Jump to content
SAU Community

Had An Epiphany Today

Modena

By Modena,
in General Automotive Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

Modena Grand Master

Modena

Posted
Posted

I nearly bought a R34 GTT today, been really keen on it since last Friday when I test drove it but something changed my mind, its almost I had an epiphany right before writing a cheque for $14,000.

The car is nice and well looked after but one thing that was bugging me about it was that it had nearly 120,000 KMs on the odometer. So in essence, this car could really have done as much as 170,000 KMs or perhaps more.

I mean I have a daily car already which I will be driving most of the time and the Skyline will be just for the weekend but even then, if I only put 50,000 KMs within 7=10 year time on the Skyline by then the car will have nearly 200,000 KMs on the clock and will be almost impossible to sell not to mention things going wrong like the engine rebuild and the tranny.

This didn't really hit me until the last second. I was in the bank queue to write out the cheque when the lady asked for the name of the company or the person to who the cheque should be addressed to... I didn't know the guy's full name and that's when I finally decided not to go ahead.

I also want to move houses and move closer to the city by mid 2011 which may mean selling my current house and adding some more money on top to purchase a townhouse or a villa unit in the inner city area... with the money left over I then can go out and buy a second car, an R34 GTT with hopefully less than 70,000 on the odometer if not less.

So I will just keep saving until mid year, see what property I can buy after selling my house and then hopefully buying a nice R34 GTT with relatively small number of Ks on the clock.

Its funny cos back in 2006 when I bought my first 1996 R33 Series 2 GTST coupe with 28,000 KMs on the clock from SSV, I nearly bought a really dodgy R33 from a car yard in Dandenong also starting with S... prior to looking at this one. That R33 only had like 3000 KMs on the odometer which was real strange plus the car was leaking oil and had a shit loads of other problem.

So I feel really good relieved that I didnt buy that R34 GTT today... probably nothing wrong with it but 120,000 KMs on the odometer is a good indicator that this car may need some TLC very soon.

Anyone had similar experiences?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/348633-had-an-epiphany-today/
Share on other sites
joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo Grand Master

joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo

Posted
Posted

my car has 130,000 on the clock, which is probably more like 230,000.. as the clock wasn't even working when i got it. it is tracked regularly and daily driven, it is still on the orig motor and gearbox, makes over double the factory power output, has no rust and every single thing works. i have had no troubles that haven't been a drirect result of motorsport or carelessness on a mechanics behalf

my experience is that k's don't matter, its the condition of the car.

Count Grantleyish Grand Master

Count Grantleyish

Posted
Posted

my car has 130,000 on the clock, which is probably more like 230,000.. as the clock wasn't even working when i got it. it is tracked regularly and daily driven, it is still on the orig motor and gearbox, makes over double the factory power output, has no rust and every single thing works. i have had no troubles that haven't been a drirect result of motorsport or carelessness on a mechanics behalf

my experience is that k's don't matter, its the condition of the car.

+1

When I'm shopping for a car, I never look at amount of KM it has travelled, it's all in the condition of the car.

I think the 'obession' of low km is pretty stupid, I mean a car can break down anytime regardless if it has babied for or trashed like no tomorrow.

Husky33 Veteran

Husky33

Posted
Posted

what's with people and having some magical number of what km's of a car should be.

Let's see, the r34 is about 10 years old just say, so from purchase if it was 120,000km's, that means it was driving on average 200km's a week. That's sweet f all, really, it's not that much. It's not like it's a high end supercar, it's just a sports car that's meant to be driven on a daily basis.

Km's are the last thing i look at when buying a car

Birds Grand Master

Birds

Posted
Posted

I thought even the Brool Story Co. would give it's dedicated employees a break over christmas. I was wrong!

In other news, I got up just before...walked to the mailbox...nothing in there...so I walked back inside...and here I am.

Modena Grand Master

Modena

Posted
  • Author
Posted

From what I understand, the more you tend to use something, the quicker it will wear out or break.

Don't tell me you would rather buy an R34 GTR (same condition) with 120,000 KMs over one with 60,000 KMs.

