Holden are super desperate these days

[woooo]

they could change "holden" to "Chevrolet" but it would still be the same company pushing out the same imported crap.

people just need to move away from GM entirely, they no longer produce anything that's decent.
if you look around the world at all the vehicles they are now selling here you will find a lot of them have been around for quite some time and then you will find pages and pages of problems with all of them.

a lot of people and reviewers base their opinions on these vehicles on test drives and looks/feels but its once you own one of the vehicles for 3 to 5 years that the problems begin to get out of hand and gm is not known for its awesome aftersales customer service.

this is just one instance of gm looking after you "the customer".

in late 2014 / early 2015 gm identified a problem with the engine in the Colorado using excessive amounts of oil due to a fault in the manufacturing of the engine block, they kept quite on the issue.
they decided to thicken the oil spec and put longer dipsticks into the engines when customers did scheduled servicing without notifying the customer and this lowered the consumption a little bit but not enough to stop customers working out there was a problem.
by mid 2015 people were onto holden and the consumption tests started and many customers were told that its normal for the oil to be used as "it is saving fuel" (the old your saving money crap that most people gobble up).
to get an engine replacement you needed to use 2.0 liters over 10,000km, the consumption tests would be done over about 3000km and math would be applied.
holden worked out the majority of the colorados would use about 2.2 liters within the warranty period so you know what they did to help the customers out...
they bumped the threshold for a new engine to 2.5 liters.

what an awesome company looking after its customers!

many people are still fighting today for a replacement engine with figures of about 2.3 liters over 10,000km with holden saying "that is an acceptable level and within tolerances" while colorados without the defect only use about 300ml


now here is the best part...
the entire time all of this was happening they kept putting the defective engines into new colorados selling them to their valued customers causing the issue to go well into the 2016 models and now reports of 2017.
they didn't want to eat the cost of the defective engines so they just sold them.

this is the type of bullshit gm does and they deserve nothing from anyone, the people in this country need to walk away from anything gm and let it die or they are going to continue to sell you the junk they cant sell anywhere else, they treat Australia as a dumping ground for their waste.

so why support them or give them understanding in this tough time for them?

I know its a bit of a rant but I am just pointing out the "new holden" and what we can expect from them in the future if we keep purchasing their vehicles.

That's why I think that if it was Chevrolet dealerships, a lot more American built vehicles would be sent over from factory RHD, and they have a few quality vehicles in comparison to what Holden are now selling. Yep I don't consider the Colorado a quality product in any form. Nor any of their other vehicles at this stage. And I spent elsewhere on new cars since too. Most important.

 

[Skylarking]

I've had 4 telephone calls, 2 sms messages and two emails all to remind me that my first service is/was due. The thing is, on the first call, i asked them if i could delay the service by the 60 days, 3000kms allowence Holden provide and they said i could, so i told them i would call and arrange a delayed service at my convieniance (since the car is not a daily). Repeted the same line on every call. But they have persisted in their contacts which i can only interpret as either desperate for $$ or rather poor customer contact management practices.

In one sence i feel fo the Holden dealers but then i don't as i remember their grubby behaviour with the limited edition models and the adage you reap what you sow.

As for what will happen to Holden at the end of the day, i guess it largely depends on the structure of the TPP free trade agreement and whether vehicles coming from the USA are included in the pact. If so, no need for Holden badge engineering and Holden branded dealerships.

 

[VS 5.0]

TPP free trade agreement

Hasn't the US walked away from that ?

 

[woooo]

I’ll wait for a Ford F-150 factory RHD from the states! Please!!!!!

 

[Skylarking]

Hasn't the US walked away from that ?

The media don't seem too interested in reporting the conditions around the TPP which by some accounts is a rather poor deal for Aussies but great for the media interests (so no surprise it's not being reported).

But yes, Trump with his America first stance has not signed/ratified any trade pacts while heading towards a trade war with China. Meanwhile he still expects Mexico to pay for the wall so he is somehwat delusional and draging the world to the bring of economic mayhem. Likley the TPP will be ratified by the US which may result in Holden being thrown under a bus.

Still, who knows what will happen as GM could move 90% completed vehicles to Thailand for completion and thus import free to Aus, even before Trump wakes up/is impeached/is tossed on his arse next election/ and the TPP is finally ratified by some other president of the USA.

All i know is that there is little to differentiate Holden from any other importer and its days seem numbered.

 

[woooo]

Too little too late. Like customer service for example. Pretty simple.

 

[Forg]

A couple of their models are questionable, but a few are quite good - Astra, Colorado and yes even ZB is a very good car in it's own right. Every one has the right to an opinion, but to label them all as rubbish is a little bit close-minded.

Actually, I’ve had an Astra rental ... they’re really not much better than a Cruze.
After reading the reviews I expected something close to as good as a Golf; the rental 2 days before having been a Golf, the Astra was a huge disappointment, was like driving a 90’s Hyundai by comparison.

Colorado ... that’s a nasty, nasty category of vehicle. Don’t know how anyone tells them apart, they’re all as bad as each other! Only thing that matters is longevity, but until something’s 10yrs old you can’t judge that.

 

[426Cuda]

Actually, I’ve had an Astra rental ... they’re really not much better than a Cruze.
After reading the reviews I expected something close to as good as a Golf; the rental 2 days before having been a Golf, the Astra was a huge disappointment, was like driving a 90’s Hyundai by comparison.

Colorado ... that’s a nasty, nasty category of vehicle. Don’t know how anyone tells them apart, they’re all as bad as each other! Only thing that matters is longevity, but until something’s 10yrs old you can’t judge that.

I disagree re your Astra comment. Cruze was a pile of crap. We own an Astra and it's a cracking good car. Bloody brilliant little car actually.

 

[Forg]

Maybe the RHD ones are different to the LHD ones, then?
I mean it may be reliable, but it was the epitome of cheap & nasty; that cheap shiny ‘leather’, scratchy plastics, noisy. I didn’t push it, so can’t comment on performance-related stuff; I’m sure it’s better than a Cruze there.

That's why I think that if it was Chevrolet dealerships, a lot more American built vehicles would be sent over from factory RHD, and they have a few quality vehicles in comparison to what Holden are now selling. Yep I don't consider the Colorado a quality product in any form. Nor any of their other vehicles at this stage. And I spent elsewhere on new cars since too. Most important.

Swapping badges costs so little for a manufacturer, even one focused on reducing build costs by $1 per car; Holden or Chevrolet, it has no effect on whether they design something to also be built in RHD.
The only reason they’ll replace Holden with Chevrolet is if they burn out the Holden badge by selling too much crap with it attached.

What good Chevrolets did you have in mind, though? They may already be under consideration ... Corvette they’ve said is (although could be a hard sell at 911 money), they’ve said they’re building the next Camaro in RHD. The big trucks they’ve tried & failed to sell here in the past, so dunno if they’d bother with those. And I don’t think they sell anything else that’s not terrible.

Cadillac they’ve been talking about possibly importing, but as Cadillac. The Yanks may not like the idea, but frankly the big Cadillac sedan really could’ve been badged Calais and sold here ... it’s really no better made than Commodores & no more upmarket (apart from price). Which makes me wonder how many they’d sell at Benz prices, come to think of it ...

 

[figjam]

Mein Gott ! Put a Holden Calais badge on a Cadillac ……. the Cadillac is the very utmost of expensive, prestige and luxury cars. Why would they cheapen it by putting another badge on it ? The Seppos would have a coronary.
Not a possibility. It would be like putting Cadillac badges on a Holden Camira.