Holden Commodore Problems

Holden does have a responsibility to support its products with parts and service for a reasonable time, particularly for a car like the VE, which is relatively new. Consult the people at Consumer Affairs about your concern and ask them to approach Holden on your behalf.

There have been problems with the HVAC system in the VF, and it's not just a noisy minority. Holden issued a service bulletin (13-SU-02) in 2103 for a software update for the VAC control module, but the jury is out on whether it really did fix the problem.

Given that the warranty is going to expire in the coming year I would press your dealer to fix the problems that are causing you concern. They appear to have fixed the leaking radiator, but the air-conditioning and gearbox issues should be fixed. If the dealer cannot, or is unwilling to fix them escalate the problem by talking directly to Holden's customer service.

It all depends on the condition. If it were in good condition, with good brakes and tyres, and not requiring any major work it would be worth $1500 to $2500.

If you believe they have appeared while the car was garaged you have to look at the possibility of something, or someone, rubbing against the car. It could be while they're moving past it, perhaps carrying something that's rubbed up against the paint. If you cover the car while it's garaged it could be the cover rubbing on the paint, perhaps due to wind blowing through the garage.

Yes, it can be rebuilt or replaced and an automatic transmission specialist would be able to do that for you. Cost for the job would be around $2000 to rebuild or replace the transmission on a changeover basis.

The problem with the timing chain is well documented, and would have come to your attention had you researched that model before you bought it. It's not a safety issue, hence no recall, but Holden did revise the timing chain in an attempt to fix it. Call Holden directly and lodge your complaint, but I doubt that you would have any success on a car that is now seven years old.

For starters Holden is not shutting down. What it is doing is stopping local production, so there won't be any more Commodores built here in the future. Holden is committed to continuing in the Australian market selling cars it imports from Asia and Europe. Parts will continue to be available for the Commodore well into the future, and there wont be any change to quality of the service you receive from your Holden dealer.

All of the cars you name meet your criteria of size, economy, performance and handling.

You could also add the Mazda3 and 6 to the list.

Of all of those I would nominate the Camry as the great all-rounder.