Whats the life span of a Commo?

[sydsider66]

Im convinced the car manufacturers have put a used by date on cars theyve built lately.After about 5 years of average use from nearly new,my Commo has slowly started to fall apart .So many problems with so many Commodores.If you dont do the work yourself,it can get very expensive.Im really starting to wonder if i should buy a good ole HQ. Nice and simple.Built to last.

[VrWagz1]

I'd dissagree. I dont tend to buy cars till they got atleast 100,00k's and atleast 5 years old. I always seem to get reliability out of them. After all they've only just been run in by then

[r_i_d_a_h]

i rekon the VN-VS can go for a healthy 300,000 ++ if looked after

[Haydz]

ive seen vn's go for like 500+ started to need some engine work by that time though

[faroogoo]

New cars are good if your the type of person that trades it on a new car every 12 months...

But i also believe that their only built to last 5 years before they start falling to bits (These days).

[walesy]

but if you replace certain parts that start to fall apart the engine itself will last for much longer (please excuse drunk post may contain traces of bullshit)

[excalibur]

it all comes down to how u treat your car really
treat it bad wont last to long
treat it good last for very long time

[Brin]

I'm the second owner of my 1991 VN.

So say 17 years old.

The fellow who owned it before me replaced the engine in 2000 with a VP S2 as the old was worn with over 400 on the clock. I just replaced that engine with a VR S2 this year as I blew/warped the heads with overheating problems.

Old owner did alot of towing and after 17 years of my cars life, i've only just replaced the transmission. It probably needed replacing a bit sooner but I dragged it out till she died..

I reckon thats pretty damn good for a car with such a hard life, diff has a slight whine but she still lives

[sydsider66]

Yeah,ive got the car running not to bad now after several repairs.All long overdue repairs.Ive spent a bit.And thats doin it meself.And theres so much more.Im startin to wonder if im enjoying doing the repairs or not.Bloody car is only worth $3000 if that.Might upgrade soon.Theres too many costs with cars over 10 years old.They just mount and mount up.Especially when you let em mount up.

[Harvs82]

I'd expect to get atleast 250,000km out of the old ECOTEC engine without too many dramas. Providing its been serviced regularly with the right grade oil and correct coolant there generally isn't that much that goes wrong with the engine itself, its just all the other components of the car....

You'd be lucky to get 200,000km out of the automatic I reckon, without having to replace something inside it, they were prone to overheating in the series one cars and that didn't help the lifespan of the box.

As the years and mileage rack up, a lot of ancilliary items end up packing up. I had my VS Berlina until it had just under 200000km on the clock and at the time I sold it it was 12 years old. I had replaced quite a few things though, mainly electrical items for the climate control system, the crank angle sensor, starter motor, and then there was the power steering pump, the water pump and I had to get the air con regassed as one of the hoses sprung a leak. The only other things that went wrong were the wheel bearings, which were very costly to repair.

I guess the older the car is the more prone it will be to having things go wrong with it, even with the scheduled servicing taking place stuff just does tend to wear out eventually.

[sydsider66]

Yeah i suppose i cant complain.Bought the car in 2001 with 125000 kms.95 VS. Its now up to 229000 and still goes great.Especially with the aid of you fellas on JC.Thanks heaps.

[greenfoam]

Most of the HQ's were stuffed with rust after 20 years, the VN's have only just started to get slight rust spots now at almost the same age. So I dunno about thise HQ upgrade theory

[Morton]

I'm convinced Holden changed something in the VR/VS to make them rubbish, though. The VR/VS Commodores that I know are always breaking - but my VP and my VQ have had near to no problems whatsoever. My VQ is creeping up on 300,000 and still *touch wood* runs like new

[greenfoam]

The 5 litre VR/S's are great. I'm convinced the ecotec makes good power however I'm not convinced it's a good engine

[stocky]

The 5 litre VR/S's are great. I'm convinced the ecotec makes good power however I'm not convinced it's a good engine

everytime i see a burnt out commodore, its because the ecotec caught fire. must tell you something there

[Morton]

Ecotecs are rubbish. Especially first gen ecotecs. But Holden must have changed something in the wiring, because I've never seen any other car crop up as many general electrical faults as an ecotec. Which is a shame, because they're not too bad otherwise.

But you're right, 304 VR/VS' are fantastic. Good thing Holden kept the same motor in them

[Calaber]

It is quite possible to keep a modern caf going for years with the proper maintenance, because lubiicants are so much more advanced than even 10 years ago.

It's the electrical and interior components which generally wear out fastest. Complex electronics don't have the same durability as older, simpler systems and modern plastics, particularly in cheap cars, crap out and fade badly in our climate after just a few years.

I think the Commodore is one of the more durable cars on the market. Many members on the forum have cars with over 250k on them - that's a lot of k's if the average is 12-20k per year for most drivers. My VR had 335k on it when I sold it and it still looked like a new car (though it had been resprayed a couple of years earlier). No rust, engine still ran beautifully. The trans had a slight hesitation between reverse and first for the entire time I had the car (4+ years - 165,000km) and only had regular oil changes. Water pump was replaced when first purchased at 170k. The only major repairs during that time were a new air con evaporator, fuel pump, exhaust, pads and front discs. The wheel bearing were the originals (well, at least they were the ones in the car for the entire time I had it).

It was my experience that the VR at least was extremely reliable and capable to giving long and faithful service if correctly cared for and driven sensibly.

[-Michael-]

i have a mate who has a 1997 vt and its got more than 300 000 and its auto

not replaced much at all

mines a '99 and is mint but 200 000

[FirstVR_JC]

From what i have read the VR has a reputation for being very rugged and reliable ..... with a long lasting engine and quite suitable for driving around the australian country without any major drama's ..... i think these old buick engines are something else...tough as nails.
I see so many neglected commodores around it isnt funny .... lots of people dont give a damn about keeping there car in good nick .... Well maintained and serviced i think the older commodores vn-vr are capable of a long life.

[vsiicalais]

my vs exec v6 has done almost 600,000km on original motor and trans (no rebuilds), been thrashed all its life to i guess it just depends what day of the week the car was built. i havent replaced much on the car, just a regulator for alternator, water pump, tensioner pulley, starter motor and thats about all.

[-=ApheX=-]

VS exec also, has about 320,000K i mean a little love and care and this car is running awesome!!!
I mean a retune of the memcal, slight rebuild, water pump, alternator, fuses, rebuilt tranny! pumps and cables, and radiator, etc etc etc
I mean I personally think it's worth the money and time spent on an older car, I love the VS, I cannot fault it!!! people will argue the VN-VP will always out last, but fact of the matter is there just to similar of a car, and even the engine, I mean buick and ecotec are still children of the original arn't they?
I personally think it comes down to how much you put into it, and how much you take care of your car as to how it'll last!
same goes for my other car, VH original blue 6, and mate it still rides like a dream..

[sydsider66]

You blokes are fair dinkum good value.

[vsv8berlinawag]

...about 215,000 ks here in our 5 litre and both engine and trans are still going strong. I do go that extra stretch and change both oil and filter every 5,000 k's and trans oil every 20,000k's. Touch wood and so far in 7 years I have only had to replace the pwr steering and water pump, alternator brush set, cruze/indicator stalk (for cosmetic reasons) rear muffler and in a couple of days the a/c filter and TX valve.

[igotmeavt]

i have a s1 vt acclaim and i bought the car off my uncle, it has 217000k;s now it's never had services kept up it and my uncle used to thrash it everywhere he bought the car new and he never looked after it, i have only had it since 212000 and it has just done the radiator,water pump,thermostat,crank angle sensor,and the airbag light came on which was the seat belt pretensioner or something, so i think the motor is built to last but the car isn't my vt has a lot of rust in it especially around the front and back windscreens and behind the front guards, that is very poor considering the car spent 10 years out in broken hill which is dry and arid as

[Fekason]

I'm convinced Holden changed something in the VR/VS to make them rubbish, though. The VR/VS Commodores that I know are always breaking - but my VP and my VQ have had near to no problems whatsoever. My VQ is creeping up on 300,000 and still *touch wood* runs like new

I bought a new VS II Manual V6. It has been in the family since, now well past 200K, with one of my sons now using it. Service consumerables have been changed, but the only other things that have required attention have been as follows:

1. Two sets of brake pads.

2. Overhauled alternator.

3. Replacement aircon compressor.

4. Replacement clutch.

I think that is most acceptable for twelve years. Certainly does not indicate a planned expiry date. I have been driving cars for over forty years. My VSII and VYII have been much more reliable and durable than the cars I owned in the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties.

I have confidence of the same from my VE.