Fedup with my SS worth selling?

[mike_is_bored316]

As the title says im fedup with the money pit that is my 2001 vx series II ss
To start off with i bought this car at holden on the 9th or march this year for $16,000 with a 175,000km warranty A4 black with a sunroof and 149,000km it had a number of small stone chips all over the bonnet but at the time i overlooked that or maybe just didnt notice them as much i paid the $16k because i was adiment i wanted 1 with a sunroof. The car didnt come with original 17 inch mags the dealership put on what they said where hsv 17 inch mags but they are actually an aftermarket AMG brand with hsv centre caps now two of them where gutterbashed before i took posession of the car and within the first week i noticed a coating coming off 2 of them making the metal look partially worn off so they'll need professionally fixing at about $180 a rim

Not long after i got the car i realised it had terrible brake shudder and vibrations the front brakes where rubbing, Also the tailshaft cv joints or the diff (not sure which 1 is causing it) but theres bad CLUNK! sound at low speeds around town taking off aswell as the trans lines leaking at the radiator, so took it back to holden under warranty they put a new radiator in, 1 new rear shock even tho they where both rooted they only replaced the 1, an oil pressure switch and dome z sway bars or something but they would not fix the front brakes or the diff/tailshaft CLUNK! they claimed not to even hear the loud CLUNK at low speeds. I know that to get the front brakes sorted will cost upwards of $350 and the clunk still not sure.

so after that i thought those problems i was left with and after the $$ i'd spent the car in terms of power in stock form i found underwhelming so thought id spend some $$ on some FUN things for the car, I went and spent $750 on a new twin 2 1/2 inch difilippo catback exhaust it was fitted 2 months ago and ive done over 2,500km so its (carboned up) still the drone in it is horrible at what seems like every possible speed so maybe i should've got a cheaper brand of catback and saved my $$ since even the difilippo which i thought was 1 of the best systems around i think sounds almost unbearable So after that i got an otrcai and full mafless tune new spark plugs & ignition leads about $1,800 after which the dyno readout said only 210rwkw i know each dyno varies so id hope its abit more than that, I have only noticed maybe 10-20km more economy out of a tank after the tune and i havnt driven the car hard mostly highway. So shortly after that noticed my drive belt squeeling a bit maybe 1 week later after work started the car up and heard a hang! from the bonnet it had thrown a belt clean off i lost power steering ect and drove it 6km out of work out of frustration till it heated up too much and had it towed dont know why it came off the water pump and usual things that apparently makes them come off was fine bit of a mystery but a new belt and tensioner pully was around $300 fitted. So after all that i thought that was a big run of bad luck then just recently realised i was losing coolant i knew it wasnt the radiator as it was brand new i think ive sussed it out as a cracked reservoir tank near where it mounts too the body only seems to trickle out after a long trip when the bottle fills up holden qouted me $126 for new bottle and cap i cant afford that right now so ill just have to hope it doesnt leak out more than the 1 litre its lost already. I really am starting to think this car has some kind of curse on it or something i loved this car before i bought it and now ive stupidly sunk all my savings into it still to have rooted front brakes, a CLUNK! and the coolant bottle cracked aswell as 1 rooted shock and damaged mags and a crap sounding exxhaust! i now have no savings left and no job and can barely stand to look at this car anymore!

So i have to decide if its worth selling at 156,500km with a major service just around the corner. Obviously i wont get 16k back im at my witts end with this car

[bandit10]

ill swap you it for a VS SS hehehe

im sure things will get better chin up

[Cúl-Báire]

I'll give you 5k for it right now!...

You paid too much for it to begin with, I got a VXII SS with 130k for 14.5k from a dealer in late 2008. They are a nice car, but if you have totally lost faith in it I would piss it off in a hurry!

[bandit10]

Ill give you 6k for it right now!!!! the bidding has started lol

[Cúl-Báire]

I'll give you $6,341.93 for it :P

[Zeussy]

Mate, maintenance is an ongoing thing, with ANY car...
By the sounds of it, yours might have missed a bit here and there, but basically all the things you have mentioned are just common little things.

