Questions about buying a 33 GTS-t

[r33skylinegtst]

I'm looking to buy an R33GTS-t sometime this year, and have been scouting out the local import shops. I live in Canberra, and was wondering if anyone has heard anything about a place named 'Fast and Furious Imports' and if anyone has dealt with them at all? If so, what sort of service do they give in regard to their car sales?

Also, they had a car on the lot which i was pretty taken with, a 94' 33 GTS-t (manual) but i noticed that the stereo was missing, and i'm pretty sure so was the air con control panel above it. I asked the guy working there about the stereo and he said that when these cars arrive in Australia often the stereos get stolen from them. Is this true? Or does this sound a bit dodgy?

Lastly, what are some of the things that i should look for on a second hand '33? As in, what are some of the things i can look at to check the condition of the car?

Sorry if this sounds a bit dumb, i just needed some answers. Thanks in advance!

[PTR33]

The answer to ALL your questions is JUST DO IT.

If you are the patient type you could look at importing your own car through one of the broker type businesses that are around.

I bought my R33 through Prestige Motorsport www.prestigemotorsport.com.au and ended up with a 1998 40th anniversary model GTS25t for $20,600 "drive away" with "only" insurance on top of that.

It did take just over 4 months from starting looking to driving away but there were a couple of minor missed connections along the way that probably added a month to the process. I have seen comparable cars on yards going for $28,000 so the savings can be well worth it.

I would have saved about another $1500 if I was buying now with the $AU being so much stronger against the Yen.

Something to think about.

[r33skylinegtst]

Thanks, definately something to think about... i'm looking in the $18k-$20k price range, and a bit above if needed. The said car was $22990 negotiable with a 3 year warranty on all major components, which sounded damn good.

I will check out importing though, cause i'm not going to be able to drive the car till November anyway so a 4 month wait is no biggy. Still, i'm only 17 and this will be my first car so all this seems a bit daunting at first... :Paranoid:

[PTR33]

okay... No disrespect but seriously look at buying something else as a first car and preferably a non-turbo. Insurance will be a fraction of the cost and unless you are not like the majority of guys you will probably ding it.

Have a look at something like a NA Silvia or perhaps a R32 GTS if you must go for a Skyline.

Believe me it will be MUCH better in the long run.

Hell, when I was 18 I drove a Mini and thought a 1600 Escort was a big step up!!

[r33skylinegtst]

I cant argue with you there, and i've already had quotes on insurance and everything like that, its not going to be cheap but its something thats actually got me motivated at the moment (cause after my parents pay for the car any other costs i pay myself). I'll admit its not practical, but its pretty much a now or never thing, and if i get a few dings in it, then that will be my own bad luck. Still, i've talked to a few people who've owned cars similar to this (turbo silvias, 180s, a few 33s) and canberra seems like a much easier place to own one than say, Sydney... no way would i want to drive around there... anyways, thanks for the advice but if anyone could shed some light on my eariler questions that'd be great. thanks!

[paulr33]

Sorry I disagree fully. The main insurance component is the fact the car is a grey import. The fact thats its turbo will increase the quote by $200-$300 tops. Check in the Natrually Aspirated thread, theres an entire doco about it Insurance for NA vs T on a skyline.

More often than not your better off just getting the turbo'd version.

Insurance full comp for any youngen under 25 on an R33 will be lik $2000 at least

For the same car but GTST it will be like $2500 or thereabouts (very rough figures)

You'd be better off finding what you like and then buying it privately. Dealers will just sell you the car with 3-4k on top as they have to make a profit and cover costs of storing cars in their yards for XYZ months. Check out www.carpoint.com.au for some r33s. You should be able to find a 1995 Series 1.5 for 20k with a few goodies it in too.

Yes stereos and other items *can* be stolen whilst the car is shipped over from Japan. Also a fair few car owners in Japan remove their stereo's too. Most other common items to be flogged are things like guages, electronic gizmo's, etc. Things that are easy to take and have good resale value in japan.

If you are considering importing a car from Japan speak to Geoff at prestigemotorsport.

[paulr33]

$22990 for a 1994 series 1 R33 is insane. That car would be worth $17k in melbourne. Of course assuming it doesnt have any psycho mods. If its stock standard and no stereo the price is insane. You could almost get a 1996 Series II GTST for that much privately.

[dAVE]

When buying a car dont let their warranty sway you... to get warranty, you have to have your car serviced every 5000 (which is ok, but not if u service the car yourself). Also they have payment limits, so it never covers the lot, and important things, like a blown engine is covered.

dave

ps - i will sell my 33 in a month

[Villainous_J]

I know you said it's a one time only thing, but maybe save yourself some money and buy a cheaper car now. I know I had a crappy little magna when I was 17, but I'm 21 now and a rating 2 and can afford the insurance on a 33 GTS-T. If I were you, I'd tell my parents to hold off on the money, invest it for 3 years for my 21st. By then you can get a 34 GT-T (assuming prices will trend that way that quickly)

It's your choice though, just sharing my experience, just make sure you enjoy the car you get

[r33skylinegtst]

Im a bit fonder of the 33GTS-t's over the 34 GT-Ts, while both are nice cars, my preference is the 33 all the way. Insurance is around $4k a year comprehensive, which isn't too bad all things considered, and i should be able to afford it, according to my working out so far (also taking into account rego, petrol etc...)

The car had an air filter, after market exhaust and blow off valve. Nothing to serious, and i don't intend to put anything else onto the car as far as performance goes (seriously, the stock GTS-T will already be PLENTY fast enough for me) Private sales are kinda a bit dodgy from my parents point of view... mainly cause there's no warranty whatsoever etc..and since their the ones with the cash it really all comes down to them. If i went out to buy that car though, i'd DEFINATELY negotiate on the price. Anyways, thanks for all the responces so far.

[Blade]

I got my r33 95 model for 16k, i waited a year for a bargain like this, be patient and ull get a mad arse deal

insurance on the other hand is ****ed for me, famous insurers wont insure me as i aint 18 years and 6 months old and i also havent had my p's for a year

That only leaves you just cars and young and cool,

expect a quote for $4000 premium with about $1500 excess

I figured its not worth goign comprehensive so im paying 3rd part fire n theft for $700

Also alot of people hike up their prices on skylines...theirs only so much demand and theirs quite a few desperate sellers if you buy at the right time

[Merli]

The said car was $22990 negotiable with a 3 year warranty on all major components, which sounded damn good.

Yeah, that sounds DAMN GOOD............ for them!

That price is nothing short of anally raping you... a 1994 R33 GTS-t would be priced at around $15-17k depending on condition and options/modifications.

and that $17k is being very generous...

[Kaido_RR]

Dude you are getting RAPE!! at that price

i just bought my car about 5/6weeks ago

it is a 1993 GTS-T r33

with aftermarket turbo, hks super SSQ bov, Full Turbo Back HKS super Dragger Exhuast, Trust Air Filter + coldair box, R34 Gt-t cooler, Nismo Front Bar (only one other car in perth has the same bar), 400R Side, GTR pods, Full Soundsystem (deck,amp,sub,speakers), Blizt Boost Gauge, Trust gear noob, umm there is most likly a few more stuff

i pay 17k with 87,000km

off a guy from SAU, top block

I think you should shop around and not buy from a shop, as from buying from a place such as that mean that they must put the price up so they can make a PROFIT private sales means kind of no profit.

serach around dont be in a rush 2 buy (saying that the skyline i bought was the 1st car i had alook at hehehe)

[Merli]

Private sales are kinda a bit dodgy from my parents point of view... mainly cause there's no warranty whatsoever etc..and since their the ones with the cash it really all comes down to them. If i went out to buy that car though, i'd DEFINATELY negotiate on the price. Anyways, thanks for all the responces so far.

To be completely honest here, car yard salesmen are truely eleventy billion times dodgier than private sellers.

Think about all the stories and generalisations about car salesmen being liars, dodgy bastards and dishonest... Well they're generalisations because it's mostly true. They will tell you anything you want to hear and BLATANTLY LIE to your face to score a sale.

On the other hand, a private seller also wants to sell their car, but more often than not aren't smooth talkers who will blindfold you to the truth and steer away from the truth.

I'm not saying that all private sellers are truthful, absolutely not. This is why you have to have the knowledge to back yourself up, and not rely on the car yard salesman/private sellers word about the car.

Learn to check for accident damage. Look for wear on engine bay bolts that indicate engine removal, panel removal, etc.. Look for flaws in the paint. See if the paint has been blended along a panel and look for mismatching paint on different panels... Look for overspray underneath the car on the boot floor, chassis rails and suspension components... Take the car to your mechanics and get it up on a hoist and look for any underbody damage resulting from previous accidents, look to see for any weld marks from cut'n'shuts... Check to see for built up dirt and grime under the body and suspension parts (be wary of clean underbodies and wiped clean sumps)... Get the engine compression tested and do a leakdown test if needed... Check the spark plugs to check for overfuelling, detonation, sulphur deposits from octane booster... blah blah blah...

