VF wagon, would you buy one?

[RevNev]

Whereas I think it is reasonable to say a car with less than half of average kms for the year is low kms.

That's reasonable, but I tend to rate a low km car in relation to wear and tear potential from brand new.

Particularly with VF's, they're often advertising cars with low km's that are realistically half stuffed.

 

[VS 5.0]

That's reasonable, but I tend to rate a low km car in relation to wear and tear potential from brand new.

Particularly with VF's, they're often advertising cars with low km's that are realistically half stuffed.

There was recently(?) a discussion somewhere on here that low kms does not necessarily mean good condition and conversely, high(er) kms does not necessarily mean bad condition.

All comes down to how it has been looked after.

 

[RevNev]

There was recently(?) a discussion somewhere on here that low kms does not necessarily mean good condition and conversely, high(er) kms does not necessarily mean bad condition.

All comes down to how it has been looked after.

Condition and km's travelled from a selling perspective are two different things. A well looked after mint condition VF with 150,000km's, can't be considered low km's realistically, where a poorly maintained VF although a pile of crap at 40,000km's can still be considered a low km car.

 

[Skylarking]

Condition and km's travelled from a selling perspective are two different things. A well looked after mint condition VF with 150,000km's, can't be considered low km's realistically, where a poorly maintained VF although a pile of crap at 40,000km's can still be considered a low km car.

Yet a sales person would spin it that both these low km cars are in as new condition

 

[RevNev]

Yet a sales person would spin it that both these low km cars are in as new condition

Reminds me of an early build VZ Monaro I had a look at in 2005 at a dealer with 2,800km's. The car was 10 months old and from VIC with a general look of being a bit shabby. It had an aftermarket battery and the spare wheel had been used with a Nankang tyre on it with no service book.

I told the salesman it looks the odometer's had a haircut and he got a bit upset, but there was no way at 2,800km's, the car could've presented that way even if it was neglected for 10 months since new. I walked away and bought a mint VZ 6 litre SS with 3,500km's that looked virtually brand new!

 

[jono67]

I don't get the low km concept at 78,000, to me is on the edge of high km's. Under 40,000km's is what I've always considered a low km car.

I guess 78,000 is low km's when they're advertising "low km" VF's with 140,000.

Over the months and months whilst I was looking, I came across quite a few wagons advertised as "low kms", with between 125 000 and 140 000km's for years between 2014 and 2016. I guess in reality they were "average km" cars if average kms are around 15 000.

 

[jono67]

There was recently(?) a discussion somewhere on here that low kms does not necessarily mean good condition and conversely, high(er) kms does not necessarily mean bad condition.

All comes down to how it has been looked after.

Spot on. I'd have to think twice about buying a say 10 year old car with 30-40 000km on it that has been garaged for a year or two with regards to the rubbers, seals etc within the engine and surrounding components. I came across a few of those as well. One I drove that had been sitting idle for a year. Owner said he would start it once a month. Air con was blowing hot air for a start...... I walked away

 

[RevNev]

Spot on. I'd have to think twice about buying a say 10 year old car with 30-40 000km on it that has been garaged for a year or two with regards to the rubbers, seals etc within the engine and surrounding components. I came across a few of those as well. One I drove that had been sitting idle for a year. Owner said he would start it once a month. Air con was blowing hot air for a start...... I walked away

Here's a mate's MY14 VF GTS I serviced last week, last driven Feb '19 and a couple of years since the engine was started. It's done 7,300km's still like brand new and biggest issue from sitting around, was an initial vibration from flat spotted tyres but otherwise, the car is mint, no problems at all.

In my experience of cars sitting around, the idea of them developing a multitude of problems is more a theory than fact in most situations.

 

[Skylarking]

:
In my experience of cars sitting around, the idea of them developing a multitude of problems is more a theory than fact in most situations.
:

I’ve heard people leaving cars for a few years with no prep and they’ve been fine. I’ve also heard some horror stories with cars parked for less than a year.

Really, leaving a car sitting for a few years unused generally won’t cause issues for the mechanicals if prepped well but that can be a whole discussion as to what is prepped well

The prevailing mindset seems to be that as a basic step, change oil and either fill up the tank with petrol or empty the tank of petrol before parking is the best of the least ocd steps one can take.…. Taking weight off the tyres can also help though rubber does age over time regardless. @VFSV6FORME recent tyre blowout comes to mind but that’s after some long long time sitting unused indoors but still degrading.

Coolant and brake fluid also degrade over time and need they to be periodically replaced. So even cars sitting unused still need some service, how much service is the $1,000,000 question

Probably the bigger issue in cars sitting for years is AC system failing as they are under continual pressure and the seals can fail letting the cold out… In such cases a regassing may or may not be successful depending on the quality of the seals and whether they’ve actually failed. Still I’ve known olde cars that have sat for 15 years and the AC was cold as compared to 5 year old dailies that have AC fail… These days stuff has been engineered to fail so their is always that concern. I know AC hoses have crappy crimping and often fail guess they were probably designed by the space shuttle o-ring designer

But the biggest issue is where the car is left… leave it in the weather and like all cars you’d have issues with paint and plastic degrading... best it’s left in a dark part of the garage protected for stuff falling on it, ideally in a cocoon. If not in a cocoon then best have some mouse traps and mouse bait that’s periodically checked and replaced as needed… those pesky knitters can cause huge damage to electronically complex cars stored carelessly in a chook shed

Ideally it’s best to seal off the plenum and the cabin air exhaust vents so the cabin is sealed…. but I’ve heard even that won’t stop ants moving their nest inside the car… I know of one guy who I worked with parked his daily on the grass at a new rental. He parked it on the grass for only one day and on the following day found ants inside the car. After some investigation, he found the bloody ants had moved a nest inside his drivers door

 

[panhead]

Where you store a vehicle can have a major impact on how they hold up over a long period of time.

Many of my cars are stored out in the dry heat of western NSW and they reacted very differently to the ones that live with me near the beach.






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