Holden Problems

You're a member of a large club. I would approach Holden with the view of having them replace the gearbox for free as they have done with many other Cruze owners. Because of the age of the car, they might not replace it for free; they're more likely to make you an offer to cover part of the cost of replacing the car.

Worn timing chains are quite common on the V6 engine in the Commodore. A change was made to the pitch of the chain, but the jury is out about the effectiveness of the change. In any case have the mechanic fit the updated chains when the makes the replacement. It is a costly repair according to our trade contacts, but we’re told $4000 is very high.

If it's just a smear I wouldn't be too concerned with it, I'd simply keep a close eye on it, but if it's more than a smear I'd have it checked out. Most people find out about the transmission problem when they lose drive. By then it's too late, the transmission has been damaged.

We have had numerous reports of transmission failures on the Cruze and you would suspect that yours has suffered a similar failure. You could try and recoup your money, but I would guess it's too late and you wouldn't be successful. If you do choose to do it talk to your Holden dealer and ask them to submit a claim to Holden.

If you want the V8 then you should have it. The economy will be good enough on highway work but remember it will suck fuel down on short trips or if you uncork the performance away from the traffic lights.

The most common transmission problem that affects the Cruze relates to the automatic transmission, not the manual. As yours is a manual it isn’t affected by these issues. I would suggest you have a mechanic check your car to diagnose the problem for you before you go any further with a claim against Holden. If the noise you are hearing happens while you have the clutch pedal depressed in the process of changing gears it could be a worn clutch throw-out bearing, but if it is a crunching noise when selecting gears it could be either the clutch isn’t fully disengaging, or it could a synchromesh problem.

Take it back to the Holden dealer who replaced the first water pump and ask for an explanation. You're right, three water pumps in 30,000 km is unacceptable. You would have to ask if there was a problem with the Cruze water pump, not something we have heard about, or did the dealer mechanic do something wrong when fitting the pump.

We aren't getting reports of problems with the latest model, the reports we have had relate to 2010 models or so. That said, I would be wary of buying the Cruze, the best thing about them is the cabin size. I would go for the Lancer first and Pulsar second, the Cruze a long last.

It's a different situation as the FJ is a global model but you should probably move even more quickly as Toyota Australia will have to confirm soon on its final orders. FJ owners generally have made an emotional choice so it's unlikely the used-car values will be dropping soon.

The VE sounds like a good car that's been well looked after and would be a good car for a growing family such as yours. I will assume it's a V6, in which case the main thing to be concerned about is wear to the camshaft timing chains. They're a known problem and cost $2000 or so to replace if they do wear. You can tell if they're worn as the engine runs poorly because the cam timing is thrown out. Other than that the VE is quite sound.