Front brakes, just shuddering? will be fine, even if you replace the rotors (bout $50 a side) and new pads etc, one "hard" brake and they will be warped again. Its not going to effect the braking capabilities, unless its really bad, just feel a little suss.
Clunk in the diff, what commodore doesn't have a clunky diff, lol (not quite, but it is common ) Unless its really bad, she'l be right, let it develope some more
With your exhaust, first mistake was not listening to another car with already fitted to it, go back to di-filipo, or where ever you got it from and complain, after spending that sort of coin there should be some customer service, swap out a resinator/muffler etc...
$300 for a new tensioner pulley and belt? wtf? they're cheap as chips, get one off ebay, you really should stop getting mechanics to do ALL the work on you car.
Some of the simple little jobs are easily 'do-able' by the home mechanic. Just ask on here for some advice when you get stuck.
I'm sure you could replace the coolant over flow tank, its not a complicated job, there's probly a write up on here "how to" take your front bumper off (if its in the same spot as the VY's)

Don't lose faith, just spend the money needed, and it will be a good car in the long run, if you cheap out, and don't fix things, or dodgey them up, its only going to get worse. Fix it right the first time, then you won't have to worry about 'that' bit for a while.

[jay_wr8]

i've got one you can buy, no swaps lol

[wortus]

Sounds to me that you were not forceful enough with the Holden dealer especially regarding the brake issues. What reason did they give you not to fix the brake shudder? I bought a VY second hand and go the dealer to replace all 4 rotors because it had brake shudder and machining them would have made them undersize and 1 rear rotor was already just under.

If I was you I would get an independent report on the things you think are wrong with it like brakes and the tail shaft etc and then take it back and if they won't play ball go to Consumer Affairs.
I bought a CN years ago and it had stuffed shocks, the dealer said they were fine, so did his mechanic so I got a Pedders safety report and stuck that under their nose and I got new shocks!

Regarding the wheels you were told they were genuine but turned out not to be, well that is a verbal contract under law and becomes a condition of sale so go back and tell them that and demand that they put the wheels they said it had on it.

Given you have wasted a hell of a lot of your money on performance exhausts and tuning when you don't have much to spare is beyond belief, what posessed you to do that and then not have money to maintain it? You may well have also voided your warrenty with the holden dealer in doing those things.

It may be worth contacting your states consumer affairs and also you may want to look at your statuutory warrenty rights which deals with implied warrenty and fit for purpose etc for example buy a new fridge you would have a reasonable expectation it would last 10 years and it stuffs up after it's 1 or 2 year warrenty you still have rights under a statutory warrenty so worth looking into.
Your statutory rights

[mike_is_bored316]

I have voided my warranty with holden with the zorst and otrcai mafless i already know that but i had a feeling i wouldnt get any more free repairs out of my warranty anyway knowing holden, they didnt touch the front brakes cos they said "that isnt a warranty item" its so bad that braking at 100 at around between 90 and 70 slowing down the steering wheel shakes fairly violently, and after talking to some1im pretty sure its the tail shaft cv joints or something thats making the CLUNK! something about slack between the drivetrain? The statiotory warranty ran out after 3 months and at 156k my used car warranty would've ran out in less than 19,000km anyway.
Cheers

[wortus]

I have voided my warranty with holden with the zorst and otrcai mafless i already know that but i had a feeling i wouldnt get any more free repairs out of my warranty anyway knowing holden, they didnt touch the front brakes cos they said "that isnt a warranty item" its so bad that braking at 100 at around between 90 and 70 slowing down the steering wheel shakes fairly violently, and after talking to some1im pretty sure its the tail shaft cv joints or something thats making the CLUNK! something about slack between the drivetrain? The statiotory warranty ran out after 3 months and at 156k my used car warranty would've ran out in less than 19,000km anyway.
Cheers

