BMW owner considering Calais. Some Q's

[SkylineGTR]

I'm looking at replacing my BMW 540i. For the first time i'm actually considering a VE Calais V.

I went and had a look at one over the weekend and I'm just wondering what other Calais owners think about their cars after owning them for a period of time.

Any particular options you would or wouldn't get having now owned one for a short time?
Is an LSD really an option??
Is the V worth it over the non V calais?
Did you think about resale value at time of purchase?

thanks,

Andrew

[gasguz]

I'm looking at replacing my BMW 540i. For the first time i'm actually considering a VE Calais V.

I went and had a look at one over the weekend and I'm just wondering what other Calais owners think about their cars after owning them for a period of time.

Any particular options you would or wouldn't get having now owned one for a short time?
Is an LSD really an option??
Is the V worth it over the non V calais?
Did you think about resale value at time of purchase?

thanks,

Andrew

Hi Mate,

Forget the word resale with any holden you purchase as there is none that is worth talking about. I paid $75,000 on road for my VX2 HSV R8 back in 2001 with satnav, premium brakes, sunroof & leather. It also has about 5 grand worth of stereo, not to mention Peter Brocks sig on the dash & engine cover. 3 years ago I was offered $42,000 as a trade in, while 4 weeks ago I was offered $28,000 as a trade in on a VE GTS. The R8 has only 45,000k on the clock & is in as new condition & this is for a HSV out of the GM stable. So I have decided to keep it & hold off buying for another 6 months, I would rather this than give it away for nothing.

The Calais V is a great looking car which I am sure you will be very happy with. In my opinion the V is not only a better buy but also a better car than the standard. But at the end of the day they are just add ons & the fundamentals of both cars are identical. But if I was to buy a Calais or SS it would be the V type. This will also hold better coin over the standard models, but by how much I am unsure about. Have you looked at the Caprice, now that is a car closer to your beemer

Have you driven 1?? if you do all your question will be answered on how good the car is.

[VooDoo]

When you concider ACTUAL $$ lost from depreciation the BMW comes off worse. More expensive to buy and yes, they dont depreciate as bad but 40% of $150k (60k) is still worse than 60% of $60k (36k) not to mention less demand.

The V is better optioned, more luxurious etc. The Calais non V is more like a berlina in spec. The Caprice is an AWESOME package and competes head to head with the BMW and is IMO the best value car in that market.

The BMW's still wear, plastic's still fall apart, carpets still get holes in them from useage. Yes they are a little better in some areas but not TWICE or 3 times as good as the price may suggest.

[KingClifton]

I traded my Audi A4 1.8T in for an R8 and am extremely pleased.
The reason I didn't look at a Calais V was the lack of sports seats, which was a deal-breaker.

Yes, the V is worth the extra $. The normal Calais is really just the old Berlina.

The R8 is also worth a look, won't be that much more than an Calais V V8.

I do think about resale - I know it won't be great, but Audi resale is horrendous at the moment - on most models it's no better than a Falcon or Commodore.

[monaroCountry1]

Forget the word resale with any holden you purchase as there is none that is worth talking about. I paid $75,000 on road for my VX2 HSV R8 back in 2001 with satnav, premium brakes, sunroof & leather. It also has about 5 grand worth of stereo, not to mention Peter Brocks sig on the dash & engine cover.

Could be wrong but Im hoping that Holdens push into the luxury and expensive models might ease the resale pressures previous Holdens suffer.

Good luck with your choice.

[Quark]

I'm looking at replacing my BMW 540i. For the first time i'm actually considering a VE Calais V.

I went and had a look at one over the weekend and I'm just wondering what other Calais owners think about their cars after owning them for a period of time.

Any particular options you would or wouldn't get having now owned one for a short time?
Is an LSD really an option??
Is the V worth it over the non V calais?
Did you think about resale value at time of purchase?

thanks,

Andrew

Have to say that I've been happy with the decision.
The LSD is an option - if you like to turn off the electronics sometimes (which I do) the LSD is a must.
Can't imagine you being happy with Calais when coming from a 540. For me I wanted the bigger wheels and other bling that comes with the V - could have optioned them onto a Calais, but resale on options is extra poor.
The resale is an issue, but don't forget you'll generally get a lot more off a Commo as a % when purchasing, whereas the depreciation shown in industry figures is based on full RRP $.

[SkylineGTR]

Thanks for your replies.

I guess servicing will be cheaper too.

[Ls1CorpCruiser]

We upgraded the wife's VY2 S 4a to a VE Calais V 6.0 6a, a couple of months ago.

The Calais V is awesome. great value for money when compared to most of its competitors and a really well put together car.

6spd auto is a dream to use in either normal or manual shift and the 6.0 has truckloads of torque. Can easily spin the wheels in drive off the line and is damn quick to 100km/h.

Economy is around 14's avg city/hwy.

Most of the car mags have said it is a world class car and well worth the $$$ I agree as does the missus who has now done almost 12k in it.

Calais V std extras over the Calais - Front and rear park assist, 18" rims vs 17", rear roof mounted DVD a must if you have rugrats...

The car is faultless, love it, hope we are still as satisfied in 3 years time.

:driving: :p :driving: :p

[Dickie Knee]

Thanks for your replies.

I guess servicing will be cheaper too.


Compare this with your last service BMW.

Oil Filter RRP$ 13.53



Price based on RRP for VE V8

[KingClifton]

Andrew, feel free to PM me if you want to discuss more or have specific questions. As mentioned I ditched the Audi for a VE and haven't looked back since.