Buyer beware!

[zer0for0je]

Hello there,

I'm in the market for a first car, im looking at a 180SX or a Silvia with about 10k to spend, when i go to inspect possible cars, what should i look out for, and what pitfalls should i be weary of ?

When i do get my 180/s13 i want to do some basic mods etc, etc, is it better if i buy a stockie, or if i get one that's allreaddy modded ?

[someonestolecc]

Theres a thread that tells you about stuff you should look for if you search - i think its a sticky. It's for skylines but it will apply to a lot of cars.

As for 180's and s13's it's pretty safe to say (in my mind anyway) that they are all thrashed.

Be aware of that when you're buying them so you know what you may need to change/replace/recon/service.

I've never owned a sil or 180 so I can't tell you specifically about them but my friend put one through hell and it took everything he gave it - respect to the sil and respect to the SR20.

Other than that I have no idea - good luck.

oh . .. finally if you find a 180/s13 that's not about to blow up for that price let me know, all the good ones i've seen are more than that.

[seraphyn_r33]

your looking at around 10-15 k for a good s13, and around 13-14 k upwards for a good 180

[Spook's_Skyline]

GET IT CHECKED OUT BY A MECHANIC YOU TRUST BEFORE BUYING REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH EXTRA THAT COSTS (we took the list of things that needed to be fixed back to our dealer and got them fixed before we took the car home, it saved us quite a bit of money)

[boj01]

Stretch your budget that little bit extra and dont be afraid to pay more for a really solid car, as its better spending the money the first time around, than buying a shitter.

[zer0for0je]

ok, the mechanic thing i was going to do anyway, since my dad is a mechanic.

also why are 180's more expensive that silvias, arn't they the same car but with different body's ?

[Amaru]

Theres more demand for 180SX's over Silvias, and more demand means higher prices.

As the others said, beware of what you buy. A friend bought a 1989 180SX last year for $9000 locally (CA18DET/manual) and thought he got a bargain. It turned out to be one of the biggest shitters in existance, and now requires massive amounts of money to fix it up. Things from the floor pan rusting and bending if you put much pressure on it, to engine being stuffed and making a measly 59kw on a dyno. It also had stuffed/bent suspension from where its been slid up a gutter. It quite literally had been taken to hell and back.

Which made me just think, make sure you check all the panels for correct fitment and under the car for rust, as they are quite a popular 'drift' car, and id bet a majority have seen a few gutters in their lifetime and arnt quite straight. Make sure you take any youre interested in for a drive, and if the steering wheel shakes at any speed, its a good sign something is bent somewhere.

You get what you pay for, if you skimp on the car, you will get burned. If you pay a few thousand extra to pick up a top quality example, you will love and enjoy it for many years to come.

[meshmesh]

GET IT CHECKED OUT BY A MECHANIC YOU TRUST BEFORE BUYING REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH EXTRA THAT COSTS

Uuuuhm.. I would have to sort of agree BUT DISAGREE!

Don't take it to just any mechanic. I would take it to someone who works on these type of cars all the time.

[zer0for0je]

thanks amaru!

also, compared to the sr20det's, how good are the ca18det's?

and whats different about them?

[meshybum]

ben ice performance he good for skyline.

[Nozila]

in regards to mechanics looking at the car, what if the car is at the dealers would a check by an independent mechanic considered highly recommended. As ive heard that there, not all, dealers which are dodgy.

[r33skylinegtst]

Besides the obvious smaller capacity (CA18) 1.8 vs (sr20) 2.0 i'm not too sure, but i hear the CA18 is more rev happy...

[Hail]

rev happy very much so, the CA18 i believe is a better car for drifting, im buying a 180sx with a SR20 in the coming months as i had to sell my other two cars haha (lost my licence for 6 months)......find a nice sileighty or a one'via, they r great cars

in regards to wat to look for, a mechanic that works on these types of cars, test drive, make sure the body is straight, check for damage...also sus the owner out... does he/she keep the interior clean?? ex. inbetween all the lil gaps becoz a person that keeps their interior clean i usually find are pretty festideous (excuse any spelling errors) about the whole car ingeneral (just from my past experience).