Buying a manual VE ute, MY10 onwards. SS most likely. Advice needed.

[RoaringSky]

Hi,

I am new to this forum, been reading a lot here lately and just after some tips from seasoned VE owners here.

I am going to buy a VE SS ute, manual, MY10 or Series 2, and would like to know few things...


1. Do I have to use 98ron in it or is it just a personal preference for some? Does it give you more kays as well as more grunt, and clean the engine meanwhile too? I have had few turbo cars and I had no choice to use 98 ron back then, but is L98 tuned to run on PULP from factory? Would it ping if I don't? (Just thinking about country driving, some servos in the sticks may not have PULP...)

2. What sort of things to look out for on these cars when buying one? I know there's a thread about water leaks from rear window seals and cab seals near the seats, but is there anything else? I also read there is an issue with the clutch, is that right?

3. I saw the fuel consumption figure on CarSales is all different from '08 till '12. eg. combined driving: 14.4L/100km for a MY08 and 12.3L/100km for MY11. (both manual utes) Why is that? Same L98 engine aren't they? Unless Holden tries to fine tune the engine every release and reduces the consumption every time? Or is CarSales not getting their facts right, and mistaken the city driving consumption figure as the combined driving figure?

4. With AFM, are they only fitted to auto SS? or manuals too? I like AFM, it should suit me well, but I must have a manual.

5. I am also thinking about getting a Series 2 SV6 if price of the SS is out of my reach. (Buying a car means you have to consider the $1100 odd dollar transfer fees and $800 insurance fees) I know SV6s get more kays out of a tank, maybe 100km more?(600km/tank? with avage speed of 60km/h, combined driving, grandpa style with occasional hooning.) Are they good enough to tow and have a bit of fun in too? The figure seems adequate enough to go fast but are they much of a let down compare to SS grunt wise?

Cheers fellas.

 

[bladerunner]

1. no unless you tune the engine
2.late ser1/early ser 2 had body seal issues around the rear screen and directly under the cabin,have'nt heard of any lately so maybe sorted now
3. dont buy a v8 if your worried about fuel consumption,its a v8 not a v6 which aint much better.
4.ser2 has the L77 engine which is basicly the same engine for both man and auto. AFM deactivated for man/avail on auto only. ser 1 had the afm (L76) for autos,L98 -non AFM for man. AFM is not much to brag about, basicly a gimmick to keep the tree huggers happy.fuel savings are very marginal at best
5. no comparison. an SS will out tow,out run,out perform an SV6 any day of the week. can be tuned to far better outputs and fuel usage compared to the sidi engine in the SV6 for not much more than a few grand brand new. the IQ system in the ser2 is known to be trouble plagued.
6. see this for more info,the heading should read ser2 sept 10 not sept 09 Unofficial Holden Commodore Archive

 

[RoaringSky]

Cheers for the info Blandrunner.

 

[V8Lover]

heard pre 2010s had a few computer issues. Honestly mate if you are looking at getting a 2010 onwards i'd be considering going brand new. Insurance will cost you a LOT less and youll get your first year rego (about $1000) included in buy price. You'd be lucky to get a 2010 or 2011 for under $28K (here in SA anyway) unless it has a few kms on it. $42,000 put me in a new 12.5 SSV-Z, so a standard SS would probably be about $35-37K if you shop around. Say what you will about depreciation etc but theres no feeling like driving off the show room floor in YOUR brand new car. Not someone elses old one. As far as cost the extra $5000 (once you include all the insurance, rego and stamp duty savings) is barely noticeable if you are financing (shop around i managed to get mine financed at 7.4% which i thought was pretty low)

Also if you go get yourself an ABN and say the vehicle is for work purposes you can claim depreciation back on your tax anyway.

Basically for me i went new because i saved on
Insurance about $1400 per year (under 25 male - quoted $2800 for a 2010 paying $1400 for a 2012)
Rego about $1000
Stamp Duty about $1000
2010 or 2011 is probably due for a tyre change costing abotu $1000

So as you can see basically i had to add about $4000 to the price of a second hand one anyway and that put me right up to brand new price anyway

 

[nitro91]

42000 for an ssv-z? i thought they were 49990?

im going to get a brand new one around christmas/early early jan, and hopefully the prices are even lower then. if not then a year old sub 10k kms

 

[V8Lover]

yeah i talked 10,000 off the sticker price and got it for 42,890. Wasnt even part of the employee discount either. If you're going to wait just be cautious because they only make to order now as they dont want a tonne of 2012 plates to clear next year and the VF cant be more than about 12 months away. For example if you wanted Black i know for a fact that you cannot buy one atm as mine was the last black (SSVZ) in the country and it was still being made when i bought it.

My advice to you would be to frequent the new car section of carsales and find the model,colour and transmission of the ute you want and print off a copy of the cheapest price you can find (even if its not in your state). Thats what i did even though i cant find it for that price on there now. Take it to the dealer and say i want you to beat/match this price drive away. Theyll be able to do it for you. It may take a few weeks for a really cheap one to show up as i cant find my model for elss than about 48,000 on there atm. So between now and when you buy hop on every few days and keep your eyes open.

 

[nitro91]

im not sure if i can do that because i am still on my p plates until december, and i will be trading my car in when i buy the new one.

maybe a deposit would work or something, so they can order one in.

 

[RoaringSky]

One thing I am glad about myself is that I am rating 1 for life and 34. I got an online quote from AAMI for a MY10 SS ute manual for $855/yr, multi car discount too.

V8lover, where did you get your finance from? I can only find Esenda with a good deal, they are at 8.73% now.

I am also thinking about getting an ABN too so I can get a better deal at around 6.XX%, and as you said mate I can claim it for work and the depreciation...How hard is it to get an ABN? I am a qualified motor mechanic. Any application fees and on going fees for ABN number?

The MY9.5 SS ute seems ok with the price too, are they worth looking into perhaps?

 

[V8Lover]

yeah my insurance is through AAMI and im rating one in 12 months and rating 1 for life in 24 months, going to be a lot better when i hit that bracket.

I almost financed through Essanda who offered me 8.7% but am financed through peoples choice credit union who dropped there rate down to 7.4% as of Thursday last week.

As for the ABN im not too sure how it works and am looking into it myself now after a mate told me it would be worth looking into. Whether or not you have to earn a certain annual income through your ABN before you can claim depreciation im not sure

 

[RYANVE]

One thing I am glad about myself is that I am rating 1 for life and 34. I got an online quote from AAMI for a MY10 SS ute manual for $855/yr, multi car discount too.

V8lover, where did you get your finance from? I can only find Esenda with a good deal, they are at 8.73% now.

I am also thinking about getting an ABN too so I can get a better deal at around 6.XX%, and as you said mate I can claim it for work and the depreciation...How hard is it to get an ABN? I am a qualified motor mechanic. Any application fees and on going fees for ABN number?

The MY9.5 SS ute seems ok with the price too, are they worth looking into perhaps?

let me know when you are ready to make a move on purchasing a vehicle as i am a fully licenced finance broker and can more than likely get you the best possible deal on finance, i also have a few friendly dealerships that can help us with the pricing on the car