New here. Looking to buy a Commodore. Not sure which one

[AussieCanuck]

Hi all.

I've been lurking on this forum for a few weeks. Up till yesterday I was the (proud?) owner of a 2006 Subaru Liberty. No mods. Just dark tints.

The car was ok to own but really lacked backseat space and overall grunt. I've got three kids who seem to be growing longer and wider by the day and, with a baby seat in the middle, there's just no space left for anyone in the back seat to feel comfortable.

On a recent trip to Cairns, where we ended up hiring a Commodore VE Omega, we came away feeling quite surprised by the space the car offered. The sloppy ride, however, is a different story

I'm seriously considering a Commodore, but not sure which one. I want to buy something around the 2000 model year mark, so about 9 years old. Not keen on new cars.

I've briefly looked at VT's and VX's on sites like carsales.com.au. There are some very clean and well kept cars out there for sale. Just wondering what I need to be on the lookout for, as far as known issues with these two models.

I assume Commodore engines and transmissions are strong and durable? Should I be avoiding 200k+ kms cars?

Any tips and advice on how what to look out for in a VT/VX Commie is highly appreciated.

 

[jakewaze]

shud start easily and run smooth from the start
even when cold there should be no hesitation from the engine under heavy acceleration
check for any knocks or ticks from the engine and avvoid a ccar with them
try and get one with good service history and you should have a good reliable car for 300+ kms
VX are a better model than the vt

 

[Grennan]

Yah if youre looking at the VT/X models I would definatly go with the VX SERIES 2. They fixed a number of faults in the Series 2, one of the bigger ones is the rear suspension setup. The Series 1 and the VT's suffered from really bad rear camber wear. The series 2 corrected it.

Other than that you really just gotta look for the usual things. Are you looking at the V6 - Ecotec (theres also the Supercharged V6) or the V8 - LS1?

 

[peninsulabands]

get a vy. vt/vx are outdated and the interior is horrible to look at.

 

[doms3]

If you want room in the back get a statesman-caprice,plenty of room in back

 

[sweefu]

hey mate, after selling the liberty you should have enough cash to get something a long LONG way away from 200 000k's
i'd go the VY also, if you had enough cash . better again than vx
a lot of them went at my local Pickles auction for 6-7grand each, all with around 100 000k's
so you should be able to pick one up cheap enough if you look hard.
goodluck mate

 

[greenfoam]

And to avoid the dodgy sloppy suspension find one with FE2 suspension (pretty common) all the S models have it and also alot of the standard models as an option

 

[Turd Ferguson]

look for a wh statesman

you can find them easily for around the 10k mark now

 

[accentstencil]

look for a wh statesman

you can find them easily for around the 10k mark now

I agree, a ton of room in the back and a huge boot. Not to mention all the extras.

 

[michaelw]

I have a VX SII and the only problem I have had is the the fuel gauge sender unit was sticking, telling me I have 1/4 a tank of fuel when it was dry. Apparently this is a common fault. Otherwise the car has been fine.

Mike