2000 Daewoo Lanos review from North America

Where to begin?

First, the windshield defogger stopped working because the cable to change which vents the air goes through bent.

Then the headlights started shorting out on me. Discovered that the wires were fried and had to be replaced.

Then my car started slamming from first to second gear. Not fun when pulling off from a red light. I took it to the dealership and they told me that I needed a new solenoid in the transmission. It took them over 6 weeks to get the part.

While waiting for the solenoid, the dealership gave me the car back and stated that it was still "drivable." However, one night while driving my car began to shake violently and was blowing out a lot of white smoke and unburned fuel from the exhaust. I took the car back to the dealer and was told that I had a bad fuel injector. That part came in within a few days thanks to the 1-800 Daewoo number I called for the part.

After I got my car back, the transmission slammed from first to second gear a few more times and then the problem never occurred again.

My car would occasionally (about once every 2-3 months) start shaking and smoking like it did when I was told I had a bad fuel injector. I took the car back to the dealership and they told me nothing was wrong with the car.

The valve for the air vents became damaged again for the second time. Again, it was a bent cable causing the problem.

Now the car shakes and smokes at least once a week and I've had to learn to live with the "check engine" light being on constantly. For some reason, this also effects my transmission because my car has horrible acceleration. It feels like trying to accelerate with the parking brake on. One day, the car couldn't get out of second gear at all.

But since the dealership "can't find anything wrong with the car," I guess it's all supposed to be a figment of my imagination.

Do not buy this car! The price is great, but you get what you pay for. The car is completely unreliable and once the company went bankrupt, it has become almost impossible to get parts and decent service, unless you can afford to pay outrageous prices for it.