Discussion
Have noticed one of these for sale for £17k-quite interested as I have been considering a Monaro but would prefer 4 doors.
Apparently an official import in 2000. 48000 miles. Vortech supercharger.
Are spares likely to be a problem?
I live just outside Exeter so who would be my nearest dealer for servicing etc?
Anybody have an idea about likely value?
Car has had attention to gearbox-is this a known weak point?
All assistance gratefully received.
Apparently an official import in 2000. 48000 miles. Vortech supercharger.
Are spares likely to be a problem?
I live just outside Exeter so who would be my nearest dealer for servicing etc?
Anybody have an idea about likely value?
Car has had attention to gearbox-is this a known weak point?
All assistance gratefully received.
It is a fairly similar car to mine, I think it is a fair price taking into account the mileage. On the spares, RapidGb or Monkfish can get you pretty much anything you need, if not it can be sourced from OZ. I have no idea who services the cars near you, but routine maintenance shouldn't be an issue for a competent local garage.
jmn said:
Have noticed one of these for sale for £17k-quite interested as I have been considering a Monaro but would prefer 4 doors.
Are you planning to use it as a family car? If you are, in a word, don't. jmn said:
Are spares likely to be a problem?
Depends where you intend to take it. Here in the UK, spares will be no problem, although they will, in part at least, be expensive. If you plan on spending time on the continent, be warned. If you have a problem, noone knows what they're looking at. jmn said:
Car has had attention to gearbox-is this a known weak point?
Not generally, no. I can understand why you want one, these are fantastic fun, look better and have better steering than Monaros. However, they're getting old now, are a highly specialist item, and were not built for the UK climate.
None of that should put you off, but it's crucial that you look at the car for what it is, and use it like you might us a TVR, for example - as a toy. It's not an everyday car for popping to the shops in, it will have small niggles and problems, and will generally need to be kept on top of. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
If you're willing accept the above, go right ahead, it's fantastic fun and (over here at least) a unique driving experience. I'd gladly have mine back now that I have an arsenal of more normal cars for the daily grind.
ringram said:
Not sure why you say its not for UK climate, I had one for 2.5 years
And yours didn't rust? Mine did. Nothing that couldn't be easily managed, just something to be aware of that most European cars wouldn't do. ringram said:
What specifically isnt suitable? The car is basically the same as the Monaro, cv8 etc anyway.
Yes it is, more or less, but it's older, and does have HSV specific bits that, if they fail, can be very expensive and time-consuming to replace. I'm not s
gging the car off, quite the opposite. I'd love to have mine back. All I am saying is that it's not as simple to live with day to day as a Mondeo, for example.Silversmith said:
For what is now an 8 year old car - it is still VERY expensive - yes its pushing out 500+ BHP - but 17K on a car of that age....mmmm - i was caught in this arguement with myself some weeks ago - i just couldnt justify it...
We are back to the exclusivity argument, you pay for it if you want to be different and reap the benefits come resale. Edited by Silversmith on Thursday 10th April 12:36
As for not built for this climate, I really don't understand the comment. Also I drove my car to from the Algarve in just over a day, fully loaded and it never missed a beat, was extremely comfortable, and returned 25-26 mpg cruising. I wouldn't even think of attempting that in a TVR.
There are several HSV GTS's on Pistonheads with the 17K one being part of those on offer - I have been looking at these cars on Pistonheads for quiet a while now - they just arent selling. Sellers say -"Ah well i dont need to sell it - so this is what i want for it" - but if the cars arent selling due to sellers unrealistic resale prices - i hardly think they are reaping the benefits come resale time...
o.versteer said:
I can understand why you want one, these are fantastic fun, look better and have better steering than Monaros. However, they're getting old now, are a highly specialist item, and were not built for the UK climate.
There are thousands of these cars in AUS that are used as daily drivers, my 2001 GTS is a daily driver and has been since I bought it, the previous owner used it as a daily drive also.
o.versteer said:
None of that should put you off, but it's crucial that you look at the car for what it is, and use it like you might us a TVR, for example - as a toy. It's not an everyday car for popping to the shops in, it will have small niggles and problems, and will generally need to be kept on top of. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I think this is unfair on the car, all the parts are widely available if there are problems with the car this will mostly due to the owner not keeping it up. This can be said for any second hand car.
