BMW vs Calais vs Stato

[Philthy]

Alright, after my VS ended up on the back of a tow truck AGAIN on Saturday night its time for me to start looking for an upgrade.

I'll be trying to spend under $10g, and at the moment I've narrowed it down to either a VS calais, charged VS Stato or mid-90's BMW 323i-ish. The bmw would have to be a manual purely because the auto shifter is ugly as sin, but I'm not too fussed about the transmission on the holdens. V8's are out of the question for a year or 2 as well

I want something thats a bit classy and luxurious, but still has a bit of poke and will know what to do when it finds itself facing a twisty road.

Only thing is that I don't know a lot about these bimmers, so am putting it out to you guys to let me know what they are like in terms of power, economy, reliability etc.

Pro's for the holdens are that I could keep some good bits from my car - wheels, clubby interior etc, and that I already have a shed-full of spares for it.
I talked to RACV and they will do 3rd party insurance on a bmw for about the same I pay now so thats no big deal either.

[MasterOfReality]

Classy and holden don't go in the same sentence hehe.

You would probably want to be real careful with the BMW, parts could be mega expensive compared to holden stuff but you never know.

Edit - just had a look on carsales, the mid 90's 323i's all have around 200,000km on them.

[Haydz]

go a vs caprice. you can get a good example for 10k. super 6. althoug all super 6's and caprices are auto. if this doesnt bother you.

and parts are cheap. because it shares alot in common with the commodore. bmw parts are more expensive and you dont have the same cult following/guys to help you out as you do with the commo.

[some_guy]

I am a holden man, but a mate of mine has a 1995 328i. The thing is an absolute gun all it has is an exhaust system so far and it it easily pushes you back into your seat. the throttle response is amazing! i guess thats the electronic acelerator. The power it has is scary for a 2.8L straight six. cost him $11000 though. But not only is it fast it looks very luxurious, with a complete cream leather interior lowered about an inch on 16" standards.

edit: yeah i agree with the others, parts and insurance are through the roof for a BMW my mate pays $1700 a year on his. But gets parts cheap cause he works for BMW motorline, He said that was the onli reason he bought it, other wise it would have been a holden.

[minux]

If you dont like going around corners and you like being like everyone else, buy a big pile of crap barge

Otherwise go something different and fun in the bmw.

[Philthy]

I know cost of parts will be miles more, but if they are well built and likely to break half as much as a commodore then it will partly cancel itself out. Reliability will be a major part in the decision.

Only problem I have with the statos is that they are just massive and heavy. Would it be worth getting a calais simply because they are that bit smaller and lighter, but still have the features?

A 142kw 328i would be nice but there are less of them in my price range from what I've seen so far

[Haydz]

up to you really. getting a vs calais. is pretty much the same as your berlina. bar a few little difference's

ive seen some good super 6 stato's etc go for about 7. but it depends what you want. statos really arent that much heavier.

but its up to you on what you want from the car.

[some_guy]

Yeah, like minux said if your looking for something fun on bendy roads the Beamer would be the car of choice. yeah my mate was saying its definately worth the extra dollars for the six cylinder over the four, because of the massive power difference. It is your choice in the end though.

[BXHD]

go the vs statey if u wanna keep holdens. and up grade supercharger pulley to 10 psi and get good exhaust. stroke it too REOW.
vs statos are SEXY as farkk when they tuck rim, and its not hard lol.

at the end ur the driver, so good luck with ur decision!

[TVR-190]

ignore all the mods in this thread, 90% will tell you bimmer

You can get a vx calais for that money these days, saw a v8 vx calais go for 9500 few weeks back. or are you deteremined to have another vs? theres even some wh statos in that price range

[BXHD]

ignore all the mods in this thread, 90% will tell you bimmer

You can vx calais' for that money these days, say a v8 vx calais go for 9500 few weeks back. or are you deteremined to have another vs? theres even some wh statos in that price range

true that, wen i was in the market for a charged vx calais found some cheap ones.
as if the word "SUPERCHARGED" doesnt tickle ur fancy

[S.T.K.E]

I used to own an Alfa, Dad drives a beamer and i now have a series 2 vt Calais. all 3 are completely different cars, hand's down you can't go past a European car if the opportunity is there. They are always 10 years ahead of us. But with that been said

2000 HOLDEN CALAIS VT II Private Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au

S/c VT series 2 Calais with 140 on the clock $7700. That seems pretty good he must be keen to get rid of it

[minux]

true that, wen i was in the market for a charged vx calais found some cheap ones.
as if the word "SUPERCHARGED" doesnt tickle ur fancy

Supercharged tickles my fancy, but "Holden" and "Holden 6 supercharged six cylinder does not"

[Jesterarts]

I'd go a bimmer... but like a e30... not a fan of the post e30 shape... too boxy and weird.

