Chery J3 M1X (2011-Present)

2013 Chery J3 - No probs, regularly serviced – Purchased the car in 2015, from the original owner. Even though Chery is not poplular, it was alot cheaper to buy for similar age and km than popular makes. It had 23K Kms and was under new car warranty. Under warranty the struts were replaced, but other than that no problems. It has been a reliable car for my daughter, who has owned it for 6… Read more

years now. It has now travelled 89K. It is used daily to work and has travelled from Sunshine coast QLd to Tamworth numerous times, very comfortably. The car is serviced when it is time and that keeps it running well. The auto transmission has always been slow to take off, that it the main downside, but picks up pretty quickly. The paint still looks good except flaking from the side mirrors.

Red Chery Pie 6.5 years later – I put a review on here about a Red Chery J3 auto about six years ago, Its still going like new, about 10,000 klm a year, paint has faded on the mirrors, otherwise nothing wrong with anything, amazing. Gets hammered along the Gateway into Brisbane, M1 to the Gold Coast, around town, still dont like the CVT auto, its still a bit slow but gets up… Read more ·  1

and going, sits on 110 no problem, been up and down the Newell from QLD to VIC a couple times, Aircon on all the way, what can I say, its probably not worth much now but was only cheap to but, cant trade it on another Chery as they are long gone, maybe Haval will give me a coupe thousand trade in, oh well another six years?

J3 Rust Bucket – OK bought this new in 2013, so jut over 5 years old to the day, 46,000 KM. Took to get new WOF (in NZ it's annual road safety inspection). Failed on chassis rust, mechanic said it would cost approx $2000 to fix, though chances are the rust is throughout, and will be an on-going problem. He likened it to Great Wall (gen 1 Utes) had similar issues.… Read more

Said was probably just poor quality steel used and lack of rust treatment used when manufacturing. Just another case of cheap, poor quality product. Hey this lemon is only worth $3K, so decided rather than off load this as trade in, I deregistered and got $500 from wrecker. Feel happier as it's safer off the road.

2012 Chery J3 - REG NO PU28VA – Generally, I enjoy driving my car but on the other hand, there have been more than a number of issues of concern. As i have only done 15,000 kms in the car in almost 5 years I cannot assign these problems to 'wear and tear'. The rear vision mirror fell off twice within the first 4 months. The silver alloy trim on the wheels & strip trims has… Read more

faded and they are starting to go white.

The air-bag and power steering 'warning' lights come on and would not go off, The vehicle is taken to the Chery dealership for repair....at a cost. (this has happened 3 times)

The odometer stopped working. (once again, the Chery Dealer needed to attend to the situation.

The trim on the seat (driver's seat, rear of the seat) is coming away

The lining in the boot of the vehicle is coming away from the body.

The cover on the handbrake came off and had to be replaced. (Replaced via Chery Dealer)

Petrol consumption is good.

Radio/CD Player/volume great.

Comfortable - yes

Never Buy Chery Or Any [Content Removed] Car Ever – I bought chery J3, from Footscray Chery and Greatwall. They gave me car no 1ED 6KS Red Chery J3. I found out later on that the car they gave me had menufacturing defects in Steering Rack, Transmission, Suspension, Shock Absorbers, Dash Board, back sensor, and middle dash board. I had so much drama with dealership who was not willing to accept that… Read more

car has any fault what so ever. When i theaten them to go to court they decided to exchange the with new one, i gave them back Red Chery J3 and they gave me new silver Chery J3 same model.

Guess what, the new car also has same issues, i called

Dealership, they checked the car and told me that they have to contact “ Cheif Engineer “ from Chery and will get back back to me. I waited so long called so many times and finally i was told by dealer principal that he has stopped selling Chery because it has too many faults so I should go and speak to the importer ATECO Automobile Pty Ltd. I called them and their staff did their best to turn me away, screamed at me, abused me, told me off so i dont ask for warrantee. I keep calling them and finally they gave me another mechanics address to take the car, Freeway Ford, their mechanic checked the car and told me that this is a really badly menufactured car and it has been recalled in 2012 due to faults in it. I end up taking them to Court, now matter is in VCAT to resolve.

In a nut shell my advise is to NOT to buy chery. It has no power in engine when you turn the AC on, transmission makes clanking noise it has all te trouble you can possibally think. I beleave all these reviews here about chery being an awesome car ste fake cos in Melbourne there only 2 chery cars i have seen, 1 silver that is mine and one white in Wheeler hills area and thevthird one one is in Qld cos it was my previous red chery. I know it because the new owner broke the speed cam and received the ticket then I have to go through another process to remove ticket from my name.

For Me, chery is just a jinx.

Great value. Excellent quality – I bought this Chery J3 car new for less than $14,000. It includes safety extras as standard such as: side airbags, ABS, automatic rain sensor wipers, automatic lights, reversing sensors, great fuel efficiency. This car has been running perfectly. No problems at all. Very comfortable seats, spacious, luxurious interior, extra large boot space. … Read more

Unbeatable value for money. This car compares favourably to other big name european car makers. I have had it for three years and it is a most reliable car. Very happy. Best car ever.

Excellent!! – Good to drive, I love it. No complaints, very good on petrol. A++ class. The interior is very fancy - leather seats, 6 air bags, power steering, power windows, and the engine is so powerful for 1.6L. 5 years peace of mind, and high performance so far. Drives like dream!  Show details

Amazing Value for money! – -Driving experience is Great, I bought mine brand new this year (2015) but it was a 2014 model so everything was a bit stiff at first, after driving it for 1000Km's everything including the gears now operate without fault. - The seats are not the comfiest but they do the job, and the door arches are a little low so you have to watch your head… Read more

sometimes while hopping in.

-it costs me $60 to fill (premium fuel) from the fuel light coming on, and it gets me about 600 km's to a tank, that's with driving around town a lot and on the highway a lot as well.

-The road noise from the tyre's gets a little loud while getting up to high speeds, but its nothing un bearable.

-The auto lights/Wipers are an awesome feature that work without fault.

-The reverse sensor also works great, although its still a tad difficult figuring out how far you are away exactly.

Red Chery Pie – I was due to update my old commodore which was due for rego and had some minor issues that were going to cost more than it was worth. A quick look on carsales for new cars under $15000 gave me a few options, after looking at some different brands I test drove a Chery J3 and was impressed with it once it was up and running although was unsure if I… Read more

liked the cvt auto. Anyway got a good deal on an J3 auto and got it for my daughters to use as well as myself. I have done 5000klm, and ave about 8-9 klm per 100klm country and town driving. It had a minor fault with the indicator canceller which was fixed under warranty. It is a comfortable day to day car and has been over Mt Hotham both ways, it required a bit of manual gear shifting to get the best out of it up the steeper grades. It could do with a bit extra power for acceleration from a stop and up steeper hills but for normal driving around town and Melb to Gippsland sits on 110klm per hour with cruise selected no problem. Good hatch storage, comfy seats, stereo has good quality although when you turn the car on it is preset to volume 4 and cannot seem to change that setting. Basically it is a cheaper car with good features and feels solid. Aircon is coping with the hotter days well. I am happy with the Red Chery and think for what you pay for it is pretty good quality. I had a minor service with an oil change and it was well under $200 which is affordable to keep it in good condition, I asked for the service it wasn't required until 10000klm. I did some research before buying it, it was rated about average by the car critics and when you think about the cost of more established cars, so what if it looses value all brands do, there are some crash tests from overseas on the web, it seems to have a solid passenger zone, I think it will be a safe and reliable car for my needs, I would buy a Chery again and they should keep improving, may be the only place to trade it in maybe 5-6 years.

Best budget car around – I bought my J3 on Sep 2013 on pay half now and half next year deal and have done 17000Km so far. I did a good 3 months car reviews before moving to Australia.I had 7 or 8 BMWs and 2 Mercs in last 20 years and didn't want to buy a second hand BMW since I was new in Australia and didn't know a good and honest European car mechanic. I put aside $13K… Read more

to buy a car, I compared all Japanese such as Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and also Holden Cruise. I could buy an 8 year old Japanese or 10 year old European.

With same features which J3 has, you have to pay at least $10K more for a Japanese one or even a bit more for a same size Holden.So I decided to buy a J3, manual white, great car, heaps of spaces at the back and in the boot.

