In VR/S the model hierarchy goes
Exec (base)
Acclaim
Berlina
I don't think they made the calais in a wagon in VR/S
Exec is pretty basic and in may or may not have aircon, depending on options.
Acclaim has aircon/power steer and cruise control with executive like trim
Berlina adds better trim and power windows over the acclaim.
I think VT was similar but somewhere around there they started renaming all the models so stuff like lumina, omega and everything in between etc appeared.
I have a BA falcon wagon(petrol), i can fit my GO150, carve 111, 3 masts, 2 booms (longest is 200-250cm), 3 sails (biggest is a 8.5m) easily.
Only can carry 1 passenger (squashed in the front
).
I would hate to be in an accident with all the gear in the car
.
Im thinking of converting it to LPG, the tank will go in the spare wheel space, the spare wheel will then sit upright in the back on the driver side. With the gas conversion the rear wheel will take up a bit of space.
It has been a pretty reliable car besides the diff going at 80k, probably depreciate into your price bracket in 6 months
My next set up will be a big 4cyl and enclosed aero trailer - I hate the load/unload thing.
And... not too sure if you answered it... BUT are you able to fit:
2 Boards
4 Sails 6.2 - 4.5
2 Booms
2 Masts 200cm each (two piece)
Plus a box of fins etc
WHILIST A PERSON IN THE PASSANGER SEAT?
or must it be folded down?
Cheers For all the replies fellas!
Look out for a Lexcen wagon (VP Commodore) with an extra seat in th back. My wife tried to take out a landcruiser in it and when they rebuilt it the windscreen leaked water onto the computer. $1000 each time we had a heavy rain, then the heater core, then the headgasket.............
The cooling system is supposed to get anticorrosion tablets when it is serviced but a mechanic friend told me they never put them in because the damn cars would never break down.
Oh , and NEVER jumpstart them with one of those jumper kits, It shocks the fuelpump INSIDE the fuel tank and the pump dies about 100kms later requiring the fuel tank to be dropped out of the car
You guys should just change the name of this thread to:
"Which Falcadore wagon?" or "Which Commodore Wagon?" 
Sorry, I haven't read most of the posts, too "Commodorish" for me.
I would have thought the Camry wagon would be worth a look for reliability vs economy vs cost. Preferably manual.
No I just enjoy winding up people when its late and I'm tired. Might delete these posts in the morning when I'm thinking more sensibly. Going to sleep now. 
If your looking at a VT or later make sure you get a "Series II". Most problems from when they changed the shape have been sorted. I got the basic Executive model.
Has power steering, air con, drivers airbag, power mirrors, trip computer.
They still have the Berlina nd Acclaim in that model.
I got it from a dealer that does ex-government cars. This was from a regional health service and they are strict on looking after the cars. It was immaculate and had only done 22,000 k's. Full service history etc. Been a very reliable car.
All I have done is new power steering and water pump. That was after I had added 100,000 k's to it.
Not sure of the prices these days but Im guessing 8-10k, prolly less.
Toyota Camry. Only trouble with them is that sometimes the engine can start to show subtle signs of wear after the first 400,000km.
Is there anything i should be looking for in the VT Series 2... Were they a good build? nice to drive etc?
Thanks Fellas!
Ive had a few older falcon and commodore wagons and found the following;
The EB falcon i had was very big and its rear seat could fold down 2 or 1 seats allowing for a passenger to sit in the back whilst it was loaded with lots of gear, this was very usefull. Older commodores didnt do this I had a VN its boot wasn't anywhere near the size of the falcon and you had to fold all the seats down if putting large things in the back, no split seats like the falcon.
My falcon drove like a barge had no steering feed back and would lose its rear on wet roads easily. My VN commodore drove more like a car and was much grippier on the road.
In my opinion, as a windurfing wagon goes the falcon is hard to beat. But if you do lots of driving without the intention of windsurfing the commodore would be the go.
I've just noticed a hole in the rail of one of my boards, had me really scratching my head.
Then I twigged, this was the board I tried in the falcon wagon, I heard a "clunk" when I put it in, then noticed the back seat bolt sticking into the cargo space, but didn't bother to check the board.
Must have hit it harder than I thought, there's a nice bolt size hole in the rail.
So if you go for a falcon wagon be very careful, or do something about the bolt.
I have a VT equipe.
Have driven quite a few falcons for work in the past, and now drive camrys.
When I got the equipe I really only considered the commodore or the magna, falcons are very hit and miss- you can get one with no issues at all and never have to touch it or you get one with all the problems in the world. The falcons are nice to drive though, and are more comfortable on long distance trips than a commodore.
Magna's I like and they are very well equiped for the money. 3 things I didn't like when I looked at them- space, no split/fold rear seat, whilst they are smooth I just don't appreciate the way they drive when compared to a commodore or falcon (ie engine response wise and where they make their power). As said only consider post 98 but for the money I wouldn't really bother with anything earlier than TJ. Interior is a little plain, and seats are a bit flat also. Another point is they don't have roof rack rails like the commodore. Post '05 has excellent warranty also.
Subie's I like, however someone said they are fuel economical- its the one thing the boxers aren't, the do go through more fuel than a standard 4. I'm told they do like fouling lifters. Brilliantly simple engines though. In an ideal world i'd be driving a b-spec liberty wagon to the beach.
Commodores- earlier commodores VR is the pick of the bunch, from memory the VS swapped over to ecotech and it stuffed a few things up. I found the VS nice to drive at the time though. VT wise- go with the VT II. Probably biggest thing to look for is rear suspension, if it's leaning on inside tyre then suspension will need replacing. Also as I recently found out expect radiator to go at any time with this sort of age car. Biggest annoyances are slight movement in body makes doors rub say when going over speed bump, can't really figure out why this annoys me so much- probably some silicon spray would fix anyway. The don't brake anywhere near as well as earlier commodores. And fuel caps break, look at every second VT series car.
Camry's- apart from the latest model I haven't been impressed. I'm not going to list all the reasons why.
Regarding removing seats- the car should be complianced for the new number of seats.
www.redbook.com.au
is a great place to do price and spec comparisons before your buy. THis site provides national wholesale and private sale average prices for most vehicles.
