Living With An R32 Gt-r

[bigkevracer]

Hi everyone.

I'm new to these forums and have joined because I'm looking at buying an R32 GT-R. Went for a drive the other day, and surprise surprise they're utterly brilliant.

However much fun they are to drive though, doesn't make them practical. I'd like to buy one, but I'm looking for a daily driver and so was wondering how people with a GT-R, in particular an R32, got on living with one and driving it as a daily driver?

I've read a lot of the info on here so far, there is some very in depth info which is quite useful, but if I use the car as a daily driver, its obviously going to do a few more K's. Is there some parts that are more likely to break with regular driving? If so, what are they? They're also getting older, does this have an impact on getting parts, cost of parts, etc?

Car I'm looking at has just been imported by a dealer, includes 12 months warranty and 12 months servicing, but I still want to be sure before I jump in. Is there anything I should get them to change before I buy it? Its just been imported, so is due to go through compliance next week.

My last car (which was written off thanks to a lady running up my rear ) was a BMW M535, and while I loved it, every time I looked at it something new broke that needed an expensive replacement part. I don't want that again, hence making sure I do all my research!

Thanks in advance for the help and advice.

[barnz]

when i bought my 32 gtr i was only going to use it for weekends and for the occasional thrashing for a bit of fun, but since then it has become a daily driver. once you get past the fact that its and older car and you need to make sure that you are on top of it when it comes to servicing etc they are built tough and will handle a bit of punnishment. parts are not so hard to find as they seem to be becoming fairly popular again, and with so many p platers still wet behind the ears buying them (well in my area anyway) and smashing them means more parts for us!! not the sort of car you would want to drive fo 40min in stop start trafic everyday though.

[chinkeboi]

hmm.. unless its a manufacturers warranty DO NOT under ANY circumstances put any weight of reliance on dealership warranty's and servicing.

Dealership warrantee's and servicing are not worth anything. The place I bought my car from gave me 1 year conditionless warranty. I bought it (R32 gtst) thinking sweet, its an old car and things are bound to give.. This way I can ride out the repairs for a year free of charge.

A week or so in after buying it the suspension got progressively worse. Took it back to the dealership and they changed the front suspension to second hand parts. It was "fixed" in their perspective. I disagree'd and took the car to pedders. They threw in the dodgiest brink of breaking parts so I changed the components myself :: $1500

A week after that the fuel pump gave. Took it back to them. They "fixed" the problem again. Turned out which my mechanic had to point out to me that they had thrown in a no name china brand fuel pump which didnt even have a fuel filter. It was so dodgy fuel pressure regularly dropped to ZERO when idling and driving.

All these times me having to bring the car back to the place was done through my own time and money. And during this time whilst, the car was running on crap parts which has obviously damaged the engine.

Bastards. I hope the dealership goes bankrupt and the director dies an early death.

So DONT rely on the warranty and servicing as a sales point. You'd want the servicing done at an independant performance shop of your choosing so you can be sure that the best of care is being taken with your car.

>> would you want to state or PM me the place you are looking to buy from? maybe if its the same place from where i bought the car from i can give u warning and tell you to steer clear

Edited January 4, 2007 by chinkeboi

[ceedub]

owned my gtr for over 4 years now, drive it everyday, even if it is just a small trip down to the shops etc.

Never get sick of it.

Parts are plentyfull.

[bigkevracer]

Thanks for the heads up, but the dealership is actually owned by a mate of my dads that I know fairly well. Their idea of fixing problems is to replace them with the genuine parts, so I'm sure I'll be ok. I'm also in Adelaide, not sure where you are.

You make a good point on the servicing, taking it to another shop, and this will probably be what I'll do when I get it. Depends how long it takes me to find a decent one in Adelaide!

If people on here think they're pretty good as daily drivers, and I take it for a drive and make sure I'm happy with it after its been complied, then I'll probably grab it. Its only a daily, so it won't get too wild mods and won't be too much horsepower (compared to some I've seen, anyway).

Most important is: Is it fine and drivable in stop-start traffic? How does it go on fuel in the real world, especially after a couple of basic mods (exhaust, intake, boost controller and possibly new FMIC)? How does it go with a couple of mates in it (not good i guess, but then again I don't have to sit in the back! )? How reliable is it?

My specs when I started looking for a car was for something I could get in and drive every day, no leaks, no reliability problems, no major hassles. I did want something I could carry a couple of mates in and some load, but thats ok, I'll just be selfish! Is a GT-R going to be like this, or is it just going to end up an endless money pit?

EDIT: A couple more posts!

I've been told it'll be ok on a trip, is this so? I plan on going for a couple of trips with it (Adel-Melb, Adel-Syd), as well as for work having to go out to Mallala, the Speedway, and up around the Murraylands once every couple of weekends. Sounds like its fine daily, which is good to hear!

Edited January 4, 2007 by bigkevracer

[SteveL]

....in particular an R32, got on living with one and driving it as a daily driver?

