R34 25Gt, Good First Car? Or Not?

[darksky34]

Yes. Buy something slow and cheap until you're onto turbo licence. OR > buy an MX5, can be had for ~10k if you must have a sporty RWD but it's only 2 seats. otherwise hondas...

[dyl33]

+1 for buying a normal car and learning to drive first, This also gives everyone else a better chance of avoiding some P plater twat coming sidewayz at them bro lol

[niZmO_Man]

Buy an R31

[Brawwwppp]

Speak for yourself!!

I'm in the dilemma as a parent buying my next car (trading the WRX). My son will be starting to drive next year, so I need to consider something that he can also drive. There are very few P plate legal cars out there that interest me, having owned turbo Subies for the last 10 years, and Skylines before that. Some of the rules are ridiculous - things like S2K and any of the type R Hondas are legal, as are 195kW SV6's. Yet, a 3 cyl, 998cc turbo Fiesta (with a tyre shredding 74kW) needs special exemption. How firkin stupid is that?

As to the Type R Civics and Integras, they are also FWD so by your previous post, not suitable. Pity, as there are some absolute gems in that lot. If you do consider them, try get the 2 litre (K20) engine ones (2001 onwards I think) as that engine is a ripper compared to the old B series (which in their day were fantastic as well). There are currently stacks of 8th Gen Civic type R's for sale (the last Type R 2007-2012, and Oz delivered) in your price range. These have the same driveline as the DC5 Integra (147kW) so just as quick. That would be my first pick if I was in your position, but then again I already have 2 Civics, so am a bit of a VTec tragic.

The whole turbo thing makes me mad. The lovely people at Queensland Transport must think that all turbocharged cars are going to cause all p plate drivers to crash into each other. Australian rules concerning mods,learners and p plates are one of the strictest in the world. I don't know anywhere in the world (Bar Australia) where they don't let you drive a car simply because it has a turbo.

8th gen Type R's are nice, but all the ones that are for sale from a dealer here in Queensland are 20K+

The problem with a cheap car is that my parents have some sort of phobia with 15+ year old cars. The terms "Rust bucket" and "to much for you to handle" get thrown around quite frequently which gets me mad because for some cars it isn't the case.

Mum believes that if i bought a "sporty" car that every time I pull up to the lights that some bogan in his VL will try to race me. Looks like she want's any car, bar any with a Skyline badge.

[iseekool]

When my ADM S15 was completely bog stock... I beat an R34 GT-T which had full exhaust by a good car length.

A 25GT would be painfullyyyyyy slow....and it wouldn't be very chuckable given how heavy they are. They really are a boat in NA form.

If I was you, I'd get a Honda S2000 for a P-plater car.... it is a true drivers car being a highly strung NA and is very quick.

Full exhaust and extractors, opened up air intake, ECU and you'd have a lottttttttt of fun. They handle a lot better out of the box as well.

I honestly think you are talking out of your ass. R34 N/A are not speed demons, but they are not as slow as you think.

I'd say "average" - 6 cyl commodore/falcon type of slow

[666DAN]

I honestly think you are talking out of your ass. R34 N/A are not speed demons, but they are not as slow as you think.

I'd say "average" - 6 cyl commodore/falcon type of slow

Exactly, about neck and neck with a Commodore

[Gareth]

my first car was a DA6 Integra (1.6 VTEC) it was a great first car....reliable, cheap to run, quick for a 1.6, and handled really well, also i found the liftback to be a pretty good compromise between the look of the car and a practicability of a hatchback....if you can afford a type-R that would be awesome, personally i would want a DC2 but JDM spec (not with the round headlights) not even sure if they exist in aus tho.

I have owned a R33 gts25 type-s which was a fantastic car, far more reliable than any turbo skyline i have had, i had a mate who had a R32 gts and even that was pretty good.....can't say i have any experience with 34's. only problem with the R33 was it's fuel use was about the same as the gts25t that i later got and the GT-R that i have now.

[666DAN]

Whenever I see guys with N/A Skylines and MkIV Supra's on their red P's I just think that they either wasted their money on a slow car to look cool, or mum and dad bought it for them, so lose-lose in my eyes.

That 'logic' applies to any lower spec model car, I see an CLK AMG 63 and think "get a Black edition you pov"

[Brawwwppp]

That 'logic' applies to any lower spec model car, I see an CLK AMG 63 and think "get a Black edition you pov"

Anyone who owns a CLK AMG 63 simply doesn't have the brain capacity...

[colourclassic]

Anyone who owns a CLK AMG 63 simply doesn't have the brain capacity...

You've clearly never been in/driven one before then..

[warps]

You've clearly never been in/driven one before then..

Hell, I'd buy one just to listen to the noise

Ewan - I see exactly where your parents are coming from.

Being in a similar dilemma, we did a deal for a new Focus Sport yesterday. Involving enough drive to keep me happy, and P plate legal although very sluggish acceleration after the Rex. Most importantly for us, it comes with all of the safety bells and whistles to give us a bit of piece of mind. By the time our son gets his licence (about 2-3 years time) we'll be getting ready to trade the focus anyway, and it will have a market value of around $15k - perfect for a youngster. Oh and before everyone starts saying that he should learn to drive in an unassisted car so he doesn't rely on electronics to save his life - that's also taken care of. I drag him to khana crosses and dirt sprints every opportunity to hone his skills in the rally car on gravel. By the time he gets his learner's, he should have a fair understanding of car control, and hopefully a reasonable attitude to how a car behaves, and how one should drive on the road.

