Life Expectancy of an AU

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Dark Horse

I had a ride in an AUI Fairmont taxi with 850,000 k's in it. I placed a complaint with the taxi company. Feedback was it got taken off the road.

I was in a AU taxi that had about 865,000k and the car was rough but still went strong. Mind you the engine had a ticking sound coming from it. The funnies thing was I was talking to my mate about it (who was also in the car) and said that it was pretty bad. He said it's not too bad mines louder!
Mind you he drives a VT with about 150,000k's on the clock.

[TheSneakiness]

My ute is hovering around the 125,000km mark.

I've just had the radiator replaced, power steering rack replaced, thermostat housing replaced, water pump replaced, transmission leak plugged up, so yeah, that was a few things.

[Dark Horse]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

Why? was it bad? When was it?

I had a hunch more than a few things were wrong with it, and the driver for that matter but I won't go into that here. It was a couple of years ago now.

It failed the RTA inspection which was performed on it after the taxi company received the complaint. A lot of it was purely mechanical though. My observations:

Brakes - massive shuddering
Suspension - that definitely needed work
Tyres - bald
Body condition - couldn't close passenger side door properly, it had a massive dent in it, I'd definitely had to have questioned the integrity of the side intrusion bar
Seatbelts - torn and frayed
Lights and Headlight Aim - never seen an AU light the night up so bad
Engine/Driveline - When was the last oil change? Diff was well beyond it's use by date.

I suppose with all that they were better off just replacing the taxi altogether.

[Robe]

I really hope I am not putting the mozz on my wagon but we are around 230,000 and still original.

I do keep it serviced and talk to it nicely, particularly now we are not backfiring and stalling in scary situations at intersections (reduced the spark gap one poofteenth).

Cross fingers.

[autickfordfairmont]

Originally Posted by HLC

I'd hold off for a little while.

things are in a bit of turmoil there at the moment... maybe wait for the new year.

Whats happening with AWC??? My car is in need of a little touch up after an incedent with a pole and my repairer ordered a kit from there a few weeks back, was suppose to hear from them when it came in but hasn't as of yet.

Are they just really busy at the moment???

[HLC]

Originally Posted by autickfordfairmont

Whats happening with AWC??? My car is in need of a little touch up after an incedent with a pole and my repairer ordered a kit from there a few weeks back, was suppose to hear from them when it came in but hasn't as of yet.

Are they just really busy at the moment???

read falkeens post in the AWC section.

[Mr Hardware]

Makes sense Dark Horse, i probably would have done the same. Even though I am pretty lenient on cabs, there is no excuse for having a heap of s h it on the road.

[needaXYGT]

any car will last long if its looked after.

[V8falcons]

My AU SR wagon has 201ks on it still puring like a kitten,original auto,and engine,I service it(never touched the auto though) and fix what ever breaks on it and it still gives me 700 odd ks to a tank weekly (highway).when it goes bang,a XR8 220kw engine/trans and diff will replace the 6 cyl.Its only a work commuter and tow/shopping mule so i want to break records for how many ks it will last, the interior is still like new too.

[andrewts]

I ride in a lot of AU Taxis, and the upshot of it is, they all have close to a million clicks on them, but are still alrite. Hopefully my first car is gonna be an AU, because they are just so damn good. They look OK if you get a S2 as well, right?

[Mr Hardware]

yes, S2 is good.

[Gnfnrs]

Just clicked over 300,000kms in mine and no major issues.
Scary that this is 2013 now and the AU's above were on their way to a million then!

How are everybody's AU's going mileage wise?

[LeadFoot81]

Originally Posted by Gnfnrs

Just clicked over 300,000kms in mine and no major issues.
Scary that this is 2013 now and the AU's above were on their way to a million then!

How are everybody's AU's going mileage wise?

My AU2 has a touch over 200K on the clock. My AU3 Ute has 86K. Babies compared to some in this thread!

[FGII-XR6]

great threadmine on a 7 year old thread

[Bushbasher]

This is the oldest mined thread I've seen in a very long time.....


Oh, and 335,000km and everything major is still original and going strong.