TVR's have a number of issues because of their small production run and the hand built nature of the car. The HSV GTS is a production car produced by GM. A member form here that used to live in Newcastle used to go out with the local TVR's. His HSV GTS was known as the TVR support vehicle because it ended up taking the TVR owner’s home when they had issues with their cars.
Once the Monaro's were brought over servicing became much easier, your local Monaro dealer will be able to do the servicing as the oil filter and belts are common items. I bought mine before Vauxhall entered the market and parts had to come from AUS, now life is much easier.
o.versteer said:
ringram said:
Not sure why you say its not for UK climate, I had one for 2.5 years
And yours didn't rust? Mine did. Nothing that couldn't be easily managed, just something to be aware of that most European cars wouldn't do. ringram said:
What specifically isnt suitable? The car is basically the same as the Monaro, cv8 etc anyway.
Yes it is, more or less, but it's older, and does have HSV specific bits that, if they fail, can be very expensive and time-consuming to replace. I'm not s
gging the car off, quite the opposite. I'd love to have mine back. All I am saying is that it's not as simple to live with day to day as a Mondeo, for example.
Silversmith said:
There are several HSV GTS's on Pistonheads with the 17K one being part of those on offer - I have been looking at these cars on Pistonheads for quiet a while now - they just arent selling. Sellers say -"Ah well i dont need to sell it - so this is what i want for it" - but if the cars arent selling due to sellers unrealistic resale prices - i hardly think they are reaping the benefits come resale time...
You could say that about any specialist on limited production run vehicle. Like everything in life, it is only worth what someone is willing to pay. If someone actually needs to sell they will bring the price down.Weren't you the guy who thought you could get a 05 CV8 'Ro for about £8.5k??
edit: Yep it was you..........
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by Turbo T on Thursday 10th April 14:34
Here's my two cents, had my non-supercharged GTS about 15 months now, probably paid slightly too much for it at the time but no real regrets. Got it with 60k on it and I've done about 15000 miles in it, fuel averages about 23-24 mpg in fairly mixed driving although I can get 28mpg with Cruise set to 95 Leptons and 18ish thrashing it cross country at lotsa Leptons
Providing the fuel economy isn't an issue and I can think of plenty of cars I've owned that were only as good on fuel at best and had a lot less power, I don't understand the comments about it not being a daily driver/family car. I do everything in mine from popping down the Supermarket to travelling round the UK with work to ‘Making progress’ for fun.
As far servicing goes I’ve used Mark at Rapid and from what I see on this forum the other specialists are worthwhile too. Bit inconvenient as I’ve got a 160miles round trip every 6000 although Mark did suggest using a good local garage for the small services and a specialist for the big ones.
Here’s the bad stuff 1999/2000 LS1 engines can have problems with the oil pump bypass relief valve failing, most don’t though from what I can find on the internet . Mine did though and it cost the most part of grand to fix, still with my luck if I’d bought an M5 the Vanos on that would’ve probably gone and that’s £4k to fix! Spotted by noticing that oil pressure light would only go out if engine was revved after being started.
The Chassis legs (the reinforcing rail box sections that run underneath the body shell) needed some welding to get through the last MOT which cost a fair bit in labour just because all the carpets need to come up. This is a problem that will in time affect Monaros as well, however the advertised car is ‘rust-free’ I’d get it up on ramp to check that. Where the top of the rear wheel arch meets the door is vulnerable to ‘bubbling’ as well.
Other stuff to check? Suspension bearings, bushes, steering, brake discs. This is a big heavy car with a lot of power, none of this stuff is going to last forever. Funny rubbing noises during parking manoeuvring speeds are normal as the tyres catch the plastic wheel arch liners.
Foglight has failed and been fixed the same way as everybody has mentioned in the recent post and that’s about it.
On the whole I’m very happy with my GTS, it’s far from the perfect car but it does everything I want it to and in a way that has allowed me to forgive the biggish bills it’s had. I’m the only person in an office full of gearheads who can regularly say out loud ‘my car is just flipping ace’ and only get nods of approval.
Providing the fuel economy isn't an issue and I can think of plenty of cars I've owned that were only as good on fuel at best and had a lot less power, I don't understand the comments about it not being a daily driver/family car. I do everything in mine from popping down the Supermarket to travelling round the UK with work to ‘Making progress’ for fun.
