Maintenance Costs

[P1E]

Hi. I'm just wondering how the long term maintenance costs of a Skyline compare to that of say a 300zx, or a Commodore.

The reason I ask is because a 300zx owner I know was recently faced with an $800.00 invoice for a water-pump replacement. I've also been told that head-light globes for imported Nissan vehicles are worth around the $50.00 mark, as an example.

Now, while I can afford a 300zx or a 180sx or maybe even a Skyline, I don't want my car to be garaged all the time if I'm going to be constantly needing large sums to cover everyday running costs like the aforementioned.

So, are Skylines this expensive? If so, would you recommend a student with a casual job to hold off buying a performance car?

[51jay]

Water pump for Skyline $A125 Light globes are are just lightglobes you can buy them anywhere from around $5 up to $150 depending on how gullible or ignorant you are and what quality you want . Overall they would be no more expensive to run than any other Jap car. Iv'e had mine for 18 months , hit the race track a few times and the drag strip many times. All i've needed is routine maintainance.

The expence comes in when you get the almost inevitable urge to make it go faster and or look prettier..... for me ....about $12000......so far

[G0DF4Th3R]

hey man go for it

i havent really spent much on maintenance, only servicing, tyres etc

at the end of the day, if u take care of it, it should serve you well...as long as any other car on the road and for the same running cost as say a Commodore

the only downside is INSURANCE and in some cases FUEL CONSUMPTION

if ure a student with a casual job it shouldnt be much of a problem...im a student too and i dun even have a job, looking for one

[surreal]

I did a fair bit of research into running costs, servicing costs and replacement part costs before I bought mine (as a student at the time). The Skylines add up pretty well, especially for an imported car.

Running costs, ie petrol etc, are relative - excellent for the performance levels but not as cheap as say a Barina...

Servicing is pretty normal too (it helps if you trust your mechanic).

Replacement parts have more of an issue with availability than any thing else. It's no trouble getting them, just occasionally have you wait a week for them to be shipped in from OS. This is becoming less of a problem as the cars become more popular and well known. Price, again, is relative - your not going to be able to turn up at Super Cheap and get a Falcadore clutch for five bucks but likewise your not talking big number dollars either.

[Guest RedLineGTR]

300zx engines are stated by people as the worst engines nissan designed. Non Biased point of view. Also even with doing you own maintenence/upgrades they are really hard to get ya hands in because the engine pretty much takes up more of the engine space. They are nice cars even stock and go well. Both the skyline and 300zx are nice cars, your choice really, thoe this is a skylines forum some comments may seem biased but true. Check out a 300zx forum and see what people have to say on maintenece, problems that have occured and some cost estimated. My 2 cents. Cheers Rob

[puckish]

Japnese cars are generally put together better than Aussie cars. Parts wise you'll find that the R33 costs about the same to service as a Commodore with the same power output.

This is because the R33 is becoming very popular and most parts are interchangable with other Nissan models. For example the timing belt for my R33 S1 came from a 300ZX and the tensioner from a Patrol.

Go with the car you like driving the most.. Like most HSV owners I know that will be why they bought the Skyline ;-)

[red17]

I bought high quality Philips globes for my Skyline on the weekend, cost me $36 and it came with a free pair of parkers

Maintenance costs arent that high but it depends entirely on what sort of fluid's etc you want to run in the car too.

Retail price from a workshop for Mobil 1 Tri-Synth 10W/30 is $18 a litre. Mobile 1 Synth Gearbox oil is about $55 for a box full. Redline is even more expensive.

Parts wise ive had no problems, even searching for rare interior parts, you can normally find great bargains on this very forum! Theres always someone somewhere wrecking bitz.

Even when I stuffed 2 valves I managed to ring nissan up and get new ones ex melbourne off the shelf.

Red17