Is this a pipe dream?

[sl33py]

Hi.

New to the forum. Looks like ur good and friendly ppl, not like some other forums (e.g. the Honda Civic ones)

I've been looking and reading about the R33 GTS25T. Not sure what year to go for. Whatever I can afford (20K including on road costs and everything). From what I gather, they are the same engine anyway as long as they have that model name.

Now the thing I'm curious about (warning.. a few financials and MANY questions ahead ) is if I can manage to buy and drive this car, or if I'm missing something. Main worries are the insurance and the compliancing/registration etc. I've read what I can on this forum and others, I guess I'm mainly after a bit of reassurance about my plan. A few friends who have imports of their own have given me worried comments (not about my driving, just worried I don't realise everything involved).

Useful info to note: I'm in Canberra Australia, I'm 24yo, never had an accident, 60% no claims bonus to date. So far I have driven '81 Volvo 244, '97 Civic Cxi (current), GF's dad's Holden Lumina V6. I realise a Skyline is a world apart from these cars.

So my plan is:

1) Get a $25K loan.

2) Find a Skyline, most likely in Sydney, for about 17-18K.

2a) Issues I know I need to get "checked off" include:

Compliancing: the dealers I'm looking at say they do this, but will NSW compliance mean it's complied in ACT? Or is it nationwide? Is this just set of papers that need to be kept in/with the car?

Engineering: I would have thought that any Skyline available at a dealer would be legal to drive on our roads (ie no lowering, no wheel size mods etc) but a mate says that they import heaps of cars you could only drive on the track. My plan is to go for a model as close to stock as possible, to avoid as much trouble with this area as possible. My mate (whose put a twin turbo soarer engine in a cressida) also said I'd need to get "intrusion bars" installed... ??? I know what they are, but surely they have something like that in them already?

Registration: Same mate also says that even if I get compliance, I might still have issues when I get to the rego pits.. What else could there be?

Insurance: Just Car Insurance gave me a quote of $1900 a year for full comprehensive insurance (using the internet form). That sounds on the low side to me?? I'm a bit sus about that result.

Rego: My Civic costs 680 a year rego... this is the same for all passenger cars right?

Fuel: Mate says his car uses $50 a week in petrol. I'd be fine with that amout, and I expect it might be a bit less since the skyline i was is single turbo, not twin like his car.

My loan will be used to pay the first rego and insurance. If I sell my Civic for about 10K, I'll pay off half the loan immediately. Then I can pay a grand each month and hopefully be all paid up in ~15 months time. I will probably leave the car stock for easier resale in 2-3 years.

This of course doesn't allow for "sh1t" to happen. And I don't know where in Canberra you can get imports serviced..

What do u guys think? I REALLY would like answers for the compliance/rego etc questions, but yeah... am I on the right track? I feel like I'm taking a too simplistic view of it and I'll get hit with a majorly $$ technicality along the way.

Thanks in advance.

[xRHETTx]

Get one thats already in the country, complianced and roadworthy, that will make your life a lot easier. You should be able to get a really good one for $18k.

Keep in mind that to transfer the rego to ACT you will probably need to get it roadworthied in the ACT again.

Since you are 24 and have rating 1 (60% no claim bonus) you should be able to get insurance for cheaper than $1900. The Just cars online form is more expensive than what you'll get if you just RING THEM. I found my insurance was $300 cheaper when i rang to the price i got with the online quote system.

Rego will be about the same, it does depend on the weight of the car though so it may be slightly more than for the civic.

As long as you buy a car thats already on the street in Aus you wont have to worry about engineering, unless its modified and you want to make it "super legal."

[sl33py]

Thanks! You more or less confirmed what I thought: that if it's already in AU and they say it's complianced and not modded (or not much), then it's fine. Maybe my friend was just trying to put the "fear of god" into me..

Now my last concern is parts in case something happens. I don't see many links to anything but pulsar parts online. A friend says skyline engines are basically just 180SX/200SX engine with more volume, and use much the same parts that are interchangeable. Yet to look, but hoping he's right. Any links would be appreciated though!

