Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hey all I'm new to this forum and thought I'd say hi and ask a few questions. Firstly, opinions on series 2 r33's as a whole? I mean you can pick them up for under 10 grand these days...but can you get a decent one for that price? Also, if looking to buy one should I look for one as close to stock as I can, or pick up a modified one with a bit more power?

Also what are these cars like in terms of reliabilty and insurance? I'm 21 and a student so I'm interested to know if the car would cost me much in terms of keeping it going over the next couple of years while I finish my studies.

Also what are the main things/problems to look for in these cars when looking at buying them? And finally, how much would you need to spend in mods to run a low 13-high 12 sec quarter in one?

Cheers

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/234517-should-i-buy-an-r33/
Share on other sites

10 seems a bit low for a 33 GTST series 2. We've got 2 now, cheapest is $12,900.

I'm sure you could find one, but definitely check it out to make sure you won't end up with any surprises.

As for mods, the price is going to be way different depending on if a workshop does it for you, or you mod it out yourself.

Hey all I'm new to this forum and thought I'd say hi and ask a few questions. Firstly, opinions on series 2 r33's as a whole? I mean you can pick them up for under 10 grand these days...but can you get a decent one for that price? Also, if looking to buy one should I look for one as close to stock as I can, or pick up a modified one with a bit more power?

Also what are these cars like in terms of reliabilty and insurance? I'm 21 and a student so I'm interested to know if the car would cost me much in terms of keeping it going over the next couple of years while I finish my studies.

Also what are the main things/problems to look for in these cars when looking at buying them? And finally, how much would you need to spend in mods to run a low 13-high 12 sec quarter in one?

Cheers

your a student, worried about cash but you want to know how to get high 12 passes...lol

if your budgeting id suggest that you not get it unless you can budget for when things start to go wrong as well as petrol prices. the problem with skyline and their owners is when something needs replacing we usually want to replace it with something better which means more money.

its a double edge sword picking a stocker or modified one. modified one will save you on mod costs but may cost you in tunes, petrol and overal reliability cause chances are it may have been thrashed, but that all just depends on how the owner looked after it. as for a stocker, youd catch the mod bug which will cost you money aswell.

usually you get what you pay for, but once in a while you may find a genuine gem for 10k, say someone going back overseas. its a matter of giving the car a complete look over to minimse your risk. do you have money for the 100k service that will sure to come up if its close to it?

ive had my car for 8+yrs and its one of the most reliable cars that i have owned aswell as the most i have poured money into.

haha when talking about modding to run 12 sec passes I didn't mean just yet. I was thinking in terms of when I finish uni and keeping it as a project weekend warrior. And I would probably have to pay someone else to do the mods as I'm not very mechanicly able.

hmmm there are a few 96 model series 2's for around 10 grand on carsales...but you reckon they'd probably be thrashed and in not the best shape? What about something like a 95 model M-spec? Is the M-spec basically just a few nicer interior pieces and a bodykit? There's a few of those going for around 10 grand...

And I wouldn't be budgeting as such, the car I have no uses aroun 11L/100km so from what i've ready, providing I don't plant it everywhere I woudln't get too much worse with an R33???

What sort of experiences have you guys had in terms of reliability with R33 gts-t's? The car I have at the moment is a 96 mondeo that's done nearly 200,000km's and EVERYTHING is going wrong with it! Suspsension is shot, engine mounts are shot, clutch probably hasn't got too long left, it eats oil etc...so would a similar age skyline be an upgrade do you reckon? Or would I be in the same boat?

dude as soon as i read the title of this thread i thought 'yes'...

im in a similar situation to you. im a full time student, turning 21 in a few months.

pay a bit more than 10k, around 13 or so should get you into a decent one.

buy it stock, enjoy it for a while [trading up from a mondeo it will still be bloody fast]... then when you get the cash let the mods begin, at least this way you can do exactly what you want, and do it RIGHT. this is all my plan anyway.

as for reliability... ive only had mine for 3 months or so but im absolutely amazed at how it is holding up.. not 1 thing has gone wrong yet. buying a standard non-thrashed one would help in this department also.

i hope you get one and realise what shitters holdens/fords really are. i did and i havent looked back since

Ric

I bought my R33 (its a series 1 though) near the end of last year, for $10k, I get around 13-14L/100km thats mainly city driving.

