First Car

[Milenko]

hey all i was just wanting to know about

1990 NISSAN SKYLINE GXE

im thinking about it for a first car money is very tight at the moment so needing something cheap and reliable, so i thought i would ask here if they are good, reliable, strong, cheap to fix, low on fuel, cheap rego, cheap insurance, all round good cars?

here is a few pics of the ones i have been looking at

[NISZILA]

There is no doubt, it is a good car. You need to do some budgeting though. When i got my first car, it was only a four cylinder. This saved me a lot on petrol. Not saying that the skyline chews through fuel, (nothing like a 5.7l V8) but I did feel the difference of six cylinders when I got my R33. I think its worth paying a little extra for, but the final decision is up to you. I'd say its a good first car. Good luck with the car hunt, let us know how you go.

[racsov500]

head on over to teh R31 forums all the info youll ever need

and yes they are fantasic first cars apart from the cost of fuel

[Bliksem]

Yes the R31 is a nice reliable first car, one of my mates got one about 6 years ago when we we're still in school - looks exactly the same as the second on in those pics. He still drives it today. I've been thinking of getting one myself lately and getting an LPG conversion so I can run it as a daily.

Just take your time and wait until you find the right one

[The_Paladin]

camary

probbaly the best value for dollar for basic transportation costs. low on fuel, reliable, cheap to insure. as long as a big ego dosent set you back you'll be fine.

[JVP]

i had a 31 as my first car, very reliable. only problem was the fuel costs, but was an awesome car for its age.

[Kesmai]

with prices these days you dont want it chewing up fuel. it burns a lot bigger hole in your pocket than it did 10 years ago.

[eMsta]

better than what i had, but in terms of fuel costs, nothing beats my little "dune buggy" aka 1982 honda civic. If I recall correctly in 35 ltrs i had achieved around 500klms (which is around 7ltrs per 100). It would probably have been better when it was aroudn 10 years old, but hey cant complain.

The only down side apart from the space and all that is the power. The 1.3 took ages to get to 100km/h - so when I got the r33, it took me a few days to get used to the rapid response of the throttle....

If you want to get a good 80's skyline, make sure that the car has been regularly serviced - you dont want it eating up fuel - not now anyway....

Edited August 7, 2006 by emsta2003

[dangerous_daveo]

r31 probably not a bad choice... Just being an old car get it checked out, find out what needs doing to it, and how much its going to cost before handing over any money. The fuel cost wont kill you, fixing stuff will.

A corolla wouldnt be bad either. Cant kill them. Same thing tho hey. Old car need to know what needs doing.

[GTR32GUS]

before I got my last car (r32) the most i had spent on a car was $800 most of them were about $500 if they brake down who cares go buy another $500 car and drive it til it dies , u also learn abit trying to fix them

[Kinks]

R31s are solid cars, the only downside if money is tight will be petrol costs

[Silent]

heh drving off boost saves petrol

[Freddy Kruger]

heh driving off boost is boring

anyhoo the topic... a mate had one, was eith black or dark blue... looked and went pretty good. till it met with a roo

Edited August 7, 2006 by Freddy Kruger

[evil_weevil]

Des - R31 for sure!

at a minimum - get the GXE

Ti if you can find the right one or even the silloette (sp???)

and when you save more get an engine conversion done

[racsov500]

heh drving off boost saves petrol

its always off boost in an aussie r31

great solid cars, really happy with mine.

[NA power]

i had one.... got it for 1800bucks, one of the best things i ever brought

[RoadHog_r33]

Yeah great car, i previosly had a R31 silloutte burgandy over silver, got it off parents who owned it since new, had 500,000 k's on clock and still was running awsome, not a problem exept power steering pump gave up, had some mods, extractors, 2.5 inch custom exhaust twin pipes and power and torque chips in ecu, got bout 400k's a tank, you cant go wrong with the r31 i think, they can take a beating, we looked after that car well it looked after us great choice and you will be very happy with it and if need parts the gxe and all that are good with finding parts unlike the silloutte and gts. But you got a great car there mate

[ignuz]

Get an old datto.. There's a mint one somewhere for sale for $4k..

[predator]

I had an r31 GXE when I was about 20 for my second car.. did me well..

back then they were in the daggy basket that nobody cared about. Now it seems they're a popular first car.

[Dr_GTST]

I had an r31 GXE when I was about 20 for my second car.. did me well..

back then they were in the daggy basket that nobody cared about. Now it seems they're a popular first car.

I had a VL commodore, dont buy one of those. They share the same engine and trans as the R31. Awesomely reliable! Although the commodore rusted out and had a terrible interior. Things to check are power steering racks ( i think , make sure no leaks) and if its an auto, check the overdrive works and engauges gears correctly.