I don't expect anything major to happen, but light blubs and oil filters and whatnot always go after a period.

[twoquik]

my car is for sale if interested in brisbane though

[sigsputnik]

hi mate!

welcome to the skyline lovers lifestyle. i remember when i was like you, yearning for a liner. and now i have two! I will warn you though: once you start down the skyline path, forever will it dominate your destiny. i fuggin love mine to bits.

my thoughts on your questions:

1) Get a $25K loan.

- think this is a bad idea. don't borrow against a depreciating asset. you lose on the depreciation, you lose on the interest, and you lose on the capital value. save up instead. or get a second job.

2) Find a Skyline, most likely in Sydney, for about 17-18K.

- yes, probably better than importing if you want it straight away. both of mine took ages to find in japan. plus there are importing headaches. much better to see the car in front of you if you're not prepared to wait.

Compliancing

- not necessary if you buy it privately or from a dealer. make sure it has a green compliance plate in the engine bay though. ask to see the import paperwork.

Engineering

- not necessary unless the car isn't stock. will probably have been dealt with by the current owner or dealer. side intrusions are part of compliance. again, check, as the ACT rego people are PICKY. yes, heaps are imported for race use, but they should be easy to spot and it's unlikely you'll buy one by accident.

Registration Check

- ah yes, ACT rego, the bane of every import owner's existence. The Dickson pits are pretty tough, as there are special times when imports must be examined and there are usually about five or size inspectors who have nothing to do and they go over your car like soap on pamela anderson. my advice is to wash your car down so it's spick, remove all jap rego stickers, and give it a good clean out on the inside. my first line was rejected because the underside was dirty and they couldn't read the engine number. just be polite, have everything organised in a folder on the day. if it has already been registered, you won't have to take it over the pits, you just transfer the registration. easy.

Insurance

- i went with young and cool, who were the best for my stock skyline. also famous isn't bad. third best is probably just cars, but that's just my opinion!

Rego

- it's not the same for all cars. it's based on weight, and your r33 will weigh more than your civic. but it won't cost much more.

Fuel

- yes, you'll be hunting down high octane like it's going out of style. i prefer shell, but i know others who swear by bp ultimate. and yes, it is more expensive than regular, but it is a minor cost in the long run.

Servicing in canberra is no problems, plenty of places (check the ACT forums for recommendations). it isn't rocket science for a gtst.

parts are also very easy to get. think nissan will order them in if you give them the part number, otherwise there's always the interent and the group buys on this forum.

my view is that life is too short. you should drive what you want to drive!

ps blummin come over to the ACT skyline forums. we're a nice lot.

[sl33py]

Hey, thanks for that.

However one or two things I wanna talk about:

WRT the 25K loan... Since I'll be selling my Civic for about 10L to get the Skyline, I'll end up only 10-12K in debt. This is exactly the same as I was for the Civic, and it's taken me only 15 months to pay off in full. I'm satisfied with 1-2 grand interest all up, to have the car asap. And I'm impatient I figured out that including new massive insurance (up to 2K a year or so), and rego and whatnot, I can have it paid off in about 15 months (still living at home DOES have one advantage )

As for you saying if its registered, then I just need to transfer the ownership: I transferred the ownership of my Civic from a guy in NSW but ( and I can't remember why) I still had to go to Dickson and have it inspected. The car was stock.. no aftermarket exhaust (well it was, but simply a replacement very close to stock in size and volume, not a canon or whatever), and it had some no name rims that most inspectors wouldn't give a second glance. So... I wouldn't be surprised if i still gotta get checked in ACT after NSW already has :|

Oh yeah @ weight = rego cost. I forgot that.. der lol

Glad to hear parts and servicing are a non-issue! Was my main concern.

And thanks for the suggestion WRT insurance! I only knew about JCI, will check out Young and Cool and the other one.

I'm already salivating at the thought of the car hahahah

@ Brissy skyline... bit far for me mate.. thanks for the offer tho!

