[flipsyde]

hi..... i have used the optra 1.8 for a month (belongs to a friend.....he left it with me when was outta town) and i must say the car is fantastic to drive as far as u keep the engine revving above 4000rpm below which its very sluggish! i dunno if the engine or the cams or the gearbox but below 4000 rpm it feels soooo lazy!

the only drawback to the 1.8 optra is its mileage. even with conservative driving the car fails to deliver more than 8kms/lt inside city with A/C on all the time.

we took the car to goa a year back and the car comfortably made it to 160kmph with the AC on and 4 people in it. the interiors are spacious and as comfortable as a couch! loads of boot space.

i have always accompanied him when he gets his car serviced and the bills arent much higher than that of the NHC.

good car. i would recommend it to anyone who gives more value to space, comfort and fit & finish to fuel efficiency. and the whole point about it being exhorbitant to maintain is rubbish. its a tad bit more than a NHC.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

And so does mine.

My apologies, I didn't remember that, though you've told me on more occasion than one.

Originally Posted by abhibh

thats the only thing till now that i have heard about the optra 1.8 engine and the new VGIS is a GEM.After optra the only car which is better or as comfy as OPTRA is ACCORD.

AFAIK, the VGIS is only an induction system. Head, cams, valves, block are all the same as earlier.

I had the pleasure of driving Rudra's car. I disagree with those who say it has no life below 4000 rpm. The way it pulls from standstill is beautiful. It's a lovely car for 5 lakhs. But like all expensive cars, cheap second-hand doesn't mean the service bills are cheaper. And I don't think you can compare Maruti/Hyundai service to GM. Maybe an owner would be better qualified to comment, though.

[BUSA]

No pull below 4000RPM? I am sure your air filter would be clogged because Optra has been known for its low end torque.

@C3PO - Maruti and Hyundai are definately cheaper to maintain though GM quality is better.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by BUSA

@C3PO - Maruti and Hyundai are definately cheaper to maintain though GM quality is better.

If you're talking of just the Optra, I cannot comment since I don't have much experience. However, I've seen the later-generation Astras and Corsas come with horrible build quality. A relative's Astra Club was always in the garage for some reason or the other, and he swore off GM. Same for another relative who bought two Corsas. The first was great. The second one was horrible. I think the wholly-Indian ones weren't too great on quality.

And I can't say much about Maruti quality. My Baleno is quite good, better than my OHCs were, I would say. But McL's isn't that great. Again, mine is older. Hyundai quality, on the other hand, is amazing.

[BUSA]

C3PO - I am talking about Swift w.r.t Maruti not that great built quality. About GM i am not talking about Corsa's or Astra's but Optra's. Infact the built quality of the Optra has made it win the best built award.

[abhibh]

I have driven 1.6 a hell lot of times and no way it seems underpowered.. Its a beast at 2500 RPM and it's built is like any other German/Italian car. It maybe on the platform of Daewoo car but its better and gr8... Dunno why its speed is electronically limited to 180 it can jump that easily and it is as stable as rock.

As the car gets old it's servicing cost increases. I have seen people paying 4K for swift service at 20K and Optra service charges maybe more like 500 bucks more. There is wrong conception about GM services. They have dropped their services charges a lot and their parts are also cheaper than before. But the availability of parts is one major concern.

You can go ahead with your purchase of Optra 1.6 as it is more preferred by people and may fetch a better resale if u decide to sell. It's just that skoda have a diesel unit whereas GM is working on it. If Optra diesel is launched within 12 lacs with a good diesel engine and refinement then you will see optra's in same numbers as skoda's..

And i swayer by this statement "Sit in skoda, NHC, FIESTA, COROLLA or any other car within 10 lac segment the comfort level of Optra can not be matched by them". Its damn silent.

[zulfikar]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

And so does mine.

That doesn't really mean that one should go for Optra or not. It's a choice with whole host of things put together.

Is there anybody here (apart from BUSA) who can say what's wrong with Optra? And what's wrong with it's 1.8 mill?

I, for a change want to know. Please put down first hand feedback and not what you heard from somebody.

Guys,

my Optra gives 10.5-11KMPL when my dad drives, he drives normal not heavy nor light foot.

But when i go to hyd and drive it,
that drops to 9Kmpl, i drive very rash...

And i have the car since June 2005.
i dont remember my dad telling me that he paied anything more than 1200-1500 for servicing which is normal.(Including Oil Change)

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by vasudeva
and Optra 1.8 has Holden engine which has had problems, spare parts are not easy to obtain (not regular servicing parts, but things such as broken lights, etc). Optra 1.8AT is even more horrible.

Could you kindly elaborate on these comments?

What I was saying what that spare parts for 1.8 are not easily available (this means that for some items, you may have to wait). I should know, when Corsa was still in production, I had a minor problem with the power window in May 2005, where the lifter on rear left stopped working. The lifter was not available and I had to wait for a week. That being said, with Optra 1.8, getting some spare parts may be luck (it may be available when you need it). But that is not the same thing as a surety.

