside my house One lost a tie rod end a block away after hitting a roo One towed away while held together with tape from my neighbour And that was just the last 12 months. Either the CrapTiva is a proper lemon or my house is the Bermuda Triangle of holdens
I had to look at a Craptiva diesel for a mate of mine - it had just stopped while they were driving. Looked like the water pump was slowly seizing, and it got so hot the idler pulley for the timing belt was melting. Then it seized completely and dumped all the coolant. The early diesel engines had bad bearings in the roller rockers. The bearings (needle rollers) would break apart, sending fragments of metal through the motor.
@@corty79 My brother had a diesel - cant remember what year. Randomly lost power - went back to Holden 4 times and couldnt diagnose. After it lost power in a 100kmh zone on a freeway he traded it. Known a few people with them - every single one had issues.
How every Peugeot ever made has avoided this list I'll never know. The best thing that ever happened to my old 308 was it meeting a (far superior) Pajero in a head on.
I remember my dad looking at a new Holden Cruze. Even in the sales yard I could see plastics fading on the rear vision mirrors, poor fitment and our test car had a misfire under acceleration. Dad was inexplicably still keen but I finally talked him into Camry…phew
@ian2183 oh my god My co worker who claims to be a car freak told me his brother bought a "cruze" in gOoD condition for 13k and its such an AmAzinG car. It was one of those moments i wanted to call him an idiot but just kept my mouth shut
having own a BMW 550i touring I totally agree, after 11 years and 133’000 km (not miles) both the BMW dealership and an independent repair shop agreed that the damage to the motor was not worth the expense of repair. Thank you for you work and Best Regards from Switzerland. to be fair when I purchased it my commute to work was on foot (15 min) - then I moved to the suburb which meant my commute became 15 minutes with the car. V8 are not made for 15 minutes commute, particularly so in winter (even though I would not accelerate hard during a commute too short for the motor to really warm up in winter)
Damn that's insane. I had a Mazda 6 that had 325,000kms and was still running smoothly despite not even trying to take care of it. Crazy how cars can differ so wildly. I would gladly scoop up a Mazda with such mileage
@@MarvoloSalazarpetrol Mazda engines are bulletproof, especially in the post Ford era. They’re reliable like Toyotas minus the dull interior and sloppy handling. My Mazda3 has many more km to go, not even at 100k km
We have a 520d with over 200K klms 2.0 diesel and hassle free. Its brilliant. If you find one that has been immaculately kept, you should be ok - maintenance with e60's is king
I owned a 2002 PT Cruiser with a manual transmission! When it got up 200,000 miles it became a money pit! But the biggest dislike is the front suspension! It would Chew up tires at an alarming rate! I rebuilt the front end and lazer alignment and still! Why I kept it for 9 yrs? It was the most useful 4 cyl car I ever owned! Roomy, comfortable and versatile.
One of the more positive takeaways I get when watching your videos, is that being a mechanic is not going to be a profession that ceases to exist just because of the greater prevalence of electric vehicles in the future. There are so many potential points of failure other than just the driveline. Someone or something is going to have to rectify these, it’s just going to be another skill set.
Funny really when cars from about '85 to 2005 were so good. My Picasso did 13 years on the original battery. Just changed a Captur battery at 3 years, and that's considered correct!
I would absolutely love to see a cost of ownership video. I appreciate it’s not always the cheapest cars or the most fuel efficient cars that make low cost of ownership. Although I also appreciate that this would be a harder research project. From a kiwis perspective, your videos are outstanding. Thank you!
Absolutely agree on E60. I have a 2006 530i with 150,000 kilometer and face lots of problem like head gasket, gearbox, cylinder leakage. Even the dealership suggest not to repair the engine problem because it not worth it. So I swap a new engine in it. And this is the reason that less people drive old BMW in Taiwan.
On my 3rd Astra now with 70,000km, still have the 2nd one and it is close to 200,000km. Traded the 1st one in at 250,000km. Never had any issues. Far less than mates with Golfs.
Had a 2009 model HSV Ute, purchased second hand from Holden in 2011 with 25,000km. Battery problems, electrical problems, car would stall when placing foot on accelerator indiscriminately. Made turning right a nightmare if any oncoming traffic were within visual range! Holden couldn't fix the problem and the battery kept going flat despite 2 replacements. In the end I asked the dealer-principle if he would be satisfied. Also 2 panels on the left side started to bulge for no reason. For the "elite" engineering arm of Holden this vehicle was woefully assembled and even their "best" mechanics couldn't troubleshoot. Fortunately Holden did a deal in buying back the car for very close to the purchase price after the consumer authorities became involved.
Bought a Fiat 500 new in 2009. It’s gone 90k kms and has been very reliable. Only engine mounts and a cracked coolant reservoir have needed replacing. Sure it’s getting a few rattles here and there but it’s a hoot to drive. And it’s a 6 speed manual!
The 2008 and 2009 Fiestas that were built in Germany had a conventional torque converter auto and were pretty sweet. It wasn’t until they shifted production to Thailand and added the DCT Auto that it turned into custard. Diesel LW Focus’ that were European built had the Wet Clutch DCT and performed a lot better than it’s Petrol Dry Clutch DCTs - which too were Thai built.
Astra H and Focus MK2.5 don't seem like a bad choice here in the UK providing you go for 1.6 petrol manual. Focus MK2 starts getting eaten by rust, and the H is just boring and slow, but you can pick good examples for 2k GBP that will serve well as budget cars. However, they won't eat another 50-60k miles with ease , that's just too much for them.
Biggest heap of absolute shit was my second hand Leyland Marina bought as a first car in the early eighties instead of an LJ Torana..Regretted it for years till I Ioffloaded it to another fool.
I own a later model, Australian built Holden Cruze. It has the rare 1.6L turbo and it's a really fun car. It's done nearly 200,000 km and still going strong. I have every service done on time by my local Holden service centre and for the most part, it's been pretty reliable. I have had to fix a couple of minor issues but that's not to be unexpected with the high km. Considering how cheap it was to buy, it's still cost me a LOT less than a comparable car. That being said, I wouldn't touch any of the earlier models or any of the other engine variants.
GM Spark. Work had fleet of these from new, they spent lot time in workshop. Eventually management got wise and upgraded to used ex lease Yaris. NB fleet is now Vitara an Yaris which are slowly being replaced with Aqua.
Good list, I'm frequently warning people away from all of these cars, especially the Mk 3 Focus, Cruze and Astra. Common traps for first car/budget-conscious buyers. This seems like a great time to ask, I'd love to see a review of the "pre-Powershit" Mk 2 Ford Focus (2005-2011). I've known a few people who owned them and besides the South African ones not being *quite* as well screwed together (interior trim pieces mostly), they seemed like quite good reliable cars and are a pretty convincing alternative to the Toyota Corolla/Mazda 3/Hyundai i30, especially since you can pick them up for cheap ever since the Powershift in the later ones torpedoed the Focus' reputation in general.
The European MK2s are excellent. Incredibly well put together. Better than the more recent ones. However in Australia the MK2s were imported from Thailand (except the performance versions) and have the same issues as you describe the South African ones as having.
@@person.X. True. My ex-girlfriend had a South African built one and despite a few questionable trim pieces it was a mechanically reliable, great handling little car. I was fairly impressed with it.
I was quite amazed about the Astra. I live in Bulgaria and here they used them for police cars. These cars refused to die! :D Maybe they where built differently idk but they have a reputation for being unbreakable here in my country :D
Same here, we run a variety of XC Volvo's, Toyota's and Astra's and they've all been bulletproof. Saying that none of the Astra's have gone near a dealership which might have something to do with it!? One was still working perfectly up to 330k miles / 530k km's! I wonder if they've been made in different factories and that played a part?
