Advice on VX Purchase

[electricmonk]

Hi all, first time poster so be gentle lol
We are looking at buying a VX series II Executive as the wife want's a newer car. I don't know a lot about real life experiances with this model as the all my holdens have either been early HR, HK, HG, FB and HJ's and I am now into old school VW's but have read up extensivly about the faults and what to expect. The Car has 120000 on the clock and the dealer says it has uprated suspension. we know the car is ex SA Police and a V6 (Of course) It has full service history and the car yard will do the 120k service before we pick it up. They will sell it to us for $10000 on road (reg, tax ect) Is this a good buy? She want's a dealer car as we will get a warrenty with it (3months) It does not have a tow bar or factory alloy wheels which we wanted, are these expensive to buy and if we get the towbar is there provision in the bumper for it? The dealer let her drive it home tonight so I could have a look as I get home about eight oclock. What shold I look at and what would a police V6 have thats out of the ordinary?
Ok I know 20 questions as a first post sucks but we have to invest wisely as it's a big outlay for us.
Any help or pointers for this car or any other VX Series two we may look at would help a lot.

Well she who must be obeyed just called, she was going through the service history and found two pieces of paper for services at 168000 for the same vin as this car, yet the service book goes is at the 120000 service and so is the odometer. If I am correct the gauge panel holds the milage not the computer so I am thinking that it is possible the gauges were swapped out for a lower milage. I think this vehicle might just go back with a please explain in the morning

[VT97CALAIS]

simple - dont buy it man

[Shounak]

Never buy an ex-cop Commodore 6 either. Read some of the stories from the cops on this forum.

It's bloody expensive for the price also. Check carsales and eBay for more realistic prices. You're about to get ripped.

[pablo]

The police patrol cars are generally sold with around 60,000 Kilometers on the clock.
Have a look here to get an idea and check the price history out. This is where it would have been disposed from.
Government Auctions SA

Pablo

[electricmonk]

Thanks for the replies.
The car was purchased at auction at around 88 000k's
I found out that the wife had signed the contract to buy the car subject to my OK after a test drive..well I did not like the drive. The trans seemed to drop revs more than normal when changing up while driving at a constant speed. There was an occasional vibration at a steady 52kph. I also noted that the diff was weeping, there was evidence of oil on the cross member before cleaning and that the front right hand guard had some sort of liquid spilt on it and dried. That and the discrepancy with recorded mileage makes me want to stay away from the car. Besides no cruise, alloy wheels or towbar almost make it seem like a Belmont version for the same price as a kingswood lol

[Shounak]

Is there a cooling off period? You could get a much better car for that price.

[Reaper]

Something sounds fishy with that one. Move on - there are heaps of really good examples about. I would avoid a ex-police one myself. Try to stay with a series 2 if you can.

Reaper

[garywg]

As said earlier beware..have a look in saturdayd advertiser or on cars guide you'll finf much better (and with cruise etc) for a better price & I agree with the trouble and strife buying from a dealer gives you a warranty and a little piece of mind. Good luk with the search.

[electricmonk]

I was lucky with the clause my wife put in so the cars back in the yard. There are two or three cars we can still look at and considering it's the end of thje month we should be able to beat down the price a bit. I appreciated all the comments as they reenforced my opinion. I am starting to warm to the idea of having a VX, at least the parts can be found local and not cost the earth. On my VW it will cost about $400 au to get door rubbers NOS from the US. Oh and were are looking at Drive.com.au. Carpoint, car sales, and the trading post so pretty much have it covered. Apparently my six year old daughter started crying when she found out the car was going back lol.

[pablo]

You could have a look at the car auctions on Torrens road (cnr. Coglin St.) Universal Motor Auctions. I bought a very nice low K car from them a few months back for my Son. I had a look at the log books befor it was auctioned and got the previous owners name and gave him a phone call. Carefully went through the vehicles history with him and the service records to my satisfaction.
Made them an offer before the auction and they accepted. They also offered a warranty through an insurance company for several hundred dollars more, but I declined.
They have VX sedans for several thousand bucks cheaper than the yards. The knock down price those cars go for is incredible. BUT..Buyer beware!

Pablo

[feg]

I know this is more expensive, but if you haggle this down you could get a much nicer care, for not much more EG

Used HOLDEN CALAIS Private Seller Cars For Sale - carsales.com.au

sometimes buying a car can be buying a whole lot of bills and expenses.

Excellent work by your missus, with the opt out!