2004 Vauxhall Monaro VXR LS1
"I'm a serial car swapper, so here we go in no particular order: Jaguar XF, BMW 330Ci (E46), BMW 330d (E91), BMW 325i (E36), Honda S2000, Alfa Romeo 159 2.4 JTDm (x2), Alfa Romeo 156 GTA, Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCi Mk4, Vauxhall Astra H 1.9 CDTi 150 plus plenty more mundane stuff."
Hefty V8 at the heart of the Monaro's appeal
"I'd always wanted a V8, I'd always liked the Monaro but my commute made this impossible, and if the opportunity ever occurred I knew I had to have one. I then changed jobs at the start of this year and so man maths took over as I worked much nearer home, and suddenly getting a V8 made financial sense. Sort of. I looked at a few cars in my price range, notably a BMW 540i E60 and a few Mercedes C55 AMGs. The Mercs were too rare and some were in terrible condition, so I went back to looking at the Monaro. At the time they seemed to sell well, I missed out on five in one week when I was ready to buy. Very frustrating! This one had more miles on it than I wanted however it had a few choice upgrades and looked well cared for."
What I wish I'd known:
"I did quite a bit of research before buying, with a big thanks to the people on the HSV and Monaro forum section here. I also looked at several so all in all it gave me a good idea of what was good and bad. I'd advise anyone buying one to get one with some modifications already done, as the cost can rack up on these, and although I said I'd keep it standard, I've already started to plan some upgrades!"
'I'd always wanted a V8' + 'man maths' = this
"The engine, the looks and the attention it gets. It really does draw (good) comments from passers-by and they love it. I love the sound it makes when I start it up from cold, especially since it has a stainless steel exhaust - it's kept in a garage and in the morning it runs on a slightly higher tickover and bursts into life. Despite the sports suspension, it actually is a very comfortable car to travel distances in, and the stereo is quite good for a stock system, albeit with no RDS. I like to be able to do work on my cars myself, and it seems so far to be quite DIY friendly. Time will tell with this one though! It also has very loyal, knowledgeable and friendly owners group which is very useful."
Things I hate:
"The air con is causing some grief but other than that there is little I don't like. The indicators are on the wrong side of the steering wheel which takes getting used to (never driven a car with that before!), and a previous owner put an aftermarket alarm on it which can be a PITA at times."
The biggest moan? The indicator stalk!
"Service parts and upgrades seem easy to obtain, and routine service items seem cheap enough for the type of car that it is. Fuel costs clearly may be an issue for some but I didn't buy it for economy, insurance is reasonable and routine servicing is bearable. Tyres are not cheap, neither are the many available upgrades, however given the performance of the car I don't think it's too bad overall, thanks to some contacts both on PH (you know who you are) and some relationships I've built up over a few years with local facilities as well as some friends and family helping out, one of whom has a supercharged E-Type. One of the issues with the Monaro VXR is the rear spoiler rubbing on the boot lid and eventually making it go rusty - a big thanks to Barney Sands in Northfleet for sorting out the minor issues on the bodywork of all my cars (including this one) at a reasonable rate."
Where I've been:
"Nowhere really yet. I want to do more trips but I've not had the car long enough although I'm sure more will come in time."
What next?
"Well I swap my cars a lot so by now I'm normally bored, but not with this one. Plus my long suffering wife won't be impressed if I sell it anytime soon. I want to do some minor upgrades to the suspension and keep it looking good - I'm a big fan of Autoglym products! However some switchable exhaust cut outs are on the list of mods too..."