There is a guy selling an auto s15 with about 270,000 KMs and he wants 13 grand for it. The guy is dreaming because no one in their right mind will pay more than 5 K for it.

Actually I don't think anyone will buy it.

Ten Four Grand Master

Ten Four

Posted
Posted

Of course we'd go for the lower km one.

No log books = no dice.

There are many skylines out there above 300k kms. Whats the difference between buying one with 70k kms thats been clocked compared to one thats got 120k kms thats been clocked? You don't know how many either has done, so get the one in better condition.

:domokun: :domokun: :domokun:

GTR-N1 Grand Master

GTR-N1

Posted
Posted

A lesson for us all is this...

"Even before we turn the key, we want to scrutinise the car's history!"

* logs here in Oz

* Japanese history

* VIN# Fasted

* auction papers

* receipts for services and mods

* both graphs on the dyno sheet - not just the top one

* discussion with the technician who services the car (after getting permission from the owner to bypass confidentiality)

Then the visual inspection begins, what with...

* condition of seat bolsters

* wear 'n tear on steering wheel & gear knob

* scratches on driver's door handle (more on the outside)

* rust

* repaired damage

* tell-tale signs of replaced panels (via bolt heads)

* wear 'n tear on seat belts

* scratches at key entry to ignition barrel

* arms, joints, bushes

* heat cracks and wear on rotors (if you suspect a grossly underestimated odometer figure)

* undercarriage inspection

* wear 'n tear on carpet &/or pedals

Then upon turning the key...

* comp tests

* gear box

* diff

yaddayadda...................................................

Count Grantleyish Grand Master

Count Grantleyish

Posted
Posted

There are many skylines out there above 300k kms. Whats the difference between buying one with 70k kms thats been clocked compared to one thats got 120k kms thats been clocked? You don't know how many either has done, so get the one in better condition.

So true.

johnnydibo Rookie

johnnydibo

Posted
Posted

Really good info and thanks. I'm presently looking to buy a 370GT and will find what you've supplied to be very useful and very informative.

A lesson for us all is this...

"Even before we turn the key, we want to scrutinise the car's history!"

* logs here in Oz

* Japanese history

* VIN# Fasted

* auction papers

* receipts for services and mods

* both graphs on the dyno sheet - not just the top one

* discussion with the technician who services the car (after getting permission from the owner to bypass confidentiality)

Then the visual inspection begins, what with...

* condition of seat bolsters

* wear 'n tear on steering wheel & gear knob

* scratches on driver's door handle (more on the outside)

* rust

* repaired damage

* tell-tale signs of replaced panels (via bolt heads)

* wear 'n tear on seat belts

* scratches at key entry to ignition barrel

* arms, joints, bushes

* heat cracks and wear on rotors (if you suspect a grossly underestimated odometer figure)

* undercarriage inspection

* wear 'n tear on carpet &/or pedals

Then upon turning the key...

* comp tests

* gear box

* diff

yaddayadda...................................................

Simon-S14 Grand Master

Simon-S14

Posted
Posted

all the key points have been said.

cars are made for driving.. kms is a poor thing to base an opinion on.

would you rather a stock 80k km car thats had zero maintenance in its life time or a 120K km car that has had bushes changed, belts done, various other parts and fluids changed etc.

i know what i rather... as the 80k km car will start costing you money very quickly/.

Rekin Grand Master

Rekin

Posted
Posted

lol my car just clocked over 190,000km. According to you, I should be preparing for an engine rebuild :/

wtf are you worried about resale value in 7-10yrs time when its $14k now?! The car will be worthless regardless of how many kilometres are on it.

Dont base your decision on what you think the next owner will want. Its your money and your car. Enjoy it.

Cowboy1600 Grand Master

Cowboy1600

Posted
Posted

cool story brah

+1

All these stories about shops winding back the K's are more often that not utter rubbish.

And as for cars being spent after 180,000+ kays, what nonsense. A car that's been looked after will do three times that with little to no effort.

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
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • MBS206
      Duncan's V37.......race car?

      By MBS206 · Posted

      Even more fun, leave all the ADAS stuff plugged in, but in different locations, hopefully avoid any codes!   And honestly, all these new cars with their weird electronics. Pull all the electronics out Duncan, and just shove an aftermarket ECU and if needed a trans controller in, along with a PDM. Make it run basic but race car styled!
    • Duncan
      Duncan's V37.......race car?

      By Duncan · Posted

      To follow up a question from earlier too since I had the front bar off again (fking!) This is what is between the bumper and the drivers side wheel And this is the navigator side, only one thing but its a biggy! So basically....no putting coolers in the wheel arches without a lot of moving other stuff. Assuming I move to properly race prepping this car I'll take that job on and see how the computers respond to removing a whole bunch of ADAS modules
    • Duncan
      Duncan's V37.......race car?

      By Duncan · Posted

      So I prepped the car for another track day on Wednesday (will be interesting to see coolant temps post flushing out and the larger reservoir, with a forecast of 3-14 being 20o cooler than last time I took it out). Couple of things to mention; since I am just driving the car and not taking a support vehicle, I took the rear seats out and just loaded the back up Team Trackday style. Look at all that space! To cover off removing the rear seat....it is weird (note the hybrid is probably different because it wouldn't have folding rear seats) Basically, you remove the lower seat base, very similar to a r series but it is a clip that pulls forward to release the base rather than it being bolted down. Easy Then, you need to remove the side section of the rear seat on each side. There is a 14mm head nut at the bottom of the side piece, the it slides upwards off a hook at the top to release; you also need to unhook the seatbelt from the loop at the top. Then the centre piece is weird. You need to release/fold the seats forward with the tab in the boot on each side From there, there are 2,x12mm headed bolts holding the rear of each seat to the folding bracket, under the trim between the rear seat and the boot (4x christmas tree clips there, they suck). The seat is out but you can see where the bolts attach to the bracket
    • RP1421
      S15 Spec R

      By RP1421 · Posted

      As discussed in the previous post, the bushes in the 110 needed replacing. I took this opportunity to replace the castor bushes, the front lower control arm, lower the car and get the alignment dialled in with new tyres. I took it down to Alignment Motorsports on the GC to get this work done and also get more out of the Shockworks as I felt like I wasn't getting the full use out of them.  To cut a very long story short, it ended up being the case the passenger side castor arm wouldn't accept the brand new bush as the sleeve had worn badly enough to the point you could push the new bush in by hand and completely through. Trying a pair of TRD bushes didn't fix the issue either (I had originally gone with Hardrace bushes). We needed to urgently source another castor arm, and thankfully this was sourced and the guys at the shop worked on my car until 7pm on a Saturday to get everything done. The car rides a lot nicer now with the suspension dialled in properly. Lowered the car a little as well to suit the lower profile front tyres, and just bring the car down generally. Eternally thankful for the guys down at the shop to get the car sorted, we both pulled big favours from our contacts to get it done on the Saturday.  Also plugged in the new Stedi foglights into the S15, and even from a quick test in the garage I'm keen to see how they look out on the road. I had some concerns about the length of the LED body and whether it'd fit in the foglight housing but it's fine.  I've got a small window coming up next month where I'll likely get a little paint work done on the 110 to remove the rear wing, add a boot wing and roof wing, get the side skirt fixed up and colour match the little panel on the tail lights so that I can install some badges that I've kept in storage. I'm also tempted to put in a new pair of headlights on the 110.  Until then, here's some more pictures from Easter this year. 
    • joshuaho96
      R32 GTS (RB20DE) Injectors Replacement

      By joshuaho96 · Posted

      I would put a fuel pressure gauge between the filter and the fuel rail, see if it's maintaining good fuel pressure at idle going up to the point when it stalls. Do you see any strange behavior in commanded fuel leading up to the point when it stalls? You might have to start going through the service manual and doing a long list of sensor tests if it's not the fuel system for whatever reason.
×
×
  • Create New...