Buying 32gtr, Need Advice!

[__PhaseShiftDown]

Always had a soft spot for the 32GTR, but being a stupid 1st time car buyer, end up impulse bought this 180. So now I'm looking into trading my 180sx and get a 32GTR. Budget is around 20k, but can go a bit more for a cleaner car. So I'm just wondering if I should buy private or go to a dealer, I know buying from a dealer will probabaly cost a bit more, but they offer you some kind of warrenty and also I can just trade my car in. So does anyone know any good realiable dealers in the NSW/Sydney area? Also, any idea how much I can get for my 180 if I trade it in? I know they probabaly rape me in the ass thou. Its a 93 with 128k on the clock, no mechanical faults and a bit of mods and good interior, exterior is not so great with damaged front bar and the paint fading a little.

Also anything in particular I should look out for in a 32GTR? Apart from the usual things such as panel gap, noise, smoke out of the exhaust....etc?

Much appreciate your help guys.

Edited April 26, 2008 by __PhaseShiftDown

[MRGTR911]

Always had a soft spot for the 32GTR, but being a stupid 1st time car buyer, end up impulse bought this 180. So now I'm looking into trading my 180sx and get a 32GTR. Budget is around 20k, but can go a bit more for a cleaner car. So I'm just wondering if I should buy private or go to a dealer, I know buying from a dealer will probabaly cost a bit more, but they offer you some kind of warrenty and also I can just trade my car in. So does anyone know any good realiable dealers in the NSW/Sydney area? Also, any idea how much I can get for my 180 if I trade it in? I know they probabaly rape me in the ass thou. Its a 93 with 128k on the clock, no mechanical faults and a bit of mods and good interior, exterior is not so great with damaged front bar and the paint fading a little.

Also anything in particular I should look out for in a 32GTR? Apart from the usual things such as panel gap, noise, smoke out of the exhaust....etc?

Much appreciate your help guys.

Hey mate ,

Every time i buy a car i send it to my local Mechanic , Does the Usual Compression Test , Leak down test , Does a check on the whole car, Brakes , Oils ETC , Also Runs it on the Dyno to make sure all is well , Now im sure alot of people dont do this , but i Can tell you its worth it paying $200 bucks to get it inspected Properly ,last thing you want is car to blow up on you on the way home , Atleast then mechanic can tell you all the details , and off you go , I would be mainly worried about the motor most as that is most expensive part to rebuild , And Price Wise Anyhing between 20K- 27K For A R32 GTR , And honestly id rather buy it from a private seller, There always cheaper and usually dont talk sh** like car dealers ..

[Tomek]

if i could do it all over again id go private.

Old car > parts wear, dealers import them and flog them to prospective buyers asap with out replacing items.

Private owner would have replaced worn suspesion, fresh service, tires, brakes etc.. Im not saying dealer's don't replace items they just do it on a budget...

Plenty of tidy units out there for sale, with low demand you will surely get a steal if you shop around. Id budget 25-30k

Check for rust

4th Synchro is known for it's laziness, and 3rd pops easy.

Warped rotors

Definately spend the few hundred to get it checked by a mechanic and try buy one which has had some work done... the 4-5k which you pay over a stock GTR will get you one with all the needed work done, saving you $$,$$$$ later down the track.

Cheers Tomek

Edited April 26, 2008 by Tomek

[Dearlove]

when you buy it, just be careful of what mods its had done to it.

being a gtr they have usually been hammered, and if its been run at 15+ pound all its life just be careful.

oh and try and get a 93 model, they had a few things from factory like r33 gtr crank and something else i think.

good luck dude

oh and if you don't know how to do the basic 'health check' on a car. you'd be better off getting rac or the like to do it

Edited April 26, 2008 by Dearlove

[Tomek]

oh and try and get a 93 model, they had a few things from factory like r33 gtr crank and something else i think.

good luck dude

Yep 33 crank, however the problem doesn't lie with the crank but the snout for the oil pump... regardless its an advantage.

93 also got the pull type clutch.

[hanyou]

im buying my 2nd 32 GTR right now, although im getting it imported so i didnt really get to check it other then the pictures provided and the words of the importer (which is a trusted importer, but im still worried) - this may be an option you might want to take up espcially if you are after something special (such as a Vspec/N1 etc etc model). Im spending approx $21,300 landed and complied for a Vspec II to give you an idea on import prices.

however if i was buying it locally, 100% get it checked! Compression/Leak down test, dyno run, general mechanical/electrical check up and of course the body/paint. GTR's are expensive cars when things go wrong so spend the extra $200-300 or so to get it checked first!

i'd also prefer to buy off someone here on the forum as most are enthusiasts.

hope that helps dude

[__PhaseShiftDown]

21k for a vspec2.. thats really good!!

But I don't think I can wait that long.. lol.

cheers guys for the advice, will keep them in mind

[turbo_brian]

Check for rust

4th Synchro is known for it's laziness, and 3rd pops easy.

