Potential Buyer
Discussion
Hi all. I'm thinking of buying a Monaro but I'm fighting a battle between heart and mind, not to mention an unreasonably sensible missus! Not sure if this might sound familiar to some out there? I've driven one and liked it very much. But my head keeps telling me I'm being an idiot for buying an old gas guzzler for which there is a dwindling supply of body panels - or am I wrong about that? Other parts seem readily available. I don't want a VXR, just a CV8. Also, insurance. I've searched the forum and seen the recommendations, but how much, roughly, should a 55 y.o with full NCB in a typical suburb be paying for a slightly modded car (exhaust, brakes, wheels)? I was hoping for £300 max but quotes coming in at £480+. It's a bit of a killer for me on top of my other worries, especially since I'll only be doing 3 or 4k 6 months of the year. Any advice from people who were once at this stage in the thought process?
Hi.
Mechanically, these cars are still very fixable. Parts easily available.
In terms of the body, yes, trim and panels ARE scarce, although there always seems to be a steady supply of used parts on that famous auction site and also the FB groups.
I personally wouldn't be worrying about that aspect of buying one, if you want one, get one.
There are far dafter ways of blowing your cash, the Monaro, is actually quite depreciation free. In fact, keep one nice or even improve upon one and its value is likely to rise.
In terms of insurance, I think a lot depends on your postcode. I'm with Admiral, all mods declared, it costs roughly £200 for me on a joint policy with my Astra. I'm 43 FNCB for reference.
Mechanically, these cars are still very fixable. Parts easily available.
In terms of the body, yes, trim and panels ARE scarce, although there always seems to be a steady supply of used parts on that famous auction site and also the FB groups.
I personally wouldn't be worrying about that aspect of buying one, if you want one, get one.
There are far dafter ways of blowing your cash, the Monaro, is actually quite depreciation free. In fact, keep one nice or even improve upon one and its value is likely to rise.
In terms of insurance, I think a lot depends on your postcode. I'm with Admiral, all mods declared, it costs roughly £200 for me on a joint policy with my Astra. I'm 43 FNCB for reference.
Great fun car , i have an 04 cv8 , 12 k spent on mods including running 100 bhp more than standard , a plan thatcham insurance comes in a bit under 400 quid , limited to 5000 miles a year , if driven sensibly they are not what I call economic , but I managed 36 mpg on a very long motorway drive , as above mechanical parts are normally easy to find and not much price wise , servicing is straight forward and easily done at home , some use as a daily with no issues , they can run to very high mileages and are reliable in my experience , had mine for 11 years now
Yes, I'll agree with VXR2010. These cars are very reliable. Primarily because they are simple beasts. There is nothing needy about the mechanics.
I also find mine very reasonable to run, considering the engine size they are quite economical.
Mate runs a petrol V8 Range Rover - gets 10mpg. I only get less than 20 on daft little runs. Take it on a long run at it climbs to 30ish.
I also find mine very reasonable to run, considering the engine size they are quite economical.
Mate runs a petrol V8 Range Rover - gets 10mpg. I only get less than 20 on daft little runs. Take it on a long run at it climbs to 30ish.
Yep a CV8 will be very economical for the engine size and compared to other 'fast' stuff like Focus STs, Megane RS etc., know a fair few owners of that sort of car and they only see mid 20s, which you'd comfortably get from a CV8 unless you live in a city!
As above, Monaros haven't depreciated at all in the time I've owned mine (13 years), so you'll likely be able to at least get your money back if you need to sell.
If you get a pre 2006 CV8 then you'll avoid the highest VED bracket as well, so you'd be looking at about... £180 maybe for 6 months tax?
The CV8 is a Holden, so body panels are comparatively cheap and plentiful, especially in Aus, but to be honest that's quite a niche worry unless you have a habit of bumping in to stuff?
They're cheap to maintain drivetrain wise, they're very easy to work on and reliable anyway, so if you're after a 'silly' car, they're probably at the cheaper end maintenance wise. For example you could buy a 986 Boxster for £5,000, but I'd be willing to bet within a few years you'd have spent more on the Boxster
They're also huge inside and very comfortable so make a lovely car to do long distance trips in.
In essence.. do it
I'd be surprised if insurance is more than a few hundred quid, especially on a multicar policy or similar.
