VT Acclaim?

[AMP]

Hey Folks,

I am in the position to buy a new car, and have a few options open to me, and one of them includes a VT Acclaim. I am a fan of the VT look, however, I also have the option of a EL/AU Falcon Futura, which I believe to be at the same spec level. Tell me that buying a Commodore is a better buy than a Falcon. I am in two minds, The Falcon is there, and can be bought tomorrow, however the Acclaims are a nicer car, especially to drive. Any advice on what to look out for in a Commodore in particular would be great.

-Andrew

[markone2]

Last time I was at a Dealers Auction....(make that last Friday...) good VT Accliams were starting at 8.5K while AU Fairmonts were selling for $5500...there lies the answer to your question...which is the preferred vehicle ? ;)

ps..wanna guess how many EL's you can buy for the price of One VT Acclaim?

[Chris52]

The VT Acclaim is streets ahead of any EL derivative and the AU :spew: well?
My wife drives a VT 2 Acclaim wagon - reliable and safe and better looking - nuff said!

Cheers

Chris.

[AMP]

Now this is where the problem lies. I am a fence sitter. I have no preference between Ford and Holden. If you say that you can get a AU Fairmont for $5.5K, and a VT Acclaim for $8.5K, I will ask where this auction was. The problem with Fords, especially the AUs, are the fact that they loose money quickly. The Acclaim is more likely to keep its value. I will have to have a look at my funds and work out what I want.


-Andrew

[Swordie]

If the Holden is nice to drive take that. The 3.8 motor is very strong and lasts along time and will be slightly more economical than the Ford.

[mmciau]

In general terms, the Holden VT is a better car. The V6 is an honest castiron engine with few vices. Perhaps the most likely component failure may be a water pump at about 8-10 years.

I have a VS Acclaim with dual fuel and at 155K Km. I have had a water pump and a power steering pump. There has been no other engine component need replacing.

Recently I had fuel pump failure but I attribute that to my fault.

The auto transmission has never faulted.

I have reservations about the alloy heads on Falcons. The ELs and AUs had head stud problems as I recall and I'm not sure if it was overcome properly.

Mike

[xshore]

I traded my AU falcon in to buy an VT2SS, about 8ish months ago I got $13000 on trade in which was good as thats what I would have sold it for on street. The only trouble I got from it was they go through brake pads VERY quick and rotors quick too (I don't have a light foot though). If you can get over the grey interior depending on which series you get its a reliable car. Only 1 in 10000 like the shape of it. Ford spent a pretty penny developing that car (500 surveys on what they wanted and not a single one from the general public ... thats where the root of the dislike is I reckon). They're a good car, no body likes them, hence you get them cheap as. XT's are already cheap too. I drive my bosses VT acclaim sometimes (twice today) and I reckon the AU is a heap better drive. More torque, better feeling tranny, less body roll around corners. Most AU's I see have paint in good nick (omitting taxis), where as VT's paint work is starting to look old. The leap from my AU to the SS is something I can't explain unless you do it yourself. I'm like you, I like both ford and holden. Can't comment on fuel economy because mine was on gas impco and petrol and was the cheapest petrol bill I ever had.

[Aus8]

Hey mate bit of a silly question to ask on a LS1 forum full of Commodore owners isnt it? For a fair analysis I would ask the same on fordforums.com.au or even better take both for a drive and see which YOU like better.

Cheers

Aus8

[AMP]

Hey mate bit of a silly question to ask on a LS1 forum full of Commodore owners isnt it? For a fair analysis I would ask the same on fordforums.com.au or even better take both for a drive and see which YOU like better.

Cheers

Aus8

I did a google search for Holden Forum, and this was the first one to come up. I have driven both, and the Commodore wins in the driving test, but you can't beat the inclusions that a Futura comes with. The main reason for asking however, was to ask about real world experiences, and how the cars act and if there have been any problems with the model in question. I will ask on ff.com.au.

-Andrew

[Jizzlobber]

After having a father working in local government who always had the latest model Futura/Acclaim spec cars for work, I feel I can comment on the choices you are looking at.
EL Futura: Engine is torquey and good spread of power, although fuel consumption wasn't great and interiour and exteriour styling has dated somewhat. Nice steering feel, but live rear axle not the best on rough surfaces

AU1 Falcon: admitedly this was a Forte, but they are similar to drive to the Futura. Nice steering feel again, but let down by tacky interior, bland exterior styling, 4wd ride height, undersized brakes and poor resale. On the plus side head issues are virtually non existant and they are a very tough car.

