juggler

Hi again guys, once again I can't thank you enough for all your help, you've all been fantastic so far. Maybe that explains why I've always gotten along better with blokes than girls hehehe. Jippa - no I haven't driven a Stagea yet but there's a couple of them here in Perth at dealerships that I will test drive to see if I like the 'feel' of them. But I don't think I"ll have a problem with them, as I said I LOVE fast cars lol - been a chickie revhead from waaaay back lol. As for any problems with 'tight' spots in parking bays, that doesn't worry me either as my nickname at home is the 'parking queen' hahaha, I can get into almost any tight spot without any major issues haha. in fact I find that to be a fun challenge lol, yes I'm not your typical female in that regard hehe. And I LOVE the idea of a noisy exhaust, hearing those makes me even more excited to drive the car hahaha. That's probably why I also love the sound of a V8 engine lol..the noisier the better imo. I love GRUNT! Would love to come and see your car, by looking at in the pic, wowee it looks so damn hot! As I said in my earlier post, I was looking for an M35AxisAutech but having seen some of the fantastic series2 Stageas some of you guys have... I could be swayed lol if there what I'm looking for. Thanks again Goldzilla and KiwiRS4T AndyD - LOVE the look of your Stagea too, and thanks for the link, I'll be looking through that this arvo. Thanks for the number for Iron Chef, will give them a call and find out some info. Thanks for that, much appreciated!

Ian - yeah that's what I was looking for, the upload thingy lol and it didn't come up? Maybe I should ask one of the mods on here? Thanks.

Oh and one more thing, this isn't related to the Stagea lol, but I was wondering how do you put up a personal photo on your profile, just went through my profile and managed to set my gender, age, location etc but couldn't find the option for uploading your photo?? And adding features to your avatar? Thanks.

Thanks guys! You've all been so helpful so far, much appreciated! XMetal - that sounds like a good idea, thanks for the tip. And that's a cheap joining fee too, plus I like the idea of the snazzy extra stuff you get with the membership hehe. Goldzilla - firstly, thanks for the welcome. Secondly, you really are a plethora of knowledge aren't you? Have read some of your other posts on here and have been most impressed with your comprehensive research, thanks for that! Yeah I thought the Stagea would most likely out-perform a Liberty and they're cheaper, hence the Stagea being my first option. I do know that the new GT/SpecB Liberty is very fast but too expensive for me brand new and finding them second hand is almost impossible, and the second hand ones are still around 50K and usually manual...and yes I've found out that most Stagea parts are interchangeable with Skyline parts and quite accessible so that's a relief for me also. As for insurance I'll probably choose Shannons but will still have a good look around, and as for the model, I will most likely go for the M35AxisAutech or M35Arx-four. A Series2 is also another option for me as I've seen some fantastic series 2 also...thanks for also telling me more info about Japanese auctions, have also heard from Appealing that they are a great option to get a really good Stagea around $5-10k cheaper than normal...if I have the time to do it,then I'll definitely look into that, but at this stage, I will most likely go through and importer, and having heard some negative reports about other importers so far, Northshore Prestige seems the way to go..I also like the idea of giving my importer the list of options/parts I want in my car, it'll save me time which is great when you have 3 kids lol to look after! I've also looked through the link Ian Xmetal gave me and found it to be most helpful. So, once again, thanks for your help and guidance! Andy - Yep, I've heard nothing but good things when it comes to importing cars through Ben at Northshore Prestige so will most likely go through him if I go through a dealership which I probably will. Kiwi - thanks for telling me about the safety rating, I thought Stageas would've scored fairly high, but wasn't sure - hearing that they scored 6 out of 6 is most impressive and yep, I know what you mean about the manual - I would go for a RS260 IMMEDIATELY if I had my manual license, but I don't , but it will happen in the near future lol hehe.Thanks.

Thanks 260tech, that info was very useful and YES I do really want a Stagea as I love fast cars lol - i'm not your typical nervous woman in the car, I like to go faster than my husband! hahahaahaha. And yes, so far I've heard they're not very economical but I'm willing to sacrifice a few dollars for the performance of the car hehe. Thanks for also telling me about the auctions and what 'grade four' meant - prior to reading this I had NO idea what grade four meant. As for the importer I'm looking at getting my car through Prestige motorsport here in Perth or Northshore Prestige in Sydney. I've heard that both are excellent and very thorough and helpful. So far, I've spoken to both of the head dealers that work there - Geoff at Prestige motorsport and Ben at Northshore Prestige and they've been very helpful. Hopefully I won't prang it either, even though I"m known as a lead foot lol. Andy - yep I spoke to Jetwreck today and he was great in answering the main questions I had, great advice Jetwreck - thanks. And yes I found out that you cannot comply models later than 03, which is not of a big concern to me as I prefer the earlier models than the 04 models and upwards, was just curious as to what these later models looked like and why you couldn't import them, now I know. Side curtain airbags and active head restraints sounds good, where did you get that done? Thanks for the tip. And to everyone else, thanks for all the info so far, you guys are great, I've found all the answers I'm looking for on here instead of having to search the net which is time consuming and sometimes generic and not specific, but please feel free to keep posting on my thread hehe, can never get enough good advice/and or suggestions.

