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Finishing uni soon and looking to upgrade to something better than my R31. Considering a Stagea just because they are fairly unique. I hardly ever see one here on the Central Coast.

So the questions are:

1. does the four wheel drive make them much more thirsty for fuel than say an r33 gtst?

2. Are they much slower than an r33 gtst?

3. Is it cheaper to insure, as they have four doors and I assume would be in fewer accidents due to the older age of stagea owners? (no offence) :)

4. Can those roof racks be removed? will this leave ugly holes in the roof?

Sorry if these have already been posted, i had a look around but found nothing.

Edited by shyster
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1. probably about 2-4L/100km more than R33

2. not heaps, but 300kg+ slows you down

3. no, still a turbo import

4. yes, but it helps if you have the covers else water gets in and rusts the roof

5. see 2.

1. 400+km per tank (compared to 450 for a coupe)

2. fast enough for me (with normal mods)

3. depends on your current rating I guess, plus read the 'how old are Stag owners thread'

4. why would you? they are there to be used....

1. 400km + depending on driving style (based on previous threads about this)

2. Dunno...havnt been in a Stagea

3. Hey we are not old! Im only 16 :( Insurance from the quotes I have gotten I have compared with some mates with R33 GTST's and yes they were cheaper...slightly But it all depend on the company and how mcuh you want to cover it for etc.

4. Its all about the image B) Roof racks are cool

I found this one: Stagea_on_Carsales

It is on the coast and with a 5 speed. Are there many others with 5 speed? Is this an average price?

I thought Stagea owners would be older but it seems that many are in there 20s. (I'm 22) so at least my mates shouldn't pay me out for driving an old farts car.

One of my mates reckons he wouldn't buy one if you couldn't take the roof racks off. But he drives a commodore so he has bad taste anyway. :(

I'd say thats a pretty fair price...But mine is goign to cost $16500 on the road, excluding comprehensive insurance. With comp. I'm looking at 20+ But my car is coming with 18inch rims, adjustable coilovers, TV, DVD, and exhaust. But yeah, thats a pretty good price I think :(

I found this one: Stagea_on_Carsales

It is on the coast and with a 5 speed. Are there many others with 5 speed? Is this an average price?

I thought Stagea owners would be older but it seems that many are in there 20s. (I'm 22) so at least my mates shouldn't pay me out for driving an old farts car.

One of my mates reckons he wouldn't buy one if you couldn't take the roof racks off. But he drives a commodore so he has bad taste anyway. :(

5 speeds are pretty rare, and usually about $3k - $4k more expensive than the same model in an auto.

i'm only 22 as well, used to have a skyline, but the wagon factor is superior. my mate occasionally pull out the volvo or hearse call, or the family wagon, but it's all in good fun. most people i meet are intruiged by the car and think it's awesome.

Yeah mine was a 5 speed, was only on the market a short time and I snapped it up, I though it was a great price considering the mods it has.

I absolutly love it, much better than my r33 I had. BUT the stag I bought has a crapload more mods done to it then my r33 had, which is prolly the reason it goes better :D

One other thing to look out for is if you want a body kit its best to find one with one already installed, this will save you money later on. The prices seem to have come down a little over the year. Mine cost me $20,500 with body kit already on earlier this year, from the traiding post.

Mine was 19,000 with ~8 months rego

+stamp duty +insurance... sooo, yeh

The manual conversion will cost me ~4500 inc the PFC, and i expect that to really help my car keep more value compared to the other stageas, given the manual will be in more demand

Though, saying that, i dont plan to sell my stagea for a few years yet, at least not before i get off my P's, so 3 years to go.. (cops etc)

yeah i only paid $18,000 for mine. it came with the side skirts and rear skirt, clear indicators, eyelids and aftermarket front grill. has a fujitsubo cat back exhaust (i only found out recently) and a boost controller with pod filter.

It had leather interior and twin sunroofs as standard. i thought it was a steal at the time, and i haven't seen one as good value since (but i havem't looked very hard)

i've probably spent $10k in mods on it already and none of that was engine work, all suspension, wheels and intercooler plus other little bits here and there (stereo too)

they're awesome fun to mod because they respond so well to anything you can do to them.

Well too bad its gone. Hope that guy enjoys it.

oh well still got to wait for the bank to give me money anyway, hopefully i'll find another 5 speed by then.

That would be me... And yes, I am thoroughly enjoying it!!!

It didn't have leather or the sunroof option, and I would have liked to have either or both, but that's ok. And it doesn't have a rear spoiler, but I might add that later, still not sure yet.

But it is a MANUAL, which is why I snapped it up. I drove up yesterday with my oldies (gave them a bit of a day out in the process) to pick it up.

It's a heavy thing, but it still goes, stops and handles better than the Corolla I still have (and will keep as my daily driver). There's a pic of the two of them together in another thread here in the Stagea section. I'd link it, but I'm too tired now.

If you haven't already, sign up for the mailing lists on J-Spec Imports and Prestige Motorsports.

Good luck with your search,

Nick T.

Whatever you budget for the car, budget at least 3-4g to make the car "fun"

This will cover things like

-boost controller+dfa of some kind

-exhaust

-swaybars

-all bushes

-shocks/springs(the $$ bit)

I think when the car is that level, its very very bareable compared to the pissy std condition (no offence to anyone)

From there, the fun stuff (and expensive stuff)

-manual conversion

-pfc

-fmic

-upgraded turbo

-injectors

-fuel pump/FPR

-brakes inc rotors/pads/brake lines

Edited by AlexCim
Hey all,

I'd like a quick guide on what sort of things I should be looking out for when I look at a Stagea in the flesh......would like to get opinions and ideas on any Stagea-specific issues.

Maybe later on we can have this thread added  as a "Sticky" at the top of this page and also added to the Tutorials.

:O

I agree, this thread sought of makes mine a repost, need a permanent thread for potential Stagea owners with all the useful info that people have contributed to both threads.

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