Newbie after a little advice

[CasserlyR33]

Hi,

Im new to the whole skyline thing . I have been looking to buy a new car (was looking at a brand new accord euro). However I have been offered a skyline to buy and over the last couple of days i have been researching them on the net and have gotten quite interested in buying one. I love driving and the price of the skyline (particularly for it performance appeals to me).

Anyway not knowing much when i was offered the car i thought "wow how can such a good car be so cheap" having always thought skylines where more expensive. However a few of my friends think that the price they are asking is to much.

Who better to ask than the experts .

It is a: 1996 Skyline R33 GTS 2.5T (Series II) with a GTR body kit, 3 inch s/steel exhaust, Bilstein Shocks, Lowered GTR Springs, 17" Mags with New Low profile tyres. 100K on the clock.

Those details are straight from what the owner told me so if i have stuffed any up im sorry .

Anyway what would be a fair price to apy for this????

THanks in advance.

[Nizmo]

Not knowing the condition of the body .... or whether its all mechanically peachy .... i say about $19K - $22K would be fair for it.

My car is basically the same except SI ... and i bought that for $20K 1.5 years ago

Lauren

[Nizmo]

P.S - Driven a Honda Accord :slap: what were you thinking???

take the Skyline for a test drive .... then test drive the Accord .... totally different cars! Accord is ok if your planning on having a family and want a place to pu tthe kids in the back to drive to church every sunday

[33Spec2]

yeh id say around $22k would b reasonable some modified series2's sell for around the late 20's but this one isnt that modified and has fairly high k's

and DONT forget that skylines may seem cheap but trust me, when you add up all the other costs such as insurance and running costs they can become expensive!

a friend of mine thought the same thing but when all the final costs were added up he changed his mind and bought a new commodore instead (yeah poor choice )

[CasserlyR33]

Its selling for $20,500 ono. I know i can get it for 20 but would hope for 19-19,500.

So sounds as if that is reasonable. Considering i was gonna buy a new car the extra cost arent too bad. I have a quote on insurance for around $1300pa which isnt too bad i dont think.

Now the frightening thing is where do I start with the mods.

Also i havent driven a Skyline yet... i am assured that will seal the deal

[zanda]

Hi,

It is a:  1996 Skyline R33 GTS 2.5T (Series II) with a GTR body kit, 3 inch s/steel exhaust, Bilstein Shocks, Lowered GTR Springs, 17" Mags with New Low profile tyres. 100K on the clock.  

short answer - about 18k for an auto or 20 for a manual.

long answer - at 100k, most cars, and especially jap turbos require a timing belt change. this is a glaring omission from his details. this can cost upwards of 1k, so be mighty careful.

you probably also want to find out how far back the exhaust goes - i.e. cat back or turbo back. this isnt a big deal, as the cost of fitting it later will be small, but it does give you an indication of what the power output SHOULD be.

Bilstein shocks = coil overs or single shocks?

what brand are the mags? aus or japanese? what state is the kit in, cracks etc.

these are all things which you need to ask them and yourself.

you may also wish to get a leak down test done - a lot of people here have used them as an indicator for what sort of life the engine has had.

finally, be aware that the aussie dollar is VERY strong against the yen at the moment. private importing is a personal question, but it may be worth asking whether waiting for 3 months is worth the (up to) $3,000 that you might save.

I bought my car for $20, on the road a year a go. I could probably buy the same car now for $18 even though the import scheme is now more expensive..

and YES, the drive will sell you. welome to SAUWA.

[zanda]

ooh, one other thing - check the front radiator support. its a sure sign of past (front end) accident history. being bent doesnt mean its no good, but some people are finnicky about the cars "accident grade".

[NO_RSPECT]

oh my god buy it

if you dont i am going to go buy it

seriously a great condition series II is worth alot more than western australians sell them for.

its because there are so many series I's its hard to justify the extra that the series II's are worth

but ask any series II owner and they will gladly pay that much more again cos the car is so different yet the same in most regards. confused yet

i would definately take it but only if they agree to a compression test and general look over at a garage of your choice.....sst or hyperdrive etc etc

[gtrken]

If you or the car live NOR we can do an inspection which is as good as the RAC ( probably better cos we specialise in them ) and give an unbiased opinion.

Contact us by phone if you wish to book in a time.

Cheers

ken

[raasclaat]

An inspection from someone like Hyperdrive (kens team) will be hugely beneficial over RAC. RAC really havent got it together with the imports yet, last time i checked anyway.

Definately get it inspected - if it works out well, go for it..Series II look much nicer than those oceanliner series I's

(if it doesnt work out theres an r32 here for sale )

If you or the car live NOR we can do an inspection which is as good as the RAC ( probably better cos we specialise in them ) and give an unbiased opinion.

Contact us by phone if you wish to book in a time.

Cheers

ken

[CasserlyR33]

Thanks heaps guys. So far your forum has been very helpful.

Unfortunately the car is down south so getting it to perth for an inspection isnt possible. Are there any companies in bunbury who know what they are doing . Otherwise ill have to trust the RAC.

Also thanks for the tips on what to look for when buying... very helpful. Particularly the timing belt - if it isnt done guess ill just have to factor that into the bargaining (whats the usual cost for this btw??). If there are any other things i should look for i will be very grateful.

Thanks again... i look forward to posting messages when im a proud owner .

[zanda]

the timing belt itself isnt that expensive - i think you can get it done for about $500.

but there's a extra-major-massive service that should go with it - which could easily set you back 900 to 1200 depending on who does it.

I will try and find a link to what is entailed.

[Nizmo]

Yeah major service after i bought my car cost just over $800 ..... includes Timing Belt, Bushes and a few other bits n pieces the report said needed doing.

[CasserlyR33]

Yeah major service after i bought my car cost just over $800 ..... includes Timing Belt, Bushes and a few other bits n pieces the report said needed doing.

The $800 included the timing belt??

[LUMPY]

An inspection from someone like Hyperdrive (kens team) will be hugely beneficial over RAC. RAC really havent got it together with the imports yet, last time i checked anyway.  

Definately get it inspected - if it works out well, go for it..Series II look much nicer than those oceanliner series I's

(if it doesnt work out theres an r32 here for sale )

Ahh, actually that's Ken & Glenn's team. :Bang:

[zanda]

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/sh...=service+timing

this link has a good list on what's involved:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/sh...=service+timing

there used to be a thread in the WA section, but I can't find it. I can't remember which company it was - but there was a link to their list and details on what is involved.

as you can see, it's a pretty major service - not just a timing belt change.

best to probably ring a few (reputable) shops and ask for a few quotes.