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Advice for first timer

Sebastian

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g'day fellow holden enthusiasts i was just wondering if some of the more experienced members would impart some of their knowledge to a first time car buyer
i have between five and a half to six grand to spend on my first car and i think i have found something i liked, its a 1993 VR Berlina and is going for $5000
i was just wondering wether this is a decent price for that model and whether it looks like a good deal
P.S. i live in Perth and have heard that prices over here can sometimes be crazy
 

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Lumps of cheese

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Is that the car in the pic dude??
If so looks good, but don't rush in and buy the first car you find.
$5000 for that model isn't bad considering it's a berlina, for a first car you've picked a good model to go for!
 

hako

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As a first time buyer you should make sure you buy a car that is reliable and will not cost you $$$ in repairs. To achieve this, get whatever car you choose tested by your local motoring organisation (you may need to join but that is money well spent). They will give you an unbiased opinion. The car you have in your thumbnail has the following negatives: paint colour is dark - will fade - is hot in the sun - hard to keep clean. It has mag wheels and a spoiler which could mean a young bloke has owned it which could mean it has had a recent hard life. For the money asked I'd expect a one owner low mileage VR in top condition.
The above are only my opinions....I'm sure there are many who will disagree. Good luck and tread carefully out there as buying a used car is like walking thru a minefield in the dark.
 

sixshooter

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Looking at that car I'd like to know how young the previous owner was...

Looks like a respray's been done, so get a fridge magnet and make sure it sticks to the metal around the windows, if doesn't stick it indicates there maybe bog filling up rust holes.

Next get on your back and look underneath the car, check for leaks, rust in the body, holes in the exhaust, and most important the floor pan. Make sure its identical both sides without any evidence of creasing, look at the chassis rails in the front, are they creased ? What I mean by creases is you are looking for an effect like a coke can that has been crushed and straightened... a coke can cannot be straightened out smoothly - and neither car cars without great expense...watch out for this it's evidence of a car thats been pranged.

Open up the doors look at the bottom insides for rust, check all the seals around the windows. Make sure they're not cracked, again use the fridge magnet along the bottoms of doors. Check the fluid levels, if auto smell the auto trans fluid, is it nice and red? (or does it look dirty and smell like burnt toast? this indicates the trans has been thrashed), check the coolant, is it green? (or does it have oil floating in it? this indicates head gasket leaks)

Get a friend to start the car...warm it up and hold a plain white rag over the exhaust...get you friend to give it a rev... is the rag excessively dirty now..indicates a worn motor or poor state of tune.

Finally go for a test drive... check that all the instruments and accessories work... listen for any unusual noises like groaning or hammering...

$5000 is average price for an average Berlina... but the kit on that one makes it worth looking at if thats what your after...

I hope that helps
 
A

andyvscommodore

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See if you can get a VS.
From my readings thats when the 3.8 ecotec came out, and they were using pretty much the same engine design right up to the VY's.

I have a VS series 2. I have read VS's give far better fuel efficiency than the old VR 3.8 buick engine?
 

Sebastian

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the ecotech added an extra 17 killowatts to bring the total up to 147 and to my knowledge was 6% more fuel efficient so yeh with the price of petrol these days it wouldnt be a bad idea only i havent seen many decent VS's around for my price range
 

Stewart1000

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VL twin turbo. VN5L. old jeep, **** mondeo.
check for rust in the boot, see if there is water sittin gthe the spare tyre well. and most of all GET IT CHECKED OUT BY A MECHANIC BEFORE BUYING IT!
 

Sebastian

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other than the new ecotech engine what other advantages woul i gain from buying a VS
also some advice on bartering with car yards and bringing down the price would be helpful
thanks in advance to any advise you guys can offer
 

hako

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The VS series 2 is the newer one and you should have a better chance of picking up a good one. I always buy private from the classifieds in the newspaper or word of mouth. Buy from a used car dealer and you are paying an extra 20% plus he can tell you anything he likes to persuade you to buy a car. Buy privately from the owner and he/she can tell you the cars history etc plus they will always take a offer on the advertised price. For finance go to the credit union and arrange a loan before you buy - this allows you to make a "cash" offer when buying giving you more chance of getting a good deal. Get the car checked by your local motoring organisation - it costs under $100 and they are not biased - this can save you $$$ in the future. Go to:
http://www.redbookasiapacific.com/au/ to find out how much the car you want to buy is really worth. Remember cars are a dime a dozen and there is always another bargain to be had....don't be pressured in buying and play it cool. Good Luck.
 

MarzVP

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Have you checked out the quokka? Get a much better deal and you can still get an RAC check done on it with the owners permission.
 
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