I've been seriously considering one of the many Chevrolets/Daewoos you see advertised in the car supermarkets, as a replacement second car for the existing Daewoo Nubira at some stage. As a second car I'm not too bothered about driving dynamics, but have been most impressed by the price of these things -- £4000 for a car that is virtually guaranteed to have at least 9 or 10 years left in it etc etc.
Few questions:
1) Has anyone driven one of these? I'd be very disappointed if it were as bland and sloppy as the old Nubira, but as someone who is used to an aging Primera (a good handler in its day), how is the car generally?
2) Are they as reliable as Daewoos of old? Are there any serious issues to be aware of?
3) Why exactly are they so cheap? They seem to lose money far more quickly than a number of apparently very similar cars (old Kia Ceratos, Nissan Almeras, Mitsubishi Lancers etc). Given that they're not that bad looking, what gives here?
I know that people are going to say "buy a used Focus", but at this price I'd be looking at a 4 or 5 year old example with probably a few faults to contend with, so as a second car these, on the face of it, seem to make a lot of sense.
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Lacetti btw...
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I'm still searching for a used Focus (around the five grand mark for an 05 plate). Yesterday I saw an 07 reg Lacetti for £4500. It really does make you think. Are they really that bad to not consider them at all.
(I know I keep being told avoid- but for a second car for 'er indoors they can't be THAT bad.) Although I have heard that servicing/parts are very expensive.
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Deep sociological response........ The human primate is inherantly tribal and is comforted by membership of one.
In ancient times this was easy to do. One was either a Celt, a Viking, a Scot or a Saxon or whatever. You just had to understand the cultural requirements of your group and you were quids in.
Now that we live in the wider world we have to find other ways of expressing our affiliation with our chosen peer group. This is the basic premise upon which brands are founded. You use your relatively new concept of money to buy your identity. Some brands have successfully created an image ( tribal identity ) which people feel comfortable with. Others have not, depending upon the vagaries of geography.
I mean, you wouldn't have wanted to wander into the camp with the wrong kind of woad on would you ?
Or maybe its just that these cars are crap. Dunno.....
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You see these tiny Oriental jalopies bouncing about that have a Chevrolet logo, but with the name removed. Perhaps they are half-Chevrolets. In the world I grew up in, nothing less than fifteen feet long and with less than six cylinders was a Chevrolet.
Can't take these things seriously. I bet no one in the US can either.
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>>Perhaps they are half-Chevrolets....
... or "Chevs" :-)
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They seem to bear up very well under the strains of a certain TV show's airfield.
I too was recently quite tempted with the estate version of the Lacetti as a second car, but eventually went with a Fiat Stilo Multiwagon due to the excellent 1.9 JTD engine. It felt like a better long term bet for about the same money. I'm very, very pleased with it (so far).
I can see myself replacing it with a Kia Cee'd estate when the time comes, though.
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Hello
I feel in a position to comment/ compare on this as I own an Almera and have driven numerous Lacettis, Focus', Astras etc through work.
I had a hired Lacetti estate for a good few days driving up to Newcastle from the midlands. I really quite liked it. I feel it looks better than the dumpy hatchback and though it was a 1.6 it went fine on the motorway. Really light and airy inside, loads of room as well, plenty of "basic" gadgets. It was a bit noisy, noisier than my 8 yr old Almera and over the time I had it it started to get a few creaks rattles, vibrations from the interior (though it was a hire car, could have been thrashed). I also had two hatchbacks, manual and an automatic. Avoid the auto, every overtake on the motorway had to be calculated well in advance. And the stereo is rubbish, really terrible.
What I would say is that a new Lacetti is more comparable to an 8yr old car of the same ilk rather than a current one. A new Focus or Astra is clearly evolutionary more advanced - gadgets, refinement, finish etc than my car and a Lacetti. And, though I am clearly biased, my banged up old Almera with 86,000 miles still seems "tighter" than a new, albeit hired, Lacetti.
Still, overall, I would consider one - I'm not a badge snob and I don't care about what the plastic of the dash is like. And they seem pretty tough too. Hope it helps
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Depends whether you can get hot air from the centre vents onto your sporren I suppose Humph....
Edited by oilrag on 27/10/2008 at 14:17
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Aye well, that would certainly sort out your affiliations.......
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Hot chestnuts for Halloween too!
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Nothing finer on a cold night.
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£4000 for a car that is virtually guaranteed to have at least 9 or 10 years left in it etc etc.
Based on my experiences of Chevrolets in the US, I would be surprised if anything built by them lasted 9 or 10 years. Anything GM gets its hands on seems to be subjected to radical cost cutting, with no consideration of quality, with Cadillac and Saab being 2 examples. So I would be very suspicious of a Daewoo made by GM. On the other hand for 4 grand, if it falls apart after 3 years you can throw it away.
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Thanks for the comments. I think I am going to book a test drive of one to see if they are any cop. The car won't get too much use, although it will be subjected to frequent 100-mile motorway journeys so a car with a tiny engine is out really -- the Lacettis that are usually on sale are 1.6s (108BHP I believe) -- quite adequate for what the car is needed for.
> Deep sociological response........ The human primate is inherantly tribal and is comforted by membership of one.
