What do i look for in a VY SS when buying one

[Gunzero]

I want to buy a VY SS and just want to know what i should look out for and how much i should spend on one

 

[wikky]

In terms of prices, jump on Carsales and have a squiz at what you get for your money. You'll see how prices differ from dealer sales to private sales too.

 

[a1k3m1]

i would say if its been owned by a young guy/girl, keep away from it coz its most likely been thrashed and ready to blow up, which you dont really want

 

[Cobez]

Service history above all, auto slippage (weak auto's, although mine hasn't blown yet), any weird noises or misfires, diff whine etc. Usual stuff. Service history would be good overall though.

 

[Vt_vic]

rear main seal leaks, piston slap even though many have been fixed already, service history mods. they gor around 15-18 i wouldnt pay more than that unless really low k's etc

 

[Reaper]

Other than ensuring it isn't my old one just the normal things. Try to find one with leather interior if you can.

Reaper

 

[Sean880]

I want to buy a VY SS and just want to know what i should look out for and how much i should spend on one

This is not exhaustive but here are a few points:

1. Buy an auto SS rather than a manual because unless you know the owner and how the car has been driven it is more likely to have been driven hard if it is a manual.

2. Examine the car carefully for any signs of accident repairs or repainting. If you see any evidence of repairs or repainting reject the car (other than very minor cosmetic painting). There are plenty on the market that are original and undamaged and you will want to re-sell the car at some stage.

3. Check the service records for the car carefully and where the services were carried out. Also ensure these are consistent with the kms showing on the car. If there are no service records or you find the car has missed services reject the vehicle. These are not old cars and the decent ones worth considering will have full and complete service records with them.

4. Avoid any cars that have been in a company fleet because many of these cars have been neglected especially when it comes to servicing.

5. Make sure the auto transmission changes smoothly and without undue hesitation. It should be quiet in operation. Check the auto trans fluid. It should be nice and clean with no signs of burning.

6. Make sure there is no noise originating from the diff including clunking and whining. If the LSDs on these cars have been abused the diff will probably be noisy and clunk and these can be expensive to repair. Don't let anyone tell you that a noisy clunking diff in these cars is normal because in well cared for cars it is not. If you find a car with a noisy diff it will more than likely be one of the "pre-thrashed" examples.
Here is an example of what happens to an abused diff ...............http://forums.justcommodores.com.au...004/132846-irs-diff-went-bang-last-night.html and this.....http://forums.justcommodores.com.au...y-ss-ll-3-46-diff-making-whinning-noises.html
Repairing those will be expensive too.

7. Make sure there are no leaks from the cooling system including the radiator and ensure when you drive the car that the water temp gauge does not go beyond half way or move around in an erratic manner. The
radiators in these cars have some plastic components and these are susceptible to failure especially in higher km cars.

8. Check the engine oil after the test drive to see if there are any signs of coolant leakage into the engine's lube system. Also check the coolant for signs of engine oil in the fluid. IF you do find cross contamination reject the car.

9. Look for noisy and very "shuddery" power steering pumps and also check the condition of the ps fluid and any sign of ps leaks from the system. The ps fluid should be clean. These cars use the pink Dexron III auto trans fluid for the ps system.

10. All the fluid levels in the car should be at the correct level. If any of them are low there could be leaks or faults and it is otherwise a possible sign of a neglected vehicle.

11. Do a bounce test to check the condition of the shock absorbers. It is not cheap to replace the shocks on all 4 corners and on higher km cars the shocks will be shot if the previous owner has not replaced them. Typically shock absorbers are neglected because many owners will not spend the money to replace them when needed.

Also listen carefully for noisy suspension or steering components when driving the car. Run over a few decent bumps at low speed.

12. Check the operation of the electric windows and the central locking system on all doors. Both items can give trouble in these cars and are not cheap to fix. Here is an example:...http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/vy-holden-commodore-2002-2004/131398-power-window-problem.html

13. Look for a low KM car in original condition. These do come up if you are patient. You will pay more more but it is well worth it. There are plenty of reasonably cheap high km cars on the market but if you buy one of these you will inevitably be buying a repair bill as one thing after another fails from wear and needs to be replaced.

14 When you find a car you want to buy, get a professional inspection and use a business that will do a compression test on the engine as part of the check. Some do and some do not. These guys will find faults that can be easily missed many of us.

15. Avoid vehicles that have been mechanically modified (other than a not too low professional lowering job and wheel change) especially engine related mods including modified engine management systems. There are plenty of cars out there that have not been messed around with.

16. The items in the Vy forum will give you an idea of what can go wrong with VYs. Also have a read of the "Issues with VYs" thread here .....http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/vy-holden-commodore-2002-2004/10231-issues-vys.html

 

[Gunzero]

Thank you all for you help now i know what i must look out for by the way what is better Dealer or Private

 

[trentvy]

Check to make sure its a v8

 

[a1k3m1]

thats a good writeup sean, taught me a few things i didn't think of