R34 Gt-t 4-door Purchase - Thoughts?

[jrm]

I've been recently investigating purchasing an R34 GT-T 4-door, and I had an inspection performed today on the vehicle; The short of it:

Model: Nissan Skyline R34 4-foor

Year: 9/98

Complianced: 10/06

Odometer: 48578

Apparently the car was recently imported and complianced and hasnt yet had an aussie owner. The car seems to be in pretty good condition cosmetically, it looks fairly pristine, but the vehicle inspection makes me somewhat hesitant to buy it; Here's the list of issues they found:

Defects requiring immediate repair:

* LH Rear Tyre - Worn to wear indicators

* RH Front Tyre - Displays wear at inner edge

* LH Tyre Rod Outer Ball Joint - Displays excessive movement

Defects requiring early repair:

* Power Steering Reservoir - Fluid level high

* Engine Oil Leaks - Clean off and re-appraise condition, oil dampness about upper rear section

* RH Front Wheel Rim - Buckled, minor damage

* LH Rear Shock Absorber - Display Fluid Leakage

* Odometer - Inoperative

* Speedometer - Inoperative

Minor Items:

* Boot lid - Displays corrosion activity around center stop light

* LH Front Tyre - Displays limited service life, displays wear at inner edge

* RH Rear Tyre - Displays limited service life

* Both front shock absorbers - Dust boots torn

Now, that's a fair few things to be listed; Essentially 4 new tyres, new shock absorber, fix speedo/odo, tyre-rod, and maybe oil leak? Bit of a worry for me.

Worse, the broken speedo/odo makes me question the -very- low km on the car. Whilst the car seems fairly pristine, one has to wonder about the validity of the kms listed. I asked the vehicle inspection guy if he felt there were big 'warning signs' to not buy the vehicle and overall he didnt seem to think so - good body condition, no obvious accident damage, seemed straight and structurally sound.

Because I was feeling a bit concerned about all of this, I've done some research on the caryard themselves on this and other forums and have had one previous mention of possible odo tampering on their cars which makes me very very cautious.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what I should do or how to approach any of this? From what I gather talking to the car-yard prior to the inspection, they'll fix anything listed and they'll be providing a 3 month / 5000km warranty on the car - but i'm still very concerned.

Any thoughts / assistance / ideas anyone has would be most appreciated.

Jenna

[Sheng]

shop around abit more

[32vspecII]

i agree , unless its cheap plenty of 34s to look at

[jrm]

i agree , unless its cheap plenty of 34s to look at

Trying to find manual R34 in a 4-door seems -very- difficult. This was one of the only ones in NSW I'd managed to find recently. It's priced for $28K whch seemed 'reasonable' given the km, cosmetic condition, etc - I'm just concerned about this mechanical stuff.

Are any of these common problems - rust around the center backlight? Suspension struts leaking, etc?

Does anyone know of any other yards in Sydney with R34 4-door in manual?

[TokyoTaxi]

Jenna, WALK AWAY !! Huge warning bells going off after reading that report.

For the money you have to spend, you can get MUCH better ! It took me many months to find my 34 ( mine's a manual N/A GTV ) but well worth the wait.

PM me if you need some help. Otherwise, keep looking !

[jrm]

Jenna, WALK AWAY !! Huge warning bells going off after reading that report.

For the money you have to spend, you can get MUCH better ! It took me many months to find my 34 ( mine's a manual N/A GTV ) but well worth the wait.

PM me if you need some help. Otherwise, keep looking !

The real frustration for me right now, is I have finance organised, and flights booked to Sydney late next week in preparation for buying it - I'd been waiting on the vehicle inspection to come back and go ahead; I guess I was looking for confirmation that walking away from that many problems seemed 'right'.

I honestly dont know what sort of problems to expect; This'll be my first import. I'm not too concerned about km but i'm definitely looking for a car that doesnt have mechanical problems after spending thousands with my N14 SSS getting to 200,000km and starting to show signs of its age (and the repair bills to match).

Any help anyone can provide in looking for a nice 4-door manual R34 would be appreciated. I'd prefer it low-km and standard/stock condition (I'd rather modify it myself).

Jenna

[Sl!m]

read this

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=35129

[jrm]

read this

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=35129

Thanks - good read.

Starting to think I might have to compromise and look at 2-door manual instead of being picky and wanting a (what seems to be much rarer) 4-door manual.

Jenna

[Sl!m]

I dont think you should settle for some thing else, just dont jump into the purchase.. make sure you have checked everything out

[MANWHORE]

Seriously, those issues are very very minor. e.g. tyres worn - who gives a f**k. tyres get worn, that's life, it's just a normal maintenance issue. Few hundred bucks for a new set then you'll get 30-40000ks out of them anyways.

Suspension dust boots worn - as with all cars, suspensions wear out. they're probably the stock suspension. Just because the boot is worn, doesn't mean the shocks are worn. Just get the boots replaced - $10 each plus labour or do it yourself. You can pick up a brand new set of handling suspension which are a lot better than the stock boat suspension. Check out the group buy section.

