Help on buying my first holden / monaro
Discussion
I could use a little help as I am thinking of buying a Holden / Monaro as a second car for the winter. I use a Ferrari 360 in the summer and at the moment I have a alpha 156 as a winter car.
I need some pointers on what to look for and what to avoid, I have a budget of around £15K, age and mileage are not so important but I need a good reliable car that will hopefully hold some value for 12 months and be fun to drive.
Thanks in advance
Chris
I need some pointers on what to look for and what to avoid, I have a budget of around £15K, age and mileage are not so important but I need a good reliable car that will hopefully hold some value for 12 months and be fun to drive.
Thanks in advance
Chris
chrisb0 said:
I could use a little help as I am thinking of buying a Holden / Monaro as a second car for the winter. I use a Ferrari 360 in the summer and at the moment I have a alpha 156 as a winter car.
I need some pointers on what to look for and what to avoid, I have a budget of around £15K, age and mileage are not so important but I need a good reliable car that will hopefully hold some value for 12 months and be fun to drive.
Thanks in advance
Chris
I need some pointers on what to look for and what to avoid, I have a budget of around £15K, age and mileage are not so important but I need a good reliable car that will hopefully hold some value for 12 months and be fun to drive.
Thanks in advance
Chris
for that price you will only get a 2004 CV8.
no major faults of any kind are common, just check for FSH and if you buy as late as possible you may scrape a bit of remaining factory cover
bennno
Basically, over the past 2/3 years, there are 4 variants of the Monaro.
04 CV8 - Standard Holden Monaro with Gen III LS1 5.7 V8
04 VXR - HSV take the above and tweek the brakes, power, suspension plus sportier looking
05 CV8 - As 04 but the boot space has been drastically reduced as the petrol tank was relocated to behind the rear seats to meet US safety regulations
05 VXR - Again, small boot, but now has the Chevvy Gen IV LS2 6.0 V8
One notable point is that it is well documented that the CV8 brakes (both 04 and 05) hare shockingly poor for the power of the car. The VXR has much better brakes but both versions can be further upgraded to High Performance Racing Brakes.
ETA: FAQ'd
04 CV8 - Standard Holden Monaro with Gen III LS1 5.7 V8
04 VXR - HSV take the above and tweek the brakes, power, suspension plus sportier looking
05 CV8 - As 04 but the boot space has been drastically reduced as the petrol tank was relocated to behind the rear seats to meet US safety regulations
05 VXR - Again, small boot, but now has the Chevvy Gen IV LS2 6.0 V8
One notable point is that it is well documented that the CV8 brakes (both 04 and 05) hare shockingly poor for the power of the car. The VXR has much better brakes but both versions can be further upgraded to High Performance Racing Brakes.
ETA: FAQ'd
Edited by BO55 VXR on Saturday 4th November 15:40
Not at all.
The Monaro comes in two versions, the CV8 and the VXR.
The 2004 versions have the same engine (5.7L LS1) albeit a different tune. The VXR has better brakes, suspension and probably a couple of other "goodies", it is also tuned to provide about 20bhp more.
The 2005+ versions have different engines, the CV8 gets the same engine as the 2004 models and the VXR gets the LS2 6.0L, again the VXR has better brakes, suspension and other goodies.
I have never tried them but apparently the CV8 brakes are next to useless :eeke: A lot of people have fitted VXR brakes so you may be able to pick one of these up.
Damn, BO55 beat me to it again
The Monaro comes in two versions, the CV8 and the VXR.
The 2004 versions have the same engine (5.7L LS1) albeit a different tune. The VXR has better brakes, suspension and probably a couple of other "goodies", it is also tuned to provide about 20bhp more.
The 2005+ versions have different engines, the CV8 gets the same engine as the 2004 models and the VXR gets the LS2 6.0L, again the VXR has better brakes, suspension and other goodies.
I have never tried them but apparently the CV8 brakes are next to useless :eeke: A lot of people have fitted VXR brakes so you may be able to pick one of these up.
Damn, BO55 beat me to it again
Edited by VXR_Daz on Saturday 4th November 15:37
Thanks chaps
So if buying a Monaro I think I should go for a 04 CV8 but make sure it has up rated breaks, or up the budget a bit and go for a 04 VXR
What do you think of the differences between the HSV cars and the Vauxhall ones apart from the badge and the price?
Fancy the HSV as this has more cred than a Vauxhall but from what I have read they seem a little dated inside and the price seems a lot higher than the Monaro
Also a daft question, how do you tell the models apart, all the adverts on auto trader for Monaros just say 5.7L until you get to 05 cars?
And for HSV cars they have VT1 and VT2
Thiers a car at a dealer near to me that caught my eye but I am not sure what to compare it with and if it represents a good deal
www.wigansportsandprestige.co.uk/sales.asp
So if buying a Monaro I think I should go for a 04 CV8 but make sure it has up rated breaks, or up the budget a bit and go for a 04 VXR
What do you think of the differences between the HSV cars and the Vauxhall ones apart from the badge and the price?
Fancy the HSV as this has more cred than a Vauxhall but from what I have read they seem a little dated inside and the price seems a lot higher than the Monaro
Also a daft question, how do you tell the models apart, all the adverts on auto trader for Monaros just say 5.7L until you get to 05 cars?
