VN RWC too costly - what to do?

[deez]

Hi folks

I have a VN commodore which, for all intents and purposes, is drivable and in reasonably good nick. Unfortunately, and unbeknown to me as I had moved house, the reg lapsed and was cancelled. This meant roadworthy which, as it turned out, was going to cost more than the car is worth in repairs.

So I'm looking for advice - should I ebay it, or just send it straight to scrap metal? Would have liked to sell off the parts but just don't have the time/space for it.

D

[GetToDaChopa]

Why don't you want to fix it? So you want to get rid of it? and then spend even more money on another car? Why bother you already have a perfectly good one now.

[deez]

rust has gotten under the rear windscreen so this ain't gonna be cheap. also steering rack needs to be replaced plus there's a laundry list of other smaller items before anyone wil give me that rwc. probably time for me to upgrade anyway.

[88GreenVN]

RIP VN commodore.

[deez]

mate, i'm devastated. had this thing for 15 years and never really had any major probs with it. sure, it was a little leaky but ran like a dream.

[boonga]

ebay it upgrades are always good

[88GreenVN]

I feel for ya! - I've had the 88 wagon from new. 1 of the last original owners of a VN

[greenfoam]

Get a window man to come and take the window out, quick wire wheel job and some filler and you will get at least another 5 years from it, get the window man to come back when you are done and stick it back in. I assume the car is white since it's rusted (easy to touch up the paint once you filled up the rust)

[wortus]

Get a window man to come and take the window out, quick wire wheel job and some filler and you will get at least another 5 years from it, get the window man to come back when you are done and stick it back in. I assume the car is white since it's rusted (easy to touch up the paint once you filled up the rust)

How bad is the rust? I've seen these with small spots around the rear screen to mor or less the whole panel under the rear screen rusted out. If it's really rusty you could get a second hand panel from a wreckers and have it welded in and just get the panel shop to respray the repair for now. If it's not too bad remove the rust and fill it.

The rust here usually starts if the car is parked on a slope with the boot higher than the front and water collects and gets under the rubber and/or dirt, leaves and other crap getting under the boot rubber. My VN had a tiny bit of rust here but onthe side of the rear screen, it seems to be the most likely place to find rust on a VN apart from the spare tyre well.

Check your steering rack and find out exactly what is wrong, it may just need a new rack end, mesh adjustment or even the coupling to the steering column may be a bit loose not much cost involved with these. My VN was on it's original rack at 300,000km and it only ever had 1 rack end replaced and that coupling came loose. Front end was also all original except sway bar links and one ball joint, shocks and bearing plates. What else are they saying is wrong with it?

[vn_v6]

MANG IT!!! TILL IT GOES POP!!!, or clean it up reallly well, and find a RWC inspector thats more leniant, some of them are complete pricks

[low vs]

put lsd in it turn it into a drift car....good project

[nathanVY]

not sure if you've considered this, but try getting the rwc re-done somewhere else. I took my last car to one place and they quoted me over 2 grand of "repairs" to pass the rwc, go round the corner and ended up spending $200 - new front brake pads, steering wheel grip and another muffler on the exhaust (too loud)

so while one place may be very natzi like another can be quite lenient. your best bet is to clean it up as best you can fix all the obvious things (windscreen, rust), wash down the engine and under carraige/ power steering rack if you have oil leaking down there - go to the car was get the grease remover up in there. clean it all out, then (when it's dry) get another roadie done somewhere else (don't hold me responsible if it doesn't go well though)

where abouts are you? i can recommend some places in geelong.

[nstone63]

sell it to a South Australian :P

[Vlad01]

I have the same situation. I have a VN that has no motor or box. Was going to put my V6 and auto in it but found to many un worthy stuff. does anyone want it?

[deez]

thanks for the suggestions folks - and the funnies .

I've now taken her to 3 different mechanics for RWC check - a couple of locals and a Repco. Each one picked up the rust under windscreen and the rack. So I figure she's a lost cause unless i can get a dodgy bros operation to help out.

I asked the local repairers why things have changed in the last few years as last time I needed an rwc it seemed less stringent. He mentioned that laws had changed and RWC approvers are now liable for damages should someone be injured in a car crash that was due to a defective vehicle which was given an RWC. I have no idea if that is true or not, but I do feel that it has become more difficult to get a roadworthy.

[voxbox]

Yeah, they clamped right down on it in a number of areas. You're still going to have some operators who try to pull a fast one, telling you things that are wrong but aren't, but things like non-surface rust and steering issues.. no-one's going to pass that, as they're held liable should anything go pear-shaped. The $80 rwc doesn't count much against a $1M+ lawsuit, plus fines, plus criminal charges, plus losing your job/house/family/dog/certification..

[crazyspoon05]

Aah, probably explains why a couple near me are no longer licenced vehicle testers as they weren't the most stringent testers