ambitious but rubbish
Purchasing VE questions
Hey Guys,
I'm in the market to buy a new (used) car, and have my eyes fairly set on a VE Berlina. I took it for, like, a 10 minute test drive this afternoon and gave a bit of an inspection.
It's a MY06 VE Berlina, has about 95,000k on it (so it's due for it's 100,000k service?) and I noticed a few things:
- Acceleration is better than my bog standard VT (at least, feels that way)
- Brakes are less sensitive than the VT - has anyone else noticed this?
Um, yeah, that was about it! Much better than my VTII Acclaim, imho. I'm sorry, these have probably been answered before, but...
- How can I attach a sub and/or upgrade speakers, while retaining the H/U?
I've got just the stock speakers with an aftermarket HU in my VT and I'm fairly happy with them so pretty much anything is an upgrade for me. Would LOC's suffice if I want a sub?
- Is the next service at 100,000k or 105,000k? What would I be looking at that, $$ wise?
- Would a lower look OK on the stock rims? Likewise, tinting?
- Does anyone have the manual for VE's online?
- Can I change the H/U over to one from a Calais? If so, where would I get one from?
- I'm fairly n00b when it comes to cars, I had a decent look in the engine bay and got the current owner to give it a boot while I was listening, sounded OK. Looked at the spot in garage it had been sitting in, and couldn't see any oil stains. I was thinking of getting the RAA Inspection service just in case.... good idea?
- Any common faults I should look out for?
- Does anyone know if there's the equivalent of a REVS check in SA?
Thanks!
the 105k's is not a major service, so you should be fine. shouldnt be more than 200, unless you go to holden,
about the REVS, call transport sa, and tell them your buying a used car, they will tell u all the info about the car on the phone, rather than paying and receiving the certificate.
EDIT: you may need a new timing belt around the 100k's mark
Timing belt?? If u find a timing belt in my Ve u can have it, if not I get your houseOriginally Posted by xoom
deal?
F O R U M W A R R I O R
Id avoid 06 and 07 VEs personally.
Silver Certified.
ambitious but rubbish
Why's that?
-1 for this.
I've been driving my '07 Lumina for a little over 12 months now, and it's amazing.
A very comfortable ride. And with the gas conversion, it's incredibly cheap to fill.
Just take it for a test drive and make sure you do your research.
0o, didnt know that haha.Timing belt?? If u find a timing belt in my Ve u can have it, if not I get your house
thanks.
ambitious but rubbish
I believe that most Holdens use timing chains, not belts?
Even holdens today still use the push rod style, rather then over head cams, they use timing chains and not timing belts, so wheres the Keys to my house haha
-1 also, BILLION DOLLAR BABY
As a sef confessed "noob", I suggest paying for a qualified mechanic to do a pre-purchase inspection to better inform you on your purchase. Especially as a car with 95000k's will enevitably have some maintenence to do that may not be immediately obvious to you.
Simmarly, I would leave the speaker upgrade, Calais headn, tints & lowering until you are satisfied with the base car that you buy, your upgrade money may well be better spent on buying a better car ine first place.
Do some reading on this site about VZ and Early VE's with stretched timing chain issues. I would make sure the car your looking at wont have the same problem or it might already be fixed under warranty.
F O R U M W A R R I O R
ambitious but rubbish
Hmm, there are quite a few threads now I search for it :/ Is there anyway I could tell that it's had it replaced? I looked through the log book, it's been serviced by the logbook regularly but not by a Holden Dealer... If I were to get a pre-purchase inspection done, would the RAA guy be able to tell me if it was or not?
Last edited by The 10th Doctor; 29-09-2011 at 09:30 AM.
Calais Head unit will set you back around $1K to $2K after fitting and programming.
They pop up on eBay from time to time. (There is one on there now for $700, but you will need to get it programmed to work on your car, which can cost anything from a couple of hundred dollars or more.
A 06/07 Model with close to 100,00Kms should have most of the issues sorted on it by now (with exception to timing chain).