AU2 Futura: Absolutely miles ahead of the early build AU1 we had in terms of cabin noise, ride height, front styling and interior quality. Still retained the quality steering feel, but perhaps ride was softened a bit, the lack of IRS still hurt on rough roads though. Better brakes were another positive however.

VT1 Acclaim: Leads the previous in terms of styling, cabin quality and feel, seating position and IRS. Let down by slightly less torquey engine, which did give good fuel economy however. Ours did a rear main seal at 80,000km's, although I was only just 18 when we had it, so it was treated pretty roughly. Traction control is another positive, although it did shut the engine down on my father once when he was entering traffic in the wet. I get the feeling this car wasn't quite as tough as the Falcon's but it is a clear winner over the EL and AU1 Falcons in my opinion, whether it is better then an AU2 is debatable however, and I think you should drive both before making a decision.

The beauty is that whichever way you go, you will get a good cheap car which should last for a few more years yet.

[ecka]

Buddy,

I've just traded my VT Acclaim. Bought it with 15,000 k's on it when it was about 15 months old, tinted the glass, put an SS body kit on it and some nice 5 spoke HSV 17 inch rims. In Brittanica, it was an absolute eye catcher. A beautiful car. Sad to see it go actually. But it didn't have an LS1 and my new car does. :)

Reliability second to none in all the cars I've had over my 23 year driving history. Timing belt at 100K, and an alternator at 110K and that's about it. Aircon was superb, comfortable seats, and great driveability.

If it had one issue it was that it scrubbed out the insides of the rear tyres. But I was lazy with my rotations, I had AS MUCH rubber under there as I could fit and it was good reasonably soft rubber, and I never bothered with the camber kit.

I drove an AU Falcon only a few times so my comparative experience is limited. But based on those experiences the VT handled better, "felt" better, looked 38 times better, had better fuel economy (small sample), and mine atleast had no squeeks or rattles EVER. Good sound car.

You won't go wrong with the VT Acclaim.

Now, in about three hours I'll be able to change my profile... :D

[McobraR]

had a similar situation here mate. b4 i got my current ride, vt executive, it was a choice between a slightly done up ford ef falcon, a base model AU falcon, and the vt commodore.
Chose the vt (even tho i wasnt paying for it :D ) because 1) it had less kilometres, 2) was a good deal, from 19 grand down to 12 grand, with my dad's special 'dealing' LOL. and 3) it looks better.
Now i'm not bias, i'm more a Ford fan, but that fact is the vt just looks better, both inside and out. it was the interior that attracted me, i like how the dash kind of blends in with the driver, it makes the driver feel 'in control'. Yes the AU has better dynamics and all, but man....the vt is more the overall package. the engine might not be as strong, but its ENOUGH, plus It slightly drinks less than the falcon 6.
Bad points? the boot of the vt is too high compared with other cars, so reversing is a real eye sore...BUT, u get used to it, after a few scratches and bumps with other cars :bash: you end up getting used to the dimensions of the car.
Also look to see wether the air vents can open and close properly, my rear ones are broke cus i tried to close the vent but ended up breaking so its stuck in open now, i didnt wanna get it repaired cus it'd be a hassal.
Other than that, VT without a doubt

[VYBerlinaV8]

I think this is a question of value. Don't forget we are talking 6-8 year old cars here. If you can get a Falcon for 30% less than a Commy, I would seriously consider the Falcon, despite the (valid) issues raised by other forum members. I'm sure we would be talking less than $10,000 here, so depreciation won't be much of an issue (it's already happened).

My advice would be to find a few good examples of each, with good service histories and as low km as reasonably possible (these are getting older, after all), and find out what the 'best price' for each is.

If you could get a decent EL for around the $7k mark (and a comparable Commy was around the $10 mark), I would be choosing the Falcon, and saving myself 3 grand.

That said, the commy is a better car.

[team illucid]

Hey Folks,

I am in the position to buy a new car, and have a few options open to me, and one of them includes a VT Acclaim. I am a fan of the VT look, however, I also have the option of a EL/AU Falcon Futura, which I believe to be at the same spec level. Tell me that buying a Commodore is a better buy than a Falcon. I am in two minds, The Falcon is there, and can be bought tomorrow, however the Acclaims are a nicer car, especially to drive. Any advice on what to look out for in a Commodore in particular would be great.

-Andrew

If you are going EL/AU falcon, you will need a good set of springs and shocks (as standard was terrible - quite a "floaty" car at the best of times) ... I think you have answered yourself in your question - "the Acclaims are a nicer car, especially to drive." - considering you will be driving it .... in all honesty, if it is a question of cost, then go the cheaper option, if not go the commodore ... there is a good reason that they hold their value better.