@@scottwilliam6141 are you not at school today? Australia has the hottest extended region year-round, the areas with the hottest summer climate, and the highest sunshine duration. Although Africa is the hottest continent, vast areas of Australia are uninhabitable due to the dryness and heat. I can tell you now that it is certainly not mild between September and April every year
The Holden Astra(or the Opel Astra in my country) is regarded as a really reliable and cheap car. The generation from 1999-2004ish was used as police cars because of this and many taxi drivers used them as well. We had a 1999 model in my family for 14 years and we never had a issue, apart from the fact that the engine needs a bit more oil, the car is going strong with more than 400 000 kilometres on it. 2 of my relatives bought the 2014 model and also does not have any issue. And this is not an isolated case, everybody says the same about those cars - really reliable and easy to maintain
ive had a Holden Cruze 2012 1.4L Turbo manual since new, its done around 160000 kms and its been very good. No major issues, i do get it seviced by the local mechanic yearly. i havent had any engine issues apart from replacing the rocket cover. the internal trim is good, just the usual wear and tear. It still drives the same as new, very fuel efficient, and very quick, its got alot of power when you need it. i do have the orange light come on, i just ignore it, and no issues. i think alot comes down to having a honest mechanic that doesnt rip you off.
Facts. I got 2010 Chevy Cruze 1.6 in the UK and absolutely love it. Comfortable reliable and fun. Not best quality materials, especially inside everything is hard plastic but hey, it’s not Mercedes. 7/10
I must be one of the few AH Astra owners who never had any significant issues. Has an Astra SRI turbo for 10 years that had no electronic gremlins, the interior trim held up, and just general wear and tear. Its demise however was at about 165,000kms were some engine oil leaks that would have required the whole engine be dropped out to fix them, and it was time to get a bigger car.
My wife has 2003 Astra Turbo Convertible, purchased new. It has 270,000km on the clock and now it seems needs a new radiator. Twenty years of motoring trouble free.
Haha, this is timely. I have just been looking at BMW 5 series from the era you just talked about on an auction site and now I'm going to stay away. Thanks ReDriven.
Not on Grays is it? nothing but horror stories from there. In-fact they should do an episode on car ownership from car auctions, I'm sure theres plenty of material.
@@kristoffer3000 I did some research and the only 5 series I would consider is the 3.0 naturally aspirated model. No diesel and no turbo or 4 cylinder, and even then, post 2006 models only. But I didn't realise they were so poorly built in other ways too, like mentioned in this video.
@@mrnicktoyou That's funny because the M57 is one of the best engines BMW has ever made, it's virtually indestructible. And they're not poorly built, they're built like tanks. They do however have issues due to poor electronics in places and being built cheaper than previous 5's. They're still not what I'd call a bad car, as long as you avoid the troublesome engines.
We had a 2012 Focus with the Powershit(TM) transmission and we are still part of the current class action lawsuit as we lost big on resale/trade-in when we were finally sick of taking it back to Ford every few weeks for what they deemed "TCM calibrations" and "clutch re-alignments", some of which would see us without the car for a week or 2 at a time. Meanwhile, a mate who worked in the service dept was telling us what was really happening. Whole transmissions being swapped out, clutch packs that had exploded being traded for slightly less used clutch packs, control modules being tossed left, right and centre. Never own another Ford, ever.
I bought an automatic 2011 Ford Focus LW Sport from my mechanic. They told me that they originally had issues with the transmission but Ford fixed it under a goodwill warranty... it has one of the smoothest transmissions I've ever driven. I can't recommend the Focus to others because of the widespread issues but I'm glad that I somehow managed to hit the jackpot and get a sweet little car.
I owned a 2010 Fiesta Econetic diesel manual for eleven years and 122,000km. Very reliable and dependable vehicle. Biggest issue was needing to replace the brake rotors every 50000km or so. Ended up going aftermarket for those.
I had 2011 Fiesta Diesel Sedan - one of my best cars. Oddly, I didn't have any brake issues - rotors fine and pads only ½ worn when I sold with 70,000km. One of the few cars I've owned which bettered the l/100 sticker.
I had a 2004 Astra, and it was honestly pretty good. Extremely solid build quality. I did have an alternator go, and by the time I sold it, there was an ECU issue that caused a rough idle. Otherwise it was super-reliable and generally good. It did win small car of the year when new, which people forget.
@@ianbrown4242 Mate, in the late 90's through to 2010 I worked in the sales dept of ACP and Pacific Magazines, and in the Aust. marketing dept of one of the large Japanese manufacturers. It's an open secret in the industry - and no sane person would have reason to believe anything's changed since either.
Cars to avoid: Anything with a DCT or CVT. Anything French, American or Italian. Diesels if you do low mileage. Anything European if you live in Australia. Think that just about covers it. Oh, if you’re short of cash… buy a Toyota 😁
I don't know if I'd say *anything* American. There are some good American cars out there that are a decent used value, such as any of the cars on the Panther platform. Crown Vics/Mercury Grand Marquis are tanks that typically run for half a million miles, but yeah, the list of consistently reliable American cars is pretty small.
@@Kryptic1046 I think what he/she is saying is that outside of North America, American cars aren't the best for reliability. Also, American cars generally are not as reliable as they used to be in the 90's and early 2000's.
@@damilolaakanni The problem with Hyundai / Kias is their transmissions. The engines are good - have had two transmission failures in my wife’s last two cars, both owned from new, both had terminal transmission failures between 100,000 and 120,000kms. The first one we traded in with the broken transmission thinking it was just bad luck, the second we decided to replace the transmission and then keep the car until it dies. There won’t be a third one (or if there is, it’ll probably be a Kia with 7 year warranty and trade it in around the 6 year mark).
Re the Fiesta, (WL which actually came out in 2009 as that's when I got mine) I had a manual 3dr 1.6 petrol which I had no problems in in 2 years and 16000kms, and then gave to my brother who put on another 130,000kms with no issues at all. But my friend at work had one with a powershift DCT and she had no end of issues and the transmission was replaced about 5 times. My older brother had a 2010 Focus Sport (manual, 2.0 NA petrol) and again, no issues with that car in his 9 years of ownership. He even bought it back after it was written off due to hail damage. It's a shame so many cars are just worthless because of their crap transmissions.
Yes seems unfair for ReDriven to say do not buy any Fiesta VI/VII or Focus III just because of the PowerShit DCT. What percent of this gen fiesta were sold as automatic? Buy a manual, live a little ;)
Interesting. I had a 2013 Opel Astra GTC Sport that I did almost 200,000km in. Did have a couple of issues in that time but they were sorted out quickly without too much expense.
I remember when my mum had a 2006 Kia Grand Carnival (since new), we were driving down the road when it suddenly limited itself to 10 km/h. This car was still under warranty and had less than 40,000 kms. Later in life, it had an oil leak, and the oil cap wouldn't come off, so we couldn't refil it. Other than that, problem free until she sold it in 2020, with 80,000 kms. The cloth seats were amazing, imo.
I bought a 08 Fiat 500 a few years back I had the following parts fixed: 2 x front shocks $2000 1 x wheel bearing $500 1x thermostats housing $850 1x CV Shaft $350 1x outer tie rod end $500 3 or 4 other small things. Cost me $5k in repairs in 12 months paid $6k for sold it for $5.8k a year later. Great fun car but it had a lot to fix up.
I gave up on looking for a second hand car, either it's on your list of bad cars, the rest is to expensive or high mileage, took my savings and bought a beautiful BMW R1200GS in mint condition, all recalls have been done by the previous owner and service history up to date, plus I had cash left to go on a weekend adventure
Buying used BMW in eastern Europe is a major red flag. Doesn't matter which model, mostly all of them will be poorly maintained and driven by "cool" guys in the "right" way. BMW's have really nice designs, but people who buy them ( especially used ) are the ones who ruined brand image for me personally...