I forgot that you were only buying from a dealer. Still, the sticker price is seldom what you end up having to pay, specially for used cars. They would have been lucky to pay $13-14k as a trade for those $20k cars, so you have lots of wiggle room. We managed to knock almost $6K off the sticker price of the Focus yesterday, just by being prepared to sign on the spot, but also being prepared to walk away if they couldn't meet our offer (not bad for a sub-$30k car). They never like to let a potential sale walk out the door, specially if they know that the only thing stopping the sale is the price. With some harder haggling I'm sure we could have saved even more - all depends how mongrel you want to be.

Edited October 25, 2013 by warps

[Brawwwppp]

Hell, I'd buy one just to listen to the noise

Ewan - I see exactly where your parents are coming from.

Being in a similar dilemma, we did a deal for a new Focus Sport yesterday. Involving enough drive to keep me happy, and P plate legal although very sluggish acceleration after the Rex. Most importantly for us, it comes with all of the safety bells and whistles to give us a bit of piece of mind. By the time our son gets his licence (about 2-3 years time) we'll be getting ready to trade the focus anyway, and it will have a market value of around $15k - perfect for a youngster. Oh and before everyone starts saying that he should learn to drive in an unassisted car so he doesn't rely on electronics to save his life - that's also taken care of. I drag him to khana crosses and dirt sprints every opportunity to hone his skills in the rally car on gravel. By the time he gets his learner's, he should have a fair understanding of car control, and hopefully a reasonable attitude to how a car behaves, and how one should drive on the road.

I forgot that you were only buying from a dealer. Still, the sticker price is seldom what you end up having to pay, specially for used cars. They would have been lucky to pay $13-14k as a trade for those $20k cars, so you have lots of wiggle room. We managed to knock almost $6K off the sticker price of the Focus yesterday, just by being prepared to sign on the spot, but also being prepared to walk away if they couldn't meet our offer (not bad for a sub-$30k car). They never like to let a potential sale walk out the door, specially if they know that the only thing stopping the sale is the price. With some harder haggling I'm sure we could have saved even more - all depends how mongrel you want to be.

Thanks for the advice.

Congrats on the buy. Nice car. I am going to wait in till the new Ford Focus/Fiesta ST is listed as band or approved for p plate registration. Fast, practical and parents find it more "pleasing". Probably going to commit to a car after Christmas, i have 50% of the decision because i am paying 50% of the car which will help. Going to look at all the dealers we can and arrange for a few private seller inspections of some NA S15 and an AE86 import

I live on moreton bay in brisbane so there is really no place within 1 1/2 hours drive that i can participate in rally, biggest problem is we don't have a car that could be used I sometimes wish that we lived on a big property and could just muck around with mates on bikes and cars. Next to no places to drive unregistered race cars. So many first world problems...

Edited October 26, 2013 by Brawwwppp

[r34abz]

Hey mate, there's nothing wrong with getting a n/a 34, if you really want it then go for it. I've owned two 34 n/a's, currently still have one, been working hard to have bought them and to keep them running.

If you can drive a turbo then of course i'd recommend getting a turbo or save up and get a gt-r. If I wasn't on a extended period on my P's then I would've bought a turbo and not bothered about getting a n/a. Yes the n/a's are slow, yes they have massive p-plater tax on them and you can get cheaper, faster or more reliable cars for that much money but if you really want it and are passionate about getting the skyline then go for it. Just my 2 cents, s15's, ae86's, etc the same thing applies imo, if you really like it, go for it.

[warps]

I live on moreton bay in brisbane so there is really no place within 1 1/2 hours drive that i can participate in rally, biggest problem is we don't have a car that could be used I sometimes wish that we lived on a big property and could just muck around with mates on bikes and cars. Next to no places to drive unregistered race cars. So many first world problems...

We only compete in sprints, autocrosses etc. There are events held at Cooroy and Willowbank which are both suitable for normal road registered cars, and shouldn't be too far from your place. If you log onto BSCC, NDSCC or IWMAC club sites they usually advertise upcoming events. There are also some events at Pimpapa (northern Gold Coast) which are suitable for registered cars. Then there's always track days at LAkeside, QLD raceway or hillclimbs at Mt Cotton.

[GTR-N1]

All those above who ask you to be patient, speak the truth.

* something inexpensive

* reliable

* RWD

* frugal on fuel

* manual

* cheap fire and theft insurance

are wise

[Darmanin10]

I was in similar situation and decided to buy cheap hatch instead. Basically didn't want to be disappointed in na skyline performance, so ill wait until my fulls for one.

Would recommend a Honda. EP3 would be the pick of the bunch. Maybe even K swapped EK or EG

[niZmO_Man]

Yeah Skylines should be boosted. My R31 has lots of torque down low, but once it hits 3,000 rpm, something is missing, like a turbo.

[warps]

K swapped EG / EK won't be P plate legal in QLD.

[dyl33]

K swapped EG / EK won't be P plate legal in QLD.

What about b18 swapped civics?

[Chris32]

What about a N15 SSS Pulsar? I owned a N14 SSS as my first car, and it was great.

Punchy little motor, can't get into a whole lot of trouble and they are cheap as. With a basic exhaust and filter and a timing tweak for 98 Octane fuel, it would make 85wkw and was about as quick as a CA powered Silvia/180.

Parts are more than plentiful too