Warped rotors

+1 for all of the above!!!

I recently bought my R32 GTR, I payed the good price of $16,800, down from $19,000 asking price.

It had very minor cracks in the drilled rotors, a small rust spot that has evidently been painted over under the rear wheel, and 4th gear crunches if you change into it from anything above 80km/h (worn Syncro).

The Diff whines like a nagging wife, but for $16k, I expected and appreciate these issues.

Compression on mine is 178, 178, 179, 178, 177, 179 so I am happy with the compression, and it holds pressure on the leak-down test, so rings are seated good, and valves also seat when closed, I am VERY happy with engine condition.

I also found a Blitx Access modified ECU when pulling things down and checking, but this more than likely means other mods have been done and removed. In otherwords engine has been thrashed at some point. (Having said that, I have seen Dealer-plates on Mazda MPS's getting fuel and lighting tires up out of the driveway, so even brand new cars get thrashed, so nothing suprising there).

Rust is something you need to get down and dirty with, and if the car owner allows it to be taken to a workshop, slip the workshop owner a Fifty (and signed waiver form) and go and have a look under the car while it's on a hoist (or get the car on ramps and get onto a crawler with an LED light and inspect under the car).

Definate areas of inspection are the wheel wells, door sills and also the bolts in the drive line, such as Diff, axel and drive shaft attachment bolts, if they are corroded on the outside, they are probably (infact, garantueed) to be seized inside, which means if anything goes wrong with those parts it's going to be a f_cking mongrel to get them off (I have a Soarer sitting here with a seized crank bolt, 1 bolt that caused me to need another car).

Also check service history (if private) and oil condition, see if it matches up.

Smell the oil for fuely smell, chances are a modified motor had larger injectors, and if it was taken back to stock, the injectors in there are whatever they could find that are the right size laying around the workshop, so they might need flushing or cleaning, and this is evident from hard to start motors (seem to lockup as they turn, then suddenly turn over normal and fire), or petrol smell in the oil meaning fuel is leaking into the cylinders when the engine is shut off, and dribbling down into the sump oil. Not only does it foul oil, but shortens the time between servicing and shortens the life of everything the fuel is cleaning oil off of.

B.

[Tomek]

+1 for all of the above!!!

I recently bought my R32 GTR, I payed the good price of $16,800, down from $19,000 asking price.

It had very minor cracks in the drilled rotors, a small rust spot that has evidently been painted over under the rear wheel, and 4th gear crunches if you change into it from anything above 80km/h (worn Syncro).

The Diff whines like a nagging wife, but for $16k, I expected and appreciate these issues.

Compression on mine is 178, 178, 179, 178, 177, 179 so I am happy with the compression, and it holds pressure on the leak-down test, so rings are seated good, and valves also seat when closed, I am VERY happy with engine condition.

I also found a Blitx Access modified ECU when pulling things down and checking, but this more than likely means other mods have been done and removed. In otherwords engine has been thrashed at some point. (Having said that, I have seen Dealer-plates on Mazda MPS's getting fuel and lighting tires up out of the driveway, so even brand new cars get thrashed, so nothing suprising there).

Rust is something you need to get down and dirty with, and if the car owner allows it to be taken to a workshop, slip the workshop owner a Fifty (and signed waiver form) and go and have a look under the car while it's on a hoist (or get the car on ramps and get onto a crawler with an LED light and inspect under the car).

Definate areas of inspection are the wheel wells, door sills and also the bolts in the drive line, such as Diff, axel and drive shaft attachment bolts, if they are corroded on the outside, they are probably (infact, garantueed) to be seized inside, which means if anything goes wrong with those parts it's going to be a f_cking mongrel to get them off (I have a Soarer sitting here with a seized crank bolt, 1 bolt that caused me to need another car).

Also check service history (if private) and oil condition, see if it matches up.

Smell the oil for fuely smell, chances are a modified motor had larger injectors, and if it was taken back to stock, the injectors in there are whatever they could find that are the right size laying around the workshop, so they might need flushing or cleaning, and this is evident from hard to start motors (seem to lockup as they turn, then suddenly turn over normal and fire), or petrol smell in the oil meaning fuel is leaking into the cylinders when the engine is shut off, and dribbling down into the sump oil. Not only does it foul oil, but shortens the time between servicing and shortens the life of everything the fuel is cleaning oil off of.

B.

Excellent post

[__PhaseShiftDown]

awesome!!.. Thanks turbo_brian

[spilmer]

Try and find a late model if you can thats been complied under the new laws. That should improve your chances of picking one up that hasnt been crashed or has damaged sils. If the material on the rear seats where the seat belts rest, is darker, if it has a dash bubble its been in the sun most its life. Check for rust around the bonnet hinges, the sealant usually cracks and its not painted at the factory underneath those hinges...