BA Falcon opinions please

k837, May 4, 8:33am
Looking at buying a Ba,what are they like when theyr up in the k's a little,any probs that theyv had etc

casper35, May 4, 8:47am
What km has it done and what year.

roys351, May 4, 9:05am
two of my bro inlaws have had ba,s for about 2 years one is a fairmont other a falcon no probs yet. falcon is hi k,s

k837, May 4, 9:16am
thanks guys always good to get different opinions on them,looking at 03 onwards and round the 130k onwards

was never a fan of the au's but do like the BA shape and the things that i have heard about them

pup2, May 4, 9:21am
Done lots of body modules on em, odd one with broken mixer door shafts and HIM modules. Other wise they look good and go good

casper35, May 4, 9:21am
Awesome car on trips heaps of power good on gas on trips.

pdh, May 4, 9:53am
I have a 2005 BA XR6 Turbo and asked a similar question about a year ago. Good advice given that I will share.

Watch for rust problems in the early BAs. Check the top of the boot below the back window for the first sign. I was surprised how many early models had this problem when I was looking around.
Dash rattle. Seems to be a minor issue.
Problems with the back diff. Someone told me to take note when slowly down and coming to a halt and see if you feel anything odd coming from the back end.
Kilomentres didn't seem to be an issue as they seem to go for ever. I ended up with one with about 85km on the clock.

I'm happy with my car but you have to be aware of some of the issues out there. Others will no doubt add to or confirm the above.

ajayzbabe, May 4, 10:11am
Never had an issue with mine, its a 2004 Fairmont, good cars for the $$ especialy at the moment with the petrol prices scaring people off from purchasing bigger vehicles. Mines for sale due to having a company car now, My loss is someone elses gain

j.feck, May 4, 10:25am
Look for rust in the boot under parcel tray in the seams au ba/bf common if you want to tow fit an aftermarket trans cooler factory one is crap and common failure killing the trans.
hand brake need constant adjustment to stop the woosh woosh noise ha ha and they are hard on brake rotors.
Command centre in the dash can cause a few problems i found poorly designed multi plug set up was the cause other than that pretty good cars for the money

k837, May 5, 5:08am
awesome thanks for the opinions im a holden man at heart but the look and what iv heard has swayed me a lil on the later model coons :)

unbeatabull, May 5, 5:15am
Mellisa has covered most things. Other things with the BA that are common are ball joints, combo switches (head lights etc) wires break, suspension bushes, sway bar bushes, Trans need servicing every 90k, Throttle body often get dirty and cause rough idle, easy to clean just remove intake hose and get someone to hold throttle down and grab a toothbrush and some brakeclean. They tend to chew through the inner edges on tyres, run around 36-38 PSI. Diff bushes tend to give trouble too which involves dropping whole rear subframe to replace.

Most of hte stuff that goes wrong with them is all very easy and cheap to repair other then the electrical stuff which can cost you a bit if you take it somewhere to be done.

joker9377, May 5, 8:25am
I had an 03 BA. Failed a WOF at 60km lower ball joints. Next WOF fail for rust in sills both sides on top about 200mm from hinges. Just rusted 20mm dia holes through same place both sides. Bit random. Exhaust fell off (rust) wouldnt start sometimes, was just totally dead then leave it for 20 mins and it would start.
I loved it because of the grunt and nice ride but just couldnt live with the fact it was a lemon. Will never buy another one.

joker9377, May 5, 9:34am
Sorry forgot to say it was a ute and the best fuel I ever got was a trip round the sth island with a sleekline canopy on and it did 9.0/100 but around 12+ around town

rovercitroen, May 5, 4:37pm
Rule No. 1. Personal experience and experience of others I know - With a Falcon or a Commodore never buy the first year of a new model. They often have teething problems, although maybe one that has done a few kms should have had most of the niggly issues sorted out under warranty in the first 3 years if the owners were using a good Ford or Holden service agent. With the price of fuel going up, if you don't do big kms or can claim the fuel for business use, these larger cars are fantastic value for money now.

hfc2, May 5, 6:19pm
Yep, we have an 03, XR great car, Only issue is air bag light, done brake pads at 75000 and had no other issues. Great family tourer and just loves tight windy roads best falcon in years.

mopsy3, May 6, 4:29am
Sounds like it may have towed a boat in a previous life.

casper35, May 8, 5:36am
Mine is cheaper to run than my 2 ltr mazda wagon was.

morrisjvan, Jan 28, 3:50pm
I've got a 2005 wagon ,120.000ks rear window rubber has shrunk away a bit ,steering wheel has a worn patch on it where my thumb goes and is starting to split !cup holders are in the wrong position and are bloody useless any way. apart from that a great car .went to Invercargill a couple of weeks ago ,took it pretty quietly and got 7.7l /100k .