One can't deny that Holdens are mostly "Bogan" cars, but considering that Commodore's have been the main cop car of choice for decades, you gotta love them.
Actually, the small wheels is something i've come to appreciate. Its so much more comfortable. I would never replace the 17" on my civic for 18 or larger. Especially since its not a japanese made accord. I'm going to have to de-rattle some of the interior panels soon. Its quite obnoxious. Cant imagine how bad it is with bigger wheels lol.
Haha yes! I purchased one some years back for $300. 2nd gear was missing in action and some fool had let rip with a shotgun into the back seat but with a bit of fiddling I got it to go ok. Ended up selling it for parts, so no regrets, made a few dollars on it. Cheers Greg.
I am not a car person BUT I came across this and watched it. Interesting and informative clip indeed. Im looking for a car as such and your channel gave me more insight into my search
@@bksniperguy The 3.0 Used the 6L45, slighly weaker than the others. Pretty sure it's mainly just ZF parts manufactured and built by a bunch of half asleep americans hahah
Citrus based cleaner works on film adhesive. I’ve just done this. White spirits is effective too. Great job on the cleanup and refinishing. Looks like a decent car. There’s a reason these were used by police in Aus and NZ for years. 👍🏻
@@KiwiCarLife yep, long term contract with bulk orders. Source: [REDACTED] Holden knew GM were going to shut them down sooner or later, so the strategy was to sell as much product as possible even if there was little to no profit margin.
After 4 commodores over the years then a Camry i got a hybrid and 60 mpg plus seems like a good change to me. The Holdens were ok on a long trip but around town they're very thirsty so I don't miss them.
Great video. I used to drive police cars daily, mostly XF Falcons and VK Commodores. Fleet cars are pretty much unloved by crews. I could be wrong, but I'm not aware of any Australian police using the Evoke VFs. Most were either the 3.6 or, especially for Highway Patrol the 6.0L V8. What was once the backbone of police, salespeople and taxis are now pretty much just bogan or enthusiast vehicles. They're quickly disappearing from Australian roads, as are Falcons.
@@WayneKerr69420 The last Holden was made in 20/10/17 or the 20th of October 2017....It was they're 7.7 millionth car;the name of this last Holden was the/a:2017 commodore ss-v redline sedan. :>) I also have studied heaps about Holdens and GM because I thought..'Since I've loved Holdens since I was little I MUST STUDY about GM and Holdens...I also l,I've in NZ soo...The NZ police have some skodas but still have some HOLDENS I said 'Phew' the NZ police still have some Holdens!!! :>) THANKS 4 READING THIS BRO! :>)😌💌🤟🏻🤟🏻
$3200 used to be crazy money for an ex-cop car in that condition. A few years ago that would wholesale for sub $1k. They aren't making any more with the engine pointing the right way though.
@@KiwiCarLife yeah, hence the "not making any more" qualification, the consequence of which is values of Australian-made cars are only going up from here on out.
@@2pintsofcremedementh I don’t think it’s that, I just think cars in general aren’t as cheap as they used to be. I don’t believe that a VF would have ever sold for sub 1k at auction. Maybe an old VE or VZ or something
In the early 2010s I worked for the company that leased the police cars and did a project reviewing the repair bills. The cops (not all but deffo the majority) take pride in being hard on the cars + the job is hard on cars anyway. Overloaded, iding then flooring it then turned off hot etc.
@@petercreagh8797 Yeah, how many times they put a siren on and go for it, no doubt just for some fake response. Then vacuous cops who should be working for Inland Revenue pull you over and give you a $400 ticket for your 10 year driver licence being overdue, or for going 120km on the new Warkworth motorway, which is safe normal speed for those conditions. Stopping or warning cars for driving 100kph on a pot holed SH 1 in rain..when there's genuine safety risk....nah, never. They don't get rain pay .
Absolutely, one thing these and Falcons are known for is their longevity… of course with looking after but compared with the German equivalents super reliable.
I didn't have to rebuild the torque converter on any of my BMW's... And certainly not at 150,000km! The VE's can have timing chain issues too. VF's are pretty solid though. Overall great cars
@KiwiCarLife true mate, beemers are not as bad as a lot of people imagine! I think I was quite lucky with the commodore it was still on original timing chains at 325000kms lol
That is a good effort, especially when so much is only one lane either way. I'm used to driving Sydney to Brisbane or Melbourne which is basically 4 lane freeway all the way. Maybe that's what you need-freeway from Auckland to Wellington.
Had a mate turn up in a commy back in the early 2000s .. you could see were the police decals were as the under decal paint was newer 😂😂😂😂😂.. he got it at turners auction 😂……..instantly told to piss off out the drive way 😂
For an alternative to thinners im wondering if you tried the product called Desolvit. Its citrus based and I've used it where I've needed to remove remaining sticky gunk stickers leave behind and doesn't seem to affect plastic or paint surfaces.
