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too many k's?

lockmac

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Hey. I am looking at buying a 99' VTII calais. It has roughly 216,000 on the clock and this does seem very high. Just wandering what other people think of this? How many k's do they normally last? The reason I want to get this certain car is because it is exactly what I want.. has all the mods, body kits, wheels etc that I wanted to do to mine and it is at a much more affordable price than doing it all myself. Any advice would be great

Many thanks
 

WinterVX

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How much are they asking for it? Has it done mainly hwy driving, or all city driving?
 

lockmac

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WinterVX said:
How much are they asking for it? Has it done mainly hwy driving, or all city driving?

To be honest I really don't know how it has been driven. I am planning on having a look at this car sometime this week.. but because it will be my frist car... even if it drives well, he is very unlikely to say yes because he thinks the k's it has done is far too much. Apparently it was a company car... It is this car here...

http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.private_vehicle?total_rec=36&search_distance=25&price_max=15000&vehicle_id=3397893&model_id=76&state_id=7&current_rec=7&search_type=21&used_rec=23&year_min=1997&make_id=10

Thanks very much
 

WinterVX

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Well here is what the red book suggsts

http://www.redbookasiapacific.com/au/vehicle/prices.php?key=HOLD99FW

1999 HOLDEN CALAIS

VT II Sedan 4dr Auto 4sp 3.8i
Prices based on km 110,000 - 180,000
Trade in price guide* $7,500 - $9,000
National average price - private sale* $9,400 - $11,800
Price when new (RRP) $48,760

With the amount of Km's the car in question has on it and the body kit and
wheels it has been fitted wth (at least 4k in total) it doesnt sound too
unreasonable for the asking price. If the seller is negotiable on price, if u can
get em down to 10k or less it wouldnt be such a bad buy. Get a good check
on its mechanical state by a mechanic or the equivilant of an RACV check to
see what state the car is in. I would also be asking for them to supply a road
worthy certificate.

Id still be weary about the Kms on the car tho, 20,000kms on a car per year
is normally a good guideline. If its been drivin alot on the freeway tho, well thats
a different story.
 

gogoboygareth

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If it's a '99, it's about 6 or 7 years old (or somewhere in between). So it's done roughly 30-35,000km's a year. Probably closer to the 30,000km a year mark as it's nearing the end of 2006.

My own '02 VXII has done 130,000km's - so that's also around 30,000km a year over four years.

My car is in excellent condition for the amount of km's - only gone through one set of tyres so far, and one set of brake pads - still on the original disk rotors (never been machined either), still on the original front struts, the spare tyre is still brand new and the engine is in damn good condition.

Mind you, I *do* drive around the country a lot, hence the high km's.

Provided the car's been well maintained (and those km's are mostly country km's) the engine should still be in great condition and you should have no worries for a long time yet!

Just be sure to get an RACV inspection (or equivalent), as already mentioned. :)
 

lockmac

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Thanks for your replies guys... I read in another post in this forum about a guy with a VT barely reacing 200,000 and was talking about having to do an engine rebuild soon..
has anyone got any more input that could possible give me?

any help would be much appreciated...plus im at home bored as all hell so anything to read would be great ;)
 

accentstencil

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My VT has done nearly 270,000 kms and the engine is still running great. I had a VN that did 530,000 on the same engine. I suppose it all depends on how you treat them.
 

holden007

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lockmac said:
Thanks for your replies guys... I read in another post in this forum about a guy with a VT barely reacing 200,000 and was talking about having to do an engine rebuild soon..
has anyone got any more input that could possible give me?

any help would be much appreciated...plus im at home bored as all hell so anything to read would be great ;)


If these engines have been looked after, 200,000k's is pretty good.:thumbsup:
 

gogoboygareth

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accentstencil said:
My VT has done nearly 270,000 kms and the engine is still running great. I had a VN that did 530,000 on the same engine. I suppose it all depends on how you treat them.

Exactly... drive it well (try to keep it under 2000rpm on take-off) and it'll be fuel efficient and the engine will last a long time. Thrash it and it'll need a rebuild sooner rather than later. :)

Just keep up regular servicing, and use good quality oil.

Personally, I follow the standard Holden logbook stuff - brake fluid change every two years etc, though I tend to have my cooling system flushed once a year.

I had a problem with my last car (a nissan skyline - hard driving + low coolant = cracked head), so I've always been cautious with coolant since then. :)
 

Reaper

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It all comes down to how well the car has been maintained and the sort of work it has done. I have seen cars with well over 300,000 km that are still driving like new and have tones of life left in them. On the other hand, I have also seen cars with less than 150,000 km that look like they are starting on their way down hill.

One of the best indicators is to look at the interior and body. Is the interior clean and not showing any signs or wear? Is the body still good and the paint still looking fresh? Are the wheels all knocked about or are they still looking clean and (mostly) un scratched? Does the car drive nicely - not too many rattles and squeeks. Does it steer smoothly and change gear without big thumps and flares in the driveline?

If all of the above looks good then chances are it has been looked after well and should have many years of life left in it. It's easy to stamp the service manual every so often to forge a service history but keeping the rest of a badly maintained car in top shape is virtually impossible. I look at the above factors and pay very little attention to the service book. Just sit in the drivers seat and ask yourself - does this look like a 150,000 km car, or 200,000 or even 300,000 (Ignor what the odo says). The actual number on the odo is not your primary concern.

Reaper
 
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