Faults:

- Yellow indication light start blinking and going off by itself when it reached 40k kms. Took it to the Chevy dealer here in Dubai, first time they couldn't fix it, second time nothing also, until the third time it's become OK now and I haven't seen it blinking until now.

- Car theft alarm becomes abnormal; sometimes it will start working on/off by itself.

- It loses power once the AC is on.

- AC sometimes not cooling enough if driving at 140km/h on highways for a long period of time, needs to turn it off/on again (this started to happen after a minor accident).

- The hood is vibrating a little while at high speeds.

Overall it's a very good car with excellent fuel consumption...

General Comments:

It's a very good nice looking car. So far so good, no very major problems, let's see how it will be when it will reaches 100K KMs.

I added a spoiler and aluminium exhaust on my sedan. The black colour looks very sexy also...

Handling is amazing too...

Faults:

Same squeak noise and same engine light transmission sensor problem as described April 20, 2007 comment. Exact description and I am sure there must be others.

Tires wear dramatically unless changed to 185 65 size. Finish with rubber or plastic is poorly installed (e.g. foam between dash and windshield, weatherstripping on doors, among others).

General Comments:

Must comment that there has never been an issue starting the car, including, in cold weather (extended days) -20 - -25C, this is impressive. Not enough though.

Faults:

Rear Window Defrost and Cabin Air Recirculation buttons wouldn't work sometimes after a few months of having the car. Took it into dealer, they found the problem and replaced something, works perfectly now.

Had small oil leaks coming from the front of the engine, not enough to drip on the road, but enough that it was visible on the engine. Not enough to bother me, but my mechanic (my uncle) suggested I take it in. Took it to the dealership, they replaced the crank shaft seal and both cam shaft seals. Still some leak now, but VERY VERY minor. Takes over a week before there is any visible oil on the engine, I'm satisfied for now. If it gets worse in the next couple of years, I'll get it checked again.

General Comments:

Pretty satisfied with the car. Quite comfortable, even for tall people (I am 6'3"). I have even slept in the front seats on camping trips.

One disappointment is the gas mileage. With the manual transmission, it was advertised as 7.4L/100km on highway, 10.4L/100km in the city. I average about 9L/100km, which isn't bad, but is higher than for other cars in the same class/size.

Faults:

Within a year the car's engine seem to develop problems, and while driving these problems will just arrive without notice. No warning lights will come on the dashboard.

There seem to be a major coolant problem and shutdown problem with my car. The electricals seem to be out of whack (erratic).

The local dealer and GM do not care about the purchaser after the dealer makes a sale. I contacted GM and they did not respond. And even while the car in on warranty, which mine still is, the owner will be billed anyhow.

The mechanics can never seem to find anything wrong with the car. I've been to the garage within the last 6 weeks at least 4 times, twice within one day for the same problem that the dealer claimed to have fixed.

General Comments:

The general attitude of the staff is lousy, and GM does not really care about small number of sales, or so it may seem from a owner like myself who got zero feedback from GM, even though I brought my unending problem to them.

I drove a Malibu in the states and it is a wonderful car. The Optra is not sold in the states, can anyone guess why? Does GM sell the junk elsewhere, as it appears that GM only care about their American market. Of course they would bear the cost of an incompetent dealer, but here in Jamaica, they don't seem to give a damn about the purchaser. I find it difficult to purchase another GM car here in Jamaica. I will have to revert to, whenever I can afford it, to Toyota and Honda, both with good service here in Jamaica.

Whatever you do, stay away from the Optra.