[mik]

about 214,000 kliks s2 xr6, other than wear and tear items, general maintenance it has been good, still goes very well but might need some valve stem seals in the not too distant future, still very happy with it overall.

[peterljohnson55]

Whatever you do don't believe any tosh that the tranny doesn't need servicing because it is a 'sealed' unit - you know, no dipstick. I suggest you get it fully serviced ASAP if you haven't already, as part of your maintenance plan.

I reckon preventative maintenance is a good investment if you plan on keeping the car. It is all a bit of a gamble, really, as you could do your very best but some unexpected part gives you trouble that you didn't plan on having to replace, and so the cost goes up, eg, the ECU.

I was told a new car costs about $4000/year to keep on the road (ex fuel). So that is a good comparative base line to have in your mind when maintaining an older car. I cant afford a new car so I am stuck with a second hand vehicle, so I want to get the most out of it for as long as I can. But, for me and my missus, our 2001 AU2 Fairmont Ghia has all the power and comforts we need, anyway, so we don't need a new flashy car.

[Uncle_Ken]

My sons AU (A series 1, Ex Mattp and JC car) has just 213,000 on the clock. Nothing changed since we bought it except fuel, brake pads tyres and oil. All year buy year stuff on any car. It still ride great, nice pickup at the lights, all the power windows work. My son doesn't plan to sell it at all.

Uk

[james22]

140,000 on the clock and still like new inside and out :-)

[SSD-85]

330,000 on the V8 Fairlane & still going hard.

[L3eroy101]

with a decent tranny cooler theyll go on for a long time. im a holden man , but for reliablity i bought a AU s2 75th anniversary ford. n i must say in the time ive owned it
its grown on me alot. theyr alot more easy to handle as well i noticed when havn abit of
"fun" .

[dopeydazza]

My au2 is currently at 410,900 km, bought it at 350,500 km 3 years ago.

[SirHenry]

AU S1 Classic Edition, still going on strong at 260k.

[redxm]

165k. Hoodlining sagged. About to get 5th exhaust on it. Just changed power steer hose. Changed rocker cover gasket, thermostat gasket yesterday. Diff is broken. Ive had it since 40k. Oil & filter every 5k. Radiator trans cooler bypassed years ago. Auto serviced every 20k.
Oil leaking out timing chain tensioner, and possibly crank seal too.
Yep, its 11 years old, maintained well, low kms. Why is this all happening?
Not happy.

[SantoAU]

nearly 130 000km. needs a little tidying up here and there, but short of a truck running through it the big fella won't stop

[ben131185]

99 au1 190, 000. owned since 29, 000.
power steering pump, rack & high press hose just replaced.
some of the clear coat on the roof is starting to peel.
that's about all, still drives great.

[saber]

I personally don’t own an AU (got a BF myself )..but the folks own 2 AU's:

AU I Sedan. Ex hire car. Bought with 120000km on the clock.
Currently has around 180000km. No major issues/repairs in our time ownership. Servicing done every 15000km.

AUIII Egas ute. Bought brand new back in 2002. Fitted with 1 tonne suspension.
Currently has around 357000km. She’s had a hard life, hauling plenty of load, and continues to do so day in, day out.
Apart from general servicing (done every 15000km), the only major repair has been the installation of a second hand diff.
The auto tranny could do with a bit of a refresh as well

[Mr Hardware]

wow, epic threadmine!

Any of the original 2006 posters still got their same AU?

I do. Now on 728,000klms. Gets looked at by mechanics, and they all say the same thing 'yep, nothing to do, it all looks fine!'

[jauser]

About what mileage(Ks),would shockies get replaced?

[Vincenzo]

Boxing Day 2010 bought the current XR6 with 142,000km. 32 months later, it has 166,000km. Since I have owned it I've been through 4 power steering switches - 3 in three months (bad batch), battery, roof lining, fuel pump relay and just waiting on cruise control brake pressure switch - nothing major.

As I won't be selling this car ever, I will do what is needed to ensure it stays as a good example for others to look at ... and hopefully appreciate.

Major plans in the pipeline so stay tuned.


Cheers Vincenzo