Is everyone okay??

[Jader1973]

Over a week without a post.....is everyone okay? Or are we all too busy getting ready for Christmas/summer to spend time posting nonsense on the net?

[Jader1973]

Pommygranite said:

Glad all are well - it's been bloody quiet in here!

All good here - working long hours and weeks but now on 4 weeks leave and planning on test driving a few cars.

Just got an Xbox One with Forza 6 so will sit on my arse drinking beer from 10am each so not a bad month off work.

Currently dreaming of

996 C4S - something about it is hmm and not much depreciation
997 S - chocolate engine?
E92 M3 - is it special enough?
E60 M5 - 300km range, 20l/100km, chocolate gearbox and engine, no warranty
E63 M6 - as above
Boxster - awesome but no.
Cayman - awesome but old for the cash
Audi RS5 - probably won't be that good
Audi RS3 - how much for a 2.0 4 5dr hatch?!
VW Golf R - best new car choice but ultimately full?
BMW M2 - want to so badly...


I'll probably end buying a 2006 Liberty GT by STI for $15k due to being tight and indecisive.

I know what you mean about being indecisive. There was a bargain buy Merc ML for sale locally but by the time I got my finger out and checked insurance prices it had gone

However, I picked this up today, which has cheered me up

[Jader1973]

Pommygranite said:

Oh nice what's the engine like and do you need to own a petrol station to have one?!

Quite like it in red.

Too early to tell tbh. It had 9km on the clock and just under a full tank when I picked it up. Done 215 now and just over half a tank left, showing 14.2 l/100km on the trip computer.

The pre-prod manual sedan I borrowed ended up showing 11.5 l/100km out of a tank. However the manual encourage driving like a loon whereas the auto is lazier, and I feel less inclined to drive it like I stole it. I did flick it in to tipshift mode today and discovered it revs the engine on downshifts to get the bimodal to kick in

Won't really know what it is doing until after New Year. I'll report back once it has had a few tanks put through it. I used to get just on 600km out of a 6 litre, which was a whole week's commute - I doubt I'll get that out of this though

[Jader1973]

Pommygranite said:

Sorry didn't respond before. So how's it now going a few weeks in? Enjoyable and enough power?

Going well thanks. It has adequate power

Still not filled it - showing 11.5 l/100km so far.

[Jader1973]

Pommygranite said:

Jader1973 said:

Pommygranite said:

Sorry didn't respond before. So how's it now going a few weeks in? Enjoyable and enough power?

Going well thanks. It has adequate power

Still not filled it - showing 11.5 l/100km so far.

11.5 is outstanding!

11.5 is outstanding - this is unbelievable:


My calcs put it at 10.3, so let's say 10.2 and that will do.

3rd tank - 500 odd km with 100 and something left when I filled it. However, it is school holidays so my commute has had next to zero stop start over that tank, and the average speed for the tank was 80km/h where it is usually about 60. I'd guess that 90% of the kms were done on cruise, and I haven't had any mates round to show it to, so no driving like a hoon (well, maybe a little bit )

I suspect it will creep up a bit once school goes back and the traffic on Citylink returns to the usual crawl

[Jader1973]

motomk said:

Picked up on the same day 90 minutes apart at the opposite ends of Melbourne!

Nice.

I like the blue, which is fortunate because in April SWMBO's new Cruze arrives - it is blue. Then in May my new SS wagon arrives - it is also blue.

In December I got a red wagon, and she got a red Cruze.

Someone in company cars is having a laugh.

In other news, now that the traffic has returned to normal (i.e. st) the wagon's fuel use has jumped to around 11.5 l/100km. Fortunately fuel is cheap just now, and I like the noise it makes, otherwise I'd be ordering an SV6.

[Jader1973]

PomBstard said:

Jader1973 said:

Nice.

I like the blue, which is fortunate because in April SWMBO's new Cruze arrives - it is blue. Then in May my new SS wagon arrives - it is also blue.

In December I got a red wagon, and she got a red Cruze.

Someone in company cars is having a laugh.

In other news, now that the traffic has returned to normal (i.e. st) the wagon's fuel use has jumped to around 11.5 l/100km. Fortunately fuel is cheap just now, and I like the noise it makes, otherwise I'd be ordering an SV6.

Hmm, interesting. Anyone know where 6-12 month old, ex-lease/company cars like this go to be moved on? Are drivers ever offered them at decent prices?? And 11.5 l/100km would be like going Diesel after the Mazda and the Volvo.

Dealer auction.

[Jader1973]

Last Sunday my drive contained 7.8 litres and 12 cylinders.



This morning it only has 5.2 litres and 10 cylinders.




Swapped them both over during the week: SS to Calais V6, SRi to SRi Z.

Edited by Jader1973 on Saturday 11th June 08:02

[Jader1973]

Pommygranite said:

So, is there some free supply of Holdens available?

Damn! You quoted my post before I realised the Cruze is a 1.6 not a 1.4 and went back and fixed it

Not free unfortunately: just getting changed over every 6 months at the moment (although I did have to ask to get the SS swapped because it was over 10k km and there was no sign of the replacement).

Edited by Jader1973 on Saturday 11th June 08:37

[Jader1973]

Pommygranite said:

So how does that work? That's a great deal so I can only presume you work Holden. Well done!

Company lease car. And yes I do (although the future looks a bit uncertain).

PomBstard said:

Hmm, shame you couldn't have punted the SS this way... Anyway, whatever you do don't mention anything that might make the Calais V6 seem in any way better to the SS. Ta

TBH you wouldn’t have wanted it - quote a few stone chips and it was due a service.

