Faults:

Steering fluid leak.

Seized Engine at 149000 kms. I don't understand what happened. When I turned the car off it was fine and got back in it and it wouldn't start.

General Comments:

I thought this car would be very reliable as a bought it off a pensioner and the low mileage on the car. Luckily a reco engine will only set me back $2700 from Higginbottom and parts are pretty cheap.

I was told to stay away from anything before series 2 vs, but my car goes hard and serves its purpose. I think I was just unluckily.

Faults:

At 180,000km the car stalled on twice me while driving at speed. I was able to restart it enough times to get it home. DFI Module replaced for $400.00.

Water pump replaced at 220,000km. The repair cost was about $250.00.

Radiator replaced at 220,500km after developing a leak shortly after changing the water pump.

Speed controller for cabin fan died. Fan would only work on "3" and "4" settings. The problem was cheap to repair. I found instructions on the Internet and did it myself.

Power Steering pump replaced at 225,000km, repair cost about $200.00.

Alternator replaced at 225,000km due to squealing bearings.

Air Conditioner pulley bearings replaced at 225,000km, repair cost about $130.00.

Harmonic balancer died at 228,000km on new years day 2005. $250 repair bill from the local mechanic.

All front-engine pulleys have been replaced over a period of use starting at around 190,000km. These are fairly cheap to replace.

Front disk rotor warped and was re-machined at 230,000km.

Minor issues: power steering hoses, main coolant hoses, transmission coolant hoses replaced by myself at 220,000km as a preventative measure.

Plastic mechanism that connects to the actuator rod in the boot key release mechanism has broken. The boot can only be opened from the internal release.

Boot struts are completely gone. I keep a metal pole in the boot to prop it open when necessary.

Glove box light, boot light, interior dome light all failed. Glovebox light components fell apart when I attempted to change the bulb.

The steering rack has a bit of play in it which makes controlling the car at high speed a bit tiresome.

Engine mounts will need replacing soon.

General Comments:

This car was purchased new and provided good service through till about 180,000kms when the above problems began.

The repairs were fairly inexpensive and are probably a sign of age and general wear and tear rather than a poor reflection on Holden build quality.

The car uses about 14L of regular unleaded per 100KM which seems about normal.

As a series-one VS commodore it burns oil though not as bad as I had been told to expect. I add about one litre every 2 months to keep it topped up.

No problems whatsoever with the transmission - it is silky smooth and is like new.

A/C still gets quite cold. It was last re-gassed in 2000.

Faults:

Replaced Rocker Cover gasket at 70,797k's, Dealers mechanic forgot to top oil up after making this repair. - Idiot!

Engine has a small amount of top end noise. - However no where near as bad as many of the VN & VP Engines around.

Power steering pump developed a fluid leak. This was repaired by the dealer. At approximately 71,000k's.

Car has now been returned to the dealer at 75,000k's with a suspected blown head gasket, Ie; Car heats up while idling and after being driven the smell of "Coolant" is noticeable.

(Yet to find out what is going to happen about this)

Interior window trims have fallen down inside the door. (Although this doesn't bother me too much)

While braking the Automatic Transmission gear shifter moves forwards and backwards, Apparently this may be a warped front rotor?

I have noticed a damp smell in the boot, but I assume this is just a seal. And once again this isn't a major concern to me.

Replaced main pulley belt, as it was making a squeekish noise. This didn't cost an arm and a leg.

General Comments:

Although having these few troubles, I am a still a fan of holden. The car handles well (except in wet weather conditions) and has quick acceleration. The interior is a little basic in the executive, but then again the car is just that - an executive model. I have made a few small modifications to the car since I purchased it, ie; Clear oval indicator's for the front guards, tinted windows, Berlina rims and added a stereo system. but as a I am only a P' Plate driver I can't exactly do too much to it without affecting my insurance premiums.

My future modifications to the car will be FE2 Suspension, Rear spoiler and maybe a few other small mod's.

However.

If you are a P Plate driver looking to buy a VS be prepared to pay high insurance premiums. As apparently they are a high risk vehicle. But if you can afford the insurance then by all means by a VS Commodore, they are a good car. Easy to "do up" ie; spoilers etc... and go extremely well.