The rotors either need machining and new pads or replacing with new pads. Some people say the shudder is because the disc warps others say it's the pad material. Holden did change the pad type a lot since the VT came out because of brake shudder. My advice the brakes are warrantable its a safety issue and you have already told them before you did those changes so its got to be covered. You need to push that line with them and if they won't play ball go to consumer affairs. worst case if you don't win for one reason or another get a set of RDA or similar slotted rotors off the internet or super cheap and some AC Delco pads from Holden, there good and half the cost of genuine and you will fix the problem, rotors would be about $100 each and the pads about $50

You have got nothing to loose take these pricks on and stand up for your rights they will tell you anything to get rid of you. As far as brakes and warranties go they will all tell you that the pads ar enot covered well they are to the extent they must have a servicable amount of material left by the end of the 3 month warranty. They have to know you know your rights and you will get what you want.

[QldKev]

So you got a "catback. got an otrcai (which brand???) and full mafless tune ( from who??) new spark plugs & ignition leads about $1,800 after which the dyno readout said only 210rwkw.

210rwkw is not actually too bad for the mods listed.


I havn't put mine on a dyno, but with
DuSpeed OTRCAI
Oztrack tune
Xforce 4 into 1, 3inch cats and twin 2.5inch exhaust
I'm only hoping for 225rwkw

I'm not sure what your issue is???


also I went Xforce exhaust all the way; I was told prior ANY exhaust will drone without decent extractors and cats

QldKev

[OFF T4P]

it would sound shit unless you have extractors mate

[stockyvrcalais]

i know how you feel mate, honestly if you can cope with losing a little more money get rid of it

[jay_wr8]

you could save the mods until all the problems are fixed

[doowy]

Been n done it with my ss. It hadnt ever been maintained properly.
Saved a Lion ... not look'n back

[Zeussy]

Been n done it with my ss. It hadnt ever been maintained properly.
Saved a Lion ... not look'n back

Thats the attitude

Once the works done, you get to appreciate it everyday after...

[shifty6]

surely you could find a replacement overflow bottle from a wreckers mate. as said above, you dont have to buy absolutely everything brand new straight from the holden dealer.

[Vt_vic]

mine clunked like bitch it was the uni joints i think from the tailshaft to the diff and get the diff serviced

[VTLS1]

Mate,sadly,it sounds like you got stung big time. Anyone who walks into a car sales yard to buy a car is mad. The minute you walk in there all they see is a sign above your head saying "mug" & will say anything to make a sale. Most car sales yards have their own mechanic or workshop who "do" their work but dont. They usually make things look great,sound fantastic but when you look further its been bodged together. I am sure their are a few good car dealers but,i have yet to find one. If you buy a car through a car yard for one reason or another you should always get it independantly checked out first.
The bloke who bought one for $14500 back in 08 got a bargain for that time as these cars still fetch around that now for a reasonably good one with reasonable km's more sometimes if its manual

[bricat]

Don't give up you have a nice car. If you sell it now someone else will benefit from all the work you have put into it. As far as warrany goes you have missed the boat now I think so just move on. Look around for rotors and pads. Fix the uni joint and your on your way. So really that is the only 2 things that require work. For what it's worth the standard gen 3 ls1 has about 170 rwkw. So you have better than 20% increase with a few mods. Chin up and fix those problems and regular serviceing should see the car go for another 100000 without to many problems. I have had power steering pump,o2 sensors, thermostat, brake rotors and pads,ignition leads and plugs replaced on mine all in 14000 ks. Cheers Brian

[ashbox]

Mate,sadly,it sounds like you got stung big time. Anyone who walks into a car sales yard to buy a car is mad. The minute you walk in there all they see is a sign above your head saying "mug" & will say anything to make a sale. Most car sales yards have their own mechanic or workshop who "do" their work but dont. They usually make things look great,sound fantastic but when you look further its been bodged together.

and thats the exact reason why i get all reciepts on work done, even the warranty stuff that has been carried out.