As above, Monaros haven't depreciated at all in the time I've owned mine (13 years), so you'll likely be able to at least get your money back if you need to sell.
If you get a pre 2006 CV8 then you'll avoid the highest VED bracket as well, so you'd be looking at about... £180 maybe for 6 months tax?
The CV8 is a Holden, so body panels are comparatively cheap and plentiful, especially in Aus, but to be honest that's quite a niche worry unless you have a habit of bumping in to stuff?
They're cheap to maintain drivetrain wise, they're very easy to work on and reliable anyway, so if you're after a 'silly' car, they're probably at the cheaper end maintenance wise. For example you could buy a 986 Boxster for £5,000, but I'd be willing to bet within a few years you'd have spent more on the Boxster
They're also huge inside and very comfortable so make a lovely car to do long distance trips in.
In essence.. do it
I'd be surprised if insurance is more than a few hundred quid, especially on a multicar policy or similar.
Thanks for your input guys. The Monaro does seem to fit in with what I want in a car, i.e a V8 muscle car that's not too scary to own, looks good and stands out from the usual crowd. Adrian Flux were useless though so I still have to get past the insurance hurdle before I can take it any further.
Don't over think the insurance there no real need for specialist insurance like flux unless you want specialist cover . I've been with Admiral on a multicar cover for nearly 17 years and never found cheaper currently paid £165 for 6.0 VXR. You can declare mods with admiral but they aren't covered cover only covers cost of standard parts.
54 full no claims
Putting the wife as a named driver also made it cheaper
54 full no claims
Putting the wife as a named driver also made it cheaper
Edited by L2VXR on Tuesday 2nd May 22:22
I got it down to £380 from Sheila's Wheels after a load of hard work. There was a complication with an employee who'd had 2 accidents in a van on my policy. I know for a fact I don't have to declare these because insurance always follows the driver. But when I did declare them, the quotes came tumbling down 
Can't wait till next year when these accidents are over 5 years old.
after a load of hard work. There was a complication with an employee who'd had 2 accidents in a van on my policy. I know for a fact I don't have to declare these because insurance always follows the driver. But when I did declare them, the quotes came tumbling down Can't wait till next year when these accidents are over 5 years old.pro crastinator said:
I got it down to £380 from Sheila's Wheels after a load of hard work. There was a complication with an employee who'd had 2 accidents in a van on my policy. I know for a fact I don't have to declare these because insurance always follows the driver. But when I did declare them, the quotes came tumbling down Can't wait till next year when these accidents are over 5 years old.
sadly if you are the policyholder it does stick with you-counts as a claim after a load of hard work. There was a complication with an employee who'd had 2 accidents in a van on my policy. I know for a fact I don't have to declare these because insurance always follows the driver. But when I did declare them, the quotes came tumbling down Can't wait till next year when these accidents are over 5 years old.same as all these company van drivers,taxi drivers who have a bump in the works vehicle,they should declare it but seldom do...
My advice is just do it and you wont look back that what i did just jumped in and had my CV8 for 10 years, Parts are easily available from various places and not much goes wrong wit them i only had 1 piece of trim let me down when the cover for the mirror on the inside of the door decided to eject its self out the window.
If you don't play around with it to much you should see around 30MPG+ if you have a heavy right foot you wont get close to that.
My car had a big cam and associated part to go with it and would return around around 25MPG on the motor way and around 10mpg in the town.
But non of that mattered as it was always so much fun driving puts a massive smile on your face
This form is a wealth of knowledge and someone always has an answer or will know someone who has the answer or has advice that you need to source parts and my car is in bits at a Vauxhall breakers so i would suspect he has loads of panels and interior parts.
If you don't play around with it to much you should see around 30MPG+ if you have a heavy right foot you wont get close to that.
My car had a big cam and associated part to go with it and would return around around 25MPG on the motor way and around 10mpg in the town.
But non of that mattered as it was always so much fun driving puts a massive smile on your face
This form is a wealth of knowledge and someone always has an answer or will know someone who has the answer or has advice that you need to source parts and my car is in bits at a Vauxhall breakers so i would suspect he has loads of panels and interior parts.
Edited by Monaro5.7 on Friday 19th May 10:19
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