anything to look out for ?

[joncon]

looking to possibly buy a vxr monaro.... what should i be looking for ?
any common faults etc.
are engines bulletproof ?
servicing costs reasonable ?
cheers

[S600VXR]

Apart from the listed minor faults (eg: leaking door seals) they seem really good from experiance. If you can go for one with mods as these cost alot but add little to the secondhand value unfortunately.
Go for black if you like polishing and going fast, otherwise get silver if your lazy and slow...

[Gas_Man]

S600VXR said:

Apart from the listed minor faults (eg: leaking door seals) they seem really good from experiance. If you can go for one with mods as these cost alot but add little to the secondhand value unfortunately.
Go for black if you like polishing and going fast, OTHERWISE GET SILVER IF YOUR LAZY OR SLOW...

Excuse me!?
I'll have u know my QUICKsilver is quicker than most on here lol
(here we go again!)

[Bonnie and clyde]

Gas_Man said:

S600VXR said:

Apart from the listed minor faults (eg: leaking door seals) they seem really good from experiance. If you can go for one with mods as these cost alot but add little to the secondhand value unfortunately.
Go for black if you like polishing and going fast, OTHERWISE GET SILVER IF YOUR LAZY OR SLOW...

Excuse me!?
I'll have u know my QUICKsilver is quicker than most on here lol
(here we go again!)

Yeah yeah. Its all that icecream going to your head

[J. J.]

What out for petrol pumps - they'll mug you every time!

[kjmac]

A coolant hose can split at the back of engine leaving you stranded in a puddle of coolant, had that happen to me. Not a big problem, just a new bit of tubing required.

Other issues, er. Fuel: nom nom nom nom nom

[joncon]

My MG ZT 260 had the same thirst for unleaded.... and rear tyres !!( 13 tyres in 2.8 yrs )

[broadslide]

Hi joncon. I think we met breifly at the last New years eve tunnel run in Cardiff. Was your MG lhd? There'll be two of us at this years event if you want to have a good look or if you can't make that I'm in Bridgend area.

Charlie

[racebreed1]

this coolant hose is it the small diameter one at the top on the left hand side of the engine at the back?

Fuel not too bad now to be honest VXR's are better on fuel than CV8's i can say this seeing as i have had both.

i can get 20 mpg all stop and start town stuff and up to 27mpg on a run and thats not hanging about. £50 to fill the tank with unleaded not bothered about super at the moment and can get up to 360 miles from that on a run so not too bothered

[crisisjez]

Diff`s can `crunch` as well.

That`s just a fluid top up, but sounds real expensive, and if you are test driving, could knock a few quid off the buying price if the sellers unaware of the issue.

[joncon]

broadslide said:

Hi joncon. I think we met breifly at the last New years eve tunnel run in Cardiff. Was your MG lhd? There'll be two of us at this years event if you want to have a good look or if you can't make that I'm in Bridgend area.

Charlie

hi, yes that was me and my mg, sadly sold it on now....its gone to sweden !
if its ok i will have a look on new years eve, i will be taking the tvr, makes a little bit more noise than the mg !

[granada203028]

If the MG ZT V8 I tested was anything to go by you will be impressed by a Monaro!

[kjmac]

racebreed1 said:

this coolant hose is it the small diameter one at the top on the left hand side of the engine at the back?

yep, that's right. I did post a (poor) picture up a little while back if you look at my previous posts. Left me in a cloud of steam when it went.

racebreed1 said:

Fuel not too bad now to be honest VXR's are better on fuel than CV8's i can say this seeing as i have had both.

i can get 20 mpg all stop and start town stuff and up to 27mpg on a run and thats not hanging about. £50 to fill the tank with unleaded not bothered about super at the moment and can get up to 360 miles from that on a run so not too bothered

On my 70% motorway commute of 12 miles I see 20mpg, probably due to it doing 0.01mpg when cold as it's a short trip. Stuck in traffic maybe 16mpg in my experience, but I try not to do that too often. I've certainly got 27mpg on a run out of my VXR and have seen as high as 29.7mpg on the computer (but that was really dull). The trip computer seems to be very accurate in my experience when I've actually brimmed the tank and worked it out.

Edited by kjmac on Saturday 13th December 19:11

[ringram]

Check for rust underneath and in the PS cooling hoses.
Check the trans shifts ok into Reverse they are all pretty hard to do and it will likely grind and crunch a bit. Sadly most of them do it, but its a good barganing point.
Check brake shudder, thats pretty much requires new disks/pads to fix, or better yet an AP upgrade.
Dont buy a late model one as they have a tiny boot, unless you "need" the 6L version. The 5.7L can be upgraded easily to outperform the LS2 6L while the boot is not so easily dealt with.
My recommendation is the 5.7L VXR which is an HSV so has upgraded suspension, brakes, wheels, interior, plus the body kit and mega boot.
You should save 5K off a 6L VXR price with one too.

[J. J.]

DON'T LISTEN TO RINGRAM!

Well ok, he may have a point.....personally, I like the nostrils and the twin exhausts, but the 5.7 VXR is probably going to be the collectors item in due course ( like the wheels on the 6 litre as well.......)

Do your research and buy which one you like! (05 CV8 is a rare model as well)

Oh bol$&*ks, just buy a Monaro!

[crisisjez]

If you get a 5.7 VXR please please please don`t mod it