Ill throw the controversial ones in. N70 Hilux and 79 cruisers. Have their own share of issues, but being outclassed by cheaper utes/trucks and for sometimes literally half the price is reason enough to steer clear of the stupid things
Got the 2012 focus in manual - not too bad luckily, main annoyance is the AC leak that cost $600 to repair. Otherwise all good….it does rattle like a bloody tin can at times though
Agree on all of these! SUV's must feature the whole stable of JLR's. Not sure how you choose just one! Jeeps. The Craptiva. The French SUV'S. Oh man. How do you choose only 5?!
Quite suprised about Opel Astra making the list. I've been driving Astra IV since 2013 and it's been great for 180k kilometers i've driven so far (i'm from Poland). So far I only had regular maintenance changes like break pads, oil and filters, did the timing gear after 130k and spark plugs recently. The only problem is that the breaks are queaking on low speeds when breaking but it's soon time to change the brake discs. Also when you turn off the A/C for some reason the trunk window heating turns ON and you can't turn it off lol. I'm very pleased with the car to be honest so far. Also i've maintained it always on time so maybe that helped too.
Worst car I ever owned was a 1986 Toyota Corona. It looked nice (in it's day), but was a horrible, unreliable and slow piece of crap. Had random fuel starvation issues, the carby had to be replaced after it was found the base was warped. The bolt holding 5th gear in the gearbox broke off which cracked the housing and it dumped all the oil. The paint was so thin I couldn't polish the car at all, and It had the worst brake fade of any car I've ever driven.
Owned a Kia Carnival for five years because we had 4 kids at home. Never gave us a problem, and was entirely reliable. Drove it north (1500kms) annually - no prob. Only sold it when the kids started to leave home...
I had a Mk4 Astra that did 200,000Km before it blew up, not bad for the abuse that my wife gave it, but it was oil changed at 6km through its life and used good quality service items. A mate had one that did 250,000km before it caught fire - magic car until it melted. Neither was what you would call good to drive or ride in, or even want to go anywhere in, unless you had to. Cheers, Doug
I have a 2013 Ford Focus Sport, bought from new. Other than the air conditioner, I've never had any issues with it and it's always been reliable. I specifically bought a manual version of it, because of the known issues with the auto. Before that, I had a 2003 Astra, which again, other than the air conditioner I never had any issues with it. They were / are, always well maintained, which is key.
Man it's so strange how perception of cars changes based on your location. In Europe Astra G (the model that you presented as being the worst) was known for being pretty much bulletproof, and my father can attest to that. He bought a cheap Astra for like 2k euros back in 2012 and he still has it now, and he has not been too kind to it, he used it mostly to carry stuff (as it was the estate version). It never left him stranded ever, it has some issues but they were easy and cheap to fix and my father was very pleased with it. He now has a newer car, but he still uses the old girl as a workhorse. The only issue is rust, but I can't blame a 20 yo car for rusting...
Euro sourced cars tend to poor longevity in Australia, harsher conditions perhaps, more miles travelled? I don't know why, but generally they don't do well.
@@jeeves6490 it's possible, but we live in Romania, today it's 40 degrees Celsius, and in the winter we usually get down to -25, so the climate isn't that nice here either
@@dragosi8980 The 40° isn't a regular thing for you guys is it? At least in the past I mean. Not looking forward to the summer coming shortly. And I love the heat.
@@jeeves6490 it is pretty regular, but it's not like it's every day in the summer. Every day in the summer we have 30+, and for a few weeks we have 35+. 40 is usually just a few days in the year, but this year we have had it already for a week
One of my coworkers had a Fiat 500 Abarth, and I don't remember the nature of the problem, but 5 months after he bought it the car it had a mechanical failure that required service at the dealership. The dealership wound up holding onto his car for 1 YEAR both trying to get the parts to fix it, and then repairing the problem. It took so long for them to get the car fixed, that 4 months after taking his Fiat, they wound up signing over the loaner they gave him when he initially dropped it off (a Ram 1500) at a discounted rate that he said was roughly half of what the 500 cost. When it was finally repaired, the dealership contacted him asking if he wanted the Abarth back at a generous discount, but he declined.
A Italian-Japanese auto alliance where the Italians style the cars and the Japanese build them would be world-beating. Like having an Italian architect and Japanese engineering and construction company build something gorgeous and robust!
Nissan and Alfa Romeo tried something similar in the 80's...however, Nissan did the styling and Alfa Romeo did pretty much everything else. The result was disastrous.
I had a Cruze, it was FUCT. It had a total failure, wouldn't start four floors down in an underground car part and needed to be pulled to the surface by a NRMA service car, then loaded on a table top towie. Apparently CPU failure. Gearbox (manual) was changed under warranty, a year later, frequent overheating leaving me stranded when I had to pickup the kids from childcare, absolute crap. It was a SRI V 1.4lT.
Visited family in Melbourne a few months ago and I noticed a Holden Cruze sitting outside the house and I immediately thought “Cars probably dead the poor person who owns it doesn’t know how sh*t they are ” only to go inside the house and find out my niece bought the car last year and it’s been sitting dead outside the house ever since because it’s been to the mechanic 6 times… 😂😂😂
Years ago I learned to drive in a Holden Cruze which my family purchased. It made it to 3000km before a complete transmission meltdown occurred which triggered a full refund. My parents never looked back and bought a Toyota instead.
My partner owns a 2006 BMW 530d. I don't think it was mentioned in this video, as far as I know the engine had been fine and its really nice to drive. There are however a few smaller problems, like the windscreen wiper getting very noisy and headlights yellowing pretty badly.
Surprisingly GM has changed a lot recently, well at least for North America. GM brands (Chevrolet) ranked 5th right after Kia in JD Power 2023 reliability survey...
The 3.0 L supercharged V6 in the top of the line A6 is a great engine. I've had four different iterations from the first 2011 A6 to now the S4... never had any problems.
The last Astra was much better than the old ones. Especially from 2018. The only major issues you can have is the pcv valve stupidly built into the rocker cover which make it an expensive repair. Some trims age quickly, but overall it is a quite good car with a bad reputation due to previous models. Some ofvthe catastrophic engine failure happened due to the wrong oil used for services, which is why some of them were recalled
The Astra remains to be the only car I've ever felt unsafe in while driving. It felt mechanically dangerous, like it was about to fall apart from every joint and seam and leave me skidding along the pavement.
My grandma owns a 2018 astra turbo and before 30k km from new it's had multiple issues, I truly hate that car, but like a lot of elderly people, she bought the car to stay true to the "Holden" brand
I bought a Craptiva as it only had 120ks on the clock. The dash layout, review mirror size, so many things ticked my boxes so i thought, how bad can it be? Huh, famous last words!! The dealer had even wound the clock back 🤦♀️
We had a 2008 Carnival for 9 years without major issues. So good for our four kids, but bloody thirsty. Traded it in on a diesel carnival at the end of 2017 which just died due to diesel contamination 😢
I have a 2009 e60 with n52 engine (I dont live in australia), and mechanically, it’s been very robust. But electronically, it’s been a nightmare. The headlights, tail lights, control modules, even the “intelligent” battery sensor have all had issues. I agree potential buyers should steer clear of the e60 5 series.
As a Fiat 500 owner, I gotta say my current Fiat 500 (2019 lounge model) is amazing! 5 years and 50,000 km, no issue so far (touch wood..) However, I owned another fiat 500 before and it had gearbox issues. that was a 2013 Fiat 500s 40,000km. The gearbox would occasionally malfunction and pop back to neutral while I was driving!!! It was incredibly dangerous to drive and fixing it would cost more than 5k. I guess it all depends on your luck then if you wanna own one!
