Vauxhall Monaro?

helpimcrap

helpimcrap

helpimcrap

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Joined
13 Jan 2004
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Leicestershire
Hi, how are the high mileage ones of these? American V8s tend to detuned so can be run for hundreds of thousands of miles without an issue but they are expensive relatively.

Anything to look for?
 
I was considering selling everything and buying one, was only going to be able to afford the 5.7 but couldn't find enough info, guides or forums to give me the confidence they weren't a disaster waiting to happen.
 
My understanding is that they are generally reliable and are unlikely to go wrong every week needing yet more repairs, however consumable parts ie brakes can be comedy expensive.
 
Best place for info is hsv.org.uk (part of pistonheads forums)

Edit: need to change my sig to vxr8 :)
 
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I was ready to blow my savings on one till a simple answer back from princey said the brakes cost £2k alone.

I think I would actually cry if I was told I need to stump up £2k for a brake change.
 
I had the ls1 5.7 for just over a year, brake discs and pads cost me approximately £500, they were after market ones. Power steering cooler was leaking and rusted and I changed it myself, part cost about £100.... thats all really, was a nice car to drive ... very lazy engine, great on Motorway. Needs an after market exhaust for the sound.
 
Not sure on the monaro, but for me (I had a 4th gen camaro) it was cheaper to buy parts from the US and have them shipped over,

Having just taken a look at Hawks, they do a pair of fronts and cermamic pads for a pontiac gto (still just a rebadged holden but you'd have to check age) for $300, you'd have to check post but i paid $60 in 2005 plus tax.

Enquire, can't hurt

http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/
 
I had a VXR8 for a year.

Loved it - bags of character, not too badly screwed together and sounded fantastic. Proper hooligan car when required, the sledgehammer approach to motoring.

They're simple cars and anyone can work on them, but as Fox says, some bits can be comically expensive. General servicing is dirt cheap though.
 
Know someone with a VXR8 (08 I believe) and in the 2 years he had it was reliable, only costing him consumables (from memory the rears tires are pricey) not sure about the brakes though.
 
davy89 said:
Know someone with a VXR8 (08 I believe) and in the 2 years he had it was reliable, only costing him consumables (from memory the rears tires are pricey) not sure about the brakes though.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, they're very reliable cars - nothing to go wrong!

Rear tyres are fairly expensive; I ran mine on Michelin PSS, so it was £700 a pair for the rears. Certainly made you think twice before sidestepping the clutch ;)

Front disks and pads were about £800 I think. Probably about the same on the Monaro.

Another issue with Monaro's and VXR8's is that if you want to go to a specialist for tuning or specific diagnosis, there aren't many around, and I wouldn't touch Vauxall's dealer network with a bargepole for cars like this.
 
Read the HSV/Monaro forum mentioned above.

Brakes aren't £2k, that's the install cost for APs. Brake discs range from a couple of hundred for a full set on the 2004 CV8 (pretty crappy) to ~£650-800 for a full set of DBAs to fit the VXR. Performance friction pads are £200.

Not much to go wrong with them, just be aware of gearbox problems - a new 'box is ~£2800. The clutch fluid tends to get filthy and can cause you to lose the ability to declutch. Simple fix, but potentially annoying if a remote bleed line hasn't been fitted.

I've got a 2004 CV8 with some mods - the difference between the VXR and CV8 is styling and a few tweaks (read up on the HSV forum). Many CV8s are modded to VXR level or higher. Note the differences between the 2004 models and 2005/2006 - the fuel tank got moved into the boot in later models and the exhaust changed to exit on both sides.

Consumables and servicing are pretty cheap really, e.g. the tyres on mine are 235/40/18. CV8 bumpers and bits are readily available from breakers, but equivalent VXR bits can be much more expensive.

Any garage can do most bits on these cars, but Monkfish and Walkinshaw are specialists (as said, avoid the Vauxhall network).
 
Here's my mate with his Monaro, currently an 11 second car - pictured at Shakespeare County Raceway, often seen at Santa Pod too. He has very little mechanical sympathy but the car soldiers on!

475926_10200285353671172_1333276697_o_zps4cbd483d.jpg
 
lol a early monaro is 15ft 9 inches long later VXRs are bang on 16foot long. oh and 6 1/2 feet wide
 
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