How Do You Tell If The Car Has Done Big Kms?

[NISSAN GTR]

i agree there is no sure way to tell , im sure anyone can tell whether a plenum has been repainted or not , why would anyone buy a car that has a scratched or re -painted plenum let alone any modifications . How would you tell smartie pants how many k's a car has done

Edited February 11, 2010 by NISSAN GTR

[Parag0n]

Owners Manual and receipts if possible, Japanese auction report and grade if they are available will also help.

[GTR-N1]

Owners Manual and receipts if possible, Japanese auction report and grade if they are available will also help.

Yep, another jigsaw puzzle piece in this overall picture.

Point taken by NISSAN_GTR's post too, about 'under-bonnet heat Vs paint' + others.

Points taken by warps & TRB-001 about carpet gear knob.

Another one has been brought to my attention, as a tell-tale sign...

* The amount of fingernail scratches under the door handles.

[mad082]

but that doesn't tell the age. i used to bite my fingernails so i could own a car for years and never even leave a mark under the door handle. yet the missus has long fingernails and could have it looking old in a year or 2.

also interior doesn't mean much either. the way someone gets in and out of the car makes a huge difference to the wear on seats, etc. also how tall they are and how big they are. a fat person is going to put more wear on a seat than a skinny person, as is a short person compared to a tall person. a tell person will have the seat back further so not brush the side of the seat so much when they get out (depending on how far back they have it). also someone with big feet and who wears heavy shoes will wear the carpet faster than a woman who wears heals and takes them off to drive.

basically for every way that you can think of to tell the age you can think of things that go against it.

if you really want to tell how much work an engine has done (as this is more of an indication of age than how many kms because of the city vs highway driving) you need to open the engine up.

cars need to have an hours reader like heavy machinery does. gives you a better indication of how much work it's done, because if you spend an hour a day idling in traffic the odometer isn't moving but the engine is wearing

[pixel8r]

I bought a s2 stagea from a dealer a few years back. It "apparently" had only 28,000kms on the clock. The interior was spotless and certainly supported this figure. However the car at the time was already 7 years old so either the numbers didn't add up, or they were legit and the car had been owned for ~2-3 years then sold to a caryard where it sat for the remaining 4-5 years.

The steering wheel had no wear marks at all. Digital dash so the only way to "wind it back" is to replace it - which apparently isn't that difficult and does happen quite a lot in japan. I've been told by a credible source that most of this stuff happens after the car is sold in japan and before it leaves on the boat. Its an extra "service" offered to importers before the car leaves japan. The auction papers should reveal the correct kms and that is why you should always ask for them if you are the 1st owner in Australia. In my case the dealer told me they dont keep the auction papers which I later found out was rubbish because they are required to keep them by law. Be very suspicious of an importer who refuses to show you the auction papers.

Problems with the car included leaking (and wrecked) rear suspension - had to be replaced (at dealer's cost), oil leaking out from under rocker cover (not badly), turbo on its way out (dealer told me they all sound like that. later found out the hard way thats not the case).

Another thing to note is that the importers need to make sure that the timing belt will last until the next major service. Sometimes if they know the kms are dodgy they will replace the timing belt before selling the car. Other times they just wind the kms back by the right amount of kms so that you'll still be changing the timing belt at the right time. eg. if the car has really done 130,000kms then they can get away with changing the kms to anything from say 95,000kms right down to 30,000kms.

Your best bet is to look for wear or problems on each individual component that you're concerned about. Also do a compression test on the engine.

[KezR33]

Digital dash so the only way to "wind it back" is to replace it

This is a myth, digital odos are arguably far easier to hack and re-program than winding back analog ones.

[gersfan]

i agree there is no sure way to tell , im sure anyone can tell whether a plenum has been repainted or not , why would anyone buy a car that has a scratched or re -painted plenum let alone any modifications . How would you tell smartie pants how many k's a car has done

You'd be suprised how well they can be repainted. flaking on them is extremely common too. y Are you positively annoyed friend? tho?

[seraphyn_r33]

The likely condition of the car is going to come down to the owner or dealership selling the car. ie. do you feel they are trustworthy? are they avoiding any questions or do they not know the answers to the questions you ask?Do they have full documentation of car such as auction papers, auction grade report, receipts for any work done etc.

I dont know much about condition of other skyline platforms, but from my experience with the r33 platform, i have seen these points as things that wear the most/easily and are the most prevalent & also things to look out for -

Worn Steering Wheel

Worn/torn gearstick surround and handbrake surround

key/nail scratches underneath and around door handle

worn/torn drivers seat side bolster from exit/entry

worn pedals

faded/broken/perished rubbers around windows and wiper guard

odometer numbers not lining up correctly

leaking headlights/tail lights

dirt in speaker surrounds/in air vents/underneath interior panels

indicator & headlight stalks worn

drivers side power windows surround and switches worn

electric windows & electric mirrors not working

BUT

As everyone has said, there are many signs that a car *may* be worn out, but there are too many exceptions to the rule. Someone may only be able to store their car outside, so its bodywork and exterior parts are going to be in terrible condition compared to someone that keeps their car in a garage away from the elements, but the person who keeps it outside may baby the car so mechanically its A1, but the owner who garages it may thrash it and track it, so its mechanical quality is going to be far worse.

As r32s,r33s and r34s are getting older and older, its going to get harder and harder to find examples in good aesthetic condition, and more importantly STOCK examples, as modifying is such a big thing with these cars.

Only way to really tell is to drive multiple cars of the same model, and as stock as possible. Get a feel for what it should drive like, and also an independent mechanical check, preferably by a mechanic specialising in imports.

[ricsvtr]

also if the odometre doesnt line up exactly, and a few of the numbers are a little slightly higher/lower than the staight line, that is a sign that it has been wound back

I dont think this is entirely true in all cases. My folks had a mazda 323 from new which had numbers not always lining up

Edited February 25, 2010 by ricsvtr

[NISSAN GTR]

A lot ( not all ) import shops repaint the plenums on gtr's anyway so I don't think it's a great indication.

There is no sure way to tell.

then if its repainted dont buy it , simple

[gersfan]

then if its repainted dont buy it , simple

dude you didn't even read what I said lol.

There are people that can repaint plenums and have them looking like new,without being able to tell. Many import places do it

[NISSAN GTR]

dude you didn't even read what I said lol.

There are people that can repaint plenums and have them looking like new,without being able to tell. Many import places do it

i will ask you again , how would you tell if the ks are turned back . "note witout criticism"

[gersfan]

i will ask you again , how would you tell if the ks are turned back . "note witout criticism"

I said on the first page..There is no sure way to tell. All you can do is be happy with the cars condition and that it passes any tests you perform. Everything that gets worn out or damaged can be replaced. You can't reply on import Km's in my opinion.

[kizzagtr]

you can tell by the wear on the interior

[RB25PWR]

If someone's smart enough and they want to sell their car but it has a worn steering wheel, worn pedals, worn seats front and rear... all they have to do is spend a little bit of dosh and replace all of the above and viola you suddenly have an immaculate looking car inside.

You can just buy a new odometer with 80k's on it, people are selling them on here all the time.

[CARSICK]

You can just buy a new odometer with 80k's on it, people are selling them on here all the time.

Only trouble with this scam is...

RTA has a record of what Kms had been accumulated at the previous rego check. Not good if the current odo reads less than the RTA rego check figure.

Different of course if the car has just been imported; and even the auction sheet odo could have been falsified.

[mad082]

in QLD you only get the kms recorded everytime the car has a rwc done, which is only if you let the rego run out or sell the car. so if you own the car for 5 years and buy it when the car has 50,000kms and then do another 150,000kms over those 5 years, you could put a speedo in that says 100,000kms and knock 100,000kms of what the car has actually done and no-one would think twice if you said it was only your weekend toy and not your daily driver. hell you could put a 80,000km odometer in and people still wouldn't be too suss about it. my missus has had her car for 6 years, and i had it for a year before that and we have put less than 30,000kms on it in those 7 years.

[SECURITY]

check under the plenum for water hoses that have hardened. sub 100,000km water hoses will still be flexible and a bit soft. anything older generally start to harden.

[MRSAMO]

Mines done 66k kms and the previous owner bought it at 30k kms as mint. Does have the plenum scratching and my engine has done 6000kms since forged rebuild. Told me it was done on purpose to keep it looking low key (just over 400awhp atm, bay looks stock except pods and strut). I do believe him though. Dash, no bubbles, original R32 GTR steering wheel with 1 tiny mark, seats no wear, original mats no wear, original g/box and hand brake boots showing slight wear and original gearknob has seen better days. I'd be inclined to believe the 66kms figure....

Done on purpose???

my car just turned 100k and doesn't have any plenum scratches and peeling compared cars with less than "30k" that I've seen. The engine itself has no scratches but I've seen worst in cars with less Ks than mine! Either their cars aren't showing the right kays, or they've left the engine out in the open for a while, or they've swapped the original engine for an old one! I know for sure that mine's original because I bought it off the original owner with the original Japanese log books!

If people repaint their engine, its going to be costly because it'll mean lifting the whole thing and you might as well do the engine bay while you're at it.

My interior is in good condition though like a lot of cars in Japan most gets parked outdoor and during the summer it gets as hot as Australia. I got my car when I was in Japan and even though I had to park in the residential parking lot (all suburbs have them) my car was the only one with a cover I got from autobacs. There are Mercs, BMWs, Lotuses (Elise) parked next to me with no covers. That's how it is in Japan for the most part. If you're up north then you're mostly covered in snow.

The interior area around the dash and windscreen will show some wear which will be hard to replace, add that to your list Terry.

[scarface_au]

* _any_ markings on the car indicating kms in excess of the odometer.

e.g. on the inside of the petrol flap; service sticker on inside of windscreen that is more than the service interval; timing belt/other "this was replaced at" sticker under bonnet; etc.

* Service history if provided.

I've also found that general condition of all under-bonnet hoses is a good one; yes, hoses can be replaced with newer items but it seems to be too much of a PITA and/or too expensive.

Cheers,

Saliya

Like this?

If it has been wound back what can I do? (I bought it from a dealer and it's under warranty). It was showing 86,809 when I bought it, which is on the contract.