Odometre/speedo broken - minor issue - check out the for sale section for a new cluster - $100-150?

Minor oil? half of the time, it's from doing oil changes and they spill the oil. If not, it's just the cam cover gasket. that part is about $55 from nissan new. It's so easy to change. It's about 10 screws per side, take the cover off, put the new gasket on, put the screws back on. If a workshop charges more than $20, i'd go elsewhere.

small rust spot - seriously, what car doesn't. Any car that has a couple of years on it will have a few small rust spots. I bought my car off someone i knew from japan. It had 30 000ks on it, and it's always been garaged. He didn't live where the snow is. It still has the odd rust spot.

If the whole car is very good in general, and you really like it, I reckon go for it.

[MANWHORE]

Also, i'd like to add jenna, if you look at any car, it'll always have these small issues with it. That is, unless if the price you're paying is very very high, then the owner would have fixed everything.

In today's market, when you sell a car, you get all these little pimplefaced nerds coming up to ya going i'll give you 10k for it. Most owners do not bother about correcting small issues, because they know some f**ker will offer them a shit price, so they just leave it.

[silver gts-t]

judging by the leak and worn tyres you can already see that maintaining the car was a low priority.

any dealer will give you that warrantee but they will fix it the cheapest way possible

[MANWHORE]

not necessarily silver. Like I was saying, in light of the fact that sellers always get offered shit prices (i've been there done that), there's no way i'd put on a new set of tyres if I was selling. because i know some pindick is gonna offer me a shit price.

also, like I said, upper engine leak is normally either just spilt oil from filling up. Either that, or cam cover seal. It's seriously a cheap gasket to replace. It's a normal maintenance item. All cars usually need a new gasket at around 50 000 ks or around 4-5 years.

Almost every skyline i've seen has either had the gasket replaced, or it's leaking.

Also, with the cam cover gasket, if you check it out, it's only held on by screws unlike other cars which is held on by a bolt. the screws loosten themselves, and it leaks. You just have to grab a screw driver and torque it, clean it up with brake cleaner, then it won't have anymore leak

[MANWHORE]

Also silver - fix it as cheaply as possible? like I said, the gasket is $60 for both sides. That's cheap, if it even needs it.

Most likely, the screws are just a bit lose and just need to be torqued back to factory spec, then it won't leak anymore. I had to do that to my engine - had 30 000 ks on it. tightened the screws when I saw a seep, and it's perfect now

[jrm]

Seriously, those issues are very very minor. e.g. tyres worn - who gives a f**k. tyres get worn, that's life, it's just a normal maintenance issue. Few hundred bucks for a new set then you'll get 30-40000ks out of them anyways.

Suspension dust boots worn - as with all cars, suspensions wear out. they're probably the stock suspension. Just because the boot is worn, doesn't mean the shocks are worn. Just get the boots replaced - $10 each plus labour or do it yourself. You can pick up a brand new set of handling suspension which are a lot better than the stock boat suspension. Check out the group buy section.

Odometre/speedo broken - minor issue - check out the for sale section for a new cluster - $100-150?

Minor oil? half of the time, it's from doing oil changes and they spill the oil. If not, it's just the cam cover gasket. that part is about $55 from nissan new. It's so easy to change. It's about 10 screws per side, take the cover off, put the new gasket on, put the screws back on. If a workshop charges more than $20, i'd go elsewhere.

small rust spot - seriously, what car doesn't. Any car that has a couple of years on it will have a few small rust spots. I bought my car off someone i knew from japan. It had 30 000ks on it, and it's always been garaged. He didn't live where the snow is. It still has the odd rust spot.

If the whole car is very good in general, and you really like it, I reckon go for it.

MANWHORE,

* LH Tyre Rod Outer Ball Joint - Displays excessive movement

What's your thoughts on this one? Guesisng it's just gonna need a replacement

* Engine Oil Leaks

The inspection guy said this was just around the cam cover; If it's a standard sorta gasket thing, that's a relief.

* RH Front Wheel Rim - Buckled, minor damage

Guessing that'd need to be re-rolled or replaced.

All up - it's not *that* bad, the speedo/odo not working is a big issue in that I don't know how many kms are really on the car - but given the overall pristine condition of the car, I dont know whether it matters or not.

The caryard has said they'll fix any issues the vehicle inspection finds, and if I proceed with it, i'll get a follow-up inspection just to be absolutely sure it was done properly. I guess what I'm trying to establish is - should I take these as a big warning indicator that I shouldnt bother with the car at all?

There's some nice 2doors of similar (stock) spec for about the same sorta money (27-28K), so it seems about right on the money.

Any more thoughts / suggestions people have would be appreciated

Jenna

[sewid]

Well it's 100% been wound back. Probably done over 100k kms.

The rust around the boot light is common in 34's.

