Holden Problems

The Brumby would have been a good choice 10 years ago, but finding one now that hasn’t been driven into the ground, beaten to death, or rusted away is nigh on impossible. Instead of buying a dodgy old your son a favour and buy him a decent car, one that doesn’t belong in a scrap yard, and will serve him well for some time into the future. I would go for a Hilux, Triton, or Bravo 2600.

It would just be guessing to try and diagnose it from what you have told us, so I would suggest you have an auto electrician check the trailer wiring, and once that’s eliminated, which I’m sure it will be, run another diagnostic check. It’s more likely to be a faulty sensor sending an erroneous message to the car’s computer.

You seem to have kept good records of the problems with your car, which will help when it comes to the crunch. It’s also good that you are pursuing Holden through VCAT. If you bought it new in 2015 the warranty must have only just expired, which should help you claim against Holden for the cost of repairs. I would pursue Holden to replace the transmission; the car has a long history of trouble with the transmission, which you can verify with the records you have kept. If that fails to move Holden I would again go to VCAT to get some satisfaction.

Opel produces it at its Russelsheim plant in Germany, but you are correct in that Opel is now part of the PSA group.

The dual-clutch so-called ‘sports automatic’ transmission in the Cruze has a long and miserable history if trouble. From what you describe it seems trouble is coming your way.

The Holden Colorado, and the final series of the Holden Rodeo before it, have been built in Thailand by Isuzu since 2002. Sharing a platform with the Isuzu D-Max the Colorado is built under licence in Isuzu's Samut Prakan factory.

Since its launch in 2008 the Holden Colorado has been built in Rayong, Thailand. Interestingly, the Isuzu D-Max it shares its platform with is built in different factories all over the world, including Chile, China, Ecuador, Egypy, Nigeria, The Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand (Samrong-Samutprakan), and Tunisia. Produced in Wentzville, Missouri, the Chevrolet Colorado is an American market vehicle. It features different engine options as well as front-end sheetmetal to look more like the full-size Chevy Silverado pick-up.

Yes, no, and maybe. If you are after a mid-sized family SUV that doesn't need to go off-road, then a Captiva will likely do all you need and be a good car. If you are after a sporty machine to take to the track or cruise up and down the cafe strip impressing pedestrians, then the Captiva is definitely not what you'd want in a car. If you're interested in buying a Captiva, also look at Toyota's Kluger, Subaru's Forester, or even Jeep's Cherokee to benchmark the field.

Your plan to go to court over the matter is the correct course of action. The auto transmission in your model has been very troublesome and many owners have had problems with them. The only way to fix it is to replace the transmission, which was done once before on your car, and you will potentially have to replace again some time in the future.

I’d say you have a turbo problem. Get it to a dealer and have it checked out. Wit the problem you describe you should be able to clearly show the dealer what you are concerned about.