VS, VT, VX and VY are all basically the same engine with a few minor differences. All round they are known to be a great reliable engine if well looked after. If it were me I would get the VY but regardless VX are also a nice car when you put a little work into them. Part wise it’s not hard to get the parts for these cars. Holden still have operating parts stores and you can still get second hand parts off auto wreckers pretty quickly. But it depends on what parts you’re specifically talking about? Engine parts that fail? Most auto shops sell whatever you need to get an engine running again. Radiator places will still fit new radiator or water pumps for these cars without hassle. New engine or transmission? Can find refurbished second hand ones pretty quickly from wreckers. Car panels? Same, auto wreckers will have them, just gotta look for them. Etc etc.
I wouldn’t stress if you’re making a good financial choice or not. Good news is with a bit of shopping around a well looked after mid 100,000kms Berlina isn’t going to set you back an arm and a leg (I wouldn’t pay any more than 8 grand for a berlina v6 depending on kms and condition) however a V6 isn’t going to appreciate in value like a V8 would. Enjoy the car, rack up the kms on it, fix things on it that break down, keep it serviced regularly and it will treat you well and do its job. I have a VZ Calais that I brought for $15,000 in 2011 with 150,000kms on it. It still runs like a dream even though I’ve now got 390,000kms on it now. It’s absolutely not worth more than a couple grand but it’s still a great car that I use as my daily, so just adding this as a bit of perspective.
EDIT: Also VE commodores are also a nice car that run well when looked after. Obviously parts for those are more abundant than older models. I see them all the time at wrecking yards. Plus they will have a few more comfort and safety features being a newer model car compared to the VX and VY. However the alloy techs and notoriously known to have timing chain issues. With that being said, if you find a VE that you like, find out if it’s had its timing chain replaced already or not. If it has already had a timing chain replacement then you likely won’t need to worry about getting it done again during your time with the car. The reason being is because the original timing chains came from a different manufacturer and were faulty/bad quality and often wouldn’t last the first 100,000kms for some of these brand new cars. But that doesn’t mean some have lasted longer than others which could still be present in some cars. The replacement timing chains are better quality and will last longer, that’s why it’s important to get a car that’s already had one replaced.
Plenty of aftermarket parts for these. Whether it be engine or cosmetic. They are bitsa cars with parts from Germany, US and Australia, so parts should be still easy to come by.
I'm in the US (G8 GT owner), but in regards to the V8 commodores - is it easy to get parts for the V8s? The LS engine is still wildly popular here and parts can be found d literally everywhere. I'd assume GM still ships some parts to AUS, no?
As for exterior and trim pieces, those are hard to find for us. We usually have to ship from Australia.
Easy as pie over here in Aus to get parts for LS motors. If you are able to find contacts and have the money you’ll easily be able to get a business to ship you whatever you need. I still hear the occasional story of commodores being exported to the US.
Dude.
I own six VXs (as well as a couple of VTs, a couple of VYs and a VZ. I don't like the VYs or the VZ. They just feel different. And I really don't like the look of them. They did something weird to the back end of VYs and I'm not a fan). Three of the VXs are Berlinas, two are Execs and the other one is an Acclaim. Two of the Berlinas have been my daily drive for the past five years.
Here are my **top 9 reasons for buying a VX Berlina**.
[These are my two VX Berlinas](https://ibb.co/5Lt5Rgp), side by side the day I picked up the second one. Now somebody is going to say one of those looks suspiciously like an Exec... and you'd be partially right, well spotted. That's Vanessa. Vanessa is a fucking champion of a car. I paid $800 for her in 2017 and she has seen some shit. She is 100% VX Berlina, but she had to borrow a shirt from an Exec when she spilled [this keep left sign](https://postimg.cc/SY2ZYF1Q) down her front [one night](https://ibb.co/album/mJs4vm). (That photo of the sign was taken 4 months prior - that sign is no longer there. Vanessa did that). Whilst I don't advocate using your car as a battering ram or anything, just know that there's a good chance a VX can take out large metal objects firmly concreted into the ground. You never know when that might be helpful. **Reason #1**.
