1990 Holden Commodore SS review from Australia and New Zealand
"Average unless modified..."
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Drivers seat mount broke.
Interior lamp cover cracked.
Fuel gauge needs to be tapped to work.
Odometer broke (plastic cog).
Electric antenna failed, twice.
Rear main seal leaks oil.
Drive shaft centre bearing replaced.
Power steering pump leaks fluid.
Computer died.
Rear tail lamps let water in and short out.
Electric sunroof sticks.
Front suspension towers sag inward - needed strutbrace.
The headlining sagged.
The Atlas Grey paint has faded and been resprayed twice.
General comments?
Good torquey engine, huge power mods are hindered by inlet manifold design, but overall fairly bulletproof if maintained. The transmission is also decent.
The bodyshell has a lot of flex in it and can be rattley when pushed.
The car has a nice aggressive stance when lowered, but this causes the diff to move to one side requiring an adjustable panhard rod to re-align.
The interior feels really cheap and not solid at all.
Seats are flat and unsupportive, their rails and mounts can be broken.
There are definite problems that seem to affect nearly all the VN commodores. The seats, guages, odometers, rear main oil seals, power steering leaks, hoodlining, tail lamp seals.
If I had not modified and replaced quite a few of the components with aftermarket items, I'm sure I would not have owned the car for so long.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Model year | 1990 |
| Year of manufacture | 1990 |
| First year of ownership | 1993 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2009 |
| Engine and transmission | 5.0 litre efi petrol Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 8 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 6 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 4 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 23401 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 132763 kilometres |
| Previous car | Holden Commodore |
| Date of Entry | 11th October, 2009 |