Thread: Car Dealers

Originally Posted by CraigE

Frank,
You and my brother should get together and have a big sob fest. He misses his Ambrose Special too. Was a nice car though.

Have to say side by side there is not much in them. I really miss the old days when there was a marked difference between Holden and Ford.
Cheers
Craig

Before I bought the BA GT I contemplated a 300KW HSV at around $90K, very nice inside and went like ganbusters, but the ride and handling at speed didn't impress me or inspire confidence, in a word it was harsh. Now I didn't get to test drive a GT before I bought, but I was given an BA XR8 260 Kw for a day, it was nowhere as quick as the HSV, but the handling and braking and general feel of the car was great. The difference between the HSV and the BA GT became apparent when I did the John Bowe driver training course (that comes with the purchase of FPV GT) at Oran Park. In the GT I reached the limit of my driving expertise well before the GT reached its limit, it was the opposite feeling to the HSV, I'm not saying I am a racing driver but I felt confident in the GT and the HSV scared the crap out of me, I loved the power of the HSV but not the general feel of the car, everybody's different with different driving styles and the GT and the XR8 suited me, and the GT was $30K cheaper. What I do wish though is that I should have kept my 1971 XY GT which I owned new in 1971, now that is something to cry about, Regards Frank.

Yeah, but thats the good bit when the clacker valve is pulsing.
71 GT nice, but you reckon a HSV dont handle?? Driven a few early GT or been in em when opened up and you do feel like you are going to die.

Originally Posted by Tank

Before I bought the BA GT I contemplated a 300KW HSV at around $90K, very nice inside and went like ganbusters, but the ride and handling at speed didn't impress me or inspire confidence, in a word it was harsh. Now I didn't get to test drive a GT before I bought, but I was given an BA XR8 260 Kw for a day, it was nowhere as quick as the HSV, but the handling and braking and general feel of the car was great. The difference between the HSV and the BA GT became apparent when I did the John Bowe driver training course (that comes with the purchase of FPV GT) at Oran Park. In the GT I reached the limit of my driving expertise well before the GT reached its limit, it was the opposite feeling to the HSV, I'm not saying I am a racing driver but I felt confident in the GT and the HSV scared the crap out of me, I loved the power of the HSV but not the general feel of the car, everybody's different with different driving styles and the GT and the XR8 suited me, and the GT was $30K cheaper. What I do wish though is that I should have kept my 1971 XY GT which I owned new in 1971, now that is something to cry about, Regards Frank.

Originally Posted by CraigE

Yeah, but thats the good bit when the clacker valve is pulsing.
71 GT nice, but you reckon a HSV dont handle?? Driven a few early GT or been in em when opened up and you do feel like you are going to die.

No, they handle OK but for $90K I expected better and I got it in the GT, Regards Frank.

Originally Posted by Tank

No, they handle OK but for $90K I expected better and I got it in the GT, Regards Frank.

Yeah,
I have got to be honest, I would not buy a HSV at that price. They are overpriced to buggery, but they sell.
I would much rather buy a base vehicle say an SSV and spent the extra $40k customising it.
I do assume with the HSV at $90k you are talking a senator or something similar. Pubsports dont do it for me, every dipstick has one and are not unique enough for $65-75k.
When my brother bought the Ambrose it was $47K I think and was comparable to the 260kw GT Boss that another guy had down the road but a lot cheaper. The 300kw option increased the price a bit again. Even had the DevilR8 number plates for it. Was a unique vehicle even in todays mass market.

THanks All, feeling a bit better about the car now, spoken to a few people. Hopefully the dealer will chase me tomorrow, he won't know what he's in for. The wife likes the phantom colour, but wants a drive, after all thats why we're getting rid of the disco.

Hopefully in a few years, I can afford a Disco 3TDV6, we'll be sorry to see the disco go but it costs money to have it sitting in the drive 2 weeks at a time when she won't drive it.

Stu

Originally Posted by 81stubee

THanks All, feeling a bit better about the car now, spoken to a few people. Hopefully the dealer will chase me tomorrow, he won't know what he's in for. The wife likes the phantom colour, but wants a drive, after all thats why we're getting rid of the disco.

Hopefully in a few years, I can afford a Disco 3TDV6, we'll be sorry to see the disco go but it costs money to have it sitting in the drive 2 weeks at a time when she won't drive it.

Stu

Hi Stu,
I'll throw a spanner in the works here and state that I don't feel happy with the quality of the Ford product AT ALL. I recently drove a new (1220km old) XR6, and was appalled at the handling, ride and harshness of it. Our 1991 LS400 is fifty times the car of that XR6, and it's done 235K. Very dissappointing indeed. Even my RRC with a lift and 33's was smoother on the freeway.

Good fuel econmy though, but I honestly have nothing else nice to say about it at all.
Can't comment on the HSV etc as I haven't driven one yet.
Sorry.

(You can have our Lexus for $8500 if you want? I'll even freight it to Melbourne for you...)
JC

Originally Posted by CraigE

Yeah,
I have got to be honest, I would not buy a HSV at that price. They are overpriced to buggery, but they sell.
I would much rather buy a base vehicle say an SSV and spent the extra $40k customising it.
I do assume with the HSV at $90k you are talking a senator or something similar. Pubsports dont do it for me, every dipstick has one and are not unique enough for $65-75k.
When my brother bought the Ambrose it was $47K I think and was comparable to the 260kw GT Boss that another guy had down the road but a lot cheaper. The 300kw option increased the price a bit again. Even had the DevilR8 number plates for it. Was a unique vehicle even in todays mass market.

I think the Ambrose special was based on the 260Kw XR8, the GT motor had different crank, rods, pistons, cams and heads and was 290 Kw, my BA GT cost $63K on road and what peed me off the 2005 BF GT came with Brembo brakes standard, leather standard and Dual exhaust standard and was the same price as my 2003 model, kid that didn't knock some value off my BA GT. I went to trade my GT on a new Jeep in Sydney and they only offered me $47K (2 years old), I was spewing, the salesman took me up the lot and showed me a HSV 300KW (Senator or whatever) same as the $90K one that I had a test day in, they traded it on a new V8 Hemi Jeep (whatever) for $25K. I didn't do the deal cause I thought I could do better, I couldn't, went back to the Jeep dealer 2 weeks later and they would only offer $37K, I WILL NEVER BUY A NEW CAR AGAIN, Regards Frank.

Originally Posted by justinc

Hi Stu,
I'll throw a spanner in the works here and state that I don't feel happy with the quality of the Ford product AT ALL. I recently drove a new (1220km old) XR6, and was appalled at the handling, ride and harshness of it. Our 1991 LS400 is fifty times the car of that XR6, and it's done 235K. Very dissappointing indeed. Even my RRC with a lift and 33's was smoother on the freeway.

Good fuel econmy though, but I honestly have nothing else nice to say about it at all.
Can't comment on the HSV etc as I haven't driven one yet.
Sorry.

(You can have our Lexus for $8500 if you want? I'll even freight it to Melbourne for you...)
JC

Good point. A friend of mine recently bought a 1998 SLK Kompressor (tin top convertible). It's an auto and I think a 2.3 litre supercharged motor.
He paid about $30k for it. An awesome car that really stands out. Unlike a V8 taxi. Was over $100k new.