Possibly Popping My Jap Car Cherry With A Stagea

[Captain Kermit]

Hi guys, after owning 3 different commodores over the last 4 years I've decided to try something new. The S2 RS4 stag seems like an alright choice, RB25DET, AWD and I found a 5 speed one.

From my limited knowledge I've found that the stag I'm looking at is a 5 spd RS4 with a Dayz body kit and without the luxury options and with 157,XXX K's on the clock. Whether the kit is factory or not I don't know.

I took some phone camera pics of areas of concern that I'm not sure about, and have a few questions about availability of certain parts that I'd like to repair/replace "custom" parts with factory items.

Overall the body appears to be in good condition, with a small crack in the CF part of the front lip that could be repaired to about 90% with little cost.

Boot and door hinges all appear to be rust free, though there is silicone under the 2 of the door hinge nuts which concerns me.

The standard CAI (which I think looks pretty snazzy and probably works well, judging by photos) has been replaced with a honking great pod filter, with no heatshield/air intake at all. I'd like to replace that with the standard panel filter+CAI, is it easy to find this part? Are there any cars that share this part (R33's?) I could look for?

Paint is a bit sketchy, but it's the factory yellow colour and looks like it's been in the sun all it's life, so fading is to be expected.

The front grill appears to have been replaced with ricerbarn mesh with an "RSFOUR" decal sprayed over it. Can something like this:

http://www.ebay.com....#ht_3287wt_1139

Or this:

http://www.ebay.com....18#ht_500wt_922

Be fitted to any series 2 C34 Stag?

Are door seals easy to find replacements for? The drivers door seal is shagged harder than an Ipswich prostitute.

What are my options regarding exhaust? I'm used to V6/V8 engines, this boosted inline 6 business is very new to me. Anyone have any recommendations for somewhere to go in Newcastle?

So, aside from those questions, what is the general consensus on value? I feel the 157K's is quite believable given the level of wear on the drivers seat, and the high (compared to other Stags) K's should drop the price by quite a bit. The dealer has $14,000 on the sticker, but $12,000 on Carsales.

Here are pics of the strut towers, is the caulk normal and is the engine bay of these cars usually so faded/nowhere near the exterior colour? With the Commodores I've owned generally the engine bay is the same colour as the exterior, although not as carefully laid/polished and is generally going bad due to engine bay heat. Is this fading from engine bay heat, or just weird and a sign to stay away from the car?

And is there any way to tell if this is a genuine RS4 using the details on what I'm guessing is the build plate?

Sorry for the rambling, I'm still learning what to look out for with a completely different car to what I'm used to.

[Dingus]

Can't answer many of the questions, since I'm new to Stageas too.

The chassis number and the fact it's manual tells me it's an RS4S.

Both grills you linked are for a S1, so won't work with the S2.

For exhaust, general consensus is to go for a 3" turbo-back system.

Prices can vary by state a bit, but sounds like a reasonable price for a manual, they're not the easiest things to come by.

[slippylotion]

The repair on the strut top is from rust. Very common in the 34 range of stagea's.

[WGNPWR]

should buy mine

[SatchiThaStagea]

I think all the stag engine bays are the same with it looking faded/not finished, well I at least know mine is the same as you described. almost looks like one coat of yellow over a white base

Look out for rust under the side mirrors too, another common c34 trait

[pipster11]

I think all the stag engine bays are the same with it looking faded/not finished, well I at least know mine is the same as you described. almost looks like one coat of yellow over a white base

Look out for rust under the side mirrors too, another common c34 trait

+1 for the faded yellow under the bonnet

also, check if the rear lights have 2 reversing lights or 1 reverse 1 fog

if its 1 rev 1 fog its from a cold area and will have spent a decent amount of time driving on salted roads - hence the runs on the strut towers

i'd also be wary of the colour, i love mine and it makes it even more unique but it does make it hard to sell when you want to move on

[kidafa]

Hey Champ,

Firstly good choice :-)

Show me some pictures of these nuts under the door hinge bolts.

Standard airbox will be pretty easy to come by once you place a wanted add in the for sale section, im suresomeone would love to trade a carton for some spare space on the shelf in the shed. HOWEVER you must remember if you plan to run a FMIC with the stock airbox youll need to run one with same side cold air return or if the cold pipe does come across the engine your going to need to hack up the snorkel. Food for thought.

Post a pic of this grill, i want to have a laugh haha. Neithr of those grills will fit as they are for series 1 stageas and this car is a series 2. Why not wait for a S2 NA grille to come up for sale like this :

Door seals you will be able to get from someone wrecking a stag at the moment.

As far as exhaust goes get a 3inch bellmouth front dump pipe for under 200 off the forums or just jap, then a 3" highflow cat and then go to a local exhaust shop for a 3" cat back with whatever muffler you like ect... OR buy a r32gtr cat back and have them add 2 or 3 sections into it and mount it up.

$12k seems fair. Does it have factory xenons? Floor mats? Boot Mat any other accessories?

Those strut towers look VERY suss IMO. That chaulk is nothing like what it should be from the factory. It is a common rust spot, the question to be asking is has it been "repaired" or covered up.....

What other bits does the car have? Clearly has coilovers.

[kidafa]

Where are you located? Perhaps someone who knows these cars inside out could come with you and kindly "adjust" the dealers price ;-)

Also check sunroof rails for rust...

[rgr34]

the strut tower repair looks patched up i would walk away from that one...

[chef_stagea]

Pull of the rear hatch seal on the car. If its rusted there ita going to be rusted a bit elsware. Is it a snow area one (rear fog light or 2 reverse light)

[Captain Kermit]

i'll grab some more pics on my way home from work, and investigate the reverse/fog light situation while i'm at it. If the strut towers have been dodgied is it worth repairing?

[Captain Kermit]

Turns out is has 1 reverse light, the other thing has a red cover over it though, so... not a fog light?

Caulk was hiding rust, dealer had the old "nothing to hide" trick happening and didn't mind me scraping it off. Didn't get a good photo of the drivers side, but it's basically identical to the pass side. I've got a few boilermaker mates, one of whom is insanely neat, so shouldn't be too bad as long as you guys think it'll retain it's original strength after the repair.

Test driving it on Monday, and going to see if I can get a mate who has owned a few imports over the last couple of years to have a look. His chaser has similar frameless windows so hopefully he'll be able to identify where the door seals are leaking.

Edited June 4, 2011 by Captain Kermit

[Blizzerd]

look man, if its going to cost you heaps of money fixing stuff dont buy it.

look at a new model...

im sure you can can get a nm35 or XX35 for a rediculous low cost.....

im regretting now not going for a new model, but hey, love my car, will use it for another couple of years and sell it....

[pbk1776]

+1 get a newer model - unless you have a diferent purpose for the car. Also is this car from alebena? Ir what ever suburb it is up in new castle?

I'm from Sydney went to check car and posted a thread here same car you looking at(if this is up in new castle) I didn't go back :-)

Do more research and check how much will cost you to fix the bugs and weigh it if it is worth it

[wolverine]

There are cars for sale from SAU members.

I would humbly suggest checking out what is available here as it is almost certainly looked after better than other cars.

[chef_stagea]

What r u looking for?

Ive got a s2 forsale

-leather

-sunroofs

-no rust

-manual

-fmic

Xanavi (touch screen aircon etc)

$15k its white too