Buying a vy

[Greesie]

Hey guys,
I'm looking to buy myself a vy, been looking at s pacs.
Found a couple, one is a standard with 120k kms for 11k from a dealer, and another for the same price is a factory supercharged one with 180k kms, both have full service history,

Just wondering people's opinions, i have had ecotechs before doing over 300 thou and still no dramas, just wondering how harsh the factory superchargers are on the engines? And how much more power you get? I.e. Worth getting over non boosted?
Both auto aswell.

Cheers
Mike

[Burnout124]

the supercharged v6 has 171kw the standard vy has 152kw

[DevilDRake]

11k is steep, you can get them around 7k now private.

[Greesie]

So do you think a supercharged one could have many more problems? For only 20kw it mustn't be working too much harder?

[Greesie]

Yeh been lookin round a fair bit andnmost cheaper ones are pretty rough, am in WA tho... Haha

[TMM]

So do you think a supercharged one could have many more problems? For only 20kw it mustn't be working too much harder?

Theoretically there shouldn't be any difference, but the person behind the wheel of a Super 6 is more likely to work the engine harder then an Ecotec.

The standard L67 may produce 'only' 171kw, a mere 12% more then an Ecotec, but it makes 21% more torque (380Nm vs 312Nm).

The rods and pistons are stronger in the L67 (Supercharged) than the Ecotec, and the engine runs lower compression. The L67 is basically designed to run higher boost then it comes with from the factory, that's why so many people upgrade to 10psi pulleys without any dramas. The biggest hurdle of the L67 is heat generated by the supercharger, which can be fixed with a Water to Air intercooler setup.

If you were just going to keep it stock, i wouldn't see much point in getting the Supercharged engine. If you are going to boost it up a bit it makes much more sense.
That said, a V8 is still going to give you the most power for your dollar.

[Sean880]

Hey guys,
I'm looking to buy myself a vy, been looking at s pacs.
Found a couple, one is a standard with 120k kms for 11k from a dealer, and another for the same price is a factory supercharged one with 180k kms, both have full service history,

Just wondering people's opinions, i have had ecotechs before doing over 300 thou and still no dramas, just wondering how harsh the factory superchargers are on the engines? And how much more power you get? I.e. Worth getting over non boosted?
Both auto aswell.

Cheers
Mike

You will get different opinions here so here is one.

1. I have had a number of factory supercharged Commodores (3 now) and in my experience the engine on these is far superior to the basic V6 in operation, in power/torque and in its build strength to the basic 6 cyl. You will not see many around because most 6 cyl buyers would not spend the extra 1500 dollars on the S/C engine option. If you drive a good basic 6 and then a supercharged 6 for any length of time the differences are very significant and apparent. If you can find a very good VY S/C 6 that has been well maintained in all areas (a big if) it is well worth it. However the basic 6 is still a very good unit and does an adequate job. It is quite harsh at higher rpms though and runs out of puff too soon for my liking.

2. I would not touch a car with 180,000 kms on it. Never - ever.
You should be looking at VYs with 100,000 or less on the clock. They are still around if you are patient. It does not matter that an engine may run 200000 - 250,000 + kms because its all the other mechanicals and some of the electrics that will likely give you trouble and cost you money on a high km car, eg. transmission, diff, suspension components, power steering system, steering rack, radiator and water pump, injectors, alternator, coil packs, air con systems, etc.... etc.
You will frequently see dealers and private buyers trying to get the same money on high km cars as the low km vehicles. It's laughable - as are the sales claims that the 120000 km car is "only low kilometres". If you say it enough times the gullible will believe it I guess.
KMs/hours of operation = wear = a repair and replacement bill.

3. Whatever your budget , just look for the best VY 6 you can get for the money (in terms of kms, body condition, interior condition, servicing and maintenance etc.) and forget which 6 cyl engine it has fitted. If you cannot find a decent VY 6 under 100000 km then look at the VZs. If you find what looks to be a good car spend a few hundred for a professional inspection so you know what you are getting (plus a second informed opinion).
From what I see around, most commodores are not well maintained and have only had the minimum maintenance because most owners are too tight to do more than the bare minimum - if that. These owners just get in them and drive them and many don't even bother to check fluid levels between services. Then they whinge and whine as they grudgingly shell out 100s of dollars for just the basic scheduled maintenance.

Cheers

[JuStDaN]

I just picked up a VY Executive 5 spd Manual with 120,000kms for $6750 with safety cert and couple of months rego.

I bought it off the second owner (original was QLD Health) with full service history. It took me 9months to find it as I was adamant on not settling for an auto again.
It is unmolested bar the 17inch Rodney Janes previous owner put on it (I have already picked up a set of 19inch Starcorp Racing alloys for it)

[Greesie]

Cheers for the replies g

[Greesie]

Cheers for the replies guys. Given me alot to think about, so far I've looked at about 8 vys. I've found that I may as well sacrifice some ks for an s PAC so that I can get the fe2 suspension and body kit, but I've found it hard to get one really clean.
The s/c with 180000 ks seems the best option as I've always wanted to have a non standard v6 and it seems to expensive to do up a standard v6,
The body was perfect except for some clear coat peeling on spoiler, has been serviced every 10k by mechanic and two owners since new. I test drove it. No shuddering under heavy break, no noises under full lock either way, oil looked decent, hasn't been recently dropped but no bad contaminations, coolant clean. Trans oil good, took oil fill cap off and no blow by on it(thats good right?) brake dust on rims but not rubber under wheel arches haha no oil on car port floor, quick stab and release rev to 2k and no strange noises, gear box goes from D to R and vice versa without delay. No smoke from exhaust, drive straight, completely standard, no stereo or modifications.
From what I could tell it seems to be a good car. Put a deposit on it plan to pick it up we'd, did revs check and it's all finance free.

Hope I'm not making the wrong decision...

Please let me no your opinions...good or bad
Cheers

[Greesie]

And good work on the manual exec! Don't no how you found it at that price! Absolutely nothing over here that cheap. Cheapest vy I found was 6.5 and hail damaged!!!

[Greesie]

And if something did go wrong with the engine are the much more exy to fix?

[JuStDaN]

Cheers Greesie!

I was tempted to go the super 6 route but at the end of the day they are only auto and unfortunately have the same fuel consumption as the SS (minus a paddock of horsies). The manny was a fricken bargain, I don't think the fella realised what they are worth, it was his wife's car (yes, 1 of the mags had rash) and he just bought her a new landcruiser (damn mine workers).

I can't see the supers being anymore expensive to fix unless the charger goes!

So when are you getting the 10psi pulley?!?

By the way, what did you do to ya VZ to make ya want to buy a VY? She looks nice!

[Greesie]

Haha yeAh mate he mustn't have known, i woulda loved a manual just too long to track one down and need a car soon as i can haha.
Yeah i hope it's all good, was quiet as so hope it's ok,
I loved the vz but insurance made me raise it again and i never liked the engine, had a vs and loved the 3.8 so went for it again haha