I believe there is such a thing as lemon law, i know victoria has adopted such a law.
maybe look into it

[mike_is_bored316]

Bit of an update since this thread was started ive decided ill probably keep it unless some1 wants to swap my black vx II ss wsunroof 159,000km (it will be getting its major 160km service of course) for a wh II preferably a black 1 with a sunroof with 180,000km or less.

I've spent $550 on the front brakes new pads rotors machined and brake fluid flush and some thread bolt that was glued in place by holden (probably some apprentice doing a bodgey repair after he made a ballsup) and the bolt and thread was rusted out that cost $200 to replace, i seem to have a slight coolant leak its the radiator overflow bottle im pretty sure cos it pisses out the first 1/2 a litre after a top up without fail after a long trip then just retains the rest of the coolant so im leaving that be for now since its not summer i dont think 1/2 a litre of coolant is a big deal at this stage.

[Zeussy]

Ouch! $550 for a brake job, with machined rotors, should've just got new ones! lol, I hate hearing about places that charge the earth for a small job, makes me glad I'm a mechanic

I put locktite on all the bolts on my car, (just about anyway) although you're supposed to replace the caliper bolts everytime you remove them. So don't be too worried about the 'glued in' bolt
Its fairly normal to loose a little bit of coolant, as it heats up the coolant expands, and when it cools it sucks some out of the overflow bottle, if you're filling it up above the 'full' mark, then it will just blow out whatevers over.

Good to hear that you're going to keep it for a while though

[mike_is_bored316]

Ouch! $550 for a brake job, with machined rotors, should've just got new ones! lol, I hate hearing about places that charge the earth for a small job, makes me glad I'm a mechanic

I put locktite on all the bolts on my car, (just about anyway) although you're supposed to replace the caliper bolts everytime you remove them. So don't be too worried about the 'glued in' bolt
Its fairly normal to loose a little bit of coolant, as it heats up the coolant expands, and when it cools it sucks some out of the overflow bottle, if you're filling it up above the 'full' mark, then it will just blow out whatevers over.

Good to hear that you're going to keep it for a while though

yes when i was slugged $550 i shat a brick! as for the coolant i waited till the engine was cold and filled it up to the cold fill mark exactly and drove from melton to port melb for a week and it didnt lose a single drop but when i drove from melton to pakenham it pissed out half a litre some drips from where the coolant overflow bottle is bolted onto the chassis and some from the passanger side of the radiator

[VTLS1]

yes when i was slugged $550 i shat a brick! as for the coolant i waited till the engine was cold and filled it up to the cold fill mark exactly and drove from melton to port melb for a week and it didnt lose a single drop but when i drove from melton to pakenham it pissed out half a litre some drips from where the coolant overflow bottle is bolted onto the chassis and some from the passanger side of the radiator

hell,i would have shat a pallet of bricks if someone wanted to charge me that for a brake job.
new pair of front rotors-slotted & crossdrilled-130 buck,20 bucks brake pads & another 20 for fluid. unfortunately most of your cost would have been labour,be careful with labour charges-thats where they get you in the wallet. some workshops are just a rip off,example is i just bought another vt commodore,guy sold because it was to exspensive to pass its roadworthy. his mechanic was trying to charge him 85 to reglue a steering wheel,60 for a fanbelt(not even a rwc item!),450 for rear shocks(which werent even stuffed),60 for engine degrease,400 for a power steer pump. all i did was glue the steering wheel & gave it a good clean all over,then i took it back to where he got the safety check done,just for a laugh & see what they say-they said nothing,had a look & passed it what does that tell you,either i am one hell or a bodge master or there a ripoff somewhere(maybe both,lol) as for your overflow bottle,yeah i know they are needed but i have a vt ls1 that the last few years hasnt had an overflow bottle at all-i removed it for an extra pipe into the airbox-car has never overheated yet