There's HEAPS to check, and you have to do it to every car you're serious about, no matter whether you're buying to from a car yard or privately. DON'T TRUST EITHER OF THEM. Only trust yourself (or bring a mechanic friend along with you who knows what to look for)...

Good luck mate!

[r33skylinegtst]

My dad is going along to all the car yards with me so far, he's 53 and has had HEAPS of cars in his life, and a pretty spotless driving history. He knows what to look for in that reagrd, but has had no experience with Japanese performance cars which is a bit of a problem. I didn't think the price was too bad compared to the other cars i've seen in Canberra so far, which probably shows that it's not the best area for me to get a Skyline in...

[Merli]

A car is a car... Doesn't matter whether it's european or japanese... They signs of accident damage, resprays and engine damage are all the same...

Just because your dad has owned 500 cars, it doesn't mean he know the right things to look for when buying second hand cars. If he knew what he was looking for, he wouldn't be scared of buying privately. No disrespect to your father of course.

Seriously, get a mechanic friend to check them out for you.

[paulr33]

Dude dont buy a 1994 model for 22k. Even 20k. It's daylight robbery. Car Yards + Import Cards = Rip Off Merchants.

Not much difference between an Imported Skyline and a 308 V8. They all have engines, and get repaired the same way. The only difference between the 380 and your Skyline is yours has a turbo, so what? Get the engine compression tested by a good mechanic and youll be sweet. Get someone from the forums in your area to help you

I'd much rather spend the extra day or two doing tests then buying from a dealer.

[blackdoggette]

Mmmm - Fast and furious Canberra - MMMMMmmmmm

I am an oldie - bought a R33GTST couple of months ago privately here in Canberra - no probs at all.

If you do go private - get a REVS check done - make SURE absolutely DOUBLY sure that you get it rego inspected somewhere BEFORE you buy it, that way you will know EXACTLY what you are up for. The pits at Dickson and most inspection places HATE Jap imports with a passion at the moment - very picky about windscreen tinting, exhausts and rims/ tyres, and thats just to start. (There are a few places in Canberra that aren't too ferocious but they are hard to find) (check out Canberra forum for ideas on where to take it). (Jaysus if the pits see a 17yo driving in a skyline they will get eyes about 4 foot wide and greet you with "Right - out of the car," and then the fine tooth comb will come out. So get the buyer to get it checked. (A buyer won't let you take it away to get it checked anyway)

Yep - Fast and Furious and EVO will both rape you as far as prices go -

With the former - get someone who knows about Skylines to look at anything from F&F with a MICROSCOPE. When I was looking out there I looked closely at about 10 cars and EVERY one of them appeared accident damaged in some way esp at front - indications of re-spray etc etc.

Ha - the other interesting thing about my visit there was that, as I said before I am an oldie, and my partner and I were dressed really smartly on the day concerned and it was pretty b..... obvious we were keenly interested in buying SOMETHING cos we looked at every car there from sideways, frontways, interior peeking etc - and no-one came out to see if we needed help etc etc.....

There was a R33 in Saturdays Can Times for $18K - I don't know anything about the car, I just spotted the ad. Otherwise there is a good 'local' car forum as well as the ACT forum on this site that you can snoop around on and ask whats happening.

So - yeah be aware of price private vs. dealer and also rego in Canberra (as you prob know ANYTHING over six years of age that changes hands here in Canberra HAS to be inspected). Same goes if car is from interstate and you want to change it to ACT rego. Then I ?think a vehicle identity check is mandatory and it HAS to be taken over the pits.

Good luck - and as you can prob see from this site Skylines are the BEST...

I bought my first car in the early 70s and it twas a Morris 1300 automatic and I thought it (and I) walked on water!!!

[r33skylinegtst]

EVO...where to start with them...when i went there that place reeked of dodginess and the cars all seemed HUGELY overpriced...plus a friend of mines brother took his car there for some work on it and ended up having to take it elsewhere to fix the problems they'd created. I tend to avoid that place now...

Sounds like you have some interesting stories from the car yards too, lol.

Ah well, i looked over Saturdays canberra times...not a lot on offer. Theres a Holden Barina in there that my parents are trying to sell...no luck yet

[Merli]

Have you tried the Trading Post?

They come out every Thursday and are filled with cars (good and bad)

http://www.tradingpost.com.au

Other places to look:

http://www.carpoint.ninemsn.com.au

http://www.carsales.com.au

http://www.drive.com.au