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A 2005 Holden Commodore Calais V6 has shown up for sale in South Auckland, New Zealand, with a price tag of NZ$12,990 and 116,019 km (about 72,000 miles) on the clock. The dealer calls it a “solid, no-frills option” and that is exactly what it is: a big, rear-drive, V6 commuter sedan with leather, paddles, and a set of 19-inch replica VY GTS wheels. For American readers, this listing is worth more than a quick glance. It points directly at the Australian-market family line that gave the Pontiac GTO its chassis, and it also raises an important question: could you import a car like this into the United States? As of April 27, 2026, the honest answer is no—not yet.
The car is a Calais V6, which in Holden terms means the comfort-biased version of the Commodore range. It comes with leather seats, dual-zone climate control, parking sensors, cruise control, and paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. The engine is the 3.6-liter Alloytec V6—3,565 cc—paired with an automatic transmission. It sits on lowered suspension and 19-inch replica VY GTS wheels, with a rear spoiler and a towbar also fitted. The dealer notes some wear and tear because of the price, but nothing that jumps out as a dealbreaker on paper.
This is not a stripped-down fleet special. The Calais badge in the 2005 model range was the kind of car you could drive across the country in. It seats five, runs on petrol, and offers the kind of old-school rear-drive feel that makes Commodore buyers so loyal.
The NZ$12,990 price includes on-road costs in New Zealand, which is an important detail if you live there. The equivalent in U.S. dollars lands somewhere around US$7,400 to US$7,800 at current exchange rates. For that money, a U.S. buyer is looking at a very used compact car or an older SUV. In New Zealand, this listing gets you a full-size V6 sedan with genuine leather, cruise control, and parking sensors. That value gap is exactly why the Commodore has a cult following.
One thing to remember: the seller is open seven days, and the car is being sold at 155 Cavendish Drive, Manukau, Auckland. The listing also mentions finance options, trade-in acceptance, and 1- to 3-year mechanical insurance plans. For someone on the ground in New Zealand, that makes it convenient. For overseas buyers, it just means the deal has to be handled through a broker or trusted agent.
Holden did not sell cars in the United States, but its products still became familiar. The 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO was a rebadged Holden Monaro, and the VZ Commodore sedan shares the same rear-drive architecture and design lineage. That means this four-door Calais is a close relative of the GTO, just with a V6 up front and two extra doors in the middle.
There is also a deeper connection. The Alloytec V6 in this Commodore is part of the same engine family that appeared in a range of GM products around the world. It is not the American V8 that Pontiac fans go crazy over, but it is a smooth, torquey engine that carries genuine GM engineering DNA.
For years, fans have wanted a four-door Holden sold in the U.S. That never happened in a mainstream way. This listing is a rare, concrete reminder of what that missing model actually looked like when new.
The big question is whether this specific car could one day appear in an American driveway. Under current NHTSA and EPA rules, a motor vehicle must be at least 25 years old to be imported without the full federal safety and emissions certification process. The car in this listing was built in 2004 or 2005, depending on the exact production date. As of now, it is only about 21 years old.
That puts eligibility somewhere in 2029 or 2030 at the earliest. A 2005 model-year vehicle could have been built in late 2004, which would mean 2029. If it was built later in the 2005 run, the legal date slips into 2030 or even early 2031. It is not a matter of “maybe” when it comes to federal law—it is simply a waiting game.
Once the car hits 25 years old, RHD itself is not the huge barrier that many people assume. Most states allow a right-hand-drive private vehicle to be registered. The bigger issue is proving the car meets the import exemption and keeping all the paperwork clean. That makes it crucial to buy a car like this with its original build date and any import documents ready.
Let’s say you want to plan for 2030. The NZ$12,990 purchase price converts to about US$7,500. Shipping from Auckland to the West Coast will run around US$1,500 to US$2,500 depending on the port and the carrier. Add import brokerage, duty, potential port fees, and storage costs if the car sits while you wait for the legal date. By the time a U.S. buyer parks it in a garage, the all-in figure is likely to be between US$11,000 and US$12,000.
That is still lower than most clean Pontiac GTO listings, which often sell in the mid-teens to low twenties even for high-mileage cars. The difference, of course, is convenience. A GTO is already road-legal in the United States, while the Commodore still needs years of patience.
The listing gives a clear idea of what this V6 costs to feed. Fuel economy is 12.8 liters per 100 km, which works out to about 18.4 miles per U.S. gallon. The annual fuel estimate is NZ$5,020, based on NZ$2.80 per liter and 14,000 km of driving per year. In US dollars, that is around US$2,900 per year. It is not a cheap number, but it is realistic for a three-and-a-half-liter V6 in a full-size sedan.
CO2 emissions are listed at 308 grams per kilometer, which puts it on the wrong side of modern efficiency standards. This is not a car that anyone will buy to save the planet. It is a comfortable, pointy-nose muscle sedan with a simple mechanical layout.
The listing also carries a one-star Used Car Safety Rating, which sounds worse than it is. The rating appears to be based on 1997-2002 model crash data, not on this exact VZ-generation car. The 2005 Commodore benefited from structural improvements and better airbag coverage, so treat the rating as a warning to have the car checked, not as a reason to cross it out entirely.
Still, there are no modern driver assists here. No automatic emergency braking, no lane-keeping tech, no blind-spot monitors. A buyer should go in with eyes open and rely on the old-school basics: good brakes, good tires, and a careful right foot.
For buyers in New Zealand, this Calais is a usable everyday sedan with a lot of equipment for the money. The chassis is proven, the engine is robust, and the dealer-side extras make the purchase easy. A pre-purchase inspection is still strongly recommended.
For buyers in the United States, the smart move is to treat this listing as a reference point. It shows what the current private-market price looks like for a clean VZ Calais, gives a realistic picture of fuel costs, and sets the clock for import eligibility in the early 2030s. If the idea of a four-door Pontiac GTO cousin appeals to you, this is the kind of listing to bookmark and revisit later. The car will be legal eventually—and probably still be worth the wait.
