Commodore motors.

Is the 3.8 cc v6 any good? Anything to look out for? Or is the 3.6 alot better ? Thinking about buying one. Any info much appreciated.

Covered in these threads lots of times. 3.8 is honest and tough as old boots. 3.6 Is more modern design but first ones had issues. Depends on the price and specific car

monaro17 has hit it on the head, if you can afford the fuel bill and old technology then the 3.8 is a very good engine.Cheap as chips now.

google "just commodores" then type in 3.8 versus 3.6 you will get threads with real feedback.

3.8 been around a long time and a lot of cheap mods available and parts cheap as chips,3.6 good motor biggest problem noisey timing chains and expensive to replace cheapest I heard of was $2.5k

I have a 3.8 VS and have towed tandem car transporter trailers from Ashburton all over the south island. The last trip I did towing 1 was to Omarama . From memory it was 270 km, 2 1/2 hrs drive and 27 litres of petrol to get there. My old VS has over 600,000km on the clock and I trust it more than my 3.6 SV6. In my opinion the 3.8 is a great engine but the 3.6 SV6 is so much better just open road cruising without a trailer. Fuel consumption between the pair is 3.8 & 4 speed auto usually around 10 litres per 100 km but the 3.6 & 5 speed auto can get as low as 7.2 litres per 100km on trips when driven responsibly. Both cars are stock standard but the VS does have a cold air intake. Either way change oil and filter every 10,000 km and drive it like you stole it and it should last a while. I know my VS has definitely been used and abused by myself and my 20 yr old son but it is just so reliable which is why it has done the km and I still keep it even though I have the much nicer SV6.

3.6. Look for stretched timing chains. Replace coils and you have a good engine