VS Calais need advice

[Reubs89]

hey everyone,
Haven’t posted for a while but been lurking a bit lately haha.
I managed to pickup a 97 VS Calais for $250 because I wanted the wheels off it.
It doesn’t have the L67 anymore as the previous owner cooked it and scrapped it. So now it has a VT ecotec engine that runs quieter than any I have heard before. Basic run down of the car:
Body= mostly straight, normal dents and front quarter needs replacing.
Black Paint = rooted.
Chrome window strips= still there.
Chrome door strips = all there apart from the front bumper.
Leather interior = driver seat has been replaced with some crap seat, the rest are intact but a little worn and dry. All wood grain still intact apart from ashtray next to the gear selector.
Suspension has been replaced with king springs and pedders shocks but it looks higher than standard height haha.
Drives really well but as I said it could be considered a potential project.
I can’t decide whether to part it out or sell it whole or even keep it.
I’d prefer to make a few dollars but I’m not sure what parts people are looking for for Calais vehicles these days and I have a tidy VS sedan as a daily so probably don’t need parts for myself. Any advice on demand and value for Calais parts would be much appreciated.

 

[vs-lover]

Series II Calais' are getting harder to come by as most opportunists have been cannibalising them one after the other for quite a number of years now. Good examples are getting really hard to locate now. Saw a lovely 94 VR with only 100,000k's on it at UPI today and managed to score the complete tail light set from it to stash away. Total unmarked nor faded and original GM Hella's, not Chinese TYC's. This car should definitely not have been there.

The one sad thing is atm is that the VS is at the bottom of the value cycle with VT hanging on to that position as well.

In another 3 years I can see "good" examples skyrocketing in value.

Like I've always said it's easy for a quick cash grab to wreck perfectly good cars opposed to hanging on to them. If a vehicle is accident damaged I have absolutely no issue as repairing is just not economically viable and as such one must die for another to live on, but to just kill nice examples for the sake of a quick buck.............nope !

 

[Phillbert]

If you only paid $250 and already got the wheels you wanted, i would sell it off complete.
Yes some parts are hard to get but once you sell a few bits it looks like an eye saw left over which might sit there for sometime.

Up my way they pay $300 for old cars so personally i would grab the wheels and sell it to the wreckers for $300 to pick up. Make a quick 50 plus a few extra $ from the trims. Its gone no mess

 

[losh1971]

I regularly check Redbook prices on my ute and they have remained much the same in the last two years $2500 seems to be where they are at. I think something with more lux will be more desirable in years to come. Sadly i don't think my bus will increase to the value of what it owes me, even though a VR ute is rare in Tas.
Mostly complete vehicles are going to be more highly sort after than something that is missing multiple pieces. It probably comes down to space. If you have somewhere to keep it, it will go up.

 

[Reubs89]

Yeh see that’s where I’m stuck. I used to put pictures of 80/90’s model commodores on my school books in primary school. I would consider myself an enthusiast and would appreciate a tidy Calais from that era. At the same time, projects cost money and take up space. I’m not sure I can condemn it to the wreckers purely because it’s a calais. Might be a nostalgia thing haha

 

[gtrboyy]

Grab what you need & sell for what it cost ya...

No point keeping it if you think maybe one day might do something with it while it rots away.

 

[losh1971]

I have a wreck in my yard and have made my money back plus got what i needed for the ute. Trouble now is it has no diff housing and k frame is out. Gonna be a bit of mucking around to load it on a trailer but the old wagon was not anything special and needed extensive work to get it back on the road and looking good.

 

[VS 5.0]

Gonna be a bit of mucking around to load it on a trailer

Fire brigades look for cars to practice on from time to time....they might be able to take it away.

 

[mickscroll]

I recently picked up a series II V8 and have been on the hunt for bits and pieces to upgrade on it. Not that easy to find decent ones in VIC and the wood grain and leather trims are fetching ok money if they are in decent condition. You could make some easy money if you can be bothered parting it out but then again it would be an easy sell as is too. Pity you are in Qld otherwise i'd probably be interested!

 

[vs-lover]

This brings me back to "The Turtle" that I bought about 5 months ago. It's the 98,000km Acclaim wagon that's finished in Moroccan Sand and has the worst paint work on it. Yes you got it, it's got clear coat flying off all over it.

As it's only done such low mileage I'm loathed to wreck it just for some bits and pieces when there are plenty of smashed up ones feeding us parts still. My lad suggested yesterday that we should do it as a project together and rub it right back and give it a closed door respray. After that it will again reflect it's true odometer reading.

Only shame is that it doesn't have fast glass, just the normal manual winders, but it still has it's original books and service history.