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What Holden’s closure means for consumers

Holden is going out of business; here's what you need to know.

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Ben Gribbin
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The Australian automotive icon will be closed for business as of 2021

Holden is closing down for good. Here's what that means for consumers moving forward.

On-going Holden support

Following GM's announcement to discontinue the Holden brand, due to a "fragmented right-hand-drive market", it is expected that up to 600 of 800 jobs at the company will be axed.

However, in a company announcement, Holden stated it will continue to support customers in the following ways:

  • Honour all existing warranties and guarantees – If you've just bought a car, it is covered for the warranty period by Holden as normal.
  • All free scheduled servicing upheld – If you've bought a car that came with free scheduled servicing bundled into the deal, Holden will uphold that offer.
  • On-going call centre support – Holden says its customer care team will remain in operation for the foreseeable future.
  • Servicing and spares for a decade – Holden is pledging to keep parts available for at least 10 years, through what it calls a "national aftersales network". Currently, Holden is working with up to 185 dealers to transition them into licensed service outlets. All active Holden dealerships will be offered this option.
  • Recalls or safety advisories – Holden will deal with recalls as they occur, through the aftersales network.

What's happening to Holden's assets?

Holden Lang Lang proving ground

In a frequently asked questions section on the Holden site, the company explained it would investigate the options out there for the Lang Lang Proving Ground, which is also closing. The site has put every new Holden vehicle through its paces since 1957. In 2018, GM and Holden invested $15.9 million in the facility, including 7,500 tonnes of new asphalt.

Holden Special Vehicles, the firm's performance division, may live on under a GM-centric name. It is thought the facility would import LHD models from the factory before converting them to RHD, somewhat like Ram Trucks Australia.

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The GM Holden Melbourne design studio will shut up shop, as will the engineering division, the financial services wing and the Maven car-sharing service.

Holden has a heritage fleet of past models and those with historical or national significance. Wording on the website suggests the preserving of key examples will happen, but little other info is given, other than preparation is underway.

Sales

Holden dealership

You might think that with Holden closing for good, you'd be a bit mad to buy a car. The reality, though, is dealers will likely have a significant stock of vehicles that they need to sell. Consequently, Holden or independent dealers may run clearance sales, resembling the End of Financial Year offers.

Holden has already promised it will honour warranty periods and operate an aftersales network for at least 10 years, meaning these promotions could offer massively slashed prices to buyers.

If you want to capitalise on any upcoming promos, which may occur quickly and with little warning, you should investigate getting pre-approval on a car loan. That way, you can head to a dealership and have a neat bargaining chip up your sleeve. Keep an eye out for demonstrator model deals too!

Holden Commodore VF

Used values

Already, people are starting to speculate on Holden social media groups that used prices for certain models could go up. Those would likely be the made-in-Australia examples that have a dedicated following.

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