1986 Holden Commodore VL 3.0L EFI

Summary:

Quick, seems cheap to maintain and fix, looks good. Great for $3500 with 12 months reg

Faults:

Fuel Pump screwed. Car was hard to start when fuel tank near empty & pump was making a lot of noise from the boot area. Not an uncommon problem apparently, but cheap enough to fix. Done at 182,000KMS.

Little rust around the front and rear windscreens. Pretty common problem as well. Getting this fixed ASAP.

Could have done with a little more head room up front.

General Comments:

Very smooth, comfortable car to drive. Good balance of performance and comfort.

Apart from the fuel pump causing starting problems it now doesn't miss a beat. Can be very economical on fuel if you take it easy on the gas (which is hard to do). You get roughly 400-450KMS out of a tank of fuel. Tank is about 50-55 liters.

The oil has been changed in this engine every 3,000KMS from new. I bought it from the original owner who documented every oil change and the odometer reading of each change). Service records and receipts kept from new.

Has had transmission reconditioned at about 150,000KMS.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th January, 2003

1986 Holden Commodore VL executive 3.0L

Summary:

Value plus performance

Faults:

Sagging rear suspension.

Rusted out radiator.

Slipping Transmission at 270,000.

Leaking Power Steering Rack.

General Comments:

The motor and gear box combination is the best feature of this make. If maintained regularily it can run forever.

The car has satisfying performance that can pull away from most competition despite the veichel's age.

A great project car with plenty of options and cheap spares available.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd October, 2002

1986 Holden Commodore VL 3.0 litre

Summary:

Good car, only it's an auto

Faults:

I've had a few cracked hoses, it costed about $150, buts its good considering how old it is.

General Comments:

When I first bought it, I went out driving. I discovered a loud thumping noise coming from the front left wheel. Spend about $100 on mechanic labour to find what the problem was. The previous owner screwed one of the bolts on by hand and forgot to tighten it properly... Lucky it didn't come off!

The car isn't really that fast. It is quick, and all right on corners too. Top speed is 155 km/hr, which I was not very happy with.

The interior of the car is probably the best you can get. Cleaned every week since the day it was purchased, the exterior is also spotless. There was a new paint job on the bonnet.

I only have 14" mags on it, I will be getting some 15" or 17" on it soon, as soon as I get the dough the better!

The sound system that is present, isn't that good, but if I turn the bass right up, you can hardly hear it outside, its probably the crap speakers, but it could also be very noise pollution efficient.

I only have my L's at the moment, and I need a manual car to practice on, I will be changing to a manual VL.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 19th October, 2002

3rd Feb 2003, 05:29

Your car should do more than 155KM/H mine does.

3rd Feb 2003, 05:31

Your car should go faster than 155km/h, mine is a manual and I have had 185km/h out of it and I have heard of people getting over 200. even in the auto.

1986 Holden Commodore VL Executive 3.0L EFI

Summary:

This car has only survived on it's ill founded reputation

Faults:

A month after I first purchased the car, the head gasket cracked which cost me around $1000 (AUD) to fix. Not long after the alternator needed to be replaced, Holden used to cut costs on parts so they put substandard equipment in their vehicles. Lighting systems on the dash and center console sometimes don't function. The power steering unit needed replacing. All this I would expect from a car that had been driven badly in it's life, yet this car hadn't. My previous car was a '79 Volkswagen GTI and it didn't have nearly as many problems.

General Comments:

The car was a great improvement on previous commodore models due to the adoption of a Nissan Skyline engine. But the rear suspensions hadn't been revised since Holden stared reworking the 2lt Opel, making the engine too powerful for the rear suspension system. The car is quick for a commodore of it's age, but build quality and handling are a serious concern. When the alternator died, I lost all control of the car and the steering locked, If something goes wrong in these cars it's deadly.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th September, 2002