Powerful stereo and 6 airbags etc as you may all know.

There was a minor issue with the window seal which caused to hear the wind noise while driving over 80km.Dealer replaced it in no time.

I paid $260 or $290 for 10K scheduled service, I also rotated the tyres and asked them to do a wheel alignment.

My wife drives this car and she just loves it.Small to park every where but big enough to put heaps of stuff since we have 2 kids.

The only thing that I don't like is its heavy weight because it causes to use more gas,a 2 litre engine would be much better and more economic that this 1.6.

Also when turning the stereo, if you were listing to CD or using USB before turning the car off, the volume starts from 7 and gives you a heart attack.(dealer said it can't be fixed).

Combined, I couldn't get any better than 9 l/100 and the reason is heavy body and small engine, the engine itself is good but not for a 1400kg car.

As other reviewers mentioned, if aircon going and you are driving uphill or kicking off the car from the 0km , it will be a struggle.

I live in Brisbane and one of the dealers here stopped giving service to Cherys so I have to drive 40km to get to the dealership and it made me wonder if other dealerships are going to do the same in future.

Overall is a great car,will I buy it again, it depends on the service which dealers would offer in future.

I think I won't be able to sell this car so I have to drive it till it dies,having said that, I paid $13K for this car and even a 2nd hand car may die after 3 or 4 years, so I don't think I am losing much.

Great Little Car – Have had tmy Chery J3 for 5 years now and have done 75,000kms and am more then happy with it. I bought it thinking that for the price, if it only lasts me five years then it would still be worth it but Im quite convinced that it will go the distance like all other new cars. The rear door handles give me a lot of laughs as people try and get in… Read more

through the front seat not realising it is a 5 door! Love the auto wipers and lights. I think it is the best car around for the money.

Love my little J3! – I bought my J3 back in April and so far I still remain extremely happy with my purchase, it's a great little car, packed with features and great value for money. I decided to go with Chery white in manual, it's definitely a head turner in the streets of Melbourne. There's one one trim level currently available which includes some standard key… Read more

features I enjoy including, auto headlights, auto wipers with speed control, black leather interior and a 6 speaker stereo with mp3 compatibility. The speakers are impressive with lots of bass. Bluetooth is available as an extra cost option. An extra feature not mentioned in the Australia brochures, is the " see me home headlights" to active this, have the headlight switch in AUTO position and pull back on the indicator stalk. The headlights will then stay on for 20 seconds and then turn off automatically. I personally think the exterior styling is fantastic with it's sleek coupe like shape enhanced by the hidden rear door handles and the tear drop led tail lights. The dual exhaust also give this car a unique romance.

The fuel economy is quite good, especially when fueled with premium 98 RON fuel, BP is my car's favorite, I have managed 900 kilometres on a tank many times.

Overall I think this unique little car is great value for money, with a solid feel, packed with features and safety equipment, definitely worth a look at, I personally can't wait until the J4 arrives next October.

20,000kms+ on the clock. Great car – Overall I would rate this little car as GREAT and excellent value for money.I have a beautiful Merc, a Honda Accord and a Ford Ranger 4WD. This is my everyday work commuter car and never misses a beat! Only issue which I'm about to change is that the stereo has no Bluetooth, so out with the Factory stereo and in with a Kenwood or Pioneer BT player. That is if I can find someone who can instruct me on how to remove the factory stereo!!

Its not perfect but am very happy and still impressed aftera month and half – I bought a J3 goes fine a bit skeptical but its good value for money. I few minor issues which are being fixed under warranty. February 7th 2015 Update: The cheryJ3 represents tremendous value for money. It's the new kid on the block and they give you loads of extras $5000. And $5000 below market rate.  Show details

very happy – I bought my J3 about 4 months ago. I am so happy with it! at first i was a little skeptical, but it has lived up to every expectation i have. it is comfortable to drive and fits all my stuff in the huge boot! i had one small issue with the side indicator coming off, but the dealership i bought it from where so great and fixed it straight away.… Read more

reliable, cheep to run, comfortable, great sound for music, usb is awesome, auto lights are great! not the fastest car around

Better then expected – Background I had a limited budget and I started looking for used Ford Falcons with LPG. My budget was around $15,000. I have always hated the idea of buying cars new as the value drops thousands of dollars as soon as you leave the showroom but at my age I was going to look after this car and run it into the ground slowly (so I would have it for a… Read more ·  8

long time). I tend to look after my cars and bikes so they are still new after so many years.