@@al6346 yeah I initially tried some citrus cleaner and it was a bit useless. Worked but was super slow. Needed something stronger. I’m sure it would work fine on stickers on windows and small stuff but this was like the whole car haha
@@KiwiCarLife I know it's illegal to have the lights but I wonder if it's illegal to have a siren. Heaps of people have the dukes of hazzard horn or those loudspeaker music cars, so even if it is what's the technical definition of a "siren" anyway?
very interesting, but as I imagined, cars like this would've been thrashed on the beat, I'd imagine them wheels would've met curbs at speed, hence why the tyre profile is fat like you pointed out, but after a bit of TLC, it came out great!
Yeah thing is they get driven hard but they also get really well serviced so so long as you fix the issues when buying it decommissioned, they’re probably no less reliable than a normal one
I went in a old mitsubishi v3000 ex police car that thing could really go esp when you consider was a 1988 model this would of been early 2000s and imagine my surprise with 2 of us in the car after a few attempts we got 0 to 100 in 7.7 seconds and 180 in 4th gear pulled really well
@KiwiCarLife hi mate yeah I agree , and the gearing helped a lot as well like they had 14 inch tyres and good gearing yeah ,and after that at the time lol.he had pit stop put extractors on and a 2.5 inch exhaust right through for most part lol from memory yeah and after that was bit quicker still but especially from 100 to 200 lol and got there powerfully especially for non turbo, a engine builder told my mate at the time lol those v3000 motors he had they cd be highly modified if you had the $$$ they were a really good motor he told him ,even though had no vtec or anything he was told they cd rebuild those v3000 motors and make another 40 hp which us huge for na they were about 150hp stock but app being a ex police one might of been about 165 hp my mate was told ,
If you ever buy another car that has glue residue, degreaser/prepsol breaks the glue down. just make sure to wipe the vehicle with diluted isopropyl to make sure the degreaser doesn’t eat away at the paint. The vinyl glue you were dealing with is from reflective and it’s an extremely thick material so the adhesive is always a bit harder to remove
Turps is the best of all I’ve found, it dosen’t evaporate as quick as any other solvent yet soaks into the adhesive better than citrus to soften it up, leave for a few minutes to soak in and scrape using a sharp plastic scraper blade, diluted isopropyl alcohol to clean, paint degreaser is probably a close second but it’s all about the soak time
@@mikegalaxie2352 i’m sure turps is pretty good, however we just use degreaser as it’s less harsh and won’t strip the paint as fast as turps would, i’m sure a customer wouldn’t be too happy if we removed their paint aswell 🤣
Think the real sad thing is the older cop cars used to have police tunes on the ECU and some even performance mods beyond suspension or prior they had engine mods to make them go better. Its one of those things there are lots of good bargains out there if you have access to the right equipment or people to fix them but most don't. Keep having fun your only young once
Yeah they still do some things to them, but in all fairness by the 2010's they don't really need performance mods. Maybe back in the 90's when holden's 3.8 barely made like 140kW hahah
@@KiwiCarLife Of course kidding but after a hard life with the armed police force, I’d like to see what state the BMW would be like 😅 ready for the parts bin at that point. Though a more taken care of VF would be a solid a find in particular a V8 model.
@@KiwiCarLife 4 Beemers, various cooling system break downs and vanos going in a couple. The most reliable ended up being the 318ti with the 1.9L, gutless but fairly low maintenance. Comparing with the Toyotas, Holdens (commodores) and Hondas didn’t have any of those issues. Although in the CL9 the A/C compressor did go so can’t exactly leave the Honda as a perfect member either 😅 Toyota Landcruiser has been by far the most dependable ie owned and still own. Though it does like a drink thing just keeps going. The Holdens I’ve had mainly were the older 3.8 V6s and those things just keep going such low stress and low maintenance. The 3.6L V6s need a bit more work but if you look after them they’ll keep going. 😉
@@KiwiCarLife I’d still pick a Beemer over any VAG products. As for the police force, they stopped using BMWs in the UK due to numerous faults. Those were Diesels but still not good for the reputation.
Finally as Australian I found a channel I can kinda relate too... were neighbours so were buddies, you stole our Holdens but that's OK our dollar isn't really different....this flip is what I like to see because it's my level from budget to skill 😉
Yeah haha coz they just get all the leftover stuff that doesn't sell at dealers. A lot of the last of the VF's were SV6's because Holden obviously had a lot going spare as they introduced the ZB's, so the police got fully loaded ones with the spoilers, upgraded wheels etc. to use up stock. Quite cool
Owned an ex police au falcon (parents bought of trade me) with my influence and used it for a few years before I bought it off them, miss it and use to live by that turners too lol
I once said to a cop who pulled me over in her Ford Falcon, "Can't they aFFord to give you a Holden? She pulled me over because I had a bolted on ponga log for a bumper and flashing tape to cover roof rust holes from a removed roof rack, but it had a warrant so she was left scratching her head.
