What you think?

[akust0m]

Hey, so as soon as my application for a loan goes through I"ll be getting a new (used) car. I've been looking at a 1999 VT S in white, 120,000 genuine km's, alpine head unit, pacemaker extractors, redback 2 1/2 exhaust and has been lowered. Was listed at $9500, I had my mechanic look over it and found that the only things needed for a roadworthy was 2 new rear tyres and replacing some steering boot thing to fix a leak, at a approx. cost of $500. I offered the owner $9k as long as he got the roadworthy done which meant fixing those items, after a few days he got back to me saying $8500 as is. What do you think? Thanks

[stockyvrcalais]

i reckon offer him $8000, seems like he really doesnt wanna get a roady so you can play on that by saying it needs heaps of dollars spent on it....

[stevoss]

if its a manual then its still pricey, auto then you sir would be an idiot. think of it like this for 13000 you can get a vz ute with around 180kms.

[stockyvrcalais]

yeh i wanted to say its pricey too but didnt wanna upset the guy lol, i reckon $7000 max with a rwc, or $6000 without, milage is good though.

[BoNeZ-01]

$500 for 2 tyres and a steering boot? What a rip off..
But he has dropped $1000, so might still be a good buy if everything else is smick.

[stevoss]

another thing i bought my second vt series 1 berlina with 200kms sunroof all power options and regoed $3200, needs a bit of a polish but immaculate otherwise. the best thing by the sound of it is the low kms, otherwise you have stepped into vx territory.

[stockyvrcalais]

yeh ive seen vx calais's going for under $10,000 these days and their nice

[akust0m]

Thanks for all the replies so far guys. Yeah everything else is in tip top cond, it is a V6 and an auto, an s-pack, full service history, reg expiry FEB 2011, SS 17" wheels, camber kit, fog lights, K&N filter and tow bar. I did figure that 8-9k was high for a VT, but does the km's and the fact that down the track I'd put pacies and an exhaust (was put on 10,000km ago) on anyway justify $8500???

[stockyvrcalais]

definately sounds like a pretty good car, just try bustin his chops more about the price.

[dunky]

Seems a bit silvery to me. Two months ago, I picked up my VX Lumina for $5k. One owner with books 170k km. Needed one brakelight globe for rego!

[stevoss]

sorry mate if it was me i couldn't justify not at 8.5 for an auto.

[sweefu]

Too pricey i rekon. I took at a look at a mint VX S Manual, 130 000k's, all lovels suspension and that was $8k.

[Josheh]

Stevo, Why is it too pricey for an "Auto" ? Tbh I'd rather spend more on an Auto than I would on a manual, Or are you just someone who rathers manual and think they're the bee's knees? For a daily, Manual might be "fun" but Auto seems a bit more logical, And I've seen some pretty expensive VX's In auto, That's a pretty damn cheap car, Who cares if it's Auto? :S If you're into manual and what not then that's great, Not having a go at you at all, But If it's just a daily, And you really just don't care Just buy it mate, Don't worry if it's "Auto" You're going to be spending the same amount on a Manual now days anyway, I've never seen a VX being "more expensive" because of it being manual down here, I was looking at one for a while, And all the ones i found that where manual had been thrashed, So I just went with a 1 owner low k's auto... Better future wise.

I'm just wondering why you think if it was manual it would be a better deal.......? Mind boggling!

The prices you guys are mentioning are pretty decent, But I'm sure they're private, Meaning no insurence, I ended up spending 13k for my VX S, But it had only done 80,000k's, 1 owner, It was his "Weekend car"... Mate, The car sounds good, But having all those mods have you had pressure checks and head checks and every check you can on it? It seem's hes trying to get rid of it pretty quick, There is no insurence if he's private, Anything major goes wrong with it you'd be in trouble... But 120,000k's is pretty damn good, I personally rather buy something over $8,000 from a dealer so there is warrenty, But it seem's like a good buy.... So what if it's auto.

Just make sure you get as many checks as you possibly can on it... And why doesn't he want to put it over the pits? Could there be something wrong with it nobody is seeing except the pits? For him to lower it that much without getting road worthy it either means he's just a busy person or he knows it'll cost a lot more than that to get it over the pits.

Good luck on the buy dude! And don't forget, You can always convert it too Manual if that's really what you're looking for... But 8-9k it seem's like a good buy.

[TVR-190]

also consider that many things start need replacing at around 130,000kms. ive been looking at getting a vx calais myself and you can get them starting at around 7500.

[Josheh]

Yeah... There's a few things you need to really think about before handing him over cash... Maybe even spend $200ish and get an RAA Approved check done on it, I'm not sure but my friend was going to buy a car and got one of them done to find a leak at the back of his engine, Not sure what it turned out being but he had to spend $900 or so on it, Just something the pits end up finding that you don't unless you have it up on a hoist...

But it probably is a nice car, Just be a little cautious. Good luck mate!

