Chevy Lumina CSV CR8 - consensus?

[Rocketman105]

http://riyadh.dubizzle.com/classified/autos4x4s/ch...gte=&added__gte=&seller_type=&is_basic_search_widget=0&is_search=1&kilometers__gte=&price__gte=&places__id__in=Enter+Location%28s%29+Here&places__id__in=&year__lte=2011&kilometers__lte=&keywords=&no._of_cylinders=369&pricelte=


Bit of a stab in the dark here - I'm looking for a car out in KSA and have a fairly short list of V8 saloons and coupes. This caught my eye on Dubizzle and I wondered what they were like as a daily driver proposition?

AEDs and SARs are the same exchange rate to GBP - as a reference point, is that a good price or should I be looking at nearer 80-90k?

Cheers!

[yorky500]

Rocketman105 said:

http://riyadh.dubizzle.com/classified/autos4x4s/ch...gte=&added__gte=&seller_type=&is_basic_search_widget=0&is_search=1&kilometers__gte=&price__gte=&places__id__in=Enter+Location%28s%29+Here&places__id__in=&year__lte=2011&kilometers__lte=&keywords=&no._of_cylinders=369&pricelte=


Bit of a stab in the dark here - I'm looking for a car out in KSA and have a fairly short list of V8 saloons and coupes. This caught my eye on Dubizzle and I wondered what they were like as a daily driver proposition?

AEDs and SARs are the same exchange rate to GBP - as a reference point, is that a good price or should I be looking at nearer 80-90k?

Cheers!

I have the exact same car as the one advertised - 2008 model LS2 engine and m/t.

Great DD, comfortable and plenty of room, oodles of power, solid on the road and has a "presence" to make people move over when they see you coming up behind, HOWEVER:

PLEASE, PLEASE check the local dealer for costs of: Brake pads and Discs (Al Ghandi in DXB charges AED19k for discs & AED7k for brake pads), gear box (I lost 5th & 6th gear) - syncro went), I have had numerous issues with my a/c, clutch replacement (something that locals do not know about when they drive - hence they will need to be replaced and can be expensive), clutch actuator went as well.

Whilst my car is coming up to 4 years old, she does the DXB to AUH trip daily and at not warp speed whilst thrashing the bks out of the clutch, she has had her issues (see above) which is common with the 2008 LS2 models.

My normal 10,000km service is AED1,100, major service is around AED2,000

What you have to remember is that these cars are a Trademark (HSV in Australia), hence the high costs. Its actually cheaper to run a Z06!

[Rocketman105]

yorky500 said:

I have the exact same car as the one advertised - 2008 model LS2 engine and m/t.

Great DD, comfortable and plenty of room, oodles of power, solid on the road and has a "presence" to make people move over when they see you coming up behind, HOWEVER:

PLEASE, PLEASE check the local dealer for costs of: Brake pads and Discs (Al Ghandi in DXB charges AED19k for discs & AED7k for brake pads), gear box (I lost 5th & 6th gear) - syncro went), I have had numerous issues with my a/c, clutch replacement (something that locals do not know about when they drive - hence they will need to be replaced and can be expensive), clutch actuator went as well.

Whilst my car is coming up to 4 years old, she does the DXB to AUH trip daily and at not warp speed whilst thrashing the bks out of the clutch, she has had her issues (see above) which is common with the 2008 LS2 models.

My normal 10,000km service is AED1,100, major service is around AED2,000

What you have to remember is that these cars are a Trademark (HSV in Australia), hence the high costs. Its actually cheaper to run a Z06!

I see.

Thanks for the heads up, that's certainly something to consider! My other idea was a brand spanking new Mustang GT and although costing a chunk more to buy (as well as taking 4+ months to be delivered) would at least be under warranty for a while!

[victor01]

I bought a 2007 manaul in Abu Dhabi at Christmas and paid 98k (40,000km)

With regards to parts etc, yes they are very expensive. There are ways round it though. I was quoted just under 4,000 dirhams for front pads from dealer in AD. I bought the pads from a VXR8 specialist in UK (Monkfish) for approx 1,000 dirhams delivered here. Arrived in a few days.

Great car by the way and one which I would recommend, especially with aftermarket exhaust. I have only had to replace alternator on mine.

[yorky500]

victor01 said:

I bought a 2007 manaul in Abu Dhabi at Christmas and paid 98k (40,000km)

With regards to parts etc, yes they are very expensive. There are ways round it though. I was quoted just under 4,000 dirhams for front pads from dealer in AD. I bought the pads from a VXR8 specialist in UK (Monkfish) for approx 1,000 dirhams delivered here. Arrived in a few days.