Our fiesta went in for 7 clutch repairs and one ecm module replacement in the dct. Then just after we sold it, it wouldnt start at random intervals. You’d let it sit for half hr then it would start. Ford had it for a week and came back and said we don’t know what’s wrong with it. I’d never buy another ford after that.
wife owned a Ford Ecosport, it was the first and last time I purchased a Ford, same issues with the Dual clutch transmission. The car spent more time at the dealership service dept than on the road, had the same responses from Service dept saying it was my wife's driving style. After a year we traded it in for a Mazda and haven't had any issues since. I would nowadays buy a Japanese or South Korean ( not Chinese ) car, and forget European and American Manufactured.
Yeah I have a Cruze as a run around car. It has oil leaks, the wheel speed sensor has a kink in it throwing error codes, the transmission is slipping....so yeah, great car.
I have one of those A6s with that exact same engine. Transmission issues are super rare (ZF8-speed is bulletproof), but everything else is pretty spot on. I LOOOOVE the car though. It has recently broken pretty substantially. Biggest one so far and it's maintenance items the community told me I'd have to do, around CAD$5K. Only had tiny things break the last 11 years on it, 9 years it was tuned. I've tuned it (450-500 hp depending on octane) + TCU tune, Bilstein suspension, and exterior mods, including new animated badass tail lights. I'm legit having trouble picking any other car. I have been looking for 4 days and my budget is decently high, but not crazy. I can't find anything that I really want more than my C7 A6.. this has never happened to me before.
Personally believe Astra in Australia was more let down by expensive parts and servicing leading to owners slacking on maintenance. Have owned all 3 TS Astra engine variants (1.8, 2.2, 2.0T) and all 3 were trouble free with regular maintenance. The SRi Turbo still being one of my all time favourite cars, and have owned more than 30 cars in my time. P.S. love the channel, keep up the good work!
True, i had a holden barina 2014, blew the gaskit at 60k, got new engine in blew up again 20ks later. I still have nightmares from that car. Never buy a holden ever.
I 100% disagree with you on the Audi C7. I live In the United States and purchased mines at used at 90,000 miles. I drove it up till nearly 150,000 miles and didn’t have any of the problems you mentioned and it was awarded number 1 engine of the year for 3 consecutive years. I had over two years of ownership and drove it hard and frequently. I can’t speak for the diesel as mines was the supercharged V6 but I did not have the problems you mentioned. It’s a solid car.
2012 A6 Avant, 3.0 Diesel with 250k kms on the clock. The only bigger issue was related to the S-tronic gearbox, where the mechatronic unit needed new connectors as the original ones rotted out due to moisture. The engine is in good condition and haven't had problems with DPF, EGR or injectors, but I do use it like a diesel should with long drives and I also use additives in the tank every 3000km. Few other gremlins electronically, like faulty GPS location from time to time, but nothing really major.
Hi Guys, very insightful feedback, much appreciated. I’m on the market for a luxury car 2014 onwards, is the Audi A6 Bi-Turbo and BMW 535d also lemons? Any thoughts on the following: - +2014 Lexus IS300H FSport or luxury - +2015 Mercedes C300h 2.1 diesel hybrid
Always always choose the lexus. Even if nothing goes wrong, routine maintenance and consumables are much friendlier on the wallet on the lexus. You can take it to your local shop and they will charge you the same as the equivalent toyota model.
Driving bmw 530d from 2009 for over a year now and over 40k kms and havent had any problem. Car now have around 410000kms on odometar and drives perfect. 520d have problems with timming chain but 530d is great.
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The writing in this video, particularly when describing the "shitbox" nature of these cars, is an outstanding 10/10.
Thanks so much mate! - AK
Ive found the level of humour in these videos is no joke.
@@mr.z541I see what you did there. XD ReDriven - just there to agree with my fellow men of culture here. Top notch writing, great job.
Worst SUVs? Land Rover Discovery will probably end up on that list.
Had an aunt with a brand-new Holden Cruze back in the day. After years of bi-monthly trips to the mechanic for the latest demonstration of "Holden Ingenuity" she finally wisened up and got a camry. Avoid like the plague. No wonder their ads had nothing better to say about the car than "the door thud is satisfying every time"
"Satisfying" to hear that sound because you can't believe you made it home and so happy to finally be able to get out of that shitbox in one piece (physically, not mentally).
These things were actually designed an built by Daewoo initially and then the platform was farmed out to the rest of the world by GM. Kevvy 07 then convinced Holden to start building them in Adelaide with some funding. And they wonder why the did terrible in the sales market.
Oh The Irony !!!! one of their many faults is door hinge issues !!! LOL!!!!! , well the pedigree of these things is Daewoo after all , so should we be surprised even ?, probably not !
How oh how did the Craptiva not make the top of this list? True story - I kid you not - I had one of these following me down the hill yesterday...I looked in the mirror and saw a lovingly polished red Craptiva and thought - you poor bastard. Pulled up at the lights next to me. He goes straight ahead, I am turning right and out of the corner of my eye see black plumes of smoke that the special effects team from Oppenheimer would have been proud of. Shiny Crapriva convulses across the intersection.....in a smoke screen...hazard lights come on and it lurches to the side of the road. So wish I had it on dashcam! The empty box trailer it was towing must have been too much for it.
This one focuses on regular cars. Next week is SUVs
@@ReDriven Craptiva and anything with a landrover badge - my commision is low for idea starters!
I’ve had
One die from a blown coolant line in front of me
One catch fire after a head on outside my house
One lost a tie rod end a block away after hitting a roo
One towed away while held together with tape from my neighbour
And that was just the last 12 months.
Either the CrapTiva is a proper lemon or my house is the Bermuda Triangle of holdens
I had to look at a Craptiva diesel for a mate of mine - it had just stopped while they were driving. Looked like the water pump was slowly seizing, and it got so hot the idler pulley for the timing belt was melting. Then it seized completely and dumped all the coolant.
The early diesel engines had bad bearings in the roller rockers. The bearings (needle rollers) would break apart, sending fragments of metal through the motor.
@@corty79 My brother had a diesel - cant remember what year. Randomly lost power - went back to Holden 4 times and couldnt diagnose. After it lost power in a 100kmh zone on a freeway he traded it. Known a few people with them - every single one had issues.
How every Peugeot ever made has avoided this list I'll never know. The best thing that ever happened to my old 308 was it meeting a (far superior) Pajero in a head on.
Peugeots were decent cars until the 2000's, at least. After the 406 and 307 they became 💩.
I remember my dad looking at a new Holden Cruze. Even in the sales yard I could see plastics fading on the rear vision mirrors, poor fitment and our test car had a misfire under acceleration. Dad was inexplicably still keen but I finally talked him into Camry…phew
Well done ! , crisis averted ! :)
as a cruze owner, DON'T BUY A CRUZE
my coolant reservoir literally burst at the seams 2 days ago, coolant everywhere 💀
Literally have a friend with a cruze with exactly the same problem as you :D Btw it bursted on the autobahn LOL :D
@ian2183 oh my god
My co worker who claims to be a car freak told me his brother bought a "cruze" in gOoD condition for 13k and its such an AmAzinG car.
It was one of those moments i wanted to call him an idiot but just kept my mouth shut
Had a mate ask about cars to buy, told him to avoid the Cruze … goes out and buys a Cruze 🤦♂️
Ironically the Volt which is based on the Cruze is remarkably reliable. Doubly so because it was the first production phev
I was planning on buying a 2016 Cruze for my first car being the last generation did they fix it or should I stay away?
having own a BMW 550i touring I totally agree, after 11 years and 133’000 km (not miles) both the BMW dealership and an independent repair shop agreed that the damage to the motor was not worth the expense of repair. Thank you for you work and Best Regards from Switzerland.
to be fair when I purchased it my commute to work was on foot (15 min) - then I moved to the suburb which meant my commute became 15 minutes with the car. V8 are not made for 15 minutes commute, particularly so in winter (even though I would not accelerate hard during a commute too short for the motor to really warm up in winter)
Damn that's insane. I had a Mazda 6 that had 325,000kms and was still running smoothly despite not even trying to take care of it. Crazy how cars can differ so wildly. I would gladly scoop up a Mazda with such mileage
Shame, such a nice car to drive
@@MarvoloSalazarpetrol Mazda engines are bulletproof, especially in the post Ford era. They’re reliable like Toyotas minus the dull interior and sloppy handling. My Mazda3 has many more km to go, not even at 100k km
We have a 520d with over 200K klms 2.0 diesel and hassle free. Its brilliant. If you find one that has been immaculately kept, you should be ok - maintenance with e60's is king
Such a shame they cheapened the engine components in the V8s. Damn those accountants.
As a mechanic i can say Holdens and jeeps bring in great income for me.
I've thankfully never personally owned one myself, but i don't believe it's a true worst car list without a PT Cruiser
Agreed same here, but the Cruze/Craptiva has to be number one !!!! surely !!!!!!!!
I owned a 2002 PT Cruiser with a manual transmission! When it got up 200,000 miles it became a money pit! But the biggest dislike is the front suspension! It would Chew up tires at an alarming rate! I rebuilt the front end and lazer alignment and still! Why I kept it for 9 yrs? It was the most useful 4 cyl car I ever owned! Roomy, comfortable and versatile.
One of the more positive takeaways I get when watching your videos, is that being a mechanic is not going to be a profession that ceases to exist just because of the greater prevalence of electric vehicles in the future. There are so many potential points of failure other than just the driveline. Someone or something is going to have to rectify these, it’s just going to be another skill set.
Funny really when cars from about '85 to 2005 were so good. My Picasso did 13 years on the original battery. Just changed a Captur battery at 3 years, and that's considered correct!
I would absolutely love to see a cost of ownership video. I appreciate it’s not always the cheapest cars or the most fuel efficient cars that make low cost of ownership. Although I also appreciate that this would be a harder research project. From a kiwis perspective, your videos are outstanding. Thank you!
Absolutely agree on E60. I have a 2006 530i with 150,000 kilometer and face lots of problem like head gasket, gearbox, cylinder leakage. Even the dealership suggest not to repair the engine problem because it not worth it. So I swap a new engine in it. And this is the reason that less people drive old BMW in Taiwan.
Indeed....😮
Buy one with a m54 not a n53
Having been a previous owner of a Captiva I feel like part 2 is going to be quite cathartic for me.
You mean a craptiva
Mate I was expecting the captiva to show up here
It's not called the Craptiva for nothing.
First gen Mazda cx5 diesel. Oil rise issues. Google it, first lemon we ever bought,5 oil changes under warranty with under 3000 kms.
On my 3rd Astra now with 70,000km, still have the 2nd one and it is close to 200,000km. Traded the 1st one in at 250,000km. Never had any issues. Far less than mates with Golfs.
Lol you poor bastard
@@jarrod1687 indeed - more than half a million trouble free kilometers done. Very poor.
Had a 2009 model HSV Ute, purchased second hand from Holden in 2011 with 25,000km.
Battery problems, electrical problems, car would stall when placing foot on accelerator indiscriminately.
Made turning right a nightmare if any oncoming traffic were within visual range!
Holden couldn't fix the problem and the battery kept going flat despite 2 replacements.
In the end I asked the dealer-principle if he would be satisfied.
Also 2 panels on the left side started to bulge for no reason.
For the "elite" engineering arm of Holden this vehicle was woefully assembled and even their "best" mechanics couldn't troubleshoot.
Fortunately Holden did a deal in buying back the car for very close to the purchase price after the consumer authorities became involved.
I’m hoping to see a Series 1 Feeelander in the next episode.
Bought a Fiat 500 new in 2009. It’s gone 90k kms and has been very reliable. Only engine mounts and a cracked coolant reservoir have needed replacing. Sure it’s getting a few rattles here and there but it’s a hoot to drive. And it’s a 6 speed manual!
The 2008 and 2009 Fiestas that were built in Germany had a conventional torque converter auto and were pretty sweet. It wasn’t until they shifted production to Thailand and added the DCT Auto that it turned into custard.
Diesel LW Focus’ that were European built had the Wet Clutch DCT and performed a lot better than it’s Petrol Dry Clutch DCTs - which too were Thai built.
I know several ppl with auto fiestas that shat the bed in the auto
@@sugarnads you gotta treat them as manuals. that and they constantly slip the clutch when you creep so terrible in slow moving traffic
Astra H and Focus MK2.5 don't seem like a bad choice here in the UK providing you go for 1.6 petrol manual. Focus MK2 starts getting eaten by rust, and the H is just boring and slow, but you can pick good examples for 2k GBP that will serve well as budget cars. However, they won't eat another 50-60k miles with ease , that's just too much for them.
Biggest heap of absolute shit was my second hand Leyland Marina bought as a first car in the early eighties instead of an LJ Torana..Regretted it for years till I Ioffloaded it to another fool.
I own a later model, Australian built Holden Cruze. It has the rare 1.6L turbo and it's a really fun car. It's done nearly 200,000 km and still going strong. I have every service done on time by my local Holden service centre and for the most part, it's been pretty reliable. I have had to fix a couple of minor issues but that's not to be unexpected with the high km. Considering how cheap it was to buy, it's still cost me a LOT less than a comparable car. That being said, I wouldn't touch any of the earlier models or any of the other engine variants.
GM Spark. Work had fleet of these from new, they spent lot time in workshop. Eventually management got wise and upgraded to used ex lease Yaris. NB fleet is now Vitara an Yaris which are slowly being replaced with Aqua.
Good list, I'm frequently warning people away from all of these cars, especially the Mk 3 Focus, Cruze and Astra. Common traps for first car/budget-conscious buyers.
This seems like a great time to ask, I'd love to see a review of the "pre-Powershit" Mk 2 Ford Focus (2005-2011). I've known a few people who owned them and besides the South African ones not being *quite* as well screwed together (interior trim pieces mostly), they seemed like quite good reliable cars and are a pretty convincing alternative to the Toyota Corolla/Mazda 3/Hyundai i30, especially since you can pick them up for cheap ever since the Powershift in the later ones torpedoed the Focus' reputation in general.
Sucks about that ruining focus. We had a mk3 diesel and it was by far a better car than the 05 corolla it replaced and the 20 i30 that replaced it.
The European MK2s are excellent. Incredibly well put together. Better than the more recent ones. However in Australia the MK2s were imported from Thailand (except the performance versions) and have the same issues as you describe the South African ones as having.
@@person.X. True. My ex-girlfriend had a South African built one and despite a few questionable trim pieces it was a mechanically reliable, great handling little car. I was fairly impressed with it.
ive got a mk3 powershift sitting at 200,000kms and it's running smoothly original unit.
I had an Astra and out of warranty parts were astronomically high.
I was quite amazed about the Astra.
I live in Bulgaria and here they used them for police cars.
These cars refused to die! :D
Maybe they where built differently idk but they have a reputation for being unbreakable here in my country :D
It is the Australian heat that kills them, along with the Vectra. The Spanish built Corsa however was surprisingly reliable
Same here, we run a variety of XC Volvo's, Toyota's and Astra's and they've all been bulletproof. Saying that none of the Astra's have gone near a dealership which might have something to do with it!? One was still working perfectly up to 330k miles / 530k km's! I wonder if they've been made in different factories and that played a part?