Though as people have said, part are pricey.

For example, a strut housing for my e30 was going to cost 1500... per corner... on a car I paid 5G for...

But yeah, if you want something that corners, BMW... if you want a cruising barge, then VS statesman...

[Vee-ard]

Minux just hates holdens.

[Scooter79]

go a vs caprice. you can get a good example for 10k. super 6. althoug all super 6's and caprices are auto. if this doesnt bother you.

and parts are cheap. because it shares alot in common with the commodore. bmw parts are more expensive and you dont have the same cult following/guys to help you out as you do with the commo.

I'm the first to admit that a Holden Commodore (no matter what name or model you try to dress it up with) is far from a classy vehicle. However the reason I drive one, a vs calais to be exact, is they are dead simple to work on and parts are cheap. To be honest, are European cars really that much more reliable? I've owned two cars in my life and both being a VS. Never had a problem with either other than the occasional split radiator hose or a water pump or fuel pump. Whose to say that you won't get these problems with a BMW...

I will agree that European cars a definitely classier though. If you want classy check out a Mercedes SEC 500 or the SEC 560. Awesome looking two door saloon car.

[MasterOfReality]

I will agree that European cars a definitely classier though. If you want classy check out a Mercedes SEC 500 or the SEC 560. Awesome looking two door saloon car.

I saw a wicked black one in Wollongong - it had the laziest sounding beefy V8 I had ever heard.

[Ado]

Supercharged tickles my fancy, but "Holden" and "Holden 6 supercharged six cylinder does not"

Maybe stock,but with a different pulley and a new set of diff gears they are transformed.

[sweefu]

Alright, after my VS ended up on the back of a tow truck AGAIN on Saturday night its time for me to start looking for an upgrade.

I'll be trying to spend under $10g, and at the moment I've narrowed it down to either a VS calais, charged VS Stato or mid-90's BMW 323i-ish. The bmw would have to be a manual purely because the auto shifter is ugly as sin, but I'm not too fussed about the transmission on the holdens. V8's are out of the question for a year or 2 as well

I want something thats a bit classy and luxurious, but still has a bit of poke and will know what to do when it finds itself facing a twisty road.

Only thing is that I don't know a lot about these bimmers, so am putting it out to you guys to let me know what they are like in terms of power, economy, reliability etc.

Pro's for the holdens are that I could keep some good bits from my car - wheels, clubby interior etc, and that I already have a shed-full of spares for it.
I talked to RACV and they will do 3rd party insurance on a bmw for about the same I pay now so thats no big deal either.

Hey mate, in my opinion i would go for the BMW..
since you've had a holden now why not try something different? you know it will handle amazingly from stock, so much better than a commodore.
i would try it for sure, if you dont like it you wont have any trouble selling it, and you could get your stato then.
just my opinion though

[cewing]

with that budget why not get something modern like a vx or vy?
not everyone shares my appreciation of having a modern interior, but a vy acclaim wouldnt be too much more than $11000

[Trayner]

well i work for BMW and drive them all day haha . but yeh there smoother to drive then a commodore . but for some reason i prefer my commodore simply for a fact its a normal car , no special sensors and gizmos like that of a BMW

[Philthy]

Not a fan of VT/X shapes, and a VY would have to be MINT for me to look twice at it, which would put it out of my price range.

The more I look into the BMW's the more swayed I get. It would have to be a 6cyl though. The 4's just seem massive slugs

[HamaTime™]

Street modded commo. Again haha! support local industry (even if it is a used car haha)

[coolvxss]

My mate use to have some sort of 90s bmw, and the amount he use to spend on parts that were broken or needed replacing was ridiculous. Dont know about all bmw's, but parts were 10x dearer then holdens

[BXHD]

Supercharged tickles my fancy, but "Holden" and "Holden 6 supercharged six cylinder does not"

LOL, party pooper.
wat are u doing on a Holden forum then if u hate them so much?

hows a supecharged and stroked LS2 for fancy ticklage.. LMAO!

ahhhhh.