WHY GOD! My baby is dead! She died so young!

[Janus]

Well I already hold several unofficial records in the Holden community regarding the VE Commodore. Longest wait time for a VE, worst service by a dealership as well as biggest number of incorrectly speced cars delivered by a dealership. Well I can now, by proxy, accept another title, although I am loath to accept this one.

Shortest time from delivery to destruction!

My Calais V was delivered February 10th, almost 6 months after ordering it because of the shocking dealership getting my order wrong again and again, and tonight I get a call from my father, who took the car away to the Barossa Valley for a government "executive retreat" to say that the car was no more.

He was driving down a dirt road in the country on the way back from dinner the lead car in a convoy of 4 when he accidentally drove through a give way sign as the view of the intersecting road and the actual give way sign was obscured by long grass etc at the side of the road. As he went through a car coming the other way clipped the back quarter of the car and the car kept going down the road just spinning. It spun about 540 degrees and came to a stop. He didn't even see the car that hit him it just started spinning. Am happy to report that the side curtain airbags work perfectly and he walked away without a scratch, just a little sore, especially the shoulders because of the seat belt. The police came and looked at the scene and decided that whilst it was technically my fathers fault the view and the sign were obstructed by the grass and trees which made it very difficult to know the road was there and that something was coming. Consequently they only issued him with a fine for running the give way sign ($270) and signed off on the matter.

I haven't gotten any photos but I will have to go down to the government fleet warehouse and collect all my stuff from the car when it arrives so I will try and snap some pictures of my mangled beauty then.

Will be interesting to see what happens and how quickly they are able to get me a replacement. They should have a temporary replacement by the end of tomorrow, probably a VZ Calais, but I hope it won't be another 4-6 month wait for another Calais V.

She died so young! Less then 3 weeks old and a little under 1500km on the clock.

I keep telling you, God just does not want me to have one of these cars!

Here is a couple of pictures of my car as it was upon delivery around 3 weeks ago.

[SuperStalin]

Damn, that thread title sent a cold chill down my spine.
Luckily it was just a car.

Anyway, what car is the Calais?
Does it share the platform with some European
or US model?

[Janus]

It is the top of the line version of the new VE Commodore range in Australia and is soon to be exported to the US tarted up as the 2008 Pontiac G8.






I also believe they are exporting the sports version, the SSV, to Europe.

[Magnet]

Shit man, some people have all the luck! That sucks, but I'm glad to hear your dad is OK, it is only a car after all.

(A Calais is the luxury model of the VE Holden Commodore, an Australian designed and built car)

[D-Fence]

that sucks.

resumee: never give your car to someone

[Alasondro Alegré]

oh no! just the other day I saw those pics in the New Toys thread...that really sucks...

[Austere]

Man, that's awful. Do you feel worse because it wasn't you who was driving? It would certainly make me feel very frustrated if I were in your position.

Don't take this the wrong way but maybe it was good that this happened while the car was so new because the replacement vehicle will be virtually identical. I know that if my car was written off I'd never be able to find another one just like it. My Dad owns a Benz that's the same age and model as mine but it's completely different to drive. It even smells completely different. Because your car was so new it probably didn't have a chance to develop its own little quirks and individualities - I'm sure you grew quite fond of it but the new one should be just the same as the old one. Think of it not as a replacement but a Resurrection!

[thedguy]

Originally Posted by Janus

It is the top of the line version of the new VE Commodore range in Australia and is soon to be exported to the US tarted up as the 2008 Pontiac G8.

I also believe they are exporting the sports version, the SSV, to Europe.

The SSV one will be loads better in every way than the current line of Pontiac's. If Pontiac goes any higher in the range it'll compete with Cadillac which is a "no-no". For similar reasons we'll (most likely) never see a GM product with more power than the then current highest power corvette. The Buick Grand National/T-type's were the exception in GM's past and caused a huge drop in sales for the vette until they killed the car.

[fbc]

Great to hear your Dad's okay (sounds like he's a lucky man) - but sorry to hear about the car, I mean she didn't even get a chance to get run-in.

[Lurch0001]

Damn, that sucks. Glad to hear nobody was seriously hurt. With a bit of luck your replacement won't be quite so, er, cursed.

[mautzel]

Wow, that's bad news - sorry to hear them. I hope that Holden will be much faster to deliver you a new one - I guess there wasn't a single detail on it that you'd liked to have changed during your three weeks of ownership. If there was. you'd at least got a chance now to make that change in your order for the next car. (Don't know how they're specced - if there aren't any options it's just bad luck that you have to wait again and good luck that nothing happened to your father!)

[watto]

Oh crap! Janus, you're just not having any luck, I feel bad for you!

Anyway, lets hope it takes less than 4-6 months to get another one.

Glad your old man's ok too.

[SL65]

Tough break mate and I was just getting closer to PM'ing you and asking what the progress was with your Calais-V (didn't know you got it). Too bad huh

Glad your dads ok

Oh and thats the pick of the Holden Commodore bunch!! As mautzel said - if there were any things you might have different in the replacement vehicle, nows the chance to make those decisions. Sorry to jump the gun a bit but might I recommend the factory 20" wheels. They look awesome!

[tigger]

I don't think i've ever heard of anyone having worse luck with a new car. I hope your next one works out a little better. Does the Calais V have an LS2 in it?

Originally Posted by thedguy

The Buick Grand National/T-type's were the exception in GM's past and caused a huge drop in sales for the vette until they killed the car.

They got close to the Vette in '87, but the last year for the G-body was '88 anyway. It might be more accurate to say the Lumina, not the Vette killed it lol.

[Deanodriver]

Originally Posted by tigger

I don't think i've ever heard of anyone having worse luck with a new car. I hope your next one works out a little better. Does the Calais V have an LS2 in it?

The Calais V has a standard 3.6L V6 (with 260hp or so), and an optional L76 6.0L V8 (with 362hp), not sure what Janus's is, same engines as offered in the G8. It's just the luxo model, not the sports model that the SS/SS-V is.

By the way, bad luck there

However, hopefully the insurance company will give you a brand new one. They should, anyway.

[YF19pilot]

Man, that is some shit luck you've gotten there. Good thing the car at least did it's job and kept your dad safe.

Serriously though, I would suggest going to a different Holden dealer next time you want to buy one, even if it's in another state...hell, drive to Perth if you need to be sure!

Hope things work out with you new baby that's [hopefully] soon to be delivered.

[kaBOOMn]

Uh, so sad

[Hidden_Hunter]

The death of your car after all you went through makes baby jesus cry :'(

Though I must say it looks quite stunning in the photo with the tree D:

[BlaRo]

So it was your car and your dad crashed it while borrowing it? Usually it's the other way around.

I'm glad he's fine, hopefully your replacement won't take so long to arrive.

Also, a friend's friend's brother wrecked a car 10 minutes after driving it off the dealer lot, so I'm afraid he's got you beat there.

[Janus]

Well got send some pictures of the damage today.







Although the damage doesn't look that bad in the pictures apparently the chassis is bent from the impact and all the axle and drive train are all screwed up. Basically it comes down to it will cost as much to fix as to just get a new one so we have gone ahead and placed an order for an identical replacement.

Was thinking of going with Evoke (dark gray) this time instead of black, but decided to keep it the same. The only difference is that we have decided to go for the Holden Assist. We had it in the VZ Calais but as the one time it was used it was completely useless and we thought "what are the chances of having a serious accident out in the middle of nowhere". So now we figure better to be safe then sorry, plus I did miss the electrochromatic mirrors.