@@user-vk4vd7vr5tThe Australian heat? LOL. The conditions for 90% of Australians is quite mild.
You realise it gets hot in other countries?
@@scottwilliam6141 are you not at school today? Australia has the hottest extended region year-round, the areas with the hottest summer climate, and the highest sunshine duration. Although Africa is the hottest continent, vast areas of Australia are uninhabitable due to the dryness and heat. I can tell you now that it is certainly not mild between September and April every year
@@user-vk4vd7vr5t Ha ha hilarious.
The Holden Astra(or the Opel Astra in my country) is regarded as a really reliable and cheap car. The generation from 1999-2004ish was used as police cars because of this and many taxi drivers used them as well. We had a 1999 model in my family for 14 years and we never had a issue, apart from the fact that the engine needs a bit more oil, the car is going strong with more than 400 000 kilometres on it. 2 of my relatives bought the 2014 model and also does not have any issue. And this is not an isolated case, everybody says the same about those cars - really reliable and easy to maintain
ive had a Holden Cruze 2012 1.4L Turbo manual since new, its done around 160000 kms and its been very good. No major issues, i do get it seviced by the local mechanic yearly. i havent had any engine issues apart from replacing the rocket cover. the internal trim is good, just the usual wear and tear. It still drives the same as new, very fuel efficient, and very quick, its got alot of power when you need it. i do have the orange light come on, i just ignore it, and no issues. i think alot comes down to having a honest mechanic that doesnt rip you off.
Facts. I got 2010 Chevy Cruze 1.6 in the UK and absolutely love it. Comfortable reliable and fun. Not best quality materials, especially inside everything is hard plastic but hey, it’s not Mercedes. 7/10
I must be one of the few AH Astra owners who never had any significant issues.
Has an Astra SRI turbo for 10 years that had no electronic gremlins, the interior trim held up, and just general wear and tear.
Its demise however was at about 165,000kms were some engine oil leaks that would have required the whole engine be dropped out to fix them, and it was time to get a bigger car.
My wife has 2003 Astra Turbo Convertible, purchased new. It has 270,000km on the clock and now it seems needs a new radiator.
Twenty years of motoring trouble free.
Haha, this is timely. I have just been looking at BMW 5 series from the era you just talked about on an auction site and now I'm going to stay away. Thanks ReDriven.
Not on Grays is it? nothing but horror stories from there. In-fact they should do an episode on car ownership from car auctions, I'm sure theres plenty of material.
@@danmurphy5889 it was on Grays actually. I'm on there every night lately. So tempting.
They can be great but you have to pick your car carefully, find a well maintained 530d, preferably facelift.
@@kristoffer3000 I did some research and the only 5 series I would consider is the 3.0 naturally aspirated model. No diesel and no turbo or 4 cylinder, and even then, post 2006 models only. But I didn't realise they were so poorly built in other ways too, like mentioned in this video.
@@mrnicktoyou That's funny because the M57 is one of the best engines BMW has ever made, it's virtually indestructible.
And they're not poorly built, they're built like tanks.
They do however have issues due to poor electronics in places and being built cheaper than previous 5's.
They're still not what I'd call a bad car, as long as you avoid the troublesome engines.
We had a 2012 Focus with the Powershit(TM) transmission and we are still part of the current class action lawsuit as we lost big on resale/trade-in when we were finally sick of taking it back to Ford every few weeks for what they deemed "TCM calibrations" and "clutch re-alignments", some of which would see us without the car for a week or 2 at a time. Meanwhile, a mate who worked in the service dept was telling us what was really happening. Whole transmissions being swapped out, clutch packs that had exploded being traded for slightly less used clutch packs, control modules being tossed left, right and centre. Never own another Ford, ever.
I am glad you started with the E60.
I had a 535. Such a nice car to drive. What a shit box to own.
So happy when mine drove away after selling.
I bought an automatic 2011 Ford Focus LW Sport from my mechanic. They told me that they originally had issues with the transmission but Ford fixed it under a goodwill warranty... it has one of the smoothest transmissions I've ever driven. I can't recommend the Focus to others because of the widespread issues but I'm glad that I somehow managed to hit the jackpot and get a sweet little car.
I owned a 2010 Fiesta Econetic diesel manual for eleven years and 122,000km. Very reliable and dependable vehicle. Biggest issue was needing to replace the brake rotors every 50000km or so. Ended up going aftermarket for those.
I had 2011 Fiesta Diesel Sedan - one of my best cars. Oddly, I didn't have any brake issues - rotors fine and pads only ½ worn when I sold with 70,000km. One of the few cars I've owned which bettered the l/100 sticker.
I had a 2004 Astra, and it was honestly pretty good. Extremely solid build quality. I did have an alternator go, and by the time I sold it, there was an ECU issue that caused a rough idle. Otherwise it was super-reliable and generally good. It did win small car of the year when new, which people forget.
You think those awards are genuine?? Ha, Car Of The Year simply goes to the highest bidder.
@@jvvoid ...and you base this on...?
I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'd like to know exactly what proved this as a fact to you.
@@ianbrown4242 Mate, in the late 90's through to 2010 I worked in the sales dept of ACP and Pacific Magazines, and in the Aust. marketing dept of one of the large Japanese manufacturers. It's an open secret in the industry - and no sane person would have reason to believe anything's changed since either.
@@jvvoid Agreed. You would have to be pretty naive to suppose that Australian motor mags were anything other than advertising rags.
Cars to avoid:
Anything with a DCT or CVT.
Anything French, American or Italian.
Diesels if you do low mileage.
Anything European if you live in Australia.
Think that just about covers it.
Oh, if you’re short of cash… buy a Toyota 😁
Funny thing is, Toyotas with more than 100k kms, 10+ years old retain their value so much that they still sell for about €10k+ in Ireland
To add to that, Hyundai and Kia models with either the 2.4 4 cylinder or 3.3 V6 engines.
I don't know if I'd say *anything* American. There are some good American cars out there that are a decent used value, such as any of the cars on the Panther platform. Crown Vics/Mercury Grand Marquis are tanks that typically run for half a million miles, but yeah, the list of consistently reliable American cars is pretty small.
@@Kryptic1046 I think what he/she is saying is that outside of North America, American cars aren't the best for reliability. Also, American cars generally are not as reliable as they used to be in the 90's and early 2000's.
@@damilolaakanni The problem with Hyundai / Kias is their transmissions. The engines are good - have had two transmission failures in my wife’s last two cars, both owned from new, both had terminal transmission failures between 100,000 and 120,000kms. The first one we traded in with the broken transmission thinking it was just bad luck, the second we decided to replace the transmission and then keep the car until it dies. There won’t be a third one (or if there is, it’ll probably be a Kia with 7 year warranty and trade it in around the 6 year mark).
Re the Fiesta, (WL which actually came out in 2009 as that's when I got mine) I had a manual 3dr 1.6 petrol which I had no problems in in 2 years and 16000kms, and then gave to my brother who put on another 130,000kms with no issues at all. But my friend at work had one with a powershift DCT and she had no end of issues and the transmission was replaced about 5 times. My older brother had a 2010 Focus Sport (manual, 2.0 NA petrol) and again, no issues with that car in his 9 years of ownership. He even bought it back after it was written off due to hail damage. It's a shame so many cars are just worthless because of their crap transmissions.
Yes seems unfair for ReDriven to say do not buy any Fiesta VI/VII or Focus III just because of the PowerShit DCT. What percent of this gen fiesta were sold as automatic? Buy a manual, live a little ;)
Interesting. I had a 2013 Opel Astra GTC Sport that I did almost 200,000km in. Did have a couple of issues in that time but they were sorted out quickly without too much expense.