Now, reason #1 is all good and well, until it leaves you with nothing but $50 from Sims Metal for towing away the wreck... but that's where reason #2 steps in and really begins to show how awesome these cars are. I couldn't do anything about hitting the sign, I couldn't brake or steer or there was a better chance than not that I would roll or slide into one of the deep drainage ditches that lined each side of this road, so I just braced for impact. I had firmly expected that the sign was going to pull us up hard, but a second or two after feeling the impact, I realised I was still moving. I hadn't hit the sign... I'd hit it, flattened it, and kept going. Any car can hit shit and stop. Taking one to the face and ploughing on though, that's VX shit. **Reason #2**.
The intersection where the sign was has no lights, the cross road bends sharply either side of the intersection, so you can't see if anything is coming until it's pretty much on top of you and at the time, the speed limit on both roads was 100km/h. If you blow through that stop sign, there's a good chance you and at least one other person are going to be without a car for a while. I was not braking, not accelerating, not steering and couldn't see. Still doing around 80km/h just out of momentum, I would have popped up at the top of that hill and seemingly materialised in the middle of the cross road. I completely expected a second impact, but then I felt a familiar dip in the road on the opposite side of the intersection and could hear scraping and realised with utter disbelief that I must have cleared the intersection. I opened my eyes and saw that I had. It was a bit like [this](https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/video-captures-moment-woman-and-young-child-in-car-avoid-colliding-with-oncoming-traffic/news-story/cdf02f9fa0a0e9b790cda6c1f89c9489). Now, I'm not saying VXs can create miracles... but I'm not not saying it, either. **Reason #3**.
I pulled over and got out to take stock. Half the front of my car had just disappeared. The scraping sound was coming from my bumper dragging across the road, suspended from my car by a couple of clips. The wheel arch was hard up against the tyre. But in some kind of Holden Matrix shit, the headlight didn't have a single crack, the aircon line hadn't broken and there was not even a pinhole in the radiator. The steering was fine, the tyres were still intact, the bonnet still latched and my number plate still had enough bumper to screw to. And the airbags had not gone off. I took a piece of string and tied the bumper on to the car so it wouldn't drag, kicked the wheel arch plastic away from the tyre, checked neither of us were haemorrhaging fluids and got back in and drove the remaining 15km home. She took one to the face, got back up and drove home without incident. **Reason #4**.
You raised the question of parts availability - I didn't have a spare Berlina, but I had an Exec the exact same colour and that was good enough for me. Everything you see on Vanessa now that shouldn't be there just bolted straight on from a VX Exec. The only thing that caused the slightest problem was the Exec bonnet latch didn't line up perfectly with the hole in the Berlina, but a little bit of persuasion with a hammer and it's fine. Parts are not an issue. In fact, I'm still [selling parts off the donor VX on ebay](https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184443108764?hash=item2af1aa7d9c:g:e64AAOSwK2ZfW0pT). **Reason #5**.
I'm not kind to my cars. It's been 5 years since I took out the sign and Vanessa is still as faithful to me today as she always has been. They're not a terrifying car to work on and they're easy to learn from. And so reliable. **Reason #6**.
Having owned so many V-series Commodores, I've come across many with airbag light disease. Vanessa had it, but received a donor clock spring and the beeping stopped. If you happen to purchase one with airbag light disease, or you just want to show your solidarity, PM me and I'll send you one of the [bumper stickers I designed](https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184346482618?hash=item2aebe817ba:g:6EIAAOSwh41aywHO&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoPERJLjWioFYJf%2Bjy%2FjU2GDbmVNsAKt%2F9qga0hJo89nfqw6XCVGA60m0hiLaW0CBmjRZYyC1R2g9aHcNolw6jekrAiVo4PClQoYwbYTuDg273rIf3aQmc075JhtW%2Fgrkbu2gOgk21t4guF%2FwpDSAKq9GyXfK%2BA3MI9X8VVxtx83RMnIwB3NDjCqE%2FixSY7hm6XJiNmrhQ%2FTkBc43%2BVA%2Fq7g%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9Lk9Jm7YQ) and had printed in support. **Reason #7**.
I have pet goats. They have jumped on top of almost all of my VXs and it hasn't caused major damage. **Reason #8**.
