Buying a Falcon

Brian
I generally respect your opinion but this one intrigues me.
A Commodore here lasts about 12-24 Months and its interior is shot.
In my renting of cars throughout the Australia I have always found the falcon superior.
Admittedly that's different than owning them but I generally wont accept Commodores if they are offered by a rental company.

Just what is better about a Commodore than the Falcon?

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Going by my experience with my Falcon ute, which I have named "The Two-in-One", being the first and the last Falcon I will own, I would say "don't buy one".

The 3800 pushrod V6 Commodores are far better cars.

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Originally Posted by MR LR jnr.

Haha see i completely disagree, we've had both in the family, the 3.8 V6 Holden and the 4.0L Ford, the holdens have problems and the Fords don't (bar the rear diff in the ute, which collapsed the bearings due to wrong oil). Personally i'm a straight six man, would never own a V6 petrol, just don't like that configuration and the 4L Ford motor is very long lived, this is just my experience but they aren't all the same as can be seen in your comment, either engine will be good, but if i put my money on a new falcodore it would be an XR6 Falcon (and i'm a Holden man, though thats classic cars)

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I have had my Falcon ute towed to the dealership eight times with electric or electronic failures that stranded me roadside with an inoperative vehicle. It has also had the classic Falcon cylinder head and gasket and head bolt and corrosion problems, the thermostats that last 15,000 -20,000 k's, the door hinges that pull through the door panels, the door handles that break off in your hand, the seat facings that wear through quick time, the headlight lenses that go brown and crusty and need to be sanded and polished at least annually, the brake rotors that have had to be machined and/or replaced several times in less than 150,000 k's, the rust breaking out in the most unlikely places, the shocking lack of fuel economy which is really no better than the Valiant 265 Hemi Six that it replaced without the Hemi's performance.

Every year some young hopeful salesman from the dealership used to 'phone and tell me "Happy birthday to your Ford. Are you thinking about a new one?" I usually said to them "You have not spoken to me before, have you. If you had you would not have called again and certainly not asked such a stupid question. "

I've recently just acquired a BF II wagon. 100,000km, full service history and immaculate condition. $9500. It cruises all day, fuel consumption around 8.5l/100km on the highway (measured, not trip computer). Acres of space, comfortable.

Nothing to complain about yet. They're a pretty solid, cheap, reliable bit of kit. Lack personality of a LR though!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Davo.
Watch the Pickles Salvage Auctions,I will be sourcing a car for my boy there.Good Falcons with minimal damage go for less than 3 grand.I almost bought a LPG only BA sedan,broken window small dents on bonnet ,it went for $2700.It had 4 new tyres on it.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/06/1049.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...12/06/1050.jpg

Yes I was in big strife with the boy for not buying it,I told him before the auction $2500 was my limit!!!!

Andrew

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

I have had my Falcon ute towed to the dealership eight times with electric or electronic failures that stranded me roadside with an inoperative vehicle. It has also had the classic Falcon cylinder head and gasket and head bolt and corrosion problems, the thermostats that last 15,000 -20,000 k's, the door hinges that pull through the door panels, the door handles that break off in your hand, the seat facings that wear through quick time, the headlight lenses that go brown and crusty and need to be sanded and polished at least annually, the brake rotors that have had to be machined and/or replaced several times in less than 150,000 k's, the rust breaking out in the most unlikely places, the shocking lack of fuel economy which is really no better than the Valiant 265 Hemi Six that it replaced without the Hemi's performance.

Every year some young hopeful salesman from the dealership used to 'phone and tell me "Happy birthday to your Ford. Are you thinking about a new one?" I usually said to them "You have not spoken to me before, have you. If you had you would not have called again and certainly not asked such a stupid question. "

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Sorry to hear about your problems, i was just sharing my families experience aswell. If things like rust, seats and electronics irritate you that much what are you doing on a Land Rover forum haha :p :wasntme:, i will admit that our Fords did have a few problems but were generally very solid, reliable and dependable vehicles, mums side of the famiy who are farmers all have them as their family cars, only stock cars that can hack it in the bush, the Commodores bugger rear suspension and generally cost more on the mechanical side to keep on the road, thats why they have Fords, we just put up with the interiors falling apart, and only after more than 30 years have the door hinges on the old XE paddock basher ute broken the doors, they just click when opening and closing, haven't fallen off yet haha.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

I have had my Falcon ute towed to the dealership eight times with electric or electronic failures that stranded me roadside with an inoperative vehicle. It has also had the classic Falcon cylinder head and gasket and head bolt and corrosion problems, the thermostats that last 15,000 -20,000 k's, the door hinges that pull through the door panels, the door handles that break off in your hand, the seat facings that wear through quick time, the headlight lenses that go brown and crusty and need to be sanded and polished at least annually, the brake rotors that have had to be machined and/or replaced several times in less than 150,000 k's, the rust breaking out in the most unlikely places, the shocking lack of fuel economy which is really no better than the Valiant 265 Hemi Six that it replaced without the Hemi's performance.

