R32 Gts-t Buying Advice

[jolly97]

sorry for reposting this topic, i forgot to scroll down in the forum section and posted it in the import section... my bad... (mods feel free to delete the topic in imports)

anyway guys, as you can see by my avatar im a noob

anyway, im looking at buying an R32 GTS-T and i wouldnt mind some opinions and things i should look out for.

i need the car to last me through uni without having to spend a fortune on maintenance as ill be on a fairly tight budget.

the r32 im looking at is in great condition, fairly low Km's, just been tuned on a dyno, new tyres, stock apart from an aftermarket exhaust/cannon from what ive been told by the seller. its auto but ill get over it.

what is the fuel consumption like for an R32 and are there any things i should look out for when i get around to test driving this one? (specific problems ie. EXPENSIVE ones, reliability issues etc) i basically want to know as much as i can about the car before i go have a drive. my mate works next door to the seller and says he looks after it really well, always servicing it/washing it and he has personally looked over the car and says its pretty tidy.

i DONT want to thrash it, drift it etc etc like most P platers do, the most itll get will be me having some fun on dirt in the first week i get it then thatll be it.

im also not looking to mod it THAT much... FMIC at the MOST because ive heard the stock cooler on R32's aint that great...(plus as i said, ill be on a tight budget because of uni and living costs) i just want the assurance that the car wont break down on me and cost me thousands that i wont be able to afford

ill be taking it over my mates (who happens to be a mechanic ) house when i test drive it as he has a pit in his shed to have a look at the underside of the engine an suspension etc.

any discussion is welcome as most google searches come up with people trying to sell me stuff for an R32

cheers

Josh

[GTR-32U]

have a real good look at it before you hand out cash. get underneath and look for oil leaks would be a good starting point.Around the front seal area and also toward the rear.Look for oil leaks around the turbo also.As this will mean replacing the line and it isnt an easy task.find out if belts have been changed particularly timing belt. Also find out when or if any or all the water hoses have been replaced.May not sound like anything important but with those water hoses...Once one goes, the rest will follow in a matter of weeks.Most of them you can replace yourself if you are handy, however the ones that go under the manifold and especially the one that goes around the back of the motor to the turbo is extremely difficult to get to without proper equipment.Other than those little matters ( Which will trouble any car of that age ) they are a trouble free little beast.Coil packs will eventually get weaker with age.They are very easy to replace however-but not cheap.As for general wear, study little details like the steering wheel, gear knob and boots and even peddle rubbers, as well as the drivers seat in the right hand side corner.I know I sound like a fuss pot but I speak from experience.These are the places where you can find the wear and tear.Any strange noises from the turbo like a shrieking sound particularly when rapid spool up is required eg 1st or 2nd gear..This is a turbo on the way out.It should be a nice whistle...

whew thats my 2 cents worth

Good luck

You will not regret buying a skyline

[jolly97]

cheers mate, thanks for the good advice. i should be able to take the car for a drive next week sometime.

im going to take one of my mechanic mates with me and take the car up to his pit to have a look for hidden nasty leaks. He's an RAA approved mechanic so i have faith in him ill most likely take the car down to his work and get him to do an 'internal inspection' aswell (RAA have fancy names lol) so he will be able to tell me if its had the guts flogged out of it or not.

The seller seem pretty legit, his main reason is he wants an R33 GTR so im not questioning him haha. hes asking $7k which i think is reasonable, maybe a little on the cheap side but i still need to see what year it is and if he'll get a decent sized ding near the fuel flap repaired (poor bugger got reversed into by a tray top ute in a carpark)

any other advice will be greatly appreciated

Cheers

Josh

[R31Nismoid]

Most of it has probably been covered here:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/bu...e-f-t35129.html

[jolly97]

cheers mate, i had a look at this before. im more looking for anything people have to say about the reliability of R32's coz i want it to last me through uni without much more than tyres and a service a couple of times a year lol

[R31Nismoid]

buy stock one, you'll have no issues.

[r32line]

cheers mate, i had a look at this before. im more looking for anything people have to say about the reliability of R32's coz i want it to last me through uni without much more than tyres and a service a couple of times a year lol

I have had mine over 2 years. The only issues I have had are standard wear and tear. Had to replace fuel pump, clutch and a vacuum hose or 2... not bad in over 2 years. Rb20's are great engines. I will be selling mine very soon unfortunately - Its my first car and I could not have been more happy with it.

P.S Mine is very stock which helps with reliablity.. when you start boosting them etc then you may have more things go bust, but in general they are very reliable!

[Rekin]

R32's are starting to show their age and i doubt you will get away with just services & tyres.

Get a Pedders suspension check done; this will tell you the condition of the shocks, springs and all the 15yr old bushes which would likely need replacing by now

Get your AC checked by any aircon workshops, dont want ac dieing when its a 40degree day.

