1989 Holden Calais VN 3.8 from Australia and New Zealand
Summary:
Awesome daily cruiser/ thrasher / dominator
Faults:
Major rust in the back windscreen of the car and the rear pillars.
Battery box rusted out and replaced. Spare tire well rusted out and replaced.
Frost plugs in the engine block rusted out and replaced.
Should I go on hahaha?
General Comments:
Interior is not too bad for its age; 22 years old. Now have replaced the hood lining, and the seats are comfy, as I have fallen asleep many times in them.
The handling sucks unless you get some good suspension in them.
The power is good for getting a wheel going. Has no problem getting off the clock, and the good thing is there are plenty of spare parts around.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 12th December, 2011
15th Dec 2011, 03:46
A big thing with the VNs, was when owners didn't use the right coolant for engines with alloy heads, leading to those welch plugs rusting out. I'm surprised with it rusting so soon, but I guess that all depends on where the car is stored etc. I had an 86 Daihatsu that had no signs of major rusting (just a little spot of surface rust here and there) when I sold it in 2007, nor had the roof liner sagged.
They do seem to keep going, but they are pretty agricultural in how they run. I drove a couple of VNs in the early 90's; gearboxes were pretty sledge hammer like, lots of torque down low though, but even when new, the handling just ploughed.