Anyone answering this question needs to also state the level and type of any modifications. My car is very standard apart from exhaust - still relatively quiet - and suspension, which is quite stiff, but that's the way I like it. I'd have no problem using it as a daily driver in melbourne traffic, but don't need to.

[m&m]

Not sure if this will be any help to you,but I own an R33 GTR that I do 1000km a week in,its my company car,run the kids to school,then to sport,I use it for everything.

Oh,and it also has a Greddy T88H-38GK turbo and a triple plate clutch,1000cc inj ,makes over 420rwkw,waiting for a HKS DLI unit for a final tune.

My point is,ANYTHING can be your daily driver.

Buy the GTR.

[bigkevracer]

My point is,ANYTHING can be your daily driver.

Buy the GTR.

haha... good point...

anything can be your daily driver, but I'm after a car that behaves well as a daily driver.

surely with those mods it drinks quite heavily?

[PHATR32]

i use my gtr for daily driving, in fact im on the road most of the time, i do half freeway, half city.

to be honest its a pain in the ass soemtimes, but when you are entering the freeway and you step on it, its f*kin great! unless theres a cop sitting there waiting.......

GET THE GTR!

steve

[m&m]

haha... good point...

anything can be your daily driver, but I'm after a car that behaves well as a daily driver.

surely with those mods it drinks quite heavily?

I get around 300-350km per tank,my S15 gets 500km and its got 240rwkw.I still drive the GTR before the S15.

Because of the size of the turbo,it drives like a stock 2.6l 6 cylinder UNDER 5500rpm,which is where it spends most of the day.This car is far easier for my wife to drive than my S15.

[32vspecII]

i get about 400km from 50l in a basically stock 33 vspec , its fine as a daily if stock , drives like a normal car if you potter around

the 32 is a good car but its getting old , expect some things to go wrong , particularly if its a early model 89-90 ish , there just even older

i looked at half a dozen 32s and found some reoccuring issues

rust - check wheel arches thoroly and all undercarige

leaking injectors

hicas and attessa issues

cv boots

couple with poor compression figures indicating engine problems , one turned out to have a cracked a piston on a valve loosing a cylinder and has been getting a rebuild the last 6 months

more but I cant realy remember at the moment

so at a minimum full inspection by a recognised gtr specialist performance workshop with compression test

and dont feel you need to look at a couple and make a decission , look at half a dozen if you can and dont settle for a substandard one

also do not neglect the 33 , its older , has several enginnering impovements to fix some of the problems in the 32 and just seems to hold up to age a bit better , probabky cause of the further development

Edited January 4, 2007 by arkon

[hanyou]

yeah i use my R32 GTR as a daily driver. best as someone said previously is to keep ontop of stuff, dont wait till it breaks before you fix it!

its good if you have a second car u could use anytime as well incase something does go wrong, cuz wen it does its usually pretty expensive to fix lol

[Topaz]

Another GTR daily here *raises hand* and has been for the past year and a half. You hate the problems but love the car. Plus mine has a muffed clutch at the moment so its not too bad in traffic

[ultimatekenz]

Im also part of the daily driven gtr club

even though my coilovers are so damn stiff they absorb nothing its still pretty easy to drive.

[GUN_METAL_GTR32]

I DRIVE MY GTR EVERY DAY AND IM ON MY P'S IN MELBOURNE. THE ONLY TIME IT GETS A BIT TEDIOUS IS IN PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC PROBABLY DUE TO EXTRA HEAVY DUTY CLUTCH GET IT ON A FREEWAY AND FWOOOAAAH MATE ITS ALL GOOD TIME

BUY THE SKYLINE FOR SURE

[hanyou]

ive got a twin plate in mine.. i dont mind driving in traffic.. at least your leg is getting a work out haha..

[Burgerman]

I have an R32 GTR I use as a daily driver too. I've only had it little over a few months and a few gremlins have come along. I needed to get the clutch rebuilt and currently it's getting the ECU remapped. So far spent over 2 grand on these things so my advice is when buying a car as old as an R32, keep if you can about an extra quarter or fifth of it's value in your bank account. Keep it the way it is for a few months after you buy it and pay for any repairs that are needed. Service it regularly and it should be ok. Lucky for me my engine was rebuilt shortly before I bought mine, so far the engine has been running well except for the ECU needing to be remapped.

As for daily driving I do'nt need to drive far for work so it's not running up many km's. So far it's a money pit but I prefer to drive a money pit that is my choice and the car I like rather than some slow ass hatchback for the same price.

go the GTR, you only live once!

[PHATR32]

the biggest problem with driving the gtr daily is not flogging when you feel like it, and also not hammering around your favorate corner cause officer McBacon might be waiting.

Steve

[hanyou]

i feel that gtr is a pretty good daily driver, and when you want it to be a monster it will

[Topaz]

i feel that gtr is a pretty good daily driver, and when you want it to be a monster it will

which is ... how often, remind me!

I normally get people riding my behind in their [insert random car]. Had a Liberty driver behind me this morning and I was doing nearly 10 over the limit because of him......