Also, you can comfortably fit [two adult goats in the back seat of a VX Commodore](https://ibb.co/album/DVRQhj) sedan at the same time. Three at a push. **Reason #9.**
VS, VT, VX and VY are all basically the same engine with a few minor differences. All round they are known to be a great reliable engine if well looked after. If it were me I would get the VY but regardless VX are also a nice car when you put a little work into them. Part wise it’s not hard to get the parts for these cars. Holden still have operating parts stores and you can still get second hand parts off auto wreckers pretty quickly. But it depends on what parts you’re specifically talking about? Engine parts that fail? Most auto shops sell whatever you need to get an engine running again. Radiator places will still fit new radiator or water pumps for these cars without hassle. New engine or transmission? Can find refurbished second hand ones pretty quickly from wreckers. Car panels? Same, auto wreckers will have them, just gotta look for them. Etc etc. I wouldn’t stress if you’re making a good financial choice or not. Good news is with a bit of shopping around a well looked after mid 100,000kms Berlina isn’t going to set you back an arm and a leg (I wouldn’t pay any more than 8 grand for a berlina v6 depending on kms and condition) however a V6 isn’t going to appreciate in value like a V8 would. Enjoy the car, rack up the kms on it, fix things on it that break down, keep it serviced regularly and it will treat you well and do its job. I have a VZ Calais that I brought for $15,000 in 2011 with 150,000kms on it. It still runs like a dream even though I’ve now got 390,000kms on it now. It’s absolutely not worth more than a couple grand but it’s still a great car that I use as my daily, so just adding this as a bit of perspective. EDIT: Also VE commodores are also a nice car that run well when looked after. Obviously parts for those are more abundant than older models. I see them all the time at wrecking yards. Plus they will have a few more comfort and safety features being a newer model car compared to the VX and VY. However the alloy techs and notoriously known to have timing chain issues. With that being said, if you find a VE that you like, find out if it’s had its timing chain replaced already or not. If it has already had a timing chain replacement then you likely won’t need to worry about getting it done again during your time with the car. The reason being is because the original timing chains came from a different manufacturer and were faulty/bad quality and often wouldn’t last the first 100,000kms for some of these brand new cars. But that doesn’t mean some have lasted longer than others which could still be present in some cars. The replacement timing chains are better quality and will last longer, that’s why it’s important to get a car that’s already had one replaced.
Plenty of aftermarket parts for these. Whether it be engine or cosmetic. They are bitsa cars with parts from Germany, US and Australia, so parts should be still easy to come by.
I'm in the US (G8 GT owner), but in regards to the V8 commodores - is it easy to get parts for the V8s? The LS engine is still wildly popular here and parts can be found d literally everywhere. I'd assume GM still ships some parts to AUS, no? As for exterior and trim pieces, those are hard to find for us. We usually have to ship from Australia.
Easy as pie over here in Aus to get parts for LS motors. If you are able to find contacts and have the money you’ll easily be able to get a business to ship you whatever you need. I still hear the occasional story of commodores being exported to the US.
VX would be 20 years old, so probably the cheapest Commodore you would find. If it is a low mileage pensioner car, go for it.
Get vy series 2 if on the cheap side else get a ve with a lfx engine and 6 speed transmission (must have these)
Dude. I own six VXs (as well as a couple of VTs, a couple of VYs and a VZ. I don't like the VYs or the VZ. They just feel different. And I really don't like the look of them. They did something weird to the back end of VYs and I'm not a fan). Three of the VXs are Berlinas, two are Execs and the other one is an Acclaim. Two of the Berlinas have been my daily drive for the past five years. Here are my **top 9 reasons for buying a VX Berlina**. [These are my two VX Berlinas](https://ibb.co/5Lt5Rgp), side by side the day I picked up the second one. Now somebody is going to say one of those looks suspiciously like an Exec... and you'd be partially right, well spotted. That's Vanessa. Vanessa is a fucking champion of a car. I paid $800 for her in 2017 and she has seen some shit. She is 100% VX Berlina, but she had to borrow a shirt from an Exec when she spilled [this keep left sign](https://postimg.cc/SY2ZYF1Q) down her front [one night](https://ibb.co/album/mJs4vm). (That photo of the sign was taken 4 months prior - that sign is no longer there. Vanessa did that). Whilst I don't advocate using your car as a battering