Be sure to get a compression test and a leakdown test.

My fuel consumption for a r32 manual with catback, airpod:

[r32line]

Lol, Thats a lot of checking on a car thats gunna cost at most $13-$14k... It's 15 years old....Inspect it visually and drive it (and not just a quick fang, drive it normally also to get a real idea of what its like) and get a mechanic to look over it and that will give you a pretty good picture of how good it is. I looked at many R32's before buying mine and many just by looking at them and driving them you can tell what they are like. A good example will shine.

[BettyBlue]

They are indeed solid little beasts

Most people don't believe me when I say my car is 18 yrs old. It sounds like a long time and i guess it is, but in general you can be assured (most) people who own these kinds of cars do take good care of them. You can see if they have been 'let go' as it were, and who keeps things tidy.

Any kind of service history they can provide you with is always good. Some cars come with a hand-full of receipts/invoices in the glove-box. If you see things replaced that indicates something dodgy went on, like a smash repairers receipt, beware

Ive had mine for just over a year now, and he's not skipped a beat engine wise, only comment that i noticed people have with GTS-Ts relates to idle issues, but they are easy to troubleshoot and usually easy to resolve

I did have a minor bingle but that was mostly cosmetic, and my own fault...

[Rekin]

Lol, Thats a lot of checking on a car thats gunna cost at most $13-$14k... It's 15 years old....Inspect it visually and drive it (and not just a quick fang, drive it normally also to get a real idea of what its like) and get a mechanic to look over it and that will give you a pretty good picture of how good it is. I looked at many R32's before buying mine and many just by looking at them and driving them you can tell what they are like. A good example will shine.

better to be safe than sorry, as he pointed out he doesnt want a r32 which will cost him a lot of money in maintenence.

A pedders suspension/bush check is only $14 and takes 1-2hrs, replacing bushes can add up to $500-$800

Also a dieing AC compressor costs about $400 to replace not to mention trying to find a quality second hand unit. Also retro-fitting from r12 gas to r134 costs about $300 too.

These things can easily be overlooked when purchasing

[jolly97]

wow thanks for all the heads up guys, much appreciated sorry i havent replied for a few days, been over in adelaide for a holiday haha. ill be sure to check all that gear when i have a look at the R32 hopefully sometime this week. Its hard to get all the aircon, suspension check etc over here in pt lincoln because we dont really have any of it... we have mechanics... and bridgestone... thats about it... im definately taking it for an RAA check tho, thatll be sure to find any major major problems

cheers

Josh

[r32line]

wow thanks for all the heads up guys, much appreciated sorry i havent replied for a few days, been over in adelaide for a holiday haha. ill be sure to check all that gear when i have a look at the R32 hopefully sometime this week. Its hard to get all the aircon, suspension check etc over here in pt lincoln because we dont really have any of it... we have mechanics... and bridgestone... thats about it... im definately taking it for an RAA check tho, thatll be sure to find any major major problems

cheers

Josh

Yeah a professional that looks over the car and gives you a ful write up will generally tell you all you need to know. As far as suspension/bushes go if they haven't been changed then I will guarantee pedders will say they are done in any r32 or r33, they say change them every 10 years.... I have bigger concerns when I buy a car

[(OO)SKYLINE(OO)]

I can tell you now it will not cost you as much as having a GTR R32. But you gota about a 60 litre fuel tank! And ya better be putting in 98 RON petrol.

Check the cars condition and listen out for any noises. Usual stuff like engine, brakes, clutch, etc make sure things are in mechanical working order.

When you do buy the car do an oil, oil filter change, fuel fillter, spark plugs, check fan/timing belts, fluids, brake pads, check the disks for grooves, tyres, battery, meters/gauges all work, check the idling and all electronics... Thats what I did anyway. If the car yard has done that for you then that should be fine.

Guess you can keep the car stock till you get more on the payroll, in the mean time if you can get your hands on a GTR intercooler then upgrade it to that. Stock GTR intercoolers are quite good. I know a few ppl use them for their drift cars.

Do a service every 5000km and use top quality oil (I use Mobil Synthetic S 10W 40). Also install a Turbo Timer or just wait about 3mins idling before turning off the car to allow the oil / turbo to cool down.

[Mike.joosteN]

Hey all..

is there any R32 Gts-t import prices?? stock/standard evan? im also looking for 1 for a first car. really interested but i

wont be modding it much as i need the cash for a r32 gtr when im 18.

joosteN^

[r32line]

Hey all..

is there any R32 Gts-t import prices?? stock/standard evan? im also looking for 1 for a first car. really interested but i

wont be modding it much as i need the cash for a r32 gtr when im 18.

joosteN^

Don't really understand your question, but try here: http://www.j-spec.com.au/

And otherwise I don't see what is wrong with: http://www.carsales.com.au/