I was looking at good ex-government cars from the car auctions but they were still too expensive. All the used cars in my budget had more than 120,000 kms on the odometer and were five or six years old. Not bad but you never know what you are getting; and it won’t be long before they are ten years old and you get no warranty (private sales).

I saw an advertisement for a Chery and thought other Chinese brands like ‘Great Wall’ were earning a great reputation with local tradesmen. Chery is one of the biggest producers of cars in the world but didn't export outside of China. Hyundai was an unknown brand ten years ago and now they are producing great quality cars.

I decided to test drive a Chery at my local dealer. The J3 looks much bigger ‘in the flesh’ and the solid red paint was very sexy with its imitation chrome door plates covering the door entrance. I went with the boring 'low maintenance' metallic silver.

Inclusions

This car had nice smelling leather upholstery and 16 inch alloy wheels, extras not found on most cars in this price range. The Mazda 3 and Toyota Corolla are $10,000 more in price so it is unfair to make a direct comparison except in size.

Other inclusions are separate interior lights for the main cabin, driver and front passenger (including two more for the rear passengers), red lights in the front doors when they are open, light in the mirror for the front passenger, single CD player, MP3 via CD-R or mini USB jack, full alloy spare wheel, seatbelt sensors for both front seats, rear window demister, exterior mirror demisters, only two rear reversing sensors, automatic headlights, separate power socket and cigarette lighter, outside temp always displayed, ability to remove the rear parcel tray for loading larger items, seat belt height adjustment, ABS and EDC braking, split rear seats, rear centre console with drink holders, light in the boot space, fog driving lights, dimmable red dash lights, power windows, electronically adjustable external mirrors, six airbags, automatic rain sensing window wipers, height adjustable headlights using a dial on the dashboard, alarm system, stereo remote on the steering wheel (volume, mute, band and source only), the six speaker stereo sounds great and bassy, central locking and adjustable steering height. There is a handy 'top lid' storage compartment in the middle of the dashboard where I put my sunnies and other items. The front doors have storage pockets. All cars come with power steering and air conditioning nowadays.

The dealer was offering three years factory warranty and another three years dealer warranty if I continued to get the car serviced through them.

Exclusions

The more expensive brand cars have Bluetooth connectivity, lumbar support and seat height adjustments (all absent from the Chery J3). Also this car came with only one key remote control (and one maintenance key), no cruise control, no rear wiper (this is a hatch not a sedan), cr@%&y low volume horn and no centre console armrest for the driver. My sunglasses don't fit into the purpose built overhead storage compartment. I had to get the front passenger seat belt replaced as it wouldn't come out and the rear passenger light was intermittently staying on. The main thing about this car is its low powered engine (1,600 cc) and heavy weight. You get used to it and it does get you from ‘A to B’ but taking off on hills are a pain as cars sit on your tail. The manual gearshift is clunky but solid. Once you wind up the engine on the freeway you can easily sit on 130 kph and I am passing many cars.

I always ‘reverse park’ so the missing rear window wiper isn’t an issue when I come out in the morning and the rear window is all ‘fogged up’ all the way to the local train station. The leather trim can come out on the rear edges of the front seats and need ‘tucking back in’ occasionally.

The car drives as smoothly as anything else I have driven. There are no rattles and the steering is solid and zero road noise. The carpet looks like carpet but mine got flooded as the air conditioning drainage tube came off and the passenger side flooded. The ‘carpet’ is like fluffy rubber and totally waterproof. I got it ‘wet and dry’ vacuumed and it was good as new afterwards.

Conclusion

Would I buy another Chery?? Probably YES. It is built for the budget conscious minded driver. Having said that it is a great car so far (10,000 kms) and I am pleased at its quality inclusions. I never see another car the same model on the road but I am a pioneer. When I see another Chery (usually a J11) I honk my measly horn and they smile back as they know we are in a very exclusive club. Cheap, nice quality inclusions Built to a price, some teething issues