Thanks again

[sl33py]

Just thought of something else... kinda trivial: Will a Shakespeare Ugly stick (fishing rod) fit somehow inside a R33 GTS25T coupe??

[elbee111]

Gday rincewind,

Get yourself a loan and go for it now. Life's too short to be looking and wishing and wondering while you are waiting.

But now you want do drive one of Nissan's finest with an ugly stick on board ? :crazy:

Whatever. Can't help you there.

Enjoy.

El Bee

[sl33py]

Yeah I will be loaning it. I realise I may only get half the money back if i decided to resell in a few years. Mabe less. *shrug* I'm young n dumb atm

@ ugly stick: So I can go fishing down the coast! Why else?

[NJR 34GTT]

There are actually quite a few decent r33 gts-t for sale in Canberra at the moment. Prices have been pushed down a lot lately so you could find some really nice examples for the 17-20k mark. Do NOT goto any of the dealers in Fyshwick.

The insurance quote is about right, but take a good look at the excesses and the modification policy, I have an additional $400 excess due to modifications.

Rego was $684 last time I paid. May have gone up a little since then.

As sigsputnik said come say Hi in the ACT forums.

[Al]

Welcome to the Skyline life style

First and formost, shut your mate's mouth up with a whole roll of duct tape! It appears that he knows nothing about anything. The whole idea of getting a car complied it to meet Australian standards (ADR), so as long as you buy a stock car, you will not have any issues. Also, I personally can not think of one engine component that is interchangable between the skylines and silvias.

All major questions have been already answered. So i will only say that you are much better off buying a car privately (ie: Not the car yards). Do a search on this forum, it has a wealth of information, and research what you need to know when looking at buying a R33.

Wish you all the best!

[Evil]

So far I have driven '81 Volvo 244, '97 Civic Cxi (current), GF's dad's Holden Lumina V6. I realise a Skyline is a world apart from these cars.

i went from a '80 264GLE volvo to the 'line, you get used to it... i too recommend getting a car that is already here...

[Munna]

Just thought of something else... kinda trivial: Will a Shakespeare Ugly stick (fishing rod) fit somehow inside a R33 GTS25T coupe??

LOL. No it wont unless you get one that splits into 2.

[psybic]

A friend says skyline engines are basically just 180SX/200SX engine with more volume, and use much the same parts that are interchangeable.

I don't expect anything major to happen, but light blubs and oil filters and whatnot always go after a period.

I wouldn't say they are the same... They have more cylinders and alot of other differences. But its easy to get parts that you are talking about.

RB26 oil filters can be purchased from BigW as can bulbs and things.

There is plenty of parts in Oz though, people always use this argument to aid their cause for saying imports are sh!t. But I had my windscreen replaced for about $300 before it could be registered. That was supplied and fitted... its not that bad. There is also plenty of people on here with any part you could need.

[sl33py]

sigsputnik: WRT to "if it has already been registered, you won't have to take it over the pits, you just transfer the registration. easy."

Just to confirm, I just rang canberra connect / urban services and they said I'd have to go over the pits regardless :| Oh well. I think if it's complied roadworthied and registered in NSW (or at least the temp rego they give u to get the car home), then a car from a dealer should be ok for going over the pits for the transfer of ownership. I don't think there's much I can do beyond that.

[sigsputnik]

I transferred the ownership of my Civic from a guy in NSW but ( and I can't remember why) I still had to go to Dickson and have it inspected.

Check this thread for discussion on this point:

my turn over dickson

NB Canberra Connect is not always right (I proved that the last time I went over the pits). Also the NSW RTA is not always right - the lady behind the counter said I didn't need a temp rego form for Canberra, I'd just get a NSW temp rego and then I could drive it around in the ACT! Not a word of a lie! :confused:

At any rate, it's a moot point: buying one already in the country will be much easier for you.

[lordsnipe]

geez .. you guys over east are paying a lot for insurance!

[pentae]

rincewind: Do it, what are you waiting for? Sounds like a great plan.