Everything else sounds normal for a car of that age. Suspension is ready to go and needs new tyres.

[jrm]

Well it's 100% been wound back. Probably done over 100k kms.

The rust around the boot light is common in 34's.

Everything else sounds normal for a car of that age. Suspension is ready to go and needs new tyres.

mmmmmm .. realistically, if its got that many km then I probably dont wanna have much to do with it. I'd rather pay more and have guaranteed fewer km - less worry about parts wearing out, clutches wearing out soon, timing belt, etc, etc.

Gahhhh .. what a pain!

[MANWHORE]

Almost every skyline out there has been wound back. Contrary to popular belief, the japs might do less ks every year, but a lot of the speedos out there show ridiculous ks.

e.g. a 98 model car is now 9 years old. 48000 ks is approximately 5000 ks a year.

that's way too little. I'd expect cars to do about 10-15 a year. So about 90 000-100 000 ks for a year of that age is about the average.

Don't be worried about what the speedo says. e.g. if another one might say 60000 ks, but it might have done 150 000 ks. another one might say 80 000 ks, but it might be genuine. Judge the car by it's condition, not by the ks (unless if they're excessive).

What i'm trying to say, is you were scared at the thought of buying a 100 000k car. I'm just saying, a lot of them will have done around there, unless if you know the guy you bought it from. There's nothing wrong with having done 100 000ks. Just dont' fall into the false security thinking that if the speedo says less that it actually is true (it might be, but more chance that it's not).

Ball joint - no problem. My friend just changed the whole lower arm on his r32 - the whole arm was $200 brand new from nissan (much less 2nd hand). Labour was $30.

That's hardly something 'major' to be worried about. If you change the ball itself (can just be pressed out), I wouldn't be suprised if the whole exercise was less than $80.

Edited January 13, 2007 by MANWHORE

[MANWHORE]

Wheel repair - magman will do it for about $80. It'll look perfect. Doesnt' matter, yard pays for it anyways.

Seriously, all these issues are fairly small. If I was buying, even if I had to fix them myself, i'd still buy if I was happy with the car overall.

As an added bonus, the yard is fixing it for you. That's a bonus. No cost to you, you get a perfect car. You're not even paying for the repairs!

All those things are just small issues. When I bought my car, it had 30 000 ks genuine (I knew the guy in japan). The car overall was immaculate. Not a single swirl in the paint, no scuffs on the interior etc. I bought the car, because I liked the overall perfect condition. There were a few thigns that needed attention e.g. cam cover (bit of a leak - turned out just needed a screw tighten), broken front bar, busted wheel etc.

But I chose to buy it, because I knew that the car was perfect. It just had a few tiny things to fix. I had to fix them myself, because I bought the car off a mate from jap, not off a yard. After I fixed these small thigns, it is perfect. It is the cleanest car i've ever seen.

I'd much rather buy something, that I know is good by my gut feeling as opposed to antoher car, where the speedo hasn't been wound back as much to say 70 000 ks, but then finding problems later etc.

Edited January 13, 2007 by MANWHORE

[jrm]

Wheel repair - magman will do it for about $80. It'll look perfect. Doesnt' matter, yard pays for it anyways.

Seriously, all these issues are fairly small. If I was buying, even if I had to fix them myself, i'd still buy if I was happy with the car overall.

As an added bonus, the yard is fixing it for you. That's a bonus. No cost to you, you get a perfect car. You're not even paying for the repairs!

All those things are just small issues. When I bought my car, it had 30 000 ks genuine (I knew the guy in japan). The car overall was immaculate. Not a single swirl in the paint, no scuffs on the interior etc. I bought the car, because I liked the overall perfect condition. There were a few thigns that needed attention e.g. cam cover (bit of a leak - turned out just needed a screw tighten), broken front bar, busted wheel etc.

But I chose to buy it, because I knew that the car was perfect. It just had a few tiny things to fix. I had to fix them myself, because I bought the car off a mate from jap, not off a yard. After I fixed these small thigns, it is perfect. It is the cleanest car i've ever seen.

I'd much rather buy something, that I know is good by my gut feeling as opposed to antoher car, where the speedo hasn't been wound back as much to say 70 000 ks, but then finding problems later etc.

Wish I had more to go on with this car - I just dont know imports well enough, particularly skylines to know what to look for, the warning signals etc.

I'd rather not buy a lemon; The N14 that Im driving now has been plagued by a mechanic who fit the wrong parts (fitted aus-spec and wrong parts to it and had stuff screw up) and sick and tired of paying thousands for repairs. Trying to look for something more reliable, whilst still maintaining personal style and something with a fun bit of power.

Any comments/thoughts on the sort of money (27/28K) for a 9/98 r34 4-door manual? The autos, from what i can tell, seem to go about 3k cheaper.

Tis a shame I cant get someone on the forums to check it out .. hehe...

Jenna

Edited January 13, 2007 by jrm