Looking to buy a Calais V Tourer

[green_comet]

Hey guys, first post here just wanted some input from any Calais V Tourer owners out there. My partner and I have been looking at getting ourselves a practical wagon and have been eyeing up the Calais V Tourer, as it seems like very well equipped car for the prices they're going for.

I'm just wondering how people have been finding their ones so far? Are you happy it? Do you regret buying one? Have you had any issues or things we should be checking for? What price should I be aiming to pay?

We're going to have a look at this one on the weekend as it's close by, and just wanted to make sure we know what to look for and what price we should be looking to pay.

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2018-holden-calais-v-zb-auto-awd-my18/OAG-AD-17536393/?Cr=0

Any help/advice is much appreciated.

 

[MattSAU2XR8]

I'd be doing a search of Carsales for this model car and under say under 10,00 kms and see what you can find. Example and reasoning follows...

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2018-holden-calais-zb-auto-awd-my18/OAG-AD-17391873/?Cr=6

This one should have similar warranty or better (complied January 2019) and at saves you $9000 as a result of having 6000 kms on the clock

If we assume that most $40k cars are going to be worth about $10k after say 6 years and 100,000 kms the depreciation over this time is about 30 cents per km. So an extra 6000 kms is worth about $1800 off the price. So in theory you'd be $7000 better off with this one. Perhaps a little more as you would have reduced finance cost of at least $500 so call it $7500

Then consider if you could put up with an RSV instead of a Calais Tourer. I'm not sure about all the differences but do know the Tourer had about 15 mm more ground clearance and higher profile tyres and softer ride, so if using on very poor roads or off road this would be an advantage. But if being used around town then the RSV wagon below saves you $11,000 up front for having 10,000 kms on the clock. Minus $3000 for the kms. Plus at least $700 for finance cost so call it $8700. Difficult to say how resale will go for Tourer vs RSV - could end up being similar since likely buyers when you sell it woudl be young guys who would currently be buying SV6's.

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/de...e-rs-v-zb-auto-awd-my18/OAG-AD-17333669/?Cr=1



Only caveat here is to make sure you get the same or very similar amount of factory warranty, so what I'd suggest is:
- Decide if you would prefer Calais Tourer or RSV wagon,
- Do a search on Carsales for your preferred model and < 10,000 kms
- Rank from cheapest to dearest
- Phone dealers and find out about warranty reamining
- Buy the cheapest one with the most warranty

 

[green_comet]

Thanks for the reply Matt.

We're pretty set on a Calais V Tourer, it has all of the features and luxuries we're after compared to the normal Calais Tourer you linked or the RSV wagon. I've been going through Carsales looking at them and they range from about mid/high 30's and up. I'll have to call a few places and see in regards to warranty remaining and so on.

 

[arsevee]

I'd echo Matt's thoughts on this; if you can save $8-10k on a car with 6-7000Kms on the odometer, it makes sense to do so.

Yes, it is nice to have a brand-new car, and if you can afford it, go for your life. If you're going to keep it long-term the 'instant' devaluation may not be a consideration.

Can I ask why you went for the Calais-V over the Calais or RS-V?

Cheers.

 

[green_comet]

We're looking at the Calais V as we really wanted a panoramic sunroof, which the RS-V and normal Calais don't have. The added additions of cooled front seats, adaptive cruise, heads up display, auto high beam, 360 camera, etc etc just made it look far more attractive to us over the normal Calais. I'm happy to get one with a few thousand km's, I more just wanted to know if people here have been happy with theirs, and what (if any) issues I should keep an eye out for?

 

[arsevee]

We're looking at the Calais V as we really wanted a panoramic sunroof, which the RS-V and normal Calais don't have. The added additions of cooled front seats, adaptive cruise, heads up display, auto high beam, 360 camera, etc etc just made it look far more attractive to us over the normal Calais. I'm happy to get one with a few thousand km's, I more just wanted to know if people here have been happy with theirs, and what (if any) issues I should keep an eye out for?

The pano sunroof looks gorgeous in the US-spec Buicks. Cooled front seats you will need with a big sunroof My Golf has adaptive cruise, which can be a curse and a blessing, auto high beam is great (I'm assuming it's the Matrix LEDs?) - I have self-parking anyway, so can live without the surround camera (I've had it on a previous car which didn't self-park so was very handy).

 

[VFRDLN]

As far as reliability goes I can't answer that as I've only had mine for a week but have put 800 trouble free km on it so far. As far as a car goes it is very good with great handling and very smooth driver assist aids, I have had a few cars with radar cruise and the Holden system is as good or better than others I have used. The LED matrix head lights are extremely good and work well in and out of town. The only extras this car needs are speed sign recognition and speed zones displayed in the sat nav.

I bought my car from Mantello's in Roxburgh Park for $41,500 with tint, bonnet & head light protectors and a tow hitch. The car was part of a fleet deal that fell over and was registered in June it had a few hundred km on the clock and 520km by the time I returned it from an overnight test drive. There was a catch though but not a big one. As the car was registered to a fleet company it has a limited warranty of 5 years or 200,000km not unlimited km and is not part of the fixed price service plan. Neither of those points bothered me as I do my own maintenance and doubt I'll have driven 200k by the end of the 5 year warranty.

The car you linked was one I was interested in as it is pictured at Alan Lance in Melton and I live in Melton. Unfortunately though the car was not there and the useless sales woman told me they didn't have one in their inventory. I'm not sure if they actually have the car though as the LMCT listed in the add is for PAR Leasing which is located on Old Geelong rd Footscray. I think Mance and PAR leasing are affiliated in some way though. I didn't bother looking into this one much more though as Alan Mance have lost 4 sales from me in the past through their incompetence. If the car is in fact available though I doubt you will find cheaper for what is essentially a new car.

 

[SteveRSV]

We're looking at the Calais V as we really wanted a panoramic sunroof, which the RS-V and normal Calais don't have. The added additions of cooled front seats, adaptive cruise, heads up display, auto high beam, 360 camera, etc etc just made it look far more attractive to us over the normal Calais. I'm happy to get one with a few thousand km's, I more just wanted to know if people here have been happy with theirs, and what (if any) issues I should keep an eye out for?

Hi G_C.
We bought our RSV wagon a few months ago @14000kms. Now with 21000km on the odo.
For us, the decision to buy was made easier by what we saw as a lack of alternatives in a reasonably quick, largish, non-fwd, non-suv wagon.
Positives ?
- Excellent highway car, very quiet, excellent highway fuel economy.
- Great infotainment, and tech inclusions. More than that, it all seems to work well, and we particularly like the cabin layout generally.
- AWD system is more or less seamless, the car is well able to put its power down in the wet without any hint of front slip.
- Chassis seems to have very good torsional rigidity. We have lifted a rear wheel on occasion (navigating across very uneven ground) and the car is silent, no creaks or groans. So far, in all conditions the car is rattle free.
- Extremely happy with build quality generally, as well as the balance of 5 yr warranty.
- Even though the v6 has been reported as lethargic, there is no doubt this is a quick, smooth car.
- Purchase price. Nothing else comes close.
- This one may be a bit strange - we think the car has some real x-factor. It is a very enjoyable car to get around in. Nothing else we drove managed to feel at all special.
Negatives.
- Gearbox. Very smooth shifts, goes about its business no worries but ours is very slow to kick down , and with 9 speeds it is awkward to shift manually.
- When accelerating hard, we find the exhaust/engine noise intrusive.
- Seat comfort. Wife thinks seats are great, I find them uncomfortable after a few hours.
- Future parts availability is a real unknown. The ZB isn't going to be a long lived model. 3rd party parts are non-existant.
These are purely our opinions, and we had certain needs and desires that ruled out many other cars automatically. Also, yours being a Calais V, some aspects may not be applicable.
Be warned that many ZB's advertised only have a 3 year warranty. Imperative that you choose one that carries the 5 year warranty.
Happy hunting.

 

[arsevee]

Be warned that many ZB's advertised only have a 3 year warranty. Imperative that you choose one that carries the 5 year warranty.
Happy hunting.

Yep, make sure what ever you buy is first registered July 1st 2018 or later...

Good review Steve (although one reason I bought the RS-V over the RS was because of the engine noise when you floor it... an active exhaust would be an option I'd tick...)

 

[green_comet]

Awesome, thanks for all the info guys. Glad to hear you're enjoying the cars so far. I was reading about making sure to get one registered after July 1 2018 for the 5 year warranty, I'll make sure of that. The only other thing that seemed to pop up while searching are rattles inside the cabin and the standard tyres wearing out quite quickly.