VE SS -/+ 10 years

[monstar]

Drive has done a review of the VE SS as a second hand vehicle buy, let them know if you agree.

If you take more than a passing interest in the market for second-hand Australian cars, you'll know that there's a wave of nostalgia sweeping the land right now. As Holden winds down on the way to ceasing its local production of cars in just a few months, interest in the halo models from years ago has never been higher.

Don't believe us? Then consider that a V8-powered version of the original Commodore - the VB of 1978 - can, in good condition, fetch more than $20,000 to the right buyer. These cars were, of course, nothing particularly special in their day, but something with real cachet, like a Brock Commodore from the same era, can bring many times that figure.

But at the other end of the market time-wise, there are still some seriously good local cars out there that are changing hands for small beer right now but could become proper collectibles in the not too distant future. Holden's latter-day Monaro - the last of the local big coupes - is one and, arguably, prices for those have already started to climb.

But if you start looking at even newer cars, the Commodore VE SS starts to emerge as a bit of a bargain buy. It's not old enough to be considered collectible, for instance, but it combines one of this country's better designs with a proper V8 engine and some serious street cred. More than that, it's simply one heck of a good buy considering what you get.

The point being, of course, that prices have probably all but bottomed right now and they'll only go one way in the future. So now's the time to buy.

The VE SS (the SS was the sporty, V8 version of the Commodore clan) was sold from the launch of the VE series in 2006, right through until 2013 when the current-model VF Commodore was launched.

Meantime, it doesn't really matter whether you get an early or late-build VE SS, because not much changed along the way.

Rather than mess with a winning formula (and the V8 engine option in the Commodore of that era was a very popular one) Holden kept her steady as she went.

So, regardless of what build date you wind up with, you're dealing with the 6.0-litre version of the aluminium V8 engine, making 270kW of power and, therefore, lots and lots of lazy performance.

There was no second-best in the transmission-choices stakes, either, and all VE model SSs had either the six-speed automatic or six-speed manual. Interestingly, a very high proportion of these cars were sold new with the manual transmission, suggesting the car was, indeed, a true enthusiast's model.

While there were no meaningful driveline options, there were choices within the SS line-up. That started with the rather attractive Sportwagon version which added station-wagon practicality to the equation without sacrificing sportiness.

You could also option up to a model called the SS-V which gained you 19-inch alloy wheels and some ritzier interior bits and pieces including the option of colour-coded trim inserts (which now look a bit blah).

What makes the VE a sound buy today, even though the later VF is a better car in some respects, is that there's no poor relation in the line-up other than an SS compared with an SS-V. The Sportwagon has loads of cred and since there was no step up in either engine capacity or output over the life of the car, there's no bragging-rights pecking order.
http://www.drive.com.au/new-car-rev...re-ve-ss-used-car-review-20170607-gwmhlp.html

 

[VS 5.0]

I read this story the other day.

What I found interesting were these aspects :-

"the Commodore VE SS starts to emerge as a bit of a bargain buy"

"The point being, of course, that prices have probably all but bottomed right now and they'll only go one way in the future."

Assuming the comments are based off this :-

What to pay (courtesy of Glass's Guide):
Model Year New Now

SS 2006 $44,990 $8200

SS-V 2006 $51,990 $10,900

SS 2007 $44,990 $8300

SS-V 2007 $52,490 $11200

SS 2008 $44,990 $9700

SS-V 2008 $52,490 $11,600

SS 2009 $47,790 $11,000

SS-V 2009 $55,290 $12,800

SS 2010 $47,790 $11,900

SS-V 2010 $55,290 $14,400

SS 2011 $47,790 $14,100

SS-V 2011 $55290 $16600

SS 2012 $47790 $16000

SS-V 2012 $55290 $18500

SS 2013 $49790 $18200

SS-V 2013 $55290 $20700

Be buggered if those prices ring true here in WA. Which means that the price has far from bottomed out OR if the prices have bottomed out here, they are going to be damned expensive in the future for a used Commodore.

 

[monstar]

+1 yeah would buy three or four if I could get VE SS Series II for same price as a second hand Getz!
I did make that point in the comments section too, but yeah maybe mid teens would be rock bottom for decent car.

 

[arronm]

Didn't read it but after owning both VE and VF I wouldn't even consider a VE now. Chalk and cheese. But hey if you haven't much cash a VE is better than a Getz.

 

[dgp]

I had two VE's, an MY9.5 SSV Sportwagon A6, and an MY12 SS Thunder ute M6. Both great cars, and both very practical. I would have bought my current ride (SSV-R) in a Sportwagon if it still had the M6.
I think they are great buys and great cars, I am lucky enough to be able to afford a VF, but if not, I would definitely be happy with a VE. During ownership of both of my VE's, I also had a VZ Clubsport, the VE's where noticeably more tied down to the road, I felt that the VZ was more on edge the whole time, it was also great fun though.

 

[blackve76]

Didn't read it but after owning both VE and VF I wouldn't even consider a VE now. Chalk and cheese. But hey if you haven't much cash a VE is better than a Getz.

funny 2 VE's in the shed and a VF2, I love the VE more(must be getting old) the steering so much better to me and that stupid handbrake.

 

[monstar]

Interestingly min price for G8 in the US, where VE is legendary, the genesis / forerunner to the best driver's car ever made - Chevy SS (VF), 2008 G8 with AFM goes for $27,500 AUD and the GXP (6.2 manual all Brembo etc) is a collector's item going for around $50k AUD.
The US reviews for the VFII are off the dial, seriously. Check out review section on SS Forum
Because there's no more, and old mates in the land of the free hold it up there next to God, the price of this detuned gem can only stabilise and get better in the short term.

 

[monstar]

Perhaps history will reflect the VF (facelift, revised trim and more things that go "bing") was an aesthetic enhancement update in line with global trends in style and illumination of automotive lighting, and "dynamic expression of deeply tactile textural finishes and casual vocabulary of contemporary fabrics and colours" for the cabin. Yet it seems most have already forgotten the spin at the time, that the VF was mainly about (the GovCo grant for the) use of specially selected aluminium bits coz was supposed to be lots lighter... you know, a VE that won't kill as many pandas and tree fairies
So as day destroys the night and night divides the day, perhaps ultimately the VE with its lower, wider, muscular front; the loads of little extras here and there that won it the most popular Australian car sales consecutive years in a row right up to mid 2010; and its ominous unmistakeable silhouette cast on the racetrack as V8 Supercar champion; will impact the intrinsic resale proposition of the VE SS such that it will at least realise its proper value (higher than a budget Korean micro) over the next decade?
Being Holden's final 11th vehicle generation, VE sold 10x the follow-up facelift model even though had a $10k higher ticket. The first model in every generational pair that Holden produced, starting 60 years prior with the "FX" and the FJ, outsold its trim revised sibling. This classic original / facelift with more lippy carried on through six generational pairs and (for me) the enduring classic is always the popular model that heralds the change in era. Not the post-pop revisionist model take.
As for pretending to see the future of personal transport at mid 2017 one thing is clear - petrol is out - possibly completely in most developed countries within the decade (France, Germany and India etc., has mandated). That means default thinking about what a car was to us looking a decade past with the introduction of the VE SS is not relevant to how this Australian full sized V8 sports sedan will be regarded looking forward the same time span into the future...
[Cut Scene]Man and machine / rider on the range, slave to forgotten ambition, lost on a progressive coiling highway from birth to oblivion, speeding into the abyss, rear view dazzles you with a reflection of a darker self as you lean down to turn up the song on the radio... No stop sign, speed limit, nobody's gonna slow me down. Like a wheel gonna spin it, nobody's gonna mess me around.[/Cut Scene]
Yeah gotta say I'm happy with my VE SS looking ahead and in the rear view, sorta hell-bent on making the most of it

 

[MYVESSV8]

still got my VE, JULY 29 2006 build, 209,000klm, going great, cant give it up, as monster has said, wide arse, wide front, low stance and that shape just to name a few

 

[cewing]

IMO stock up on low KM utes...old commodore sedans are worth the petrol they're holding, but utes seem to do well..