My First Australian Motor

[Trojan]

Having moved to Adelaide at the end of last year, I had to get rid of the 172 and have therefore been car-less for 3 months. Now that we're all set up and sorted over here, we've finally gotten round to purchasing a car.

We wanted something of a good size with a reasonable engine so that it'll be a comfortable place to be in on long roadtrips around the country. We also needed it to be an auto as my Aussie girlfriend can't drive a manual. Finally, we needed something cheap and reliable as, having just moved around the planet, we're not exactly flush at the moment. Having spent a couple of weeks reading through classifieds and trawling round car yards, we finally came across something in excellent condition matching our criteria - a Holden Commodore VT:

The engine output of around 195bhp is laughably low for a 3.8 V6 however it pulls pretty well and is really good for cruising long distances. It's also enough to light up the rear tyres and send the car sideways so I'm having a lot of fun at roundabouts at the moment

Just looking forward to taking it on a few road trips over the coming months now

 

[JRS]

*waits for Zip to come tearing in screaming about how awful Holdens are*

Pity you couldn't stretch to a V8 one, but should be a nice car all the same

 

[Dup]

Nice Vauxhall

/me runs

Won't Australia be teething with Skylines and other sexy Jap stuff? Well, I suppose if that's what floats your boat, cars are pretty expensive over there aren't they?

 

[Firestar_3x]

Firstly, well done on the move

Secondly, seems you can win them all

 

[Sone]

not a fan, looks pretty much bottom of the range. No cruise, alloys, climate control etc

 

[Jez]

Looking at that makes me wonder why they didn't also re-use the Omega interior.

Very jealous of the location, but sorry, not the car

 

[Lashout_UK]

Fantastic engines those - and it's not laughably low, they could have put a lot more in but that isn't what was required, or demanded, by the market

195BHP and 224ft.lb is more than enough to keep it mobile anyway, and as you say, excels at cruising

You could always upgrade to the Gen3 V8, with 300BHP and 330ft.lb for more fun

 

[Zip]

*waits for Zip to come tearing in screaming about how awful Holdens are*

Pity you couldn't stretch to a V8 one, but should be a nice car all the same

You know me too well


Anyway, i hate these cars
Just rememeber to have some duck tape handy in the glove box

Nice Vauxhall

/me runs

Won't Australia be teething with Skylines and other sexy Jap stuff? Well, I suppose if that's what floats your boat, cars are pretty expensive over there aren't they?

Yep, Skylines are like the plague, Nissans have a massive following. Although Because they are Jap they do cost a little bit more then the Stuff made here. (Import Tarrifs) but they especially Skylines are dropping pretty quick in price.

Other Japs like Toyota and Subaru can still reem you compared to Places like NZ though

And BMWs are still classed as a Prestiege car along with merc and lotus down here. Bloody Expensive things!
Import laws and tarrifs suck



Also I live near adelaide

 

[[TW]Fox]

I was amazed at how much BMW's cost over there, to buy a 2002 530i would be about £20k

 

[Zip]

I was amazed at how much BMW's cost over there, to buy a 2002 530i would be about £20k

Tis one of the many reasons i hate holdern and am counting down to its soon to come collapse.

Or atleast import tarifs removed from cars not made here

 

[Jez]

I think i would be more than willing to pay over the odds for a German car over there in return for the amazing climate

 

[NightSt@lk3r]

Should have got an Falcon

 

[peterattheboro]

Looks like a bag of crap mate but congrats on the move.

And I was expecting a Monaro

 

[Zip]

Looks like a bag of crap mate but congrats on the move.

And I was expecting a Monaro

Other then the engine and a small bit in the looks department and the fact its a 4 door i doubt they are much different at all

 

[Ev0]

A friend has just moved out there and was looking for cars, he was saying things like an E46 M3 second hand were priced about £35-40k! Think he ended up getting a tough as boots nissan patrol and an Impreza.

 

[peterattheboro]

Other then the engine and a small bit in the looks department and the fact its a 4 door i doubt they are much different at all

That's quite a lot

 

[Zip]

That's quite a lot

Wouldnt suprise me if they took the same floor pan.

Look at the similaritys of the 2.

Well this applys for the slightly newer model anyway.

The monaro is nothing other then a 2 door commodore.

 

[Lum]

I think i would be more than willing to pay over the odds for a German car over there in return for the amazing climate

Zip may be able to answer this, but does Australia have any scheme similar to the UKs "personal import" scheme, where you can bring your car with you when you immigrate without being raped quite so badly on duties and compliance testing?

If so, and you were planning to move to Australia anyway, it'd be a good way to recover some of the money, bring a nice high spec BMW with you and sell it once you're over there. (then buy a Skyline )

 

[Jez]

There is one flaw in your plan, i'd have to drive a Skyline

 

[Zip]

Zip may be able to answer this, but does Australia have any scheme similar to the UKs "personal import" scheme, where you can bring your car with you when you immigrate without being raped quite so badly on duties and compliance testing?

If so, and you were planning to move to Australia anyway, it'd be a good way to recover some of the money, bring a nice high spec BMW with you and sell it once you're over there. (then buy a Skyline )

I know people can bring there cars from over seas but im not sure on how it works, And i think you must have had owned it for a certain period time from the country you live in.

Also many many Bogans drive Skylines down here