Great car by the way and one which I would recommend, especially with aftermarket exhaust. I have only had to replace alternator on mine.

Thats what I did as well - bought aftermarket. No way I was paying the Stealership prices.

[oilydan]

have another mate with one, put on an aftermarket soot pipe and had a tune.

Sounds like the gates of hell opening every time he touches the throttle!!

[dxbtiger]

Ahhh get the 5.0 pony and have 3 years worry free motoring.

To be fair I was a whisker away from buying a 3 door lumina ss when I got mine, had given up on finding a stang worth buying then got the nod from someone who went to ras al khor.

[Rocketman105]

Thanks for the info, so in summary I'm reading that any 2006-present Commodore based car could be a massive headache if anything goes wrong or needs replacement. I'll bear that in mind!

Might take a look at the local used network on Thursday and see what there is around.

[James72911]

You could always try the SS - a mere 6litre engine - 65bhp down on the CR8, but running costs would appear to be much lower.

Even from the dealer brakes are in the hundreds of dirham rather than 1,000s.

I've done 40,000km over the past year, and so far (probably going to curse it now!) it has been completely reliable.

[Roland E Odorant]

On the face of it that looks like a great car and, unusually for Saudi I suspect, has a service record. A lot of locals who i know would think hard about buying secondhand cars mainly because the notion of 'maintenance' hasn't greatly caught on here. Have you seen the way that a lot of these cars are driven?, the spontaneous 'drifting' displays?. I would also have it checked very closely for accident repair, you must by now have noticed the huge number of RTA's on a daily basis. If not can I refer you to the huge repair shop districts and the car dumps in the valley below the suspension bridge just to the south of Makkah Rd on the way out of the city. I see that you have only been here for a month, have you now decided that Saudi is the place for you and you will be here long term?

I don't want to piss on your chips but I would think hard about buying a car until you are sure that you are going to stick it out here. Not only will you have to go through the ball ache of buying it and owning it but also the reverse procedure if you decide that Saudi isn't for you after a couple more months here (Ramadan is coming...) I note that the car you are looking at has been around since May so I guess not exactly in high demand.

Obviously I know nothing about your personal circumstance and you may be deliriously happy here and have a great support network and social life. But I also know some who came here with great intentions for long term, loved the first couple of months but then reality bit down hard and they packed up and left.

I'm sorry if I sound a bit negative, but if any of the above helps you and avoids you making an expensive mistake then it is worth it.

If you need a car of your own, have you considered lease/rent?, I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of it but the thought that there is no big financial outlay up front to be recouped should I need to leave in a hurry would be attractive to me.

If you are sold on the idea of car ownership, have you checked out the souk on Khurais Road?

[Rocketman105]

Thanks for the advice, all noted! No pissing on chips either, I can imagine a lot a people rush into places like this with one thing on their minds, forgetting that it's not exactly Surrey!

I know it's still early into my time here but the company, compound and social scene are all working out well, so I'm pretty sure already that this is more than just a short term venture. I can see how some people could loath the place if their accommodation was low rent and benefits social activities limited however...

As for the car, I'm not really interested in this particular one (although it looks ace), it was just the only CR8 in Riyadh on Dubizzle to use as an example in the thread! I am leaning towards new if I'm honest, and mainly for the reason you mention - local owned cars are best avoided and finding the 'right' car from the expat community I'm sure is pot luck at best and impossible at worst! Of course it's not even a given that an expat has looked after the car either!

I've been reading the "what car musings" thread with interest as I'm glad I'm not the only one who changes his mind every week about potential cars!!

I've not looked into the lease / hire option but I'll see what's about. I'm in no rush really as the company is obliged to get me to work and back so I've got free motoring until I decide to take the plunge on something V8 flavoured.

As for the Lumina SS, not a bad plan - already marked Al Jomaih GM on the map for Thursday

[oilydan]

James72911 said:

You could always try the SS - a mere 6litre engine - 65bhp down on the CR8, but running costs would appear to be much lower.

Even from the dealer brakes are in the hundreds of dirham rather than 1,000s.

I've done 40,000km over the past year, and so far (probably going to curse it now!) it has been completely reliable.

I have done this. I'm 40K kms into an SS and so far have only changed tyres and brakes.

[Richard Moss]

It's worth checking out the American parts suppliers for bits - I buy all the stuff for my Lumina Coupe S from a place on my local industrial area. If they don't have bits in stock they can usually get them overnight.

OK, as mine is an S it "only" has the 3.8L V6 but the new brake discs were AED 130each and are Raybestos brand (a well respected American brand). It only took about 30 minutes each side to fit them myself.