Need Advice!

[James quinn]

Hey everyone,

My name is James and in around 2 Months I get my P Plates. I live in Adelaide and Im looking for a car. I have a really big interest in Nissan Skylines, and with all my heart i really want a R32, but even a 33 would be nice.

So im here posting on this forum to do my homework about the car. I have a basic understanding of it and just want to know some other specs about them.

I dont have that much cash to play around with around $7500 i have, give or take a few hundred and thats around the highest mark i can go. With the new law coming into South Australia which is fu**ing bullshit i can not drive a turbo, so that has put me off this car abit, but im still really keen in getting one and im not sure if its worth getting one without a turbo then when im abit older i can put one in.

So im posting on these forums just wanting some of your help finding out

- the common problems

- Maintenance cost's and running cost's.

Im asking for your help i hope that you guys can help me out with this

Thankyou in advance

James

[Spurdo]

if a turbo is what you want, then save your cash until you can have one. trust me, when you want a turbo, then a non-turbo will never satisfy. im speaking from experience.

in saying that though, it might not be such a good idea to stick a novice driver behind the wheel of a turbo. having the non turbo taught me a lot about the car's handling characteristics etc and by the time i got myself into a turbo i was already well experienced at handling that car.

as for common problems.. coils seem to be the most prone to failure, tend to cause far more problems on turbo's though.

maintenance and running costs.. too many variables there to say accurately. most skylines these days are all in various condition, with various modifications, maintained by technicians of widely varying caliber's.

my advice would be to buy one completely stock standard. my first skyline was stock standard and it was the most reliable car i've owned yet. my turbo was already modified and because you never know who's had their greasy paws in your engine bay its like opening a can of worms.

for the love of god, whatever you do, get a pre-purchase mechanical inspection done. never again will i buy a skyline without one.

[James quinn]

if a turbo is what you want, then save your cash until you can have one. trust me, when you want a turbo, then a non-turbo will never satisfy. im speaking from experience.

in saying that though, it might not be such a good idea to stick a novice driver behind the wheel of a turbo. having the non turbo taught me a lot about the car's handling characteristics etc and by the time i got myself into a turbo i was already well experienced at handling that car.

as for common problems.. coils seem to be the most prone to failure, tend to cause far more problems on turbo's though.

maintenance and running costs.. too many variables there to say accurately. most skylines these days are all in various condition, with various modifications, maintained by technicians of widely varying caliber's.

my advice would be to buy one completely stock standard. my first skyline was stock standard and it was the most reliable car i've owned yet. my turbo was already modified and because you never know who's had their greasy paws in your engine bay its like opening a can of worms.

for the love of god, whatever you do, get a pre-purchase mechanical inspection done. never again will i buy a skyline without one.

Thankyou so much mate, for your advice.

thats what im thinking, im thinking of buying a stock standard R32 then save some money then when i can afford to get a Turbo put it, im glad that someone has told me that, ive been thinking to do that but i wasnt sure if it was a stupid idea. Also talking about common problems, with coils how much are we talking because i have a limit on how much i can spend.

max is around $7500 also how much do you think i should put away for first year maintance??

thankyou man i appreciate this so much.

[Ten Four]

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

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/privat...id=12918C227C36

Only NA on carsales under 10k in SA =/

Looks like decent value if there are P plate laws coming in. Needs a small bit of work... Learn on it

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NISSAN-SKYLINE-R34-...=item255c75450b Vic tho.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/R33-Skyline-GTS-/32...=item4aa38b8d9e NSW.

Edited August 10, 2010 by Ten Four

[jutto87]

i may get slammed for this but hey its just MY opinion. i believe you should just buy a turboed car straight up. think about it, say you buy a NA powered skyline then down the track you decide its time for a turbo, well your gunna be up for some solid dollars to convert the car to turbo. you need loom changes ecu changes find a turbo and manifold plus exhaust to suit. change the cams injectors etc etc. your looking at a few grand to achieve this reliably. SO whats involved in getting in trouble for driving a turbocharged vehicle should you ever get caught (dont go modifying straight away like front mount exhaust blah blah blah) id say for the small chance you will be found out its worth the risk. hey you might get a fine but its certainly not gunna be anywhere the amount to have the car up to the same specs as a originally turboed vehicle. this is just MY opinion so use this as advise only. these were my experiences and they r not necessarily the right thing to do but simply put a smart option. meh.,

[Ten Four]

^He says there are laws coming in to stop P platers on turbo.

[mad082]

yeah the p plate laws are coming in in less than a month, so he will have to get a non turbo.

my honest opinion would be to just get a commodore/falcon or v6 magna or SSS pulsar (unless you are one of the idiots who thinks fwd is shit because you can't do fully kebab style burnouts) for now and then get a turbo skyline when you are off your p's. all of the above will be as fast or faster than a natro skyline and be cheaper on parts, insurance, etc, and get you less attention from the police

[Iron Chef]

James, in all honesty, you're better off spending $2K on a manual R31 Skyline or KE70, and putting the rest in the bank till you're off your Ps. Learn your skills in a car that won't have you bleeding if you dent or scratch it.

[HEKT1K]

+1. get a shitbox for now, and then when you're 21/22 and rolling in a mint GTR, teh womenz will flock to you

[Spurdo]

+2. get a cheap shitbox rwd for now, and save your cash hard until your off the Ps and you will be able to afford something epic. i wish someone gave me that advice when i was a nipper. actually someone probably did, but i doubt i was listening.

Edited August 11, 2010 by jonboy

[Ten Four]

Ya, I would too but I was just seeing what was available cause he wanted a skyline.

[Mr Eps]

hello everyone

all different kinds of advice here... my advice is as follows.

when i was 19 i imported a non turbo Cefiro. i've had it nearly SIX YEARS.

like you - i got it when i was on my P's.

not because of legalities. i got the non turbo cefiro, because i wanted a mother effing cefiro. this car was nicer than ANYthing turbo going around at auction.

since then - i've made it an RB20de+T

(turbo'd the non turbo motor)

don't listen to people saying that turbo conversions are hard. they're not. not at all. and they're DEFINITILY not expensive.

now that i'm turbo. my car is fast. super duper fast.

stock turbo Rb20's have very low compression, and no torque, boost kicks in late in the powerband.

i personally am not a fan

MY setup however. boost is on at 2,500rpm, full boost is at about 3,500/4000.

it still revs out to 8 thousand, it still retains it's high compression, it has a conservatively small turbo setup using stock equipment.

it's rev happy

it's hyper responsive

it's more torquey than rb20det

you don't need to replace cams. you don't need to replace externals. just bolt on your parts and away you go.

everyone will tell you "you can't do it" or "it'll cost too much money" or "it will explode the internals"

i did my conversion four years ago. it cost me about a thousand dollars all up. and it didn't explode the internals. or the externals. infact it's travelled about 45,000 km as a turbo and hasn't missed a single beat.

so

if you want to buy a non turbo skyline. then do that.

if you want to turbo it. then do that too.

if you decide not to and sell the car. then do that.

it's your money.

imported cars are about heart.

do what your heart tells you to do. if only i was your age with the choice of cars that availabe for you guys now i'd be a happy man!

my advice is - don't do what ANYONE says. only ever do what James Quinn says.

another thing - if you get a turbo car soon like REAL soon you might find that you will receive a grace period because you bought the car before the laws... if you buy the car as an innocent young buyer and register the car innocently within the law at the time. the law can't punish you if they decide to change their mind.

check with Vicroads / RTA to confirm and make sure. but i reckon there would need to be leway

good luck!