1995 Daewoo Espero GLX 1.5 DOHC gasoline from Philippines
Summary:
Money spent on this car could have bought much nicer things then
Faults:
When the car was still new (around 4 or 5 months old), the car did not want to shut off.
Around 1996 or 1997, the doors did not want to lock.
Air-con failed twice: First incident (June 2000) was when the aircon was just breathing warm air. The compressor was just fixed and overhauled. The second incident was worse. There was no air at all. Took us a month before we could take it to the shop (December 2000 - January 2001).
The stock radio could not play cassette tapes at that time.
October 29, 2001 - The suspension acted up after my mom had a minor operation at the hospital. Fixed at a gas station somewhere in Makati.
January 17, 2002 - I still remember this day. I was in Grade 2 at that time and we were having our First Communion practices. I noticed that my parents were taking a long time before I could be picked up. I was crying and crying because they could not fetch me, only to find out that the car stalled in the middle of rush hour traffic in Ayala Avenue. The car suffered engine failure and had to be towed to the repair shop. We lost all hope of having the car repaired after almost a week.
General Comments:
This car originally belonged to my grandparents. It was passed on to my parents in the beginning of 2000. When I was in Prep, Grade 1 and most of my Grade 2 days, this car took me to school almost every day (except Wednesdays because of number coding), my parents' workplace, and almost every weekend to church, to the mall, sometimes to 5 star hotels, or wherever.
The car looked nice with its simple design, and inside the car was comfortable, in fact it was roomy and had ample legroom. It even had cold air-con when it runs. However if you have to look under the hood and if you're gonna drive the car already, you are left with nothing but bad impressions.
Stepping on the clutch was tough and the gearbox did not respond well. The engine was under-powered for this kind of sedan. With all the problems we had, all we can say that it was unreliable. At that time we had other cars (Japanese ones from Toyota and Mitsubishi) from the late 1980s and the early 1990s, and all of them outlived the Espero under our watch. Transfarm, who was the sole distributor of Daewoo here in the Philippines, only had less than 3 dealers in this country. Of course there was one here in Metro Manila, but the staff dealing with service and dealer support were incompetent.
I love KPop, Korean dramas, Korean food, and I was even in love with a Korean girl in class one time, although our family still prefers our cars Japanese, particularly Toyota and Honda. My parents were traumatised with Korean cars because of our terrible experience with this car before. Although few years after getting rid of this car, the quality of Korean cars has started to improve greatly and become at par with the Japanese. Perhaps, I would still consider a Korean car again particularly a Hyundai, Kia,or even a Renault Samsung (which will arrive soon here in the Philippines) someday if it suits us. Although not probably not a Korean made Chevrolet anymore though.
R.I.P - 1995 Daewoo Espero, June 7, 1995 - January 17, 2002
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 29th April, 2020
29th Apr 2020, 20:58
Stick with your Japanese cars. Even though the Korean cars are getting better every year, they are just not there yet. Owned a few and had to fight with the dealership all the time for failed items, even though I had a 10 year power train warranty on the vehicle. But they will get better and they have only been in business since 1967, 52 years ago. Will they ever be better or at least equal to Japanese cars... not sure. But anything is possible.