1985 Holden Commodore SL 202 black Carby model from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

A good car providing it has been looked after and maintained properly, fairly easy to fix

Faults:

Clutch cable stretched.

Clutch pedal loose.

Distributor excess play.

Leads, Rotor and Cap.

Blocked Radiator.

Timing.

Double locking on driver door.

Locks.

Steering column.

Gear lever.

L.P.G converter.

General Comments:

202 motor is very simple to get parts for as there was that many 202's made.

A reliable car providing that you look after it and if buying one, make sure you look VERY carefully at all parts of the car as they have many problems if you don't care for them.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th September, 2004

1985 Holden Commodore SL 202 Black from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Comfortable cheap motoring

Faults:

Water pump.

Engine needed replacing at 102000 km due cracked pistons.

5 speed manual gearbox very clunky between 1st & 2nd gear since purchase.

Odometer stopped working at 150000 km.

Starter motor replaced at 150000 km.

General Comments:

I believe the Holden black 202 motor was at the end of its development and this last effort was just too much for a 20 year old design to handle

I replaced the original motor at 102000 km and then again at 170000 km.

Very poor paint quality, the sun exposed surfaces have deteriorated badly in my opinion.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th November, 2003

1985 Holden Commodore VK 202 black motor from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Good first car

Faults:

Starter motor was playing up, got it repaired for $30.

Power steering pump leaks a little, but works well.

Needs a new rocker cover gasket.

Seats have started to wear, but good for it age.

General Comments:

Runs good, blows no smoke at all, nice car to drive, good on fuel, runs on gas, good body, no dents, good paint, no rust and looks good!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th September, 2003

1985 Holden Commodore Royale (NZ) 1.9 Starfire from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

A reliable old snail

Faults:

Starter Motor replaced (twice!)

Alternator Replaced at 90,000km.

Distributor replaced at 130,000 (bearings were shot)

Radiator leak, needed re-soldering.

Transmission sump leaking - new pan gasket needed.

Rear electric window switches not working.

Front wheel bearings replaced at 110,000.

Front shock absorbers replaced at 120,000.

General Comments:

Export special VK, no wonder the Aussi's dumped the starfire with the VH in Aus. The 1.9 is Gutless and uses almost the same amount of gas as the 202. With the "Royale" option pack the power steering robs the engine of so much power that it will stall if turned to full lock when idling cold.

I bought this car because it had really low Kms on it. But the engine really lets the car down, with the puny 13 inch wheels the engine is spinning at 4000 rpms at just 100kph. I kept it just as a second car work hack it has towed just about everything albeit SLOWLY!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th April, 2003

1985 Holden Commodore Executive 3.3 Litre from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

A great first car

Faults:

Power steering leaked.

Starter motor went.

Water pump went.

Radiator leaked.

Indicator control stick snapped.

Air-conditioning condenser went.

Windscreen washer pump went.

General Comments:

This car looks beautiful.

It has endless bottom end torque and an unbreakable engine.

Almost nothing has gone wrong with the actual engine, most of the problems have been electrical.

The car is great for towing put it in first and it will do almost anything.

It sounds beautiful at super high revs, about as sweet as you get from a 6 cylinder.

If you put a wider exhaust system on the car you get a huge power boost.

The car feels much nimbler then later model commodores.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th March, 2003

1985 Holden Commodore VK Sl 3.3 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Best car of it's era

Faults:

Major problem was the water pump, in the short time I have had the car I have had to replaced two pumps.

Starter motor also went at 210000 km.

General Comments:

The car is the best first car you could buy I only paid $3500 and it is very reliable and starts first time. The car has a very good turning circle and handles great I can take a corner at 50k/hr without the car sliding one bit. Very little problems at all, the car is still running fine even though it gets driven very hard. Would recommend a VK to all first buyers.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th March, 2003