skyline as first car

[Rekin]

Hello Forum Readers

I am interested in purchasing a 1997 r33 gtst in 2-3 years time. This month i will be applying for my learners and I am obsessed with cars. I have some questions about skylines which i hope you will be able to answer.

1. Is a skyline a great first car.

2. Is it safe to purchase a car from import sites. ie prestigemotorsport.com.au. If you know anyother sites could you please post it.

3. As all r33 skylines are second hand how is their performance compared to a new ford, hyndai, kia etc

4. Is it hard to obtain car loan/insurrance for a skyline r33.

5. Will the price of a 1997 skyline r33 gtst drop in 2 - 3 years time.

Thankyou for your time and help.

Regards

Patrick

[skyhi psi]

A skyline is a great 1st 2nd and 3rd car

[OKBANANA]

1. A Skyline is a great car, get it asap

2. Prestiege Motorsport imports cars, other sites: www.carsales.com.au, www.carpoint.com.au

3. Pfft @ everything except skyline

4. Insurance vary's on age, if it's N/A or not, bad license reputation etc etc...

5. The value will decrease, dont know how much though.

:wavey:

[Blade]

1. Yes.

2. Yes.

3. Dunno why your comparing a supercar to a Family muff shitbox...

4. No

5. I hope Not

[sammus]

Be aware of the power:weight ratio limitation that Victoria has on P-platers. r33 gtst is border line i think...

Insurance is ****ing bitch for young drivers... i want to stab it. 3rd party here i come

[chaos]

1. Skyline will be a good first car

2. Your lookin at a S2 which is easily $24k+ (good luck getting a loan for that amount at your age)

3. Insurance with any high performance car at your age will be sky high for a NA even higher on Turbo (considering if you even get insured)

4. purchasing a car from japan when your given a description and maybe a few pics is always risky. (hidden dangers)

5. 15 year rule will be very hard to get a 97 model in so unless your looking at a stock as a rock car maybe try tradingpost etc etc.

Your looking fairly early considering you only just about to get your learners. I been interested in skylines for years now and im really only startin to look now but wont be purchasing for at least another 6 months...

[09ONE_32]

Yeah pretty much what everyone else said, However about the whole loan thing, I was kinda in the same situation as you...sort of. I was, at your age and still am obsessed with cars. I too wanted a phat as car as my first, and no mine wasn't a skyline, but yeah I saved 4 ages and bought an MX-6 turbo. No I didn't have insurance on it...I didn't even try. Then got a VL turbo, sold that got a NA VL, (still have it) Then got a loan 2 days after my 18 B'day and bought silvia SR20DET. Now have skyline and more than happy. Point is if you pick a decent car that you know you will be happy with from the start...do it.

About Insurance, well I still only have CTP on my skyline, which doesn't worry me because I couldn't afford full comp no chance. It is a risk, but I believe it is worth it (not even going to pay twice the price of my daily driver just to insure my skyline for a year)

[r33skylinegtst]

1. As long as you're a good driver and feel confident with it then yes.

2. Don't know. Try private sales in Australia. Much less risk that way, can inspect the car and take it for a test drive. That's the way i did it. Plus i got a mad price on a '96 model.

3. I don't think there's a single (unmodded) Hyundai that could keep up with a stock R33 GTS-t, correct me if i'm wrong!

4. Isurance. It's the killer. Well, seeings as you're just going for your L's im guessing you're about 15, right? that means you'll be 17-18. Expect insurance (full comprehensive) of over $4000 a year. Steep, but worthwhile if you wanna be insured against theft (or you could get 3rd Party fire and theft long as you aint in Canberra or WA. Damn Canberra! DAMN THEM AND THEIR WIERD LAWS!!! )

5. Just like any car the price will drop. I'd guess around $20k for one in good condition.

[Rekin]

Does a second-hand skyline r33 operate as good as a cheap new car?

Thankyou for your replies.