[akust0m]

Stevo, Why is it too pricey for an "Auto" ? Tbh I'd rather spend more on an Auto than I would on a manual, Or are you just someone who rathers manual and think they're the bee's knees? For a daily, Manual might be "fun" but Auto seems a bit more logical, And I've seen some pretty expensive VX's In auto, That's a pretty damn cheap car, Who cares if it's Auto? :S If you're into manual and what not then that's great, Not having a go at you at all, But If it's just a daily, And you really just don't care Just buy it mate, Don't worry if it's "Auto" You're going to be spending the same amount on a Manual now days anyway, I've never seen a VX being "more expensive" because of it being manual down here, I was looking at one for a while, And all the ones i found that where manual had been thrashed, So I just went with a 1 owner low k's auto... Better future wise.

I'm just wondering why you think if it was manual it would be a better deal.......? Mind boggling!

The prices you guys are mentioning are pretty decent, But I'm sure they're private, Meaning no insurence, I ended up spending 13k for my VX S, But it had only done 80,000k's, 1 owner, It was his "Weekend car"... Mate, The car sounds good, But having all those mods have you had pressure checks and head checks and every check you can on it? It seem's hes trying to get rid of it pretty quick, There is no insurence if he's private, Anything major goes wrong with it you'd be in trouble... But 120,000k's is pretty damn good, I personally rather buy something over $8,000 from a dealer so there is warrenty, But it seem's like a good buy.... So what if it's auto.

Just make sure you get as many checks as you possibly can on it... And why doesn't he want to put it over the pits? Could there be something wrong with it nobody is seeing except the pits? For him to lower it that much without getting road worthy it either means he's just a busy person or he knows it'll cost a lot more than that to get it over the pits.

Good luck on the buy dude! And don't forget, You can always convert it too Manual if that's really what you're looking for... But 8-9k it seem's like a good buy.

Thanks for the reply. I had my mechanic look over it, I used to work for him on his organic fruit and veg farm, trustworthy bloke. He looked over as much as he could, he took it for a test drive with myself and the owner in the car. The only things he could find wrong was the back 2 tyres and the steering boot was causing a slight leak. Also is due for a general service. The tyres and worn on the inside due to slight camber. The owner has just bought himself a 4x4, hence why he is selling the car. Apparently he didnt even know about the leak and he thought only the back left tyre was unroadworthy. I'm not really fussed that it isn't manual. My mechanic said he will do the required things to get the roady, he will get my tyres and the boot at cost and will I pay for labour.

[jazza15]

Josheh, manuals are rarer, that's why they are worth thousands more, there are few with low k's and/or in good nick.

It's quite obviously a private sale and we all know that S Pacs are slightly optioned up executives. Although it has low k's, which can be great, does it have a solid service history? - which counts. Can you justify paying thousands more for essentially a few mods that you can pick and choose to do yourself on another, more cheap stock VT, possibly in better nick, with a roady?
Just the fact that it's an auto would have steered me clear right away, however if it was manual it may be worth it. AND NO, I am not talking about whether manuals are better than autos or not.

[akust0m]

Thanks for your reply Jarryd, yeah it has full service history.

[Josheh]

Nice mate, I'd pick it up then if you're happy and your mechanic is happy. Especially with full service history!!!!!!

That's weird too, I've seen manuals in dealerships and It never seem's the prices are any higher.... Maybe It's just not noticable for someone like Me who's not even 70% devoted to cars? When i brought mine they had another there prac like what i brought, dif colour, 110k on it and it was 12k And I'm sure it was manual, Probably wrong though..

Seem's stupid Manual's would be rarer / more expensive though, Just my opinion of course... But then again There would def be a ton more auto's out their than manuals, So people looking for one would def notice it more than me ay, haha!

If manual's mean as jack poo to you as they do for me at the moment, And you like the car, And you're not a hard out lover of vehicles and Just like them to get around and have a bit of show at the same time with your friend then I wouldn't worry about what price the Auto is mate and just buy it.

[undar8ed1]

My adivice look around and don`t buy the first thing you see, thats the best advice I can give and would give my whole paycheck to have someone go back in time and tell me that when I was 17.

[LittleMissVE]

I bought a VT Clubsport (Manual), for $15K.. 4 years ago. Has high km's, but apart from that, there was nothing major when I got it. Over th last 4 years I have spent probably twice those $$ with the amount of stuff I have had to get fixed on my car. (Also unnecessary stuff had to be fixed as I forgot to pay my rego & had to take my car over the pits.)

If you've got your car checked out, and you are happy, then go for it. While it does seem a bit pricey for a VT, pay a couple $k's less, and you'll get a sh*tbox.

[stevoss]

yeah manuals cost a lot more because there is alot less of them, and i am not saying a auto is bad as i have 2 vt's 1 of each(man and auto)

when i was looking for my second i found a exec series 2 with 120kms for sale for $4000, so you can find some good bargains out there, but at the end of the day if you are happy then fair enough.