Check and you may find out that almost all Optra sales are of 1.6. In 1.8, only manual is sold. Thus 1.8 AT is rarest of rare sale. Further, when I meant horrible, I did not mean a horrible car, but an average car with more than average problems, and low FE (6-8 kmpl). Now some people may have no problems either with the 1.8MT/AT or its FE (I have a 2003 GM Opel Corsa, which I like for its ride, comfort, and decent FE), but I did check on it (when I was considering Corolla, Civic, Optra all in autos), and although it was available at 2 lakhs discount or 10.5 in Delhi, owners feedback and GM works manager inputs made me decide against the Optra. Optra 1.6 manual is one car I did like, but again I did not buy it because I wanted an automatic (if I was happy with manual, I did not need a car in the first place). I am pretty happy with GM, and like both the Aveo and CRV, which I both drove twice for test drives. I have also had a good (although not exactly thrilling) experience with GM service. So, my opinion was on a specific model-Optra 1.8AT, and not on Optra manual or GM as a car company. Holden is an Aussie company owned by GM, and their Holden Commodore was the best selling Aussie car in 2006 (second was Corolla if I am not wrong). I hope this explanation does satisfy you.

Regards

[Su-47]

The discussion on this thread has been an eye opener for me. I too was under the impression that optras are expensive to run and maintain.

Thank you guys! Keep the discussion going...

[Knight Rider]

Originally Posted by Knight Rider

My friend just picked up a 2005 Optra 1.6 for 5.25 Lakhs ... Well, That got me curious as well because i would be able to afford it....

But then I surfed the net for some information, Could not find ownership experiences, But did get to know that the hood costs 21000 (Indiacar)
under their used cars review.

Is this true? Does the other parts fall alongside the same price bracket???

Would be nice if we get some info from owners........

Sorry to post this again, But can some of the optra owners shed some light on the cost of spares please?

[zulfikar]

Originally Posted by Knight Rider

Sorry to post this again, But can some of the optra owners shed some light on the cost of spares please?

funny thing in last 2 years didnt replace any parts expect Oil and filters.
thank god but heard the parts are not soo expensive compared to the ones on the same Class...

[vasudeva]

[SIZE=2]Dear Mr. Sen
I had posted earlier but I think that has vanished in the ether. If that surfaces on this forum, fine; otherwise my clarification:
I am sorry if I have offended you. I know you own a Optra 1.8. I saw the Optra in Sep 2003 when I was buying my Corsa, and I liked it, and there is nothing in the subsequent 3.5 years that has led me to change my opinion. I am happy with Corsa and GM service, as perhaps you may be happy with your Optra. I know many people who are happy with Astra (my MD makes more than 70 lakhs pa, but comes to office in his 5 yr old Astra). Astra gives 7-8 kmpl. I do not know how much 1.8 Optra gives but it may be lower than 1.6 Optra (VGIS) (you may know better). The fact is that 1.8 Optra was launched in 2003, but slipped after its initial sales because of lower FE. GM's domestic sales in <4500 mm segment (which included Optra) were 241 units in FY2003, 259 units in FY2004, and 2765 in FY2005. So because of lower sales than expected they launched a VGIS 1.6 Optra, which was supposed to give higher FE. That led to higher sales, but when it too slipped, they launched CNG Optra. Their sales in April 05-Feb 06 were 5608, which has slipped to 3435 in Apr 06-feb 07.
When I said horrible, I did not mean a horrible car, but horrible FE for Optra 1.8AT. I am sorry for the use of this word, which is relative, eg, Corolla FE of 12-13 kmpl may look horrible to a M-800 owner. Optra 1.8AT has low FE of 6-8 kmpl under most conditions. Holden was mentioned as a matter of fact without any innuendos. Holden is an Aussie company owned by GM, and their Holden Commodore was the best selling Aussie car in 2006 (I think 2nd was Corolla).
For me, the final choice when I was buying a car in Feb-Mar 07 was:
Manual: optra 1.6
Auto: Corolla
Since I wanted an automatic, I went for Corolla, but me and my wife were extremely happy with the Optra (1.6 only). I thought of Optra 1.8 AT but low FE was a negative. Optra 1.8 Manual was out of the question because of its alleged lower FE (though the GM dealers in Delhi were offering me 1.8 manual for 10.1 lakhs, Optra 1.6 Royale for 9.6 lakhs, and Optra 1.8 AT for 10.6 lakhs). If somebody can buy a 3-year old Optra 1.8 in the 2nd hand market, they may still be a good buy because of its lower price, great comfort which may be an acceptable compromise for lower FE (that is a compromise I am happy to make. I bought Corsa knowing it had lower FE only because of its solidity, comfort, and ride). I have got my Corsa serviced at GM, and if you read my first comment, you would find that I find the GM service acceptable (if not thrilling and consistent at all dealerships).
When researching on Optra 1.8 AT in Feb 07, I could not get much web-based feedback. But fortunately there was one owner who had that car, and his overall opinion on `AT’ was not favourable. Maybe others may have a different feedback (when I bought my Corsa, there were 4 people who said good, but one had all sorts of problems with it). So one swallow does not make a summer. You should know that Optra presently sells mostly (I think more than 95%) in 1.6. Of the balance which would be Optra 1.8, AT is rarely sold
So in my opinion, Optra 1.6 is a good new and used car. Optra 1.8 MT/AT may not be a perfect new car choice, but definitely a good car choice. The buying price would be lower, ride and comfort would be very good, and servicing may be decent and cheap. Plus if you buy a 50-60 K odo car, it may last you without major problems for another 50-60K/3-4 years.
On Corsa, the service cost is no more expensive than what I used to pay on my earlier Zen. But availability of some spare parts (not routine maintenance stuff) may be based on luck. I know it personally. My Corsa was still in production in May 05, when the lifter on my power window (rear left) failed. I had to wait a while (nearly a month) for the replacement. The dealer was nice enough to repair the lifter for the interim, so that the window was shut but could not open. (the glass was falling on its own).
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