ram or anything, just know that there's a good chance a VX can take out large metal objects firmly concreted into the ground. You never know when that might be helpful. **Reason #1**. Now, reason #1 is all good and well, until it leaves you with nothing but $50 from Sims Metal for towing away the wreck... but that's where reason #2 steps in and really begins to show how awesome these cars are. I couldn't do anything about hitting the sign, I couldn't brake or steer or there was a better chance than not that I would roll or slide into one of the deep drainage ditches that lined each side of this road, so I just braced for impact. I had firmly expected that the sign was going to pull us up hard, but a second or two after feeling the impact, I realised I was still moving. I hadn't hit the sign... I'd hit it, flattened it, and kept going. Any car can hit shit and stop. Taking one to the face and ploughing on though, that's VX shit. **Reason #2**. The intersection where the sign was has no lights, the cross road bends sharply either side of the intersection, so you can't see if anything is coming until it's pretty much on top of you and at the time, the speed limit on both roads was 100km/h. If you blow through that stop sign, there's a good chance you and at least one other person are going to be without a car for a while. I was not braking, not accelerating, not steering and couldn't see. Still doing around 80km/h just out of momentum, I would have popped up at the top of that hill and seemingly materialised in the middle of the cross road. I completely expected a second impact, but then I felt a familiar dip in the road on the opposite side of the intersection and could hear scraping and realised with utter disbelief that I must have cleared the intersection. I opened my eyes and saw that I had. It was a bit like [this](https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/video-captures-moment-woman-and-young-child-in-car-avoid-colliding-with-oncoming-traffic/news-story/cdf02f9fa0a0e9b790cda6c1f89c9489). Now, I'm not saying VXs can create miracles... but I'm not not saying it, either. **Reason #3**. I pulled over and got out to take stock. Half the front of my car had just disappeared. The scraping sound was coming from my bumper dragging across the road, suspended from my car by a couple of clips. The wheel arch was hard up against the tyre. But in some kind of Holden Matrix shit, the headlight didn't have a single crack, the aircon line hadn't broken and there was not even a pinhole in the radiator. The steering was fine, the tyres were still intact, the bonnet still latched and my number plate still had enough bumper to screw to. And the airbags had not gone off. I took a piece of string and tied the bumper on to the car so it wouldn't drag, kicked the wheel arch plastic away from the tyre, checked neither of us were haemorrhaging fluids and got back in and drove the remaining 15km home. She took one to the face, got back up and drove home without incident. **Reason #4**. You raised the question of parts availability - I didn't have a spare Berlina, but I had an Exec the exact same colour and that was good enough for me. Everything you see on Vanessa now that shouldn't be there just bolted straight on from a VX Exec. The only thing that caused the slightest problem was the Exec bonnet latch didn't line up perfectly with the hole in the Berlina, but a little bit of persuasion with a hammer and it's fine. Parts are not an issue. In fact, I'm still [selling parts off the donor VX on ebay](https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184443108764?hash=item2af1aa7d9c:g:e64AAOSwK2ZfW0pT). **Reason #5**. I'm not kind to my cars. It's been 5 years since I took out the sign and Vanessa is still as faithful to me today as she always has been. They're not a terrifying car to work on and they're easy to learn from. And so reliable. **Reason #6**. Having owned so many V-series Commodores, I've come across many with airbag light disease. Vanessa had it, but received a donor clock spring and the beeping stopped. If you happen to purchase one with airbag light disease, or you just want to show your solidarity, PM me and I'll send you one of the [bumper stickers I designed](https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184346482618?hash=item2aebe817ba:g:6EIAAOSwh41aywHO&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoPERJLjWioFYJf%2Bjy%2FjU2GDbmVNsAKt%2F9qga0hJo89nfqw6XCVGA60m0hiLaW0CBmjRZYyC1R2g9aHcNolw6jekrAiVo4PClQoYwbYTuDg273rIf3aQmc075JhtW%2Fgrkbu2gOgk21t4guF%2FwpDSAKq9GyXfK%2BA3MI9X8VVxtx83RMnIwB3NDjCqE%2FixSY7hm6XJiNmrhQ%2FTkBc43%2BVA%2Fq7g%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9Lk9Jm7YQ) and had printed in support. **Reason #7**. I have pet goats. They have jumped on top of almost all of my VXs and it hasn't caused major damage. **Reason #8**. Also, you can comfortably fit [two adult goats in the back seat of a VX Commodore](https://ibb.co/album/DVRQhj) sedan at the same time. Three at a push. **Reason #9.**