You guys are crazy. I live just around the corner from that turners yard! I once went to the dark side and bought a ex police VE commodore ended up debadging it / cleaning it up and drove it around for a bit when fuel was $2.0 /l really nice comfy car for bigger guys / long legs. I kinda get it interior was a bit below what I expect from our nippon counterparts. One thing that bugged me was all the left over wiring all over the place and the hole / bung in the roof that was left over and the missing middle trim (I see the VF is the same). One thing that bugged me is NZ police moved onto Opel ZB that it was quite clear that was a waste of time those models did not last long at all, must have cost ages tooling those cars for the 2-3 years they used them. in AU / Queensland I see they use BMW 5 sedans, I thought they might be better suited as you get them in sedan wagons and all the RD must have been done by AU, however the servicing network here might be to limited. Keep up the great videos!
crazy to see someone else where I live, making similar content to me lol right behind your house in that field is also where I did a review of a WRX long ago[2014] and a short film called Drug Deal Gone Wrong both clips are on my channel, I'm just up the road and also use to live one one road beside you lol
Just like our railroad,buy it for heaps,sell for f--k all lol I remember when they brought all these cars ,we used to take them off the ships and put them in storage to get there stickers done , good times, anyways all the best boys ❤❤
Nah Holden were selling these to the nz police for just 23k new apparently! Most sell for around 5-6k so given the use they get that’s about the cheapest running you’ll ever have. Latest Skoda now cost like 100k fully kitted out
@@KiwiCarLife I have a Holden Cruze SRi-V six spd manual, am hacked off with the reduction in speed limit between Masterton and Featherston. Only yesterday I followed someone doing 70 between Tauwharenikau and Featherston, talk about incompetence and it is people who are so distracted who plow into wire cheese graters
Imagine the history ! The chases the takedowns the armed defenders in the back, the dents after pushing the Badie’s off the road, not to mention the throw up in the back 😱 😂 🗽❤️😎
@@KiwiCarLife i get that, i was just curious with about how it is here in nz and i like this guy if ur doin flips: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mNlurNIddqA.htmlsi=Eshy1jJV0ockwFGM
Try and find a old MOT Mitzi man they had some speed Ministry of Transport for the young ones who were not around in the day.... im 44 and own a R34 coupe for 18 years
Baaaaaaahahaha yeah bro I went in one 1988 mitsi v3000 ex police was chipped etc this was early 2000s ish ,there were 2 of us in the car we got a 7.7 sec 0 to 100 out of it and that was getting into 3d gear was bloody fast this car at the time , 180 in 4th gear lol, and it could keep up with a v8 holden vn Calais from 80 to 160 kph this car cd really go
@@KiwiCarLife Good result. The VFs are still quite modern, and though it's not up to date the tech is still flashy and at least bluetooth works, so good enough for the South Auckland set to black out and slam on ridiculous rims. But when you can get a VE SV6 in a nice colour and nice nick for that kind of money, they're a better proposition for the enthusiast, especially considering you only have to look at values of older Aussie cars to see where a lovingly cared for example of the more desirable VEs & VFs, as well as all the Barra era Fords, will be in the long term. But well done on the quick flip on the VF. It's a ballsy move, coming from an ex-Holden salesman who's seen what kind of bills they can unleash in the workshop!
They don’t even really remove stuff properly, still had all the wiring and cube lights in the grille. They usually just cut out the modules and call it a day. Very rough decommissioning
@@KiwiCarLife not a bad flip, buy for 3k, spend a week on it and sell for 7k, but the motors obviously supercharged and pistons and displacement forged, i myself would change the rims and sell it for at least 15k, i mean it is cop fast, not factory
i used to work at turners and we did a better job at the sticker removal at my branch 🤣 needs lots of heat to pull the glue off with the sticker. and yeah its much more like a colored reflective tape. to remove any glue left behind on the panels we'd reheat the remaining glue, then use a part of the sticker we had removed that had glue on it to dab at the panel and pull it off. this one being a DVA they wouldnt have had to do as nice of a job at it as ones going to standard thursday auctions as DVAs typically get sold for parts
Yeah I've driven a couple falcons, BF and FG. The Commodore definitely handles better, nicer interior and MUCH higher rent engine. The 3.0L in this makes almost as much as the 4.0L Barra and revs a lot higher too, feels less lazy. I wouldn't consider a falcon for that reason. Ford makes great hot hatches but the Falcon just feels heavy, understrung and lazy.
@@KiwiCarLife yes, several factors. 2.5 - 2.7 tons bring one issue. Another was the low rev torque the 2.7L diesel put out. Apparently some harmonics would occur when the harmonic balancer started to fail - I’d have to recheck that to be sure. Oh and lastly, the idiots in Land Rover marketing specified that the gearbox was sealed for life.
