Goodbye My Astra

Hello everyone.

This week has been a big unfortunate moment for my Astra. After I fitted the new radiator with the huge delight I've got the car working, I've set about getting it fixed so I can hopefully sell it. But in this page, I'll give you the rundown on what happened.

On Wednesday, I took the car to Seamus Hill Automotive for a roadworthy check. As I was giving the car a drive, I recently notice the ABS warning light was on before the day. And the at times, the speedometer wasn't working about with the warning light with the spanner. That got me seriously nervous. After it was done, there had been 3 problems that have failed the roadworthy test.

The Astra needed 2 rear shock absorbers as one was leaking, one parking light bulb but the worst problem is the ABS module became faulty, as I've received the call from the mechanic, I was in a big shock especially about rebuilding the module which would cost me $1,700 AUD to do so. Not only that, the car would stay in the garage for around a couple of weeks. I was hoping to sell the car for $2,000 AUD but that would destroy the opportunity.

2 other options include buying a refurbished ABS module which would cost up to a thousand dollars. And lastly, buying a second hand module but it'll have to be programmed which would best be done by an authorised Holden repairer. I've been discussing with my dad and Stu about what to do next. I've had 2 options to either go ahead with using a second hand module or scrap the car.

One thing is apparent that Astras have a common fault with the ABS module and they'll be hell expensive to repair so on the night, I came to the decision to take the Astra to the wreckers.

So on the Thursday morning, I called VicRoads (Victoria's own RTA) about how I'll go de-registrating the car as I haven't done this before. He suggested to remove the anti-theft screws holding the number plates in place and replacing them with normal screws. It's illegal to drive a car without number plates so the normal screws would have had to be used. And another thing is to go to my nearest police station and have the officers unscrew the anti-theft screws assuming they carry a special screwdriver. But with all of this brought in mind, it was time to get the car into it's retirement.

First, I drove to Repco to see if I can buy some normal screws to be told they only sell anti-theft screws, I went to Bunnings to buy screws and then, I drove to the police station in Pakenham to be told wreckers yards remove number plates. I then drove to a wreckers yard in the south of Pakenham where my Astra would meet the end of it's life after 17 years.

I then had the opportunity to take this picture on the last odometer reading which the car had travelled 381,398 kilometres (238,373 miles). It had a few issues as well. An iffy fuel gauge, the horn that stopped working and patches of sun damaged clear coat.

With the paperwork filled for the receipt, number plates removed and the key passed and sold, the car is consigned to retirement. And $400 AUD I've got for it.

And that is the last photo I took.

But on the positive note, I now have only one car. In March, I have bought a 2021 Ford Puma ST Line in Electric Blue. As my Astra was out of action with a punctured radiator, I was curious to get vehicle finance so I've enquired to Berwick Toyota and luckily, I've been able to get myself a new car. Once the finance side of things has been set, I was able to have the car shifted to the dealership. In the process, I was taking public transport. Although it's sort of limiting, I've been able to survive until the day the car arrived for collection.

Although I'm not a fan of automatics and SUVs, there are times I had to concede and go with it. The Puma is an automatic but it's no ordinary one. It's the first car I have with a dual clutch automatic. This is a 7 speed version. It has a 1 litre 3 cylinder turbocharged engine which is loaded with torque and approximately has the same power as my past Astra. And finally, it's my first car that has a definite colour. With my 2 past cars, I've had my first car, a 1992 Nissan Pintara which was silver. And the second car being the Astra which was black. And then there's my third car right here.

With the Astra gone, this car has gone from the side of McClenaghan Place.

To my garage. And that concludes this page.

And for some extra content, I might include a YouTube video of when Doug Demuro was in Korea discovering a lot of cars ranging from black, grey and white which was relevant to my past 2 cars.

See you next time!