The Calais is a nice relaxing cruiser and nowhere near as anti-social as the SS. In the SS even stop start traffic was fun: stick it in manual mode, leave it in second, and let the bi-modals crackle and pop all the way down Citylink at rush hour

If you are interested in one then PM me with what you are after and I can see what is available - V8s are a bit thin on the ground though.

[Jader1973]

Beginning of the end today

This went to work


and this came home


Cruze stopped production in October - Astra went on sale at the start of this month.

I suspect the Redline wagon I collect early next year will be the last new V8 Commodore I get

[Jader1973]

Pommygranite said:

That Astra must be nicer than the Cruze surely?

And I have sympathy for the arm but, you know, bloody cyclists

I'm all good. Been waiting on my Mustang for 9 months and only another 5 to go...

Yes, a lot nicer, although the Cruze was a good car.

14 month wait for a Mustang?! Did you order unicorn leather trim or something?

[Jader1973]

Pommygranite said:

Hard to love an Astra hey

Apparently normal wait time when I order - supply n demand n all that it seems. That and were in Australia which is the ginger step child of receiving goods. Apprently it's a March 2017 compliance plate build whatever that means - any ideas?!

For a base spec the Astra is really good - DAB, apple CarPlay / Android thingy, alloys, rear camera, rear park assist etc. It looks good and is much more refined than the Cruze. It is perfect for the OH's 5km commute and buzzing about at the weekend.

As for the Mustang, Ford put compliance plates on the cars at factory. I'm not 100% on how it works (because we fit them here) but I suspect that means they'll build it in Jan or Feb with a March label and by the time it gets here it is March. Takes about 6 or 7 weeks on the boat depending on where it is going.

[Jader1973]

Collected this on Friday - went for a Redline wagon this time.



I suspect it may be the last Australian built Commodore I get - supply is a bit restricted now that the end date is fixed. I'm going to order one on the off change though.

[Jader1973]

motomk said:

Maybe just a bit too low now. Will get it raised up this week hopefully, now moved into daily driving duties. just over a year old 10,000kms



When one VF is not enough, completely demolish the bank account. Just under a week old. Car is a bit ridiculous!

Oohh - the GTS is nice. I've only driven one on a slalom course - they aren't designed to be slalomed through cones, the front tyres don't like it

The Redline looks okay at that height - the massive arch gap always annoys me, especially at the rear. It makes 19 and 20 inch wheels look small. Is it rubbing, or just too low for daily duties?

[Jader1973]

Jader1973 said:

Collected this on Friday - went for a Redline wagon this time.



I suspect it may be the last Australian built Commodore I get - supply is a bit restricted now that the end date is fixed. I'm going to order one on the off change though.

I was right unfortunately - they cancelled my order for another Commodore so today saw the end of an era when I took it to work for the last time.

I came home in this:



It has DAB, which is nice.

[Jader1973]

Colonial said:

I was supposed to start a new job back in Sydney next Monday but decided to break/not break/who knows/orthopedic surgeons still arguing my ankle on Saturday doing a 21k trail race.

So, probably start that a week later than planned.

Bugger. Left one so you can still drive (an auto)?

[Jader1973]

motomk said:

ByeBye sedan ! Wasn't too bad but I missed the VE SSV Ute and was actively looking for another secondhand one as The VF Maloo I had was too cramped. However I ended up with this. Salesman thought I was a bit odd, as I was measuring the seat in this and the VFII SSV Redline they had in the lot.
VF Redline and VF Maloo have same seat mechanism but this one has the 8 way seats from the US Chevrolet SS Sedan.



Very happy, a bit out of my comfort zone with the stickers and red everywhere but the mechanical stuff is

Nice. This would be my pick of the limited edition cars because there were so few built.

Are you using it as a daily? Quite a few people at work bought Motorsports and never use them. One guy bought a Redline to use and a Motorsport that just sits in his garage! He drove it home (40km) and had only done another 5km since then. Although he’ll have to take it back for the rocker arm fix (and pray it doesn’t grenade itself on the way) and add another 80km to it.

[Jader1973]

motomk said:

Yes, maybe sacrilege, but it is the new daily. The other one is a bit silly, I take that one out once a fortnight.
I had seen a few pop up at the dealers on their websites near Christmas. A friend of mine spotted this one at the same place the GTS came from, whilst he was getting his car serviced nearby about a month ago. Sent me some pictures and I went and had a look and that was it.
They had a couple of Directors to, which are nice especially with the suspension, but like everything else, they had to put sunroofs on them!
They left all the order stuff in the glove box. Number 83 of 240, built in September. It has supposedly had the rocker arm fix, but I can't see the recall notice on the car anywhere. The day I bought it, it couldn't be driven as it had a big sign in the window saying not to be driven until it had visited the workshop. Not that I needed to drive it, as I knew what it was.
Having driven up a "Hill" today, it was definitely the right decision.
This reminds me of the old ute which is what I hoped it would.
Now I miss the old Karma coloured VEII SS sedan I had, especially as I have loads of parts for it on the shelf.
If I see a good one I might let the Magnum rest in the garage next to the "Silly one" and make that the daily. Or maybe just buy another house first that can store them all.

Not sacrilege at all - they were made to be driven.

I’d suggest asking the dealer for written proof the rocker arms have been done given it could drop a valve and destroy the engine if it fails.

I didn’t like the Director - the Supercheap style LS3 sticker on the grille was a bit nasty (voicing that opinion wasn’t very popular ) and putting a sunroof in a car called Motorsport was just wrong (telling the team that didn’t go down well either )

[Jader1973]

Du1point8 said:

I want to hire these whilst in Aus, no one does this for reasonable money.

Help a wannabe redneck out here, that doesnt cost a crap load of money.

I doubt anyone has V8 utes for hire. You could get a Caprice V8 from Avis - 6.2 V8 and cheaper to hire than a V6 Commodore wagon when I last hired a car.