I remember when my mum had a 2006 Kia Grand Carnival (since new), we were driving down the road when it suddenly limited itself to 10 km/h. This car was still under warranty and had less than 40,000 kms. Later in life, it had an oil leak, and the oil cap wouldn't come off, so we couldn't refil it. Other than that, problem free until she sold it in 2020, with 80,000 kms. The cloth seats were amazing, imo.
I bought a 08 Fiat 500 a few years back I had the following parts fixed:
2 x front shocks $2000
1 x wheel bearing $500
1x thermostats housing $850
1x CV Shaft $350
1x outer tie rod end $500
3 or 4 other small things.
Cost me $5k in repairs in 12 months paid $6k for sold it for $5.8k a year later.
Great fun car but it had a lot to fix up.
MG3 wouldnt buy one second hand with no warranty
The photo of an engine at 1:35 is either m52 or m54 engine, that are one of most reliable BMW engines ever!!!
I gave up on looking for a second hand car, either it's on your list of bad cars, the rest is to expensive or high mileage, took my savings and bought a beautiful BMW R1200GS in mint condition, all recalls have been done by the previous owner and service history up to date, plus I had cash left to go on a weekend adventure
Good for you, cars are just for taking shit places.
Although, it's a BMW, it still means Bring More Wallet......
Buying used BMW in eastern Europe is a major red flag. Doesn't matter which model, mostly all of them will be poorly maintained and driven by "cool" guys in the "right" way.
BMW's have really nice designs, but people who buy them ( especially used ) are the ones who ruined brand image for me personally...
I think the Fiesta and Focus duo are perfectly fine with the manual transmission.
Ill throw the controversial ones in. N70 Hilux and 79 cruisers.
Have their own share of issues, but being outclassed by cheaper utes/trucks and for sometimes literally half the price is reason enough to steer clear of the stupid things
Go read Consumer's Report. The bottom car was a Fiat 500. However, look at the next lowest in reliability. The Jeep and the Escalade!
Got the 2012 focus in manual - not too bad luckily, main annoyance is the AC leak that cost $600 to repair. Otherwise all good….it does rattle like a bloody tin can at times though
Agree on all of these! SUV's must feature the whole stable of JLR's. Not sure how you choose just one! Jeeps. The Craptiva. The French SUV'S. Oh man. How do you choose only 5?!
Quite suprised about Opel Astra making the list.
I've been driving Astra IV since 2013 and it's been great for 180k kilometers i've driven so far (i'm from Poland).
So far I only had regular maintenance changes like break pads, oil and filters, did the timing gear after 130k and spark plugs recently.
The only problem is that the breaks are queaking on low speeds when breaking but it's soon time to change the brake discs. Also when you turn off the A/C for some reason the trunk window heating turns ON and you can't turn it off lol.
I'm very pleased with the car to be honest so far. Also i've maintained it always on time so maybe that helped too.
Worst car I ever owned was a 1986 Toyota Corona. It looked nice (in it's day), but was a horrible, unreliable and slow piece of crap. Had random fuel starvation issues, the carby had to be replaced after it was found the base was warped. The bolt holding 5th gear in the gearbox broke off which cracked the housing and it dumped all the oil. The paint was so thin I couldn't polish the car at all, and It had the worst brake fade of any car I've ever driven.
with the 2.4 EFI?
@danmurphy5889 no, mine had the 2SC 2 litre motor. My sister had a wagon with the 2.4 motor. Heaps more power but had constant electrical issues.
Owned a Kia Carnival for five years because we had 4 kids at home. Never gave us a problem, and was entirely reliable. Drove it north (1500kms) annually - no prob. Only sold it when the kids started to leave home...
What year was it?
@@traceycrawford9938 2001
I feel that the answer to any question is:
"Anything Japanese except Nissan + Hyundai".
I had a Mk4 Astra that did 200,000Km before it blew up, not bad for the abuse that my wife gave it, but it was oil changed at 6km through its life and used good quality service items. A mate had one that did 250,000km before it caught fire - magic car until it melted. Neither was what you would call good to drive or ride in, or even want to go anywhere in, unless you had to.
Cheers, Doug
I have a 2013 Ford Focus Sport, bought from new. Other than the air conditioner, I've never had any issues with it and it's always been reliable.
I specifically bought a manual version of it, because of the known issues with the auto.
Before that, I had a 2003 Astra, which again, other than the air conditioner I never had any issues with it.
They were / are, always well maintained, which is key.
These videos give me anxiety even when I know I will never own any of these terrible vehicles. Thank you Redriven
Man it's so strange how perception of cars changes based on your location. In Europe Astra G (the model that you presented as being the worst) was known for being pretty much bulletproof, and my father can attest to that. He bought a cheap Astra for like 2k euros back in 2012 and he still has it now, and he has not been too kind to it, he used it mostly to carry stuff (as it was the estate version). It never left him stranded ever, it has some issues but they were easy and cheap to fix and my father was very pleased with it. He now has a newer car, but he still uses the old girl as a workhorse. The only issue is rust, but I can't blame a 20 yo car for rusting...
Euro sourced cars tend to poor longevity in Australia, harsher conditions perhaps, more miles travelled?
I don't know why, but generally they don't do well.
@@jeeves6490 it's possible, but we live in Romania, today it's 40 degrees Celsius, and in the winter we usually get down to -25, so the climate isn't that nice here either
@@dragosi8980 The 40° isn't a regular thing for you guys is it?
At least in the past I mean.
Not looking forward to the summer coming shortly.
And I love the heat.
@@jeeves6490 it is pretty regular, but it's not like it's every day in the summer. Every day in the summer we have 30+, and for a few weeks we have 35+. 40 is usually just a few days in the year, but this year we have had it already for a week
One of my coworkers had a Fiat 500 Abarth, and I don't remember the nature of the problem, but 5 months after he bought it the car it had a mechanical failure that required service at the dealership.
The dealership wound up holding onto his car for 1 YEAR both trying to get the parts to fix it, and then repairing the problem.
It took so long for them to get the car fixed, that 4 months after taking his Fiat, they wound up signing over the loaner they gave him when he initially dropped it off (a Ram 1500) at a discounted rate that he said was roughly half of what the 500 cost.
When it was finally repaired, the dealership contacted him asking if he wanted the Abarth back at a generous discount, but he declined.
A Italian-Japanese auto alliance where the Italians style the cars and the Japanese build them would be world-beating. Like having an Italian architect and Japanese engineering and construction company build something gorgeous and robust!
Nissan and Alfa Romeo tried something similar in the 80's...however, Nissan did the styling and Alfa Romeo did pretty much everything else. The result was disastrous.
FIAT 124 Spider.
Nissan Cherry/Alfasud hybrid, the Arna or Cherry Europe.
Suzuki baleno
I would say lexus can pass as a European style with toyota mechanics
I had a Cruze, it was FUCT.
It had a total failure, wouldn't start four floors down in an underground car part and needed to be pulled to the surface by a NRMA service car, then loaded on a table top towie. Apparently CPU failure.
Gearbox (manual) was changed under warranty, a year later, frequent overheating leaving me stranded when I had to pickup the kids from childcare, absolute crap. It was a SRI V 1.4lT.
2009 - 2011 Volkswagen Golf MK6 118TSI. (CAVD)
DSG issues, broken pistons, timing chain tensioners
Remember when Holden tried to sell Opel Astra in Australia as a Premium European brand.....
What about the Leyland P76? is that okay?
Astra wasn't all bad, the TS series has a great power steering pump
Visited family in Melbourne a few months ago and I noticed a Holden Cruze sitting outside the house and I immediately thought “Cars probably dead the poor person who owns it doesn’t know how sh*t they are ” only to go inside the house and find out my niece bought the car last year and it’s been sitting dead outside the house ever since because it’s been to the mechanic 6 times… 😂😂😂
Years ago I learned to drive in a Holden Cruze which my family purchased. It made it to 3000km before a complete transmission meltdown occurred which triggered a full refund. My parents never looked back and bought a Toyota instead.
Ahh the Holden Curze.
Cruise by name Curzed by nature.
In the same league as the Craptiva
Worked for a company with two early Kia Carnivals. After a couple of years I think only one electronic window remained in working order
My partner owns a 2006 BMW 530d. I don't think it was mentioned in this video, as far as I know the engine had been fine and its really nice to drive. There are however a few smaller problems, like the windscreen wiper getting very noisy and headlights yellowing pretty badly.
The M57 is a fantastic engine, very very few problems with those.
Surprisingly GM has changed a lot recently, well at least for North America. GM brands (Chevrolet) ranked 5th right after Kia in JD Power 2023 reliability survey...
GM no longer sell any Right Hand Drive cars anywhere. So we don't see them down under (nor do the Brits, Indians, South Africans, Japanese or Thais).
The 3.0 L supercharged V6 in the top of the line A6 is a great engine. I've had four different iterations from the first 2011 A6 to now the S4... never had any problems.
I've got an rsv astra 2020 and I haven't had a single issue yet
The last Astra was much better than the old ones. Especially from 2018. The only major issues you can have is the pcv valve stupidly built into the rocker cover which make it an expensive repair. Some trims age quickly, but overall it is a quite good car with a bad reputation due to previous models. Some ofvthe catastrophic engine failure happened due to the wrong oil used for services, which is why some of them were recalled
The Astra remains to be the only car I've ever felt unsafe in while driving. It felt mechanically dangerous, like it was about to fall apart from every joint and seam and leave me skidding along the pavement.
My grandma owns a 2018 astra turbo and before 30k km from new it's had multiple issues, I truly hate that car, but like a lot of elderly people, she bought the car to stay true to the "Holden" brand
I bought a Craptiva as it only had 120ks on the clock. The dash layout, review mirror size, so many things ticked my boxes so i thought, how bad can it be? Huh, famous last words!! The dealer had even wound the clock back 🤦♀️
Top stuff mate!
I did an oil change on an Abarth 595 or 695. It only had a couple thousand kms (if that), and it already had slight play in the strut mounts.
We had a 2008 Carnival for 9 years without major issues. So good for our four kids, but bloody thirsty. Traded it in on a diesel carnival at the end of 2017 which just died due to diesel contamination 😢
I have a 2009 e60 with n52 engine (I dont live in australia), and mechanically, it’s been very robust. But electronically, it’s been a nightmare. The headlights, tail lights, control modules, even the “intelligent” battery sensor have all had issues. I agree potential buyers should steer clear of the e60 5 series.
As a Fiat 500 owner, I gotta say my current Fiat 500 (2019 lounge model) is amazing! 5 years and 50,000 km, no issue so far (touch wood..) However, I owned another fiat 500 before and it had gearbox issues. that was a 2013 Fiat 500s 40,000km. The gearbox would occasionally malfunction and pop back to neutral while I was driving!!! It was incredibly dangerous to drive and fixing it would cost more than 5k. I guess it all depends on your luck then if you wanna own one!
Our fiesta went in for 7 clutch repairs and one ecm module replacement in the dct. Then just after we sold it, it wouldnt start at random intervals. You’d let it sit for half hr then it would start. Ford had it for a week and came back and said we don’t know what’s wrong with it.
I’d never buy another ford after that.
Definitely for the SUV add the Jeep Come pus MK. Quite a few w Jeeps on my “walking is preferable” list. This one is at the top
you missed the Holden Viva and Epica
Agree from limited experience Epica is cheap and nasty
wife owned a Ford Ecosport, it was the first and last time I purchased a Ford, same issues with the Dual clutch transmission. The car spent more time at the dealership service dept than on the road, had the same responses from Service dept saying it was my wife's driving style. After a year we traded it in for a Mazda and haven't had any issues since. I would nowadays buy a Japanese or South Korean ( not Chinese ) car, and forget European and American Manufactured.
My Cruze that I got new had 3 engines replaced under warranty in 3 years. That was enough I got rid of it. Worse car ever!
Yeah I have a Cruze as a run around car. It has oil leaks, the wheel speed sensor has a kink in it throwing error codes, the transmission is slipping....so yeah, great car.
I have one of those A6s with that exact same engine. Transmission issues are super rare (ZF8-speed is bulletproof), but everything else is pretty spot on.
I LOOOOVE the car though. It has recently broken pretty substantially. Biggest one so far and it's maintenance items the community told me I'd have to do, around CAD$5K. Only had tiny things break the last 11 years on it, 9 years it was tuned.
I've tuned it (450-500 hp depending on octane) + TCU tune, Bilstein suspension, and exterior mods, including new animated badass tail lights.
I'm legit having trouble picking any other car. I have been looking for 4 days and my budget is decently high, but not crazy. I can't find anything that I really want more than my C7 A6.. this has never happened to me before.
We had 2 500’s and no issues whatsoever. 1.2 manual and 900T manual.
Wife had that model focus, we had 4 transmissions replaced under warranty, sold the car as soon as the warranty ran out
You guys do the research and tell it like it is. Love it. Have you ever seen "The Dog and Lemon Guide"?? It speaks the same language.
'Avoid like the plague' is how D&L would describe these.
Personally believe Astra in Australia was more let down by expensive parts and servicing leading to owners slacking on maintenance.
Have owned all 3 TS Astra engine variants (1.8, 2.2, 2.0T) and all 3 were trouble free with regular maintenance. The SRi Turbo still being one of my all time favourite cars, and have owned more than 30 cars in my time.
P.S. love the channel, keep up the good work!
True, i had a holden barina 2014, blew the gaskit at 60k, got new engine in blew up again 20ks later. I still have nightmares from that car. Never buy a holden ever.
I 100% disagree with you on the Audi C7. I live In the United States and purchased mines at used at 90,000 miles. I drove it up till nearly 150,000 miles and didn’t have any of the problems you mentioned and it was awarded number 1 engine of the year for 3 consecutive years. I had over two years of ownership and drove it hard and frequently. I can’t speak for the diesel as mines was the supercharged V6 but I did not have the problems you mentioned. It’s a solid car.
2012 A6 Avant, 3.0 Diesel with 250k kms on the clock. The only bigger issue was related to the S-tronic gearbox, where the mechatronic unit needed new connectors as the original ones rotted out due to moisture. The engine is in good condition and haven't had problems with DPF, EGR or injectors, but I do use it like a diesel should with long drives and I also use additives in the tank every 3000km. Few other gremlins electronically, like faulty GPS location from time to time, but nothing really major.
It’s true the first Cruise (work car) we drove had a complete transmission failure fixed under warranty, second one was fine
The best car I've owned was my 2014 Audi S6 I change them every 3 years however I keep it for almost 6 years just loved it..
Hi Guys, very insightful feedback, much appreciated. I’m on the market for a luxury car 2014 onwards, is the Audi A6 Bi-Turbo and BMW 535d also lemons? Any thoughts on the following:
- +2014 Lexus IS300H FSport or luxury
- +2015 Mercedes C300h 2.1 diesel hybrid
Always always choose the lexus. Even if nothing goes wrong, routine maintenance and consumables are much friendlier on the wallet on the lexus. You can take it to your local shop and they will charge you the same as the equivalent toyota model.
Can confirm owning an E60 5-series was probably the worst financial mistake of my life so far
Driving bmw 530d from 2009 for over a year now and over 40k kms and havent had any problem. Car now have around 410000kms on odometar and drives perfect. 520d have problems with timming chain but 530d is great.
m57 is a legend
You are so right regarding the Cruze but the Captiva and the Viva are worse.