Check electrics such as switch gear, warning lights, etc. Holden's switch gear is terrible and you may notice problems with the power window switches, steering wheel controls and interior light switch gear which may indicate replacement will be due shortly.
Likely replacement bits are fairly cheap, so this will be an annoyance factor rather than bankruptcy.
I Believe
^this!
There's a couple of comments above that disagree with Ricey's post, but there's a very good reason to avoid the first releases of a new body shape. Even though Holden spent million's developing the VE (as every car maker spends releasing new cars), there will always be imperfections... imperfections that are improved upon a few years into a new model. Rattles, squeaks, engineering improvements to mechanical parts, etc. are all improved upon in later models as the first 2 years tick by and warranty repairs (or complaints) start coming through and being dealt with.
There's nothing 'wrong' with 06's and 07's, and this isnt a swipe at the above owners who are obviously very happy with their cars, but it's a valid golden rule when buying a new car regardless of make. Stay away from new releases! Wait a year or two before buying a completely new shape. It's commonsence that issues will naturally arise and be fixed, because no amount of testing will 100% cover actual real life use.
Last edited by UFO; 29-09-2011 at 12:06 PM.
RiCeY seeing as you work on these cars how are you finding the newer SIDI motors, I have been thinking of updating to a VE like the OP and wondering if it is worth spending that bit more for the SIDI versions, is there much difference in the way the 3 litre drives compared to the 3.6 litre?
F O R U M W A R R I O R
They all feel similar to me but I only drive them for 5 mins at a time.
Best bet would be someone thats had a non SIDI VE and moved up to a SIDI, they would be able to give a good comparison.
Silver Certified.
Searching for the billion
Next Question for Ricey, Are you talking about 06 and 07 build dates, or MY06 and MY07 ? I've got an 2007 MY08 Berlina and happy with it.... aside from the near 2 tonne of lard it carries.
umm what?? You can have my house and car if you can show alloytecs using "pushrods", if not I get your house and car?
Kuzman's Supercharged SV6 - MACE TUNED
I own a NON-SIDI alloytec in manual, and have been in NON-SIDI auto calais, SIDI sv6 in auto and another in manual. Biggest difference you will find is going from the 5-speed auto's in the NON-SIDI and the 6 speed's. I found a big difference. Not so much in my comparison with the manuals. If it's not much more I'd stretch it to a series 1 SIDI, otherwise I'd stick with a NON-SIDI manual.
I haven't been in any 3.0L variants, only the 3.6L so can't comment there.
Kuzman's Supercharged SV6 - MACE TUNED
+1 for getting the RAA to give the car a mechanical inspection, I bought one of the very first VE SSV's (Built Sep 06 off memory) and it is small but worthwhile investment.
If you want to ensure your VE is not going to have the known timing chain issue then get one with an engine number after H071380576 as thats when GM identified the problem and changed the OEM fitted chain. All engines with engine numbers after H053340001 had the suspect chains.
Refer to GMH Bulletin 08-0601-01: Timing Chain Stretch and/or DTCs P0008, P0009, P0016, P0017,P0018, P0019.
A condition may occur with the HFV6 engine that will cause the MIL to illuminate and may log DTCs P0008, P0009, P0016, P0017, P0018 and P0019. Codes are set when the ECM detects that camshafts on either bank of the engine are misaligned with the crankshaft.
Fingers crossed no issues with mine but its an auto that doesn't get rev'ed high in short bursts so maybe that may be a reason.
I got a 2010 3.0L SIDI with 67,000 on the odo. I've done another 22,000 since then. I've had no mechanical issues, major or minor, and I'm very happy with it. I got the 3.0 because I wanted good fuel economy, and I have been pleased with that: best I got was 840 km from one tank.
A good way to get current and recent model cars is the government auctions: that's where the dealers buy their stock, but they load the price up about $6,000. So, if you go to the auction, you can make a big saving right there. I've bought my last three Commodores at auctions.
Posting Permissions
6Likes
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