& though this time of owning the car, I have never had any engine problems with the car, just did my 100k serivce last month & it looks the engine is still going strong.

BTW I'm 21 & a full time student atm aswell :)

Can I ask how much insurance is for you guys who are 21 and have a 33?

Yeah well all my bogan mates are into commodores (just for interest have a read of this bwhahaha funny as! http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=commodore) but I'm always the one who argues with them that a turbo would be way cooler :)

I know what ya mean about not looking back though, I've driven a bunch of my mates cars, turbos, V8's etc yet I still come back to turbos...there's just something so special about the power delivery and the way it feels! I was impressed with the grunt of my mates VY SS but still, preffered driving another mates jzx90. Drove a mates series 2 R33 (auto) and wasn't overly impressed in terms of power...maybe coz it was auto and stock as a rock but yeah...was very smooth nd nice to drive.

How much actual difference is there between the series 1 and series 2, other than cosmetics? Enough to make a difference?

I did think about a 32...but they're gettin pretty old now hey and price wise aren't too much cheaper than a 33 really aren't they? I dunno, would there be any advantage either way of going for a 32 over a 33?

I'm on 3rd party as well, was ~$300 with for basic or ~$550 for added fire + theft. Although my excess is $1.8k.

This is with just car, for a fully stock R33 (besides CAT & rims) & I have a clean driving record, no fines yet.

The previous owner said that it was ~$1.5k for her to get full comp. so I would guess that it would probably be ~$1.8k to $2k for me, seeing how females gets it cheaper...

How much actual difference is there between the series 1 and series 2, other than cosmetics? Enough to make a difference?

I did think about a 32...but they're gettin pretty old now hey and price wise aren't too much cheaper than a 33 really aren't they? I dunno, would there be any advantage either way of going for a 32 over a 33?

Besides the cosmetics, the series 2s have a better turbo, abs as standard & front airbags I think...

About the 32 vs 33, 32s are lighter than 33s... & you'll find that most 32 fanboys' main criticism of the 33 is that it looks like a fat boat... yata yata yata... lol

& most will say buy a 32 & put a rb25 in it...

Edited by Mayuri Krab

I bought my black 96 series 2 gtst last year in october completely stock from a dealership. They wanted $18,990 and i ended up getting it for %15,900 with only 3 months rego (he was a tightarse).

Anyways ive now got a front mount, full exhaust, enclosed pod, r33 gtr fuel pump as far as mods go. I have a z32 afm and power fc in my room.

I havnt had the power fc installed and tuned because im thinking i might want a different car.

I dont know what im going to do but if i could do it again i would buy a skyline with 260 - 270 rwkw, ready to go.

In the end thats what you will aim for but it will take alot longer to get there and be alot more expansive.

Good luck anyways, i just have a soft spot for r33 series 2's especially in black i dont know why. Thats why i dont know if i should keep mine or sell it.

1) You check inside

2) Ya panelbeater buddy checks outside and underneath

3) Ya mechanic sticks his head under the bonnet

4) Ya bank gives ya the cash

R33 gets a good home at your place....

And ya all live happily ever after!!!! :)

