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Worried about purchase of VY SS

Waabs

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Hey first post! I live in Brisbane and am considering purchasing a second hand VY SS but have concerns after reading about various problems here on the forums.

There are little things like central locking not working well when cold which, whilst not great, does not concern me that much. However the big thing I am worried about is the Gen III engine. In particular piston slap and using a lot of oil.

The other car I am also considering is a XR6T which seemingly has its own set of problems.

Any words of advice on these issues with regards to purchasing second hand or general advice for purchasing a VY?

Thanks!
 
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clixanup

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Waabs said:
There are little things like central locking not working well when cold which, whilst not great, does not concern me that much. However the big thing I am worried about is the Gen III engine. In particular piston slap and using a lot of oil.
Holden started using the revised engines in March/April 2003. So if you buy one built after that point, you will dramatically reduce the risk of buying a dud. However, some of these later engines had gudgeon pin problems.

In reality, there are many more people who bought LS1's who haven't had any problems at all. In the media, you'll only really hear from the people who are dissatisfied, so problems always look far worse than they are. Holden have said that less than 2% of Gen3 buyers had problems. Even if you said 5% had problems, then you have a 95% chance of buying a good one.
Waabs said:
The other car I am also considering is a XR6T which seemingly has its own set of problems.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a second hand turbo anything.
Waabs said:
Any words of advice on these issues with regards to purchasing second hand or general advice for purchasing a VY?
Yeah. Keep your eyes open for a Calais. They're selling ridiculously cheap at the moment.
 

davey g-force

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Yeah, Im with Clixanup.

Holden fixed those problems in the Gen III when they released the VY.

Ive got a VY SS and have had no engine troubles. I know 3 or 4 other guys with the same and they too have had no dramas.
 

AirStrike

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By the time the VY was released there wasn't any engine problems. From late in the VX SII run they started using the LS6 blocks, and the pistons copped a teflon coating on the skirt from memory (I have all the info here somewhere if I find it ill update this post).
As for the XR6T, a mate has on and trust me, they have worse problems then the central locking not working.
AirStrike :air:
 

Jeffro74

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i have problems with 03 model vy engine :)
i have 2 of them and both have engine prob ;/
 

clixanup

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Jeffro74 said:
i have problems with 03 model vy engine :)
i have 2 of them and both have engine prob ;/
Gudgeon pins? Early 03's had the older engines.
AirStrike said:
I have all the info here somewhere if I find it ill update this post
Here 'tis:

http://www.idavette.net/hib/02ls6/page5.htm

Note: The article says that the changes were made in 2001, but we Aussies didn't actually get any of the revised blocks until early 2003.
 

Aggro_VE

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clixanup said:
Keep your eyes open for a Calais. They're selling ridiculously cheap at the moment.

I maybe alittle biased but I agree with this one :D get into a series 1 V8 Calais for mid-high 20's. Series 2 V8 models more like low 30's.
 

Reaper

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Waabs said:
Hey first post! I live in Brisbane and am considering purchasing a second hand VY SS but have concerns after reading about various problems here on the forums.

There are little things like central locking not working well when cold which, whilst not great, does not concern me that much. However the big thing I am worried about is the Gen III engine. In particular piston slap and using a lot of oil.

The other car I am also considering is a XR6T which seemingly has its own set of problems.

Any words of advice on these issues with regards to purchasing second hand or general advice for purchasing a VY?

Thanks!

My experience: VXII SS Auto, VYII SS Man.

Neither car had the central locking problem (never heard of that one).

Both gen III's have performed fine - neither had the oil nor piston slap issues. But then again neither have been thrashed with the VY being used more like a truck lately.

Reaper
 

J2112

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6 months ago, I bought an ex chaser, Vy SS II for $30k. 8/2004 model.
Haven't had any problems at all!

Got it from Dave Lahood motors in Sydney.
They're now selling VZ SS 2005 models for $30k.
 
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