Every year some young hopeful salesman from the dealership used to 'phone and tell me "Happy birthday to your Ford. Are you thinking about a new one?" I usually said to them "You have not spoken to me before, have you. If you had you would not have called again and certainly not asked such a stupid question. "

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What year is your ute Brian,sounds like its not a late model,ie the old XD/XH from your description.
Andrew

Hi Davo, gotta say I too disagree with Brian Hjelm and I'm in agreeance with Mr LR Jnr. My other car (besides the 300 Tdi Disco) is a 2008 BF MkII dedicated gas sedan & I think it's great. It's my first Ford. I was always a 'Holden man' but after my V6 commodore destroyed the camshaft at approximately 250,000km (always changed oil every 20K) not to mention the fact that it was difficult to work on....I'll never go back. I also wasn't a fan of the flimsy front end that Holden uses. I also reckon all these Cabbies can't be wrong......how many Commodore cabs do you see??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MR LR jnr.

Sorry to hear about your problems, i was just sharing my families experience aswell. If things like rust, seats and electronics irritate you that much what are you doing on a Land Rover forum haha :p :wasntme:, i will admit that our Fords did have a few problems but were generally very solid, reliable and dependable vehicles, mums side of the famiy who are farmers all have them as their family cars, only stock cars that can hack it in the bush, the Commodores bugger rear suspension and generally cost more on the mechanical side to keep on the road, thats why they have Fords, we just put up with the interiors falling apart, and only after more than 30 years have the door hinges on the old XE paddock basher ute broken the doors, they just click when opening and closing, haven't fallen off yet haha.

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I bought a 110 Isuzu County to get away from electronic cars and their inherent unreliability.

All those Falcon problems are well known, almost generic, and Ford have done nothing to correct these design and quality problems. Unfortunately I did not find out until after purchase. Pile of pus. The electronic problems were eventually solved at my cost, not warranty, by replacing all the Ford Autocraft crap with German Bosch. The dealership would only replace with Ford. The dealership, as far as I could tell, only diagnosed the problem and replaced the burnt out bits. They did not at any time try to identify the sources of the problems. I suspect they well knew but were not permitted to do the job properly and get reimbursed by Ford.

Way back, when I was managing fleets, I formed the opinion that Ford were the Mafia of the motor industry for denying and stonewalling warranty problems. Then I inherited a fleet with a high Toyota content. That's when I found out that Toyota were both the Yakuza and the Mafia. Toyota simply ignored reported problems.

They are all disposable unsafe buckets of bolts, but IF I had to choose, the Ford would get my vote. Torquey motor, reasonably good on fuel, and easy to repair/ buy parts for.

Just get a simple GL wagon or sedan, very cheap and as you said, just ignore it and drive it. IMO it is best to wear out one of these sorts of vehicles than a Landie doing daily driving around:p

JC

Brian
That answers my question your reputation is intact

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

I have had my Falcon ute towed to the dealership eight times with electric or electronic failures that stranded me roadside with an inoperative vehicle. It has also had the classic Falcon cylinder head and gasket and head bolt and corrosion problems, the thermostats that last 15,000 -20,000 k's, the door hinges that pull through the door panels, the door handles that break off in your hand, the seat facings that wear through quick time, the headlight lenses that go brown and crusty and need to be sanded and polished at least annually, the brake rotors that have had to be machined and/or replaced several times in less than 150,000 k's, the rust breaking out in the most unlikely places, the shocking lack of fuel economy which is really no better than the Valiant 265 Hemi Six that it replaced without the Hemi's performance.

Every year some young hopeful salesman from the dealership used to 'phone and tell me "Happy birthday to your Ford. Are you thinking about a new one?" I usually said to them "You have not spoken to me before, have you. If you had you would not have called again and certainly not asked such a stupid question. "

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