Should I buy this VT II S pack?

[Ignited-SV6]

Hi all,

Put a refundable deposit on a 1999 VT II S pack that has done 179,000km from a wholesale dealer in Melbourne. Car comes with 12 months rego and has was told it has just had the Holden 180,000km service done.

These are the few things i found wrong with it:

- Steering wheel isn't completely centered...it's angled to the left a bit, but the car goes completely straight.

- Clunk sound every now and then...not too sure when it happens, but its not too noticeable.

- 180,000km Service notice still appears on screen in dash (Shouldn't that be taken off once the service is done?)

- The stereo is locked and the dealer told me it costs $150 to unlock (but they'll do that).

- Has new Rego and has just been given the road worthy (went through the pits at VicRoads), it also has a new radiator because the old one "had a hair line crack in it"....Could this mean it was in an accident?

Now I know those are a lot of things, but overall the car is in perfect looking condition, tinted windows, 16" rims, not a scratch on it.

This is the link to the carsales ad:

1999 HOLDEN COMMODORE S VT Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au - carsales.com.au

Let me know soon coz the finance guy is calling me tomorrow.
Cheers!

[*uwishn*]

your buying the car you tell the dealer what you want,they normally meet you half way though i would be making them pay for a wheel aliment.
the service light is easy to take of you push the trip buttons like 8times or something ill get the info on that and yes it should of been taken of(make sure it has service history you don't want an unserviced engine at 180k)
the price in reasonable you could probably score a manual for that,though if your happy with it go for it,its a second hand car its going to have noises,
a cracked radiator can happen from many things an accident would be the least of my worry's,does he give you warranty??

[Brett McRae]

they are asking a bit for it with that many KM, i bought a VX series 2 S-pack which has the side airbags, traction control, upgraded cruise control, 12 months rego with new tires and new battery for 8300 locally i would shop around a bit or try get them down to 6500 or near that

[Brett McRae]

OH and mine also had a full service history serviced every 10 000 with 137 000km on it at time of purchase and that was only 1 month ago

[Ignited-SV6]

Thats a sweet bargain Brett....I've looked around and this is the cheapest S pack from a dealer in Melbourne.

Not too sure about the warranty and I didn't ask about the service history either, but there is still time. Are there any particular questions I should ask?...I might make a list and memorize them coz i dont wanna get ****ed around, especially with my first car.

I'll give it a shot in lowering the price. Thanks for the quick response guys.

[Brett McRae]

have u driven the car see if it has wheel wobbel under breaking meaning the brake disc's will need machining very common problem, does it start straight away otherwise that could be more issues suck as a fuel pump

[kniever]

.............................................

[Ignited-SV6]

It starts very quickly and I didn't feel any wheel wobble....the only thing mechanical that needs to be fixed is the low idle which causes a fair bit of vibration.

Kniever...........whats the deal?

[wortus]

If the car is in mint condition, no dents or heaps of stone chips and you reallty like the VT then I would pay aroud that however I would negotiate as low as you can go without offering to drop the extended warrenty and then ask for a lower price without the 3 year warrenty as they only cover the major mechanical and it has to go back to the same dealer for expensive servicing and not really worth it as the chances of the engine failing are fairly low. Gearbox should be OK if it was service when it was due.
I'd be looking for any oil leaks, diff noise and general driveline condition such as uni joints etc. I'd also check the brake rotor thickness and if under minumum they are covered by warrenty. Also the brake pads are to the extent they must still have the minimum amount of pad (3mm) at the end of the 3 month warrenty, most dealers will tel you they are not covered but they are wrong. You can do all this under the normal 3 month warrenty and claim if need be. As long as you advise them what is wrong if they won't do it send them a letter detailing what is wrong by registered mail (needing a signature and go to consumer affairs.

[justin35]

what ever deal you do with the car yard get it in writting ,,trust me once they get your money they wont care about what verbal agreement is made..i got stung bad like that,and sounds like maybe the steering rack has been out and replaced if the wheel is of center or maybe the airbag has gone of and wheel has been replaced.If your worried about it been in an accident i would be checking for over spray around the front panels,lights ect,even check the rad support top and bottom to see if it has been resprayed eg fresh paint wont match old paint,,see if all front panels match line up and check for colour diff there also,overspray under the car wheel arches ect ,check real good cause once paid its yours..

[kniever]

Kniever...........whats the deal?

went to show ya there are heaps of vt s pacs for around the 5-6k mark with decent k's but figured there was no point posting after that cos i realized the whole point you were going for a dealer is cos you wanted finance

[*uwishn*]

hi mate,
how did you go???

[Ignited-SV6]

The finance guy said that I've got a better chance of getting approved for an 01-02 model....so a VX. The dealer has a VX available in silver with 160,000km for around 10K, hes not sure on the price coz hes just got it in and still needs to get the roadworthy. I said that max i was willing to spend was 9 and he said he'll see what he can do.

The finance guy will let him know tomorrow if I get approved.

Nothing wrong with a VX if I have to get it.

[Dayvo]

Give the previous owner a ring and chat to him .

[Ignited-SV6]

I would have, but if you have a look at the comment i made just before yours....you'd see what the story is now.

Ill call the previous owner of this car though to see what the story is there, but the dealer is a bit vague on detail of the history of his cars...