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About to buy an r34 tiptronic

justinfox
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justinfox Mentor

justinfox

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Hi all,

I currently own a new Alfa Romeo 147. It's a nice car. it's got a Selespeed gear box. A true clutchless manual (unlike an auto box). And I love the thing, especially downshifts as it blips the throttle and damn the engine is revvy and sounds great but it's only got 110kw. It loves corners but just needs more power (The GTA version is 250hp V6 but $70k!!!).

I have always loved Skylines and decided to test drive an r34 tiptronic yesterday. I got it sideways by accident. Freaked me out a little. Obviously not used to rear wheel drive and so much power. I was quick to crrect it though! LOL! The car didn't feel so fast and this is probably because shifting from 1st into 2nd with the tiptronic gearshifter was soooo slow (the Alfa shifts faster the higher the revs). Downshifting was OK but nowhere bear as fun as the Alfa (the blipping throttle sounds so good on the Alfa).

Overall I still walked away loving the Skyline. I want a clutchless. Shame the R34 isn't a true sequential. But it was still fast. Does anyone here at all have 0-100km/hr times for the R34 GT-T tiptronic. I have searched everywhere for this information and couldn't find a thing. I am scared of buying a 2nd hand car. Especially a turbo and a skyline at that. Surely the previous owner had absolutely fanged the damn thing to death like I surely will? Do these cars hold up well? I mean, are they tough?! I expect them to be tough.

Any advice, thoughts would be appreciated peeps. I am THIS close to putting the money down.

PS Toby19. I've read a few of your posts with interest and would like to talk to you about your car before I run out and buy mine. It would really help me out. If you could email me at: [email protected] that would be great. I can then reply with a few questions I have.

PPS: My current ride pics if you're interested:

DSCN5899.jpg

DSCN5895.jpg

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pentae Mentor

pentae

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hey justin, your Alpha is a nice ride!

The Skyline you're buying i'm assuming has less than 40,000km's on it being a '99 model.

Take my advice and test drive a few other R34 Tiptronics before you make your decision, that way you will know if this one has been flogged or not (I'd say chances are it hasnt as its practically a new car).

The Skylines are descendants of racing cars, so their internal mechanics like the drivetrain, gearbox etc is all VERY VERY tough and can take a beating from a lot more power than what the GTT's put out in stock form.. so don't worry about that. :P

Before the dealer calls you up and pressures you to buy it, go and test drive a few more R34's (Trust me, these things don't sell that quickly, you have at least a week before worrying about it being sold).. plus try asking the guy if he can hold it for you for a week while you "Get finances together" with a REFUNDABLE deposit subject to a second test drive and you need an 'i can change my mind clause'. (double check the paper work!) .. import dealers are unfortunately usually a lot more dodgy than standard car dealers in my experience.

If he's a semi-legitimate car dealer he should have no problem doing that.

My other recommendation is if you're going to be spending 35-45k on an R34 GTT and you're after a sports car you might want to check out the R33 GTR's in that price bracket. take one for a test drive and do yourself a HUGE favour by comparing the two cars. the GTR is older but probably one of the most exhilerating steers you'll ever have in your life. :)

Happy car hunting.

justinfox Mentor

justinfox

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Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like I will have to test another one asap, whilst the memory is still fresh. I wonder if a dealer would let me somehow dyno test the car before purchase? That would surely be a good way to see whether the car is screwed or not? I am still pretty scared of buying a lemon!

I will call Powerplay imports and suss that one out.

666DAN Grand Master

666DAN

Posted
Posted

Yeah the tiptronic is pretty good, I'd never own a full auto....I don't like the car deciding which gear I should be in!

I agree with the others, take a few for a drive to gauge if you can live with it....I still think it was the best move I ever made.

Also spend that $100 to get it checked, you can never be to careful with buying a used car and for $100 you can't go wrong.

pentae Mentor

pentae

Posted
Posted

justin: as RedLine said, take the car to a mechanic who SPECIALISES in imports. I'm not sure who does in Sydney but i'm sure some guys on here can point you in the right direction.

Tell the workshop you intend on buying one of these cars, and if they could inspect the one you intend on buying for stuff like accident history and so forth. Tell them when you buy the car you intend on taking it to these guys for services and performance upgrades, and they'll give you a good price.

Also, ASK the dealer to show you the cars Auction papers from Japan and what Auction grade the car received (should be a 3.5 or a 4) .. that will also tell you if the car has had any accident history or any other things that the dealer wants to hide. If he can't provide you with the import papers thats very suspect. :(

justinfox Mentor

justinfox

Posted
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Hey thanks again guys. I am surprised there's not THAT much content online about these cars. I have been searching for info all day. I would have just gotten the NRMA to check the car but if anyone knows of a mechanic that would check it in Sydney please let me know.

The R34 at Japlink was the one I had tested. It had clocked up over 70,000km's. The only strange thing with it was that when I turned the car off and took the keys out the engine was still ON!!! Strange?! Perhaps something to do with the way they jump started the car?

Does anyone here have any info on whether or not Japlink are good guys? They're pretty close to me and seem to have a pretty good workshop there.

I am booked in to test drive the tiptronic at Power Play next week. It's black, which is more me. But it's a lot more at $38k. Too much really but it's only done 40something k's and I'm sure I can bargain them down some.

Rezz Grand Master

Rezz

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by justinfox

The only strange thing with it was that when I turned the car off and took the keys out the engine was still ON!!!

Turbo timer dude...:(

pentae Mentor

pentae

Posted
Posted

justin, on turbo cars its optional to install a turbo timer which shuts down the car automatically after a few minutes. This is done so the turbo has time to slow down before the engine shuts off.

Turbo's spool up to around 130,000 rpm.. so if you drive hard then turn the car off straight away the remaining air coming out of the turbo's can damage the engine.

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