Anyone here owns a 04 holden commodore wagon

jas_nz, Aug 20, 5:46am
thinking of buying a vy wagon for myself. just wondering is there anything i should look out for when going to test drive the car.and also , are there any major downsidesto it like gearbox breaking a certain amount of time later or diff playing up. first time holden buyer. usually stick to japanese cars but its time for a change
a.woodrow, Aug 20, 5:49am
make sure all the door locks work smoothly, expensive to replace. if the diff is getting worn you will hear it whine. Transmissions fail from time to time as with any other vehicle, usually at 200k +, not terribly expensive to replace with a 2nd hand unit. recon units from ac delco are about $2,500 if you didn't want second hand. Make sure the power steering rack isn't leaking, that's the only other common fault I can think of, they are generally a good car
jas_nz, Aug 20, 5:55am
this car has done 240000kms. they reckon they always serviced it on time and it actually looks really neat and tidy. no rips or tears in the interior and no scuffs or dents outside either. just dont know how to check mechanical. ill keep that in mind . might reschedule it for tomorrow morning as it will easier to see if its leaking anything
a.woodrow, Aug 20, 6:00am
those are the main things to check, it's about $800 all up to swap out a leaking rack for a reco one after wheel alignment etc. But they are a pretty good wagon even with higher k's. Don't be surprised if you see some minor engine oil leaks, nothing to worry about unless it's got drips hanging off it
xs1100, Aug 20, 6:15am
getting on a bit now.have you looked at the vz 3.6 far more economical
a.woodrow, Aug 20, 6:21am
I disagree, there's not much between them economy wise, and the early 3.6 has timing chain issues
monaro17, Aug 20, 6:23am
Interesting you say that. I own a VE with the 3.6 and an older VX with that 3.8 motor. And I find that they are nearly identical in terms of fuel consumption- the old 3.8 uses slightly less towing, is quieter and is just about as quick.
jas_nz, Aug 20, 6:46am
im only looking at the vy because its less then 5k.i dont think it would make a major difference being 3.6 or 3.8 would it!
a.woodrow, Aug 20, 6:51am
stick with the 3.8, you won't notice any economy difference and the price seems reasonable
monaro17, Aug 20, 7:52am
Yep, if you don't need the extra powerof the 3.6 go for the 3.8
xs1100, Aug 20, 8:53am
i know a heap of people getting quite a saving on the 3.6 over the 3.8 and as far as the timing chain issue mainly seems to affect vechile that have not been serviced as regularly as they should and not just the earlier ones the ve seems to be the real bad one
mrgts4, Aug 20, 8:56am
We have a vy wagon. Done 340,000km now and is still going strong. We bought it at 300,000km and have only replaced the radiator, some steering part, not sure what it was but wasnt expensive and the round trip computer buttons to the left of steering wheel, which was only $60 brand new from holden. Parts are really cheap compared to jap.
My brother recomended the vy over the vz, he is a mechanic at a holden service agent.
jas_nz, Aug 20, 9:12am
thats pretty much whats been done to the car im seeing tomorrow.hopefully its gonna be a good purchase.what sort of mileage are you getting on ur wagon! i would assume it would be much cheaper to drive long distance then arround town
a.woodrow, Aug 20, 9:57am
The timing chain issue is due to poor quality parts, not servicing, and the first of the ve's and captiva had the same issue until higher quality parts were rolled in. Any fuel savings would be mostly in driving style, unless you look at the SIDI motor in the later ve series
tigger8, Aug 20, 11:20pm
make sure you get 2 keys as they are not cheap
mrgts4, Aug 21, 3:08am
We get arond 12-13l per 100km around town but long didtance is alot better. I can drive from Porirua to Auckland on 1 tank of gas.
They aren't the best handling or performance but they are really practical. Our A33 maxima had better performance, handling and finish but it just wasn't big enough, parts were expensive and they didn't come out in a station wagon
monaro17, Aug 21, 4:06am
This is true- my son's A32 3000cc Cefiro/Maxima is more powerful than my 3.8 Commodore, only slightly less torque and is noticeably faster and more refined
guest, Sep 26, 12:46am
TyranyI used to own a HQ column shift with the 253 motor. Amazingly, at least 5 of the 6 cyidnlers actually worked.I have always maintained that to improve the handling, I should have replaced the front bench seat with bucket seats.253 had 8 cyidnlers, in case you weren't being sarcastic.VN:F [1.9.20_1166](from 0 votes)
guest, Sep 26, 6:05pm
If the price is anything like that of the Teslas, then we are paynig double what anyone else in the world is. I priced a Tesla Roadster at 236k here in Australia yet the same model in the US was 109k (taking into account their grants for EV's etc, and we were at PARITY with the USD .VN:F [1.9.20_1166](from 0 votes)
guest, Sep 28, 3:32pm
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