And for HSV cars they have VT1 and VT2
Thiers a car at a dealer near to me that caught my eye but I am not sure what to compare it with and if it represents a good deal
www.wigansportsandprestige.co.uk/sales.asp
Edited by chrisb0 on Saturday 4th November 20:39
Excuse the basicness of this post, not sure of your level of knowledge, so I'm starting at the beginning
Basically, the Vauxhall Monaro is just the badge... Vauxhall have imported them from Australia and stuck their stickers on it... its that simple.
The CV8 is the Holden version, Oz's equivelant to Vauxhall. The VXR, on the other hand, is HSV (Holden Special Vehicles).. This is effectively the Sports Division of Holden. They will usually take a vehicle from Holden and pump it full of steriods to make an already good car into something really special.
The GTS is, in layman's terms, a 4-door Monaro and quite a few were import by HSV themselves a few years ago.
As for the VT1/2 bit... The VT represents a "series" of cars. The current 04/05 Monaros are the VZ range, but Holden/HSV have if the past few months, moved on to the new VE range. The VT1 and VT2 I dont know that.
The car on the website looks nice.... but there are fare more knowledgeable people who will bbe along soon who will tell you how good that particular car is. There's also a few GTS's available in the Pistonheads Classified section and from a select number of the good folk who advertise on this forums (see the add banners)
Hope the helps... but keep asking the questions, we're all here to help.
Basically, the Vauxhall Monaro is just the badge... Vauxhall have imported them from Australia and stuck their stickers on it... its that simple.
The CV8 is the Holden version, Oz's equivelant to Vauxhall. The VXR, on the other hand, is HSV (Holden Special Vehicles).. This is effectively the Sports Division of Holden. They will usually take a vehicle from Holden and pump it full of steriods to make an already good car into something really special.
The GTS is, in layman's terms, a 4-door Monaro and quite a few were import by HSV themselves a few years ago.
As for the VT1/2 bit... The VT represents a "series" of cars. The current 04/05 Monaros are the VZ range, but Holden/HSV have if the past few months, moved on to the new VE range. The VT1 and VT2 I dont know that.
The car on the website looks nice.... but there are fare more knowledgeable people who will bbe along soon who will tell you how good that particular car is. There's also a few GTS's available in the Pistonheads Classified section and from a select number of the good folk who advertise on this forums (see the add banners)
Hope the helps... but keep asking the questions, we're all here to help.
Sorry for all the daft questions but I don’t want to end up buying the wrong car.
I really fancy one of these as they look like a real blast.
But from reading some of the other topics on the forum I get the impression that you need to at least have the breaks up rated.
Is this the only mod that is essential to get a decent drive.
I also see a lot said about the gearshift, but not much on suspension and handling.
As I use a 360 I am use to a hard ride and very responsive steering, how is the Monaro / Holden in this department
Thanks Again
Chris
I really fancy one of these as they look like a real blast.
But from reading some of the other topics on the forum I get the impression that you need to at least have the breaks up rated.
Is this the only mod that is essential to get a decent drive.
I also see a lot said about the gearshift, but not much on suspension and handling.
As I use a 360 I am use to a hard ride and very responsive steering, how is the Monaro / Holden in this department
Thanks Again
Chris
Demolition Man said:
That's a good looking car (and not just because it's silver 
).....
If I had my time again, I'd have that and spend the difference on a s/c, brakes, suspension etc etc
)..... If I had my time again, I'd have that and spend the difference on a s/c, brakes, suspension etc etc
Personally I would pick up a nice CV8 and mod it. VXR brakes compared to AP Racing just don't and IMO the price differential for the VXR once you start modding is lost but as a CV8 owner I would be biased.
Either car is good though so you cannot really lose.
chrisb0 said:
Sorry for all the daft questions but I don’t want to end up buying the wrong car.
I really fancy one of these as they look like a real blast.
But from reading some of the other topics on the forum I get the impression that you need to at least have the breaks up rated.
Is this the only mod that is essential to get a decent drive.
I also see a lot said about the gearshift, but not much on suspension and handling.
As I use a 360 I am use to a hard ride and very responsive steering, how is the Monaro / Holden in this department
Thanks Again
Chris
I really fancy one of these as they look like a real blast.
But from reading some of the other topics on the forum I get the impression that you need to at least have the breaks up rated.
Is this the only mod that is essential to get a decent drive.
I also see a lot said about the gearshift, but not much on suspension and handling.
As I use a 360 I am use to a hard ride and very responsive steering, how is the Monaro / Holden in this department
Thanks Again
Chris
Coming from the 360... I would suggest Brake and Suspension would probably be a must. Remember, the Monaro is performance "family" car and wont have the feel of a 360, unless the aforementioned is upgraded...
chrisb0 said:
Thiers a car at a dealer near to me that caught my eye but I am not sure what to compare it with and if it represents a good deal
www.wigansportsandprestige.co.uk/sales.asp
Edited by chrisb0 on Saturday 4th November 20:39
Chrisb0 - I looked at that car some years ago and didn't buy it for a number of reasons.
Mine is for sale as shown on the link below or the MonkfishPerformance website - why is it for sale, 'cos I'm living in Oz know.
www.pistonheads.com/sales/64714.htm
Well I got one
www.pistonheads.com/sales/111259.htm
Its bog standard so it will need some stoppers but other than that its in mint condition.
Thanks for all your help
Chris
www.pistonheads.com/sales/111259.htm
Its bog standard so it will need some stoppers but other than that its in mint condition.
Thanks for all your help
Chris
Gassing Station | HSV & Monaro | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff