Holden Problems

It really depends on the overall condition and the amount of rust repair it would need. My feeling from what you have told me is to sell it as is.

If the paint is original it could be that the car didn’t get enough paint when it was painted in the factory. The best course of action is to consult a paint specialist who can assess it for you and advise you on what can be done to fix it. Contact Graeme Cuthbert on 0422 444 335.

In the past carmakers have generally held parts for cars up to 10 years old, but that could be changing with the impact of things like the global financial crisis and the high cost of maintaining the inventory. The short answer is that you shouldn’t have to wait for such a part, and you certainly shouldn’t have to wait for what looks like being 16 weeks. That’s simply unacceptable. Go back to Holden Customer Support and demand their action, you could also seek out an air-conditioning specialist who might be able to fix your car faster and more cheaply.

We haven’t had any specific reports of this happening before, but the explanation given by the panel beater is the most logical. The best thing you can do is to press your claim with the dealer, and if that isn’t successful, try Holden directly.

The LPG system manufacturers are working on kits for the Captiva and they should be available within weeks. From what I am told they are developing both vapour and liquid injection systems, and either would be fine. Of the two liquid injection would be the better, but I would expect it to be more expensive. Generally you would pay off the cost of a vapour-injection system in about 12 months, which makes it a good proposition given you plan to keep the car for five years.
 

I believe there is a problem with premature and uneven tyre wear on the Captiva, we’ve certainly had a number of reports similar to yours. The fact that the dealer wants to fit bolts to the rear suggests that’s to fix an inherent problem, and yes I would approach the dealer to have the work covered by the warranty. Tyres, of course, are not normally covered by the warranty, but what you are talking about is unreasonably premature wear.

Holden cancelled its LPG development program on the Alloytec engine in the Rodeo when it couldn’t make the valves and valve seats of the standard engine live long enough on gas. While Holden uses the Alloytec engine in its dual-fuel Commodore it’s fitted with hardened valve seats and valves in that car, but for reasons only known to Holden it couldn’t or wouldn’t fit the dual-fuel engine in the Rodeo. Talk to an LPG specialist about the conversion as some claim they can do it quite successfully, but approach it with caution.

For starters the mechanics are conning you by offering you so little to buy the car, it’s worth much, much more than that. The Monaro GTS 350 is a very desirable model, and yours is a very appealing colour/trim combination with low mileage. Depending on the condition it could be worth as much as $100,000. It could be fitted with LPG and it would run well, but I would urge you most strongly not to do it, as it would affect the originality of the car and in my view reduce its value. Even though the tyres might be cracked, and perhaps unroadworthy, they could actually add to the value of the car if they were the original tyres as fitted at the factory in 1969, so don’t discard them. Finally, you can sell the car without a RWC, but state on the transfer papers that the car is sold ‘as is’ without the roadworthy and the buyer is then responsible for getting the RWC.

Let's put it this way, it's not unusual, it's a sign it needs a service. Go through the ignition system and make sure all is well, perhaps replace the spark plug leads to make sure there aren't any random sparks that could ignite the air/LPG mixture in the intake manifold.

If you take-off at the stall speed of the torque converter the auto will have the quicker get-away because of the torque multiplication of the converter. At speeds below the stall speed the manual will get away quicker because the torque converter is, in effect, slipping during the initial phase.