[OKBANANA]

It operates better

[r33skylinegtst]

how 'cheap' are we talking? and what do you mean by operate? it all depends on how it was looked after by the previous owner.

[Rekin]

A new car worth $15,000 - $20,000.

Well if I purchase a skyline from this forum I presume that everyone treats their car as their own child

Would a well maintained skyline purchased from this forum work as good as a cheap new car? As skylines are second-hand the car parts would have been used however will it still be as durable as a cheap new car? I heard Nissan makes quality parts have longer life span?

- Patrick

[r33skylinegtst]

there's no comparison. As long as the 33 has been looked after it will operate better than any $15k new car you car to name.

[chaos]

a good well maintained skyline would drive exceptionally well if it isnt thrashed at all then you should have no problems what so ever.

the parts may be hard to come by just have to use jap wreckers etc

[Bax]

I disagree, for a first car you want something that you can drive and not have too much power underneath you ready to become another statistic, and or damage the car.

I'd much rather something with less power for a beginner to learn in. And as already been mentioned, power to weight may mean you cannot drive it anyway.

As for power etc, depends what kind of car you want gtr would be a dream, the old rb20det would be good for a first car I reckon. But the odd skyline would still get beaten by a few imports, maybe even a vlt here and there.

Insurance, if your 16-17-18 will be a bitch, probably looking at 1,500 upwards.

In my opinion, by a little gemini have your fun, thrash it, give it a carby and an exhaust and do some mild work, if you can handle a little bit of power that way, then use the money you saved in that year or so of driving the gemini. To put towards getting a skyline.

You may also want to consider whether you want to be in debt for the next 10 years of your life... Unless you've got good parents.

Best of luck with what you choose, but honestly I reckon a nice car like a skyline should be saved until your ready to look after it and respect it.

[Rekin]

thankyou for the quick responses.

From the responses so far, I think it will be more cost effective to wait until I am 21 to purchase my first skyline. Until then looks like i will be stuck with my parents car.

By then I might have enough money to purchase a r33 gtr. How much does a stock/lightly modded r33 GTR cost?

Thankyou

- Patrick

[OKBANANA]

You can get a nice R33 GT-R for around the $40,000 mark.

[chaos]

Mate its best to look at a few things, Rego, Insurance, Fuel, extras..

If you can afford to pay off your loan and still have a safe boundary ie money to fall back on if you need to repair something then go for it and get a line as the first car. Its just the little things that you may not notice will hurt you.

[SS8_Gohan]

I've had/still have a Nissan Pulsar GL 1991. 1.6l, manual. No balls but a fun car to throw around, crazy understeer and shudder in the wet when cornering It was my bro's car, but i got it at 18, i'm 20 now and turning 21 in November.

I too wanted a R33 GTS-T when i was 18 and had it worked out pretty much, didn't need a loan as i've had a good paying job since i was 18 and was paying up front. Parents were putting in $5k. But my dad was not too keen on contributing to a rwd turbo at 18 after only about 6-7 months of driving a Pulsar. So i waited and saved, drove my Pulsar and just put down a deposit for a R34 GT-T plate today In restrospect i think the way it's panned out its probably for the better. I've prob only done about 15,000km's in the Pulsar but i've done lots of varied driving, city, country, night, long drives, heavy traffic, etc. Had a bit of taste of power with my dad's, 530i (170kw's) brilliant car to drive and i think it's been good to kinda take small steps with cars. Pulsar, to a bit of "spirited" driving with the 530i.

I think looking around 20-21 for your turbo Skyline would be the way to go i think. Get maybe a Pulsar SSS or even the 1.8ltrs are DOHC. Good cars, solid as a rock. I think find something to get some experience in for a few years, and if you have a few scares on the road in those first few years you won't have a $20K loan to worry about if something happens.

just my two-fity

good luck with it!

[sammus]

But my dad was not too keen on contributing to a rwd turbo at 18 after only about 6-7 months of driving a Pulsar.  

coming on boost around a corner in the wet? :Paranoid: