22nd Sep 2003, 06:01

Not just the one car "mate", these cars have consistently had problems since they were released, and has even been reported by the media a few times now. I am somewhat of a fan of the Aussie muscle cars (more towards the Blue Oval than the other one, but all to their own I reckon). But due to recent reasons to save money, I was looking for a decent second-hand car that was reliable and cheap to run after owning an Aussie designed car. I ended up buying a 1993 Mazda 626 for A$6500 which now has nearly 204,000 k's on it. It does not leak, smoke, rattle or creak. The motor is faultless, as is the transmission & steering. Of course the performance is nothing like a V8 or even a good V6 but hey, I don't spend megabucks on it every time it gets serviced (I don't need to). I never thought I'd say this, but the Japs build far better cars than the Aussies do.

17th Nov 2003, 03:52

True not just one bad car, but as I did say, I've heard of plenty with problems. Probably not as many crap VX's on the road as AU Falcon's, but that's another story. I know where you're coming from with the purchase of the Mazda 626. My wife drives an 89 Camry which I'm forced to use once or twice a week, in the interests of matrimonial harmony because even she knows when she's in the presence of something special. The said Camry is a great car, doesn't leak oil, rattle, or cost heaps to run either, but I know what I'd rather be driving..."mate"!!

5th Jan 2004, 19:23

Yeah hi there guys, I just purchased a used Vx II S pack and I'm really loving it, it is a great car. Is there much of an advantage with the supercharged model and if so how could I modify my Vx a little? Any suggestions would surely be appreciated.

22nd Jan 2004, 23:29

I have a VX 'S' Pack and have lots of mates with VX 'S' or 'SS' sedans and none of us have had any problems.

They are great cars! Its amazing that you are experiencing those problems. I recommend to look over the cars history and check that it hasn't been modified at all. It is more than likely that it has been modified or overworked from the previous owner.

3rd Feb 2004, 05:01

Just brought a VX SS at auctions yesterday with 20000kms. So far (1 day) I am extremely happy with the mighty beast. Most of my day to day driving is express way driving; could anyone give me a rough idea of what my fuel consumption should be?

17th Feb 2004, 02:06

G'Day guys.

Just in response to the person with the fuel consumption query. Honestly mate you will be pleasantly surprised when you do work out your fuel use results. I have a Series 1 SS and its done about 73k. I do a 60k round trip to work 6 days a week plus other driving and can consistently get 12L/100km no sweat. As long as you don't flog her. Do that (which we all do from time to time) and you will see the juice evaporate at a rapid rate. I'd say if you're freeway driving mostly you'll even squeeze into the 11L range. Pretty damn good for an engine of that size. Hope you get as much enjoyment out of your "beast" as I continue to do.

12th Mar 2004, 21:41

Yeah hi, I am currently in the process of buying a new holden, I have at present a 98 VT with a V X R8 club sport kit with all the gear. As it is only a V 6, I want to purchase a 5.7 either V X or V Y SS. Can anyone help me in my decision making if so that would be great. thank you holden lover New South Wales.

5th Jul 2004, 04:45

I'm sorry you had to find out the expensive way about the American reject engines like I did. Holden's pursuit in Power over its rivals have let it down when it comes to making a sports car too last. The Gen3 engine is a total piece of crap with piston slap and oil consumption exceeding my two-stroke lawn mower. I kick myself for selling my VS 5.0 (last of the Aussie engines) it may have not had the same power, but was bullet proof and reliable..

Mick.

27th Jun 2005, 17:40

Great to read everyone's personal comments, but to the people who say we need to know how to drive a VX gen 111 SS so not to have any problems "you are wrong". I am a 35 year old women who purchased my SS new, I have no tow bar on car and I got over 30,000km's from my 17" rims tires. I have had a new engine rebuild, I have had limited slip diff problems, I have had window problems, now at 55,000km's I have done a diff (needs rebuild at at cost of around $800 - $1000) Holden doesn't want to know me. I am worried that this will just be the beginning on my problems. Great car to drive, but at the expense of around $50,000 is it worth it?? Regards Lindy.

14th May 2006, 07:01

The problem with Holden cars are their owners and devoted fans. From reading all the comments here, most of you cannot accept that the original reviewers car was a heap of crap. Instead you talk about your own car and how it's had no problems.

It's this attitude which Holden love as it allows them the opportunity to continue churning out trash cars with the knowledge that 99% of the owners and fans won't complain. And if they do, it's NEVER HOLDEN'S FAULT.

The reason Hyundai build better cars than Holden nowadays is because:

1) They started off making crap cars;

2) Owners and jouronos let them know;

3) Hyundai listened;

4) Hyundai improved their quality control. Look at the JD power surveys for the Sonata.

How long have Holden been building cars? And they still can't get it right...

Cut the denial, admit Holden churn out crap, they might take notice and start building better quality cars.

6th Jan 2007, 04:07

I have just recently purchased a 2002 VX SS series II Gen III 5.7L with 220,000 ks on it and I am the second owner, it is the best car I have ever owned. I have had it for about one month and it drives and handles very well, plenty of punch too. Even though it's done 220,000 ks it's still going strong and doesn't blow any smoke. I am very happy with it:)

11th Jul 2008, 02:19

I have owned a Series II VX for 7 months now, the car is the business; it's standard apart from the remmis exhaust system and K+N filter, it's got 210kw at the rear wheels with a lot of torque.

I can honestly say I give my car a lot of crap, I have owned Skylines, older Falcons, Subarus, Nissans, and nothing compares, this car can take a lot of abuse, no problems apart from a cracked radiator tank (car has 160000km on the clock), no piston slap on the service history, no oil consumption, no nothing, just tyres :)

Anyone who disses the LS1 is wrong. It's a great engine with a lot of room for getting power out of it.