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • From there, it is really just test and assemble. Plug the adapter cables from the unit into the back of the screen, then the other side to the car harness. Don't forget all the other plugs too! Run the cables behind the unit and screw it back into place (4 screws) and you should now have 3 cables to run from the top screen to the android unit. I ran them along the DS of the other AV units in the gap between their backets and the console, and used some corrugated tubing on the sharp edges of the bracket so the wires were safe. Plug the centre console and lower screen in temporarily and turn the car to ACC, the AV should fire up as normal. Hold the back button for 3 sec and Android should appear on the top screen. You need to set the input to Aux for audio (more on that later). I put the unit under the AC duct in the centre console, with the wifi antenna on top of the AC duct near the shifter, the bluetooth antenna on the AC duct under the centre console The GPS unit on top of the DS to AC duct; they all seem to work OK there are are out of the way. Neat cable routing is a pain. For the drive recorder I mounted it near the rear view mirror and run the cable in the headlining, across the a pillar and then down the inside of the a pillar seal to the DS lower dash. From there it goes across and to one USB input for the unit. The second USB input is attached to the ECUtec OBD dongle and the 3rd goes to the USB bulkhead connected I added in the centre console. This is how the centre console looks "tidied" up Note I didn't install the provided speaker, didn't use the 2.5mm IPod in line or the piggyback loom for the Ipod or change any DIP switches; they seem to only be required if you need to use the Ipod input rather than the AUX input. That's it, install done, I'll follow up with a separate post on how the unit works, but in summary it retains all factory functions and inputs (so I still use my phone to the car for calls), reverse still works like factory etc.
    • Place the new daughterboard in the case and mount it using the 3 small black rivets provided, and reconnect the 3 factory ribbon cables to the new board Then, use the 3 piggyback cables from the daughterboard into the factory board on top (there are stand offs in the case to keep them apart. and remember to reconnect the antenna and rear cover fan wires. 1 screw to hold the motherboard in place. Before closing the case, make a hole in the sticker covering a hole in the case and run the cable for the android unit into the plug there. The video forgot this step, so did I, so will you probably. Then redo the 4 screws on back, 2 each top and bottom, 3 each side and put the 2 brackets back on.....all ready to go and not that tricky really.      
    • Onto the android unit. You need to remove the top screen because there is a daughterboard to put inside the case. Each side vent pops out from clips; start at the bottom and carefully remove upwards (use a trim remover tool to avoid breaking anything). Then the lower screen and controls come out, 4 screws, a couple of clips (including 3 flimsy ones at the top) and 3 plugs on the rear. Then the upper screen, 4 screws and a bunch of plugs and she is out. From there, remove the mounting brackets (2 screws each), 4 screws on the rear, 2 screws top and bottom and 3 screws holding in the small plates on each side. When you remove the back cover (tight fit), watch out for the power cable for the fan, I removed it so I could put the back aside. The mainboard is held in by 1 screw in the middle, 1 aerial at the top and 3 ribbon cables. If you've ever done any laptop stuff the ribbon cables are OK to work with, just pop up the retainer and they slide out. If you are not familiar just grab a 12 year old from an iphone factory, they will know how it works The case should now look like this:
    • Switching the console was tricky. First there were 6 screws to remove, and also the little adapter loom and its screws had to come out. Also don't forget to remove the 2 screws holding the central locking receiver. Then there are 4 clips on either side....these were very tight in this case and needed careful persuading with a long flat screw driver....some force required but not enough to break them...this was probably the fiddliest part of the whole job. In my case I needed both the wiring loom and the central locking receiver module to swap across to the new one. That was it for the console, so "assembly is the reverse of disassembly"
    • But first....while I was there, I also swapped across the centre console box for the other style where the AV inputs don't intrude into the (very limited !) space.  Part# was 96926-4GA0A, 284H3-4GA0B, 284H3-4GA0A. (I've already swapped the top 12v socket for a USB bulkhead in this pic, it fit the hole without modification:) Comparison of the 2: Basically to do the console you need to remove the DS and PS side console trim (they slide up and back, held in by clips only) Then remove the back half of the console top trim with the cupholders, pops up, all clips again but be careful at the front as it is pretty flimsy. Then slide the shifter boot down, remove the spring clip, loose it forever somewhere in the car the pull the shift knob off. Remove the tiny plastic piece on DS near "P" and use something thin and long (most screwdrivers won't fit) to push down the interlock and put the shifter down in D for space. There is one screw at the front, then the shifter surround and ashtray lift up. There are 3 or 4 plugs underneath and it is off. Next is the rear cover of the centre console; you need to open the console lid, pop off the trim covering the lid hinge and undo the 2rd screw from the driver's side (the rest all need to come out later so you can do them all now and remove the lid) Then the rear cover unclips (6 clips), start at the top with a trim tool pulling backwards. Once it is off there are 2 screws facing rearwards to remove (need a short phillips for these) and you are done with the rear of the console. There are 4 plugs at the A/V box to unclip Then there are 2 screws at the front of the console, and 2 clips (pull up and back) and the console will come out.
×
×
  • Create New...