If it's just a question of badge, then I'll be a very happy punter. That side of things bothers me not.
> Can't take these things seriously. I bet no one in the US can either.
I know what you mean -- the car would always be a Daewoo to me. I don't see what is so wrong with that anyway.
> They seem to bear up very well under the strains of a certain TV show's airfield.
Well that was my initial thought. The handling at the limit doesn't seem *that* terrible either, if the TG footage is anything to go by. Pretty standard by the look of things.
> And the stereo is rubbish, really terrible.
That's easily fixed -- the first thing I tend to do is replace the head unit in a car anyway. Sounds like the speakers will have to be swapped out as well.
> my banged up old Almera with 86,000 miles still seems "tighter" than a new, albeit hired, Lacetti.
Hmmm. So perhaps Daewoo's perceived build hasn't moved on it would seem.
That said, I have an eleven year old Nubira which has held together pretty well -- no worse than anything else at the same age / miles. Can you give your opinion on the accuracy of the steering, the feel of the steering/brakes/clutch, how clunky the gears are etc? I'd be considering a manual only to be honest.
> Based on my experiences of Chevrolets in the US, I would be surprised if anything built by them lasted 9 or 10 years.
Seems to be the American disease -- the Chryslers seem to be equally flimsy. I would have hoped that Daewoo would have got better, but it must be said that the Nubira has soft-touch plastics inside (!!!) so there's no excuse for any significant backwards movement. That said, all I'm after is reliability, not too many rattles and a driving experience that is neutral rather than offensive. I'll leave the good handling to the main car.
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Nothing wrong with Daewoos at all jase. It just seems dumb to call them Chevrolets and expect people's jaws not to drop when they see them.
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Mega cheap Lacetti wagon at auction today. See today's auction report.
Think I was actually more impressed by that 2004 X-Type Jag to be honest HJ ;) That would make a great first car, for me :) If they are genuinely that cheap, I might decide yet to go silly and buy that V6....
Although I have heard that servicing/parts are very expensive.
Is this true still? I'd thought that the parts had come down? Certainly the dealers seem to be shared with Vauxhall now so there is no excuse for servicing to be any more expensive than for an Astra really.
It just seems dumb to call them Chevrolets and expect people's jaws not to drop when they see them.
Totally agree. In fact that US badge, IMO would probably represent more of a potential embarrassment than the Daewoo one -- Korean cars are largely ignored, or referred to as "Japanese" and thus given grudging respect. Chevys on the other hand will doubtless draw undue attention to themselves.
Edited by jase1 on 27/10/2008 at 19:57
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Mid-year in Russia, I noted Chevs badged as Lada Nivas, or maybe it was the other way around as they carried both markings. The machine did look like an updated Niva. Watch it guys !!
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Mid-year in Russia I noted Chevs badged as Lada Nivas or maybe it was the other way around as they carried both markings.
The latest Chevrolet/Lada Niva is a joint venture product manufactured by Lada at its plant in Togliatti in Russia and sold by both GM and Lada in Russia and various other emerging markets. I don't know to what extent GM were involved in the development.
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None of these Daewoos masquerading as Chevrolets are the real thing--in fact, the first time I saw them on a GM Europe website, I was very surprised to see the Chevrolet name being debased in that fashion. Real Chevrolets are built in US assembly plants by mullet-wearing, Moon Pie-eating Yanks who like to go and have a Budweiser after work while Bob Seger plays on the stereo.
Armed with that knowledge, now cast aside that piece of junk French car you've been driving, get yourself an '88 Impala and "See the USA in a Chevrolet" (a real one).
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French? FRENCH?
Primera is too old to be French Pebble ;)
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"Real Chevrolets are built in US assembly plants"
Except the real muscle cars Z28s,and Trans Ams which were built in Canada.
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Just took one of these out for a couple of hours on test, and to be honest they seem perfectly OK. Not just OK for a cheap Korean car -- OK for any car.
The gearchange is slick and accurate, the steering likewise, the clutch has reasonable feel, the brakes are fine, the build seems good and the ride/handling are also perfectly decent (very little body roll, surprisingly good grip, compliant ride).
Problems? Well the 1.4 I tested was gutless. That's to be expected, but it was vocal at motorway speeds as well. And the steering, although responsive and tight, was over-assisted, although this did make it a cinch to park up.
Overall, I quite liked it. The interior seemed fine -- a bit flimsy but there were some decent materials in places and there was loads of space -- this is the first car I've ever driven where I've had to move the seat *forwards* to get comfortable. The dash controls were nicely dampened as well -- especially the stalks that have traditionally felt like they were going to snap off on older Daewoos.
All in all, it did feel more like a Fiesta than a Focus to drive, but at £4000 for a year-old example I think these are a bargain. Actually seriously tempted -- if I end up buying a 1.6 Astra-class car this will be near the top of the shop, purely on the price vs refinement question. It still feels like a 10 year old car, but 10 year old cars aren't rotten any more so no problem.
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I will also say that the Epica, which was on show, in black, in the showroom seemed like a very nice car indeed considering it's a Korean model. When these sink like a stone, I'll be even more tempted -- fit and finish seemed every bit as good as a Mondeo or Vectra.
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