Bought my Astra AH new 12 years ago. Just done 100,000km, so relatively low mileage. Apart from replacing usuals such as tyres, brakes etc, the only unusual one was to replace the air-con unit with a recon from 'Natrad', (they have them on the shelf), and recently replaced the coil pack (after market is cheap $55) which was a very simple DIY job. I have had a couple of sensors replaced, but considering the age, and German electrics/electronics is not unusual. The 1.8 petrol engine & manual gearbox will go on forever, just keep them serviced...Read more

I have a black SRi and it looks good (only when washed, else its full of Sydney dust and damn do astras make alot of brake dust!!), drives well - bucket loads of power, handling is awesome with the sporty leather seats and with the Michelin tyres it stuck to the road pretty well.

I bought the car in July 2014 with 50k on the clock, issues (if I may call it that) as follows:
55k - power steering malfunctioned - fixed under dealer warranty and they replaced the steering rack as well
70k - spark plugs ($40 each for Originals x 4 - meant to l...Read more

I own a 2006 Astra CDX, bought it new. It was silver, now patchy silver. Very disappointed with the paintwork on it, because it's a great, solid, mechanically sound car, but was worth nothing because of the paint when I tried to trade it in a couple of years ago (decided to keep it).

Also, a few days after the warranty ran out, the compressor for the air conditioner blew up, costing me $500 to replace it. The dealer I bought it from said I could 'try' applying for goodwill from Holden, but 'good luck with that'.

Besides that and the pain...Read more

Bought a second hand 2005 AH Astra auto for my daughter.
First the horn wasnt working - turned out to be the CIM module. At the same time the auto gears were not changing properly. Luckily these both got fixed under the dealer warranty.

A year later the gearbox had issues and would not change above 2nd. Caused by the transmission fluid being diluted by coolant as the design is such that gearbox coolant flows through the radiator and any failure causes this catastrophic result. End result the clutches etc in the gearbox were ruined and neede...Read more

I bought my Astra CD as a used car and owned it for 2 years and 8 months. I really like that car because the way it handles, the practicality with the fold-able backseats and that is one of Holden's best known models. What made me choose this model over other makes and models? Well, it's pretty difficult to keep it simple. It's a good honest European built model, it isn't too expensive compared with other European small cars (mine has, 4 airbags, ABS brakes, cruise control, alloy wheels). So far, my Astra has be very reliable, servicing costs a...Read more

I bought my Astra hatch almost 3 years ago at a Brisbane dealership when it had just under 25,000kms on the clock. I needed something small-ish that was comfortable and economic. After test driving both the Mazda 3 and the Astra hatch I much preferred the Astra - it was far more comfortable to drive. It's been a fantastic car. I moved interstate to Canberra about a week after I bought it and was pleasantly surprised by how well it handled the long drive - since then it's frequently driven back and forth to Sydney and has always gone well. Fuel ...Read more

It's not helpful that ieatwords lumps all the models together. I think the diesel, especially the manual, is a much different car to the petrols.

I bought my car second hand at 18 months old with 13000km, for two-thids of the new price (not including on-road costs, which would have pushed the new price higher). It's about to have its 120,000km service. Timing belt still not needed.

Superb to drive - really quick.

Prone to electrical glitches - it constantly warns me the coolant is low, when it isn't. Interior light does not come o...Read more

I bought a 2007 model manual Astra Coupe Turbo with 60000kms on it, have had it for 3 years now and it's up to 78000kms.
This turbo model is a lot of fun and great to drive. It's better that you select 'Sports' mode when you drive it as that improves its handling immensely. In normal mode it can understeer a bit and especially in the wet.
The interior has a nice fit and feel to it and the car outside and in still looks great 7 years later.
So far it has been completely reliable with no major faults, there is a bit of rumour on AH Astras w...Read more

The Astra was such a love/hate car for our family. The love comes from the fact that all of the Astra’s are good to drive. They feel solid, hold the road well, have aged well so still look good and, most of all, have that definite European feel about them. The fact that Holden switched it out for something as dull and generic as the Cruze will, for them at least, go down in history as a fatal mistake.

With this in mind it pains me to admit that we have never been happier than the day we walked into a dealership (not a Holden dealership) and ...Read more

I have a 2004 automatic astra city . I have had it just over a year and all it has done is cause me trouble, I bought it with 107,187km on the clock. My timing belt went 2 weeks after. at 115,000 my transmission started to play up, it took me a whole light set to get through one set of lights and I was the first car, I took it to get scanned and nothing turned up. It has since cost me over $1000 to get the transmission replaced because it kept doing it. At 123,000 my speedo dropped out and didn't want to work when doing 100km down the freeway....Read more

We have had our AH ASTRA CDXi since brand new in 2005 when we purchased it in August.

This has been a very reliable little car and apart from the cam belt changes and water pump that is done at the same time servicing is quite the norm as with any car,brakes do wear a little quicker but we are not too easy on our brakes anyway.

Battery has been replaced once,air con re-gassed and I have upgraded the standard 16inch wheels to Factory 18 inch Astra SRI Turbo wheels that feel nice and solid with the wider tyres.

Fuel consumption is still ...Read more

I bought my 2006 Holden Astra CDTI second hand only ever owned by one other owner as my first car.

The first 5 months of having the car were fantastic. It did everything I needed it to do and more. The reverse sensors were super handy, the fog lights were great and the Diesel engine was a dream.

It wasn't long until my little Astra took a massive turn down hill. I was driving on the highway when all of a sudden my battery warning light came on. As this was my first car I had no idea what this meant but did the right thing and tried to pu...Read more

I recently bought a 2006 Astra AH with an optional extras pack including 15" alloys, power windows for all doors, reverse parking sensors and cruise control.
Excellent car, looks good, drives really well and is reasonably fuel efficient with low maintenance costs.
In terms of power, it is a little sluggish when over taking but you can get around that by pressing the "Sport" mode button on the dash which allows you to rev higher through the gears and sharpens throttle response.

The only downside I have come across with the 2006 model is aft...Read more