Hi Appealing, I'm looking to spend up to $35k, yes a warranty is important to me, yes I do care about the car retaining it's value although this is not the first priority, yes I'm prepared to pay for higher fuel costs - to me that's expected for a car that has great performance and features, and regarding insurance I was thinking of going to Shannons - have heard very good reports about them and their pricing, who would you recommend? I'm in the Balcatta/Westminster border and I'd love to come and look at your Stagea, doesn't bother me if you're NOR or SOR. Would be most interested, thanks. Leetom - thanks for your info also, I actually did a search on Youtube today and came up with some videos and reviews of Stageas- the older models that you're referring to, but they were still very informative. You mentioned that the chassis of S1's and S2's were specially designed for safety, do you believe they are safer than the later models? I would've thought the later models would be safer? And regarding the cosmetics, yeah I agree there would be plenty of other options apart from a frontend conversion, any good suggestions hehe?

Hahaha ssshonky, I know it's embarrassing lol.. an auto license for someone that's a Nissan performance vehicle enthusiast lol.. And no, I wasn't a young chickie when I got my auto license.. I was 27 from memory because prior to that I lived in inner city suburbs that didn't require a car to get around and I had only one child, once I moved to the burbs and the number of kids increased accordingly lol, I had to get my license, there was no way around it.. I had an 'interesting' experience with a manual teacher - she was a very 'assertive' (for want of a better word lol) Slav woman that would slap me on my head if I did something wrong, mind you this was in her bomb of a Diahatsu charade that had no power steering lol and a loose clutch LMAO.. it certainly turned me off driving manual for a while so to speed things up I got my auto license, but hoping to get around to doing my manual within the next couple of yrs. And Tim what does your Stagea look like? Curious to have a squiz at it.

Darrin - thanks for the info, your Stagea sounds nice, but I only have an automatic license, should've mentioned that in my original post, sorry.

Lol.. ignore that last post.. typo lol.. I live in Perth so if there's anyone in Perth on here with an M35AxisAutech or an earlier model with a R34 front end I'd be most interested in seeing it, thanks guys.

Thanks guys, lol.. sorry bout all the questions, I guess I should've posted two threads haha. Jetwreck- I will pm you today, thanks for that! I guess my main questions would be: 1) Where can I get comprehensive reviews on Nissan Stageas? (Xmetal I'll be reading the info you gave me, thanks ). 2) Which model is the best to go for? and 3) what do I look for when buying one.. ie what do I look for to insure I'm not getting a dodgy deal? Thanks heaps guys. Oh by the way I should mention that I'm a woman, I'm just posting under my husbands' user name, will be making up my own profile soon, just got lazy last night lol

Hi all, I'm a relative newcomer to this site, been browsing it for a while and decided to join as I'm keen on buying a Stagea - love the look of them and their features and performance , but I have several questions that I hope you Stagea experts could help me with. Firstly, I've heard that they out-perform the Subaru Liberty wagons - both in the 2.5 and 3.0L versions - is this true? The Liberty was my second choice in the 3.0L version. Secondly, does anyone know of any good, comprehensive reviews they've seen on the Stagea? I'd be interested to read them. Thirdly, for those of you who drive one, how reliable and safe are they? Have you had any problems with them? And what would you list as your favourite components of them? I have 3 kids - so I was interested in knowing how safe and reliable they were, have heard good reports so far but it would be nice to hear it first hand from people on here. And if anything does go wrong how difficult is it to find parts? Is it as easy as finding parts for a Skyline? and how long would it take to get the parts? Lastly, I would like to know which model is the best to go for - one that I can put a few personal touches on (ie my own mods). I love the look of the black M35AxisAutech but I've heard the earlier models can look just as fantastic with a front end R34 bodykit on them (drooool.. lol) And what year is the most advisable? Basically I want the best performance and features, but also the safety and reliability also. I'm worried that if I go too early (like 98) I'll have problems with the age of the parts and general wear and tear. Is it better to go for the later models? Do you have more options with mods for earlier models? And does anyone know what the post 2004 M35 Stageas are like or have pics of them? I heard after 2004 their look was changed quite significantly and they lost the turbo also. Is it possible to import the later models? I haven't seen any past 03' on any website so far.. Sorry bout all the questions lol but I like to do my research before I buy a car lol. And when you do import one from Japan or from the Eastern States, what should I be asking the dealer for? RAC inspection? Roadworthy certificate? What should I be looking for aside from the pics I see in the ad? I want to make sure I'm getting what I'm paying for, no dodgy bits. Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys.