Car buying advice

[Mr.Tweak]

Here's the situation... I am going to be saving up for a new car over the next few months - something in the range of $18,000 - $25,000 AUD.

I'd like to get into a decent and well looked after Holden VT or VX Commodore (perferablly VX).

What type of price should I be looking for (second hand) and when I am at the time of buying what things should I look out for, remembering I know little about cars?

Or,

Does anyone have any other suggestions for cars in this price range? considering I will be limited to a V6 engine on my P's.



: peace2:

[SegiY]

get a straight 6, skyline :cool:

[Moose]

Does anyone have any other suggestions for cars in this price range? considering I will be limited to a V6 engine on my P's.



: peace2:

You are not limited to a V6 on your P's, you can have a V8 as long as the power/weight ratio does not exceed the specified limit.

In general you can drive any V8 up to a 308 :)

imo the VT series II was better (as far as Holdens go) than the VX

[SegiY]

do you have power restrictions over there!!!
HA there is acctually something better about tasmainia! who would of known.

[Wiggo]

The other thing with the V8 is the extra insurance slug that comes with it and his age. :rolleyes2
<center>:cheers:</center>

[Moose]

do you have power restrictions over there!!!
HA there is acctually something better about tasmainia! who would of known.

Yeah, Victoria are fairly tight.

QLD on the other hand do not have power restrictions, you can put a 13B in a Mazda 323 if you wanted :p

[Slamo]

The cheapest of the VX commodores that you will find about this time is around the 24,000 - 27,000 mark and that is for the basic ones.

You can find a VT S2 for as little as 19,000 but that is really pushing it.

NEVER go for ex-government/fleet cars because the previous drivers will have thrashed them to the ****ter and you'll have heaps of problems with them.

Don't get a VT S1 as they are ****.

As Moose said, you can drive anything up to but not including a 308 in a commodore and still be legal although be warned, every copper out there has a different view on this and you may get fined.

In your price range you would be best getting either:

VS S2
VT S2
or VX

Personally I would look for a HSV model VS as they are becoming cheaper and still look **** hot. I have a friend who bought a VT with a clubsport body kit on it and an Alphine stereo system for 18500. A very good find indeed.

[Wiggo]

One word of advise, even though it's been over a couple of decades since I had my "P's" (they didn't last so long back then), but get something that the cops won't look twice at because something that stands out w/ P plates on it will only guarrantee a ticket sooner or later (and disqualified licence) as cops can see sore thumbs much easier than plain Jane's. :devil win
<center>:cheers:</center>

[Moose]

Personally I think you could do a lot better than a Commodore for that price range.

Commodore and Ford build quality and the lever of QC is no where near as good as Japanese and European standards.

Have a look around, and don't grab the first car that takes your fancy.

You could also check out some Nissan 200SXs, very very nice cars, and amazing handlers :)

If you like the pleasure and thrill of driving a car that accelerates quickly, nippy and handles beautifully through twisty roads then look elsewhere than the Commodore.

If you like a car that cruises well on highways, but is heavy and bulky and not so good for the twisties then go for the Commodore..

[Bahamut Zer0]

Agree. You said it yourself- you know very little about cars. Stick a heavy commodore/ford that handles like a boat under you and youll find yourself in ditches more than the road. Body kits arent cheap to replace for those thing either. A few of my mates all did their driving experience in big V8s and went on to get a v8 for their first car. Those people are still asking me for lifts because theyve ****ed their car over because of their lack of knowledge. Eperience they have however. It does squat when they run into a tree/parked car however.

Get something that will hug the road and learn from it. Once you see how a car operates on the road, and how differently it reacts to terrain, youll be ready to start paying for more fuel. :)

200sx...nice choice. As long as it hasnt been abused, theyll go like a dream. The 8 will take you on the freeway, but youll **** him up good and proper when the road deviates from a straight line. Traffic light to traffic light youll smoke him as well.

[Fieldgenerator]

[fourwheelreviews]

Re: Car buying advice

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