As far servicing goes I’ve used Mark at Rapid and from what I see on this forum the other specialists are worthwhile too. Bit inconvenient as I’ve got a 160miles round trip every 6000 although Mark did suggest using a good local garage for the small services and a specialist for the big ones.
Here’s the bad stuff 1999/2000 LS1 engines can have problems with the oil pump bypass relief valve failing, most don’t though from what I can find on the internet . Mine did though and it cost the most part of grand to fix, still with my luck if I’d bought an M5 the Vanos on that would’ve probably gone and that’s £4k to fix! Spotted by noticing that oil pressure light would only go out if engine was revved after being started.
The Chassis legs (the reinforcing rail box sections that run underneath the body shell) needed some welding to get through the last MOT which cost a fair bit in labour just because all the carpets need to come up. This is a problem that will in time affect Monaros as well, however the advertised car is ‘rust-free’ I’d get it up on ramp to check that. Where the top of the rear wheel arch meets the door is vulnerable to ‘bubbling’ as well.
Other stuff to check? Suspension bearings, bushes, steering, brake discs. This is a big heavy car with a lot of power, none of this stuff is going to last forever. Funny rubbing noises during parking manoeuvring speeds are normal as the tyres catch the plastic wheel arch liners.
Foglight has failed and been fixed the same way as everybody has mentioned in the recent post and that’s about it.
On the whole I’m very happy with my GTS, it’s far from the perfect car but it does everything I want it to and in a way that has allowed me to forgive the biggish bills it’s had. I’m the only person in an office full of gearheads who can regularly say out loud ‘my car is just flipping ace’ and only get nods of approval.
Silversmith said:
There are several HSV GTS's on Pistonheads with the 17K one being part of those on offer - I have been looking at these cars on Pistonheads for quiet a while now - they just arent selling. Sellers say -"Ah well i dont need to sell it - so this is what i want for it" - but if the cars arent selling due to sellers unrealistic resale prices - i hardly think they are reaping the benefits come resale time...
Depends on your viewpoint as to who is being unrealistic about prices.That is not a monopoly just for sellers.
Engines LS1's are common to alot of other kit cars etc, tremec T56 gearbox used in loads of other vehicles etc so main mechanicals no problems, specialists eg rapid/monkfish are well worth trip for major service needs but oil changes etc do yourself ever so simple and filter when I had mine was cheap as chips from vauxhall (genuine holden P.no's etc)
End of the day its a rare beast or your can always buy an M5 and be common!!!.
Don't think if I had an M5 I would be asked cor whats that etc... and only those who know give you the agreeing nod etc........... god i miss my car.
End of the day its a rare beast or your can always buy an M5 and be common!!!.
Don't think if I had an M5 I would be asked cor whats that etc... and only those who know give you the agreeing nod etc........... god i miss my car.
Hi guys, this is my first time here and actually i've got a problem with the oil pump (its not pumping properly :-D )
anyway sometimes i can hear some noise in the engine caused by the cylenders lifters or valves due to the lack of oil (pumping) so if i want to change the oil pump, do i have to change the lifters as well??
and is it ok if i drive the car with this noise, i mean is it gonna affect the valves as well??
anyway sometimes i can hear some noise in the engine caused by the cylenders lifters or valves due to the lack of oil (pumping) so if i want to change the oil pump, do i have to change the lifters as well??
and is it ok if i drive the car with this noise, i mean is it gonna affect the valves as well??
i have the 2003 COUPE model, well what happenes is that i always get this msg (CHECK OIL) whenever i start the car and when ever am in a very low speed (-20 km) or stopped, and sometimes there is a noise comes up from the celynder lifter like tick tick tick... and this noise goes faster with the rpm and slower, but as i told u the noise comes up only sometimes.
first many told me that i have to change the lifters and i did but with no use, i can still see the msg (CHECK OIL) and hear that bothering noise, so then they told me that i've got an issue with the oil pump, its not giving oil properly.
any idea??
first many told me that i have to change the lifters and i did but with no use, i can still see the msg (CHECK OIL) and hear that bothering noise, so then they told me that i've got an issue with the oil pump, its not giving oil properly.
any idea??
Edited by SSowner on Saturday 20th December 12:17
Edited by SSowner on Saturday 20th December 12:19
Edited by SSowner on Saturday 20th December 12:22
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