SS Used Car Purchase Advice

[draculr]

Ok, so I am really dead set on a VE SS for around the $30k mark. This seems to bring me to a lot of circa 2008/9 cars with between 40-70k kms.

Obviously these are all out of warranty now and I had some bad experiences with an out of warranty BMW (lets just say never again!). I could opt for a 2010/11 SV6 for that sort of cash, possibly even a series II... but I get the feeling I will always wish I went for the V8!

The question is, whats the deal with the VE of that period? I hear a lot of bad stories about rattles etc. but the two VEs my mates own (2009 international and 2009 calais v sportswagon) both seem to be about the same level as a Mazda in terms of interior quality and both seemed free from major rattles and squeeks when I sat in them briefly.

So just some general questions:
Is it a bad idea getting a VE out of warranty?
Are things costlier repair wise for the V8?
Is the auto ok? (I am coming off three manual cars but want to get an auto now).
Holden certified used car mean anything apart from the warranty? Do they actually do a proper inspection on it before it gets marked as certified?
Anything I should be aware of before purchasing a car?

[Wonky]

I think with rattles it's a case of not many rattle but when they do the owners complain loudly. I've had two VEs, a 2007 SSV sedan which did around 30,000km and now an 09 SSV ute which has done over 45,000km. Neither has suffered rattles and the ute dashboard has been apart a few times for alarm and gauge installations etc.. To get to our place involves about 1.5 or 2km of dirt road (depending which way we come in) and the main dirt road our road runs off has been bone jarringly bad for corrugations in the last few months much of the time (even most 4WD travel down most of it at a max of 50kmh and most non 4WD, even newer cars, do more like 30 - 40kmh). I try to slow right down on the bad sections to about 20kmh unless a car is behind me but my car has no rattles I'm aware of once I get off that filling loosener road.

I don't think it's a bad idea buying a VE out of warranty, depending on what you pay for it in the first place of course. :) I'm not really at all concerned that my car will be out of warranty next month as I know it's been regularly serviced by mechanics I trust at Chev's down here. A few things on the V8 will be more expensive than the V6 but on here a lot of V8 parts come up for sale second hand cheap as people upgrade.

The A6 is fine with a tune, can be a little bit indecisive otherwise. If the worst comes to the worst Holmart and other places have complete A6s and motors etc at quite reasonable prices (muuuuuuuuuuch cheaper than dealers typically).

Maybe I'm prejudiced but I reckon the Holden certified crap is nothing much more than just a sales gimmick. Realistically Holden dealers should know more on what to look for on a late model Holden than a little corner yard, but maybe that also means they also know how to hide it better if it's a big item??? :confused:

Two pieces of advice. 1. Do a REVS check as there are lots of repairable write offs around from various natural disasters, hail etc as well as accidents. 2. Organise to take it to a workshop up there who specialises in these cars eg. one of the many reputable sponsors up there. It may cost you $100??? :confused: to get them to give it a thorough check over but could well save you many times that in the long run!! :yup:

[redvxr8clubby]

Holden Certified, just means the car has had servicing done by a dealer, ie the car would have log books and you should be able to see service history. Also supposed to be checked over by their workshop. I can't say what a VE is like out of warranty, but I have had Commodores since 1984 and never had any major issues. I had my VS for 13 years from new and while I had to get rear main seal done and occasional other items like exhaust and water pump, belts etc. I really can't complain (only had about 145,000Km when I sold the VS. I also had an '02 VX II Calais LS1 and traded it about 9 months ago on a MY10 SV6, no real problems with the Calais, but it only had 96,000Km on it. The Calais was Holden Certified to the previous owner, but I bought it from a Ford dealer. If you've got $30K to spend and decide to go SV6, for that money you should be able to get a series II, or save some bucks and get a 2010 series one, my daughter just bought a 2010 series one 2010 SV6 (Karma) from a Holden dealer in Brisbane for $23,800. The car is ex rental, but with 44,000 Km great value. If the warranty thing is a concern and $30K is the budget, you should be able to get a used 2011 SV6 and still have 2 years warranty, get it dealer serviced and maintain the warranty. The SV6 really goes very well, an MY10 or series II has the DI 210KW engine and 6 speed auto, you don't really need a V8, definite fuel consumption benefits with the V6 if you mainly drive in urban areas. In saying that though, there is no substitute for a V8, the V8 is awesome, the six is good. Of course on the other hand if warranty is a major concern, stretch the budget, and pickup a brand new 2011 build SV6, 3 years warranty, look around, with haggling I think you could get one around $33 - $34K you might even score one with reversing camera and park assist.

[SSVHM2.5]

I did a lot of research before purchasing my 2 year old SSV through a Holden Dealer. It still had a year of factory warranty left and they added 3 years drivetrain warranty but you had to service it with them. 30000k service cost me $700. They charged me $152 for oil.............. For the 45k service I added a exhaust, OTR and had Autotechnique tune the car. They also serviced the car. ($290) Thus the warranty I had is now null and void but I am very confident that nothing will go wrong with the engine.(Touch wood) Great car..

