cant find much info on this car at all, anyone have any input on it? especially the 3.8 liter engine...does it move? hows the dependability?

gmthailand's website has no info.

Do a search for Holden Commodore. It's a world car. The 3.8 was the standard engine.

It's a GM engine, as you can find in millions of GM Cars, like Chevrolet, Buick, Olds, or Holden etc. The engine has quite good power, more than japanese market cars, the 4 speed transmission is very well in the combination with the engine. I had a couple Holdens and Buicks with the same engine. I even had a Buick with a 3.8 liter Supercharged engine, but the power it's not much different. The 3.8 liter have no problems at all, the only thing what sometime go wrong is the fuel pump relais or the ignition coils. Not expensive to replace it. Generally it is a very strong engine, easy to maintenance, but of corse it uses a little bit more of gasoline than normal car. The lumina still is rear wheel drive, so this make things even more easy to maintenance. In Thailand peaple not really know about this car s therefore it will be hard if you want to sell it later. But if you like power and looking to keep this car for a long time, it will be the best choice to buy this car.

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/

thanks guys, im looking to buy and keep for a long time...im looking for something with a big engine so i can install CNG or LPG later and still retain a good amount of power down the road.

so its fairlydependable huh? I think after depreciation it would be a great choice for the used car market....looking to keep it for around 5 years.

Lumina is the best return on your money (unless it starts falling apart).

It beats comparable German/Japanese models by some 2 mil, thanks to Thai-Aussie FTA there is only 5% tax.

looking at a couple on te web and they do seem rather nice, especialy after they depreciate to a reasonable amount and I have heard only good thingsabout chevy's customer service in thailand.

But Lumina is completely imported, are they going to order spareparts from Australia just for you?

im sure they keep spare parts in stock...and yes, they would have to order just for me if there is something that isnt in stock.

Spare part is not a big problem today. I owned several US Cars in Thailand and all you have to do is ordering one line over the Internet, with a credit card and they delivery parts via DHL, or somone else or Post Office (for smaller parts) directly to your home. But anyway i think new parts are availiabile in Thailand. I had the Colden Calais 3.8 liter and got every parts from Bangkok, even body parts, like headlights, taillights, etc. And the big suprise was: They aren't expensive. For example: I payd for a set of spark plug cables (6 pieces original ones, becaue is a 6 cylinder) only for 1350 Baht, For a 98 Toyota Corona cost this 4500 Baht (original ones and they are only 4 pieces, because a 4 cylinder). So don't worry for parts. If i would spend arround 2 mill for a car, the Lumina would be my first choice.

Paying nearly 70K AU for what is basically a base model commodore (32$K AU) leaves me cold. You can have a Falcon GT-P or Holden GTS back home in OZ for that sort of money! Even with the 5% AFTA excise tax it's still extremely expensive for what it is.

ahhh, but the keywords are buying 'after' it depreciates and chevies drop like a rock in bangkok. i think parts will be ok. i know that other models are a pain to get spare parts for though.

i had a nissan bluebird sss that i couldnt find rear shocks for or body parts for... so i just got the shocks rebuilt instead....the body ship i took it to actually cut metal and welded it on to fix the front fender.

the biggest thing id probably worry about are the radiator and hoses...and brake pads once a year.

i figure after it depreciates to around 700k it should be ripe for picking...