[Jman]

As Wonky has said, just make sure you do a REVS check if buying privately. Also the other golden rule, make sure its had its servicing done regularily. You shouldnt have too many major problems with a vehicle that done 40-70k. As for rattles etc, its pretty much a lottery but you should be able to detect any major ones on a decent test drive. In any case, I had an E1 Clubby for 5 years and 96,000k and never one rattle in it so was still very tight. Mine was auto and whilst probably not as smooth as the Fords still hummed along nicely. The fuel economy on long trips was extraordinary with the 6 speed box, less than 10L per 100KM.

My opinion, get the SS because if you get the SV6 you will forever see the SS on the road after that and wish you had got one.

[BLACKVE]

Wait a while, we bought a 09(nov) SS auto sedan with 9500km's for $30000 6 months ago in the colour the misses wanted(poision ivy). It's was a private sale but has 1 year warranty still, we were looking at SV6's but the SS poped up and we grabbed it.

Best of luck V8's are hard to sell atm so haggle

[draculr]

Thanks for all the replies! I am going to go test drive some cars this weekend, both SV6 and SS. If I am going to get an SV6 I definitely want it to be a Series 2 however it is crazy the prices theyre listed at... sometimes more than the price you can buy a new one other times just under! I hope theyre ready to drop quite a lot from that.

[motorin on]

Anthony Lahood at Granville has a 2010 Poison Ivy SS auto for $29,999 with 73545 klm's.So there is still new car warranty-I tempted to go and look at it tomorrow,mbe an ex govt car
David Lahood at Homebush has a red one-2010 with 71,000 k's for $31,500

[lease1]

Anthony Lahood at Granville has a 2010 Poison Ivy SS auto for $29,999 with 73545 klm's.So there is still new car warranty-I tempted to go and look at it tomorrow,mbe an ex govt car
David Lahood at Homebush has a red one-2010 with 71,000 k's for $31,500

Ex hwp - don't go near it!

[joeboss]

Do not buy a ex hwp car under no circumstance. There are good private buys out there

[redvxr8clubby]

Thanks for all the replies! I am going to go test drive some cars this weekend, both SV6 and SS. If I am going to get an SV6 I definitely want it to be a Series 2 however it is crazy the prices theyre listed at... sometimes more than the price you can buy a new one other times just under! I hope theyre ready to drop quite a lot from that.

For some reason if you look at used VE II's on carsales, the genuine VEII SV6's start about $28,000 but for some reason in that price range mostly in Victoria and Qld, seem to be non existant in NSW. The ones at $28K have about 50,000 Km on them and I would say are most likely ex rentals. If you want new for 3 years warranty, but best price, 2011 build MY11 would be the answer, just a thought if you don't buy this weekend, those 2011 build cars that the dealers still have, will be a month older, and it could be a little easier to get a better deal. At some point (I think once they are older than 3 months) they start to discount a bit more to move them, so a car built in November the price might drop a little in March. This is probably the best time of the year to pickup a car with build date a few months old for a better price. I guess it depends how much stock they're carrying, and then if you like the colours and options fitted that they have left.

[motorin on]

Ex hwp - don't go near it!
My current VY ride is ex hwp but it was low k's when I bought it(65220k's).If I had known when I bought it that it was ex hwp I probably would have walked on it,I have had it since 2007 and it still goes well ,has never let me down-touch wood,the car is looking it's age with a few scuff marks and needs a wash but it is still strong under power (dyno n auto service),just seems to glide along.
I keep thinking about about upgrading but am 2 miserable to spend 20k of my hard earned savings to get a VE,the VY is not worth much as a trade,will get $8,500 if I was lucky so need a big cash top up
I have been looking for a 2nd car for during the week as I drive mine visiting clients all week for work and am racking up the k's pretty fast and don't enjoy it as much any more as I spend so much time in it
If I buy private then I need to be able to get rid of mine which will probably mean a good detail and some ding repairs in the rear bar instead of just trading in

[draculr]

Well I just spent the weekend checking out a few SV6 and SS's at some holden dealers but the used ones were all awful.

The only decent ones were the low km demos but price wise they weren't giving too much better than new. Not sure how to proceed from here, I am being told its around 39k for a new auto SV6 do they not discount any futher?

[Phillshz]

Ex hwp - don't go near it!

I would avoid any of the Lahood boys (there are three brothers IIRC) yards, if possible. They mainly deal in Holden ex police cars (HWP,Chasers & the odd V6 G/D car)

[therealm]

you could always take a drive out to country NSW and check this dealer out
always seems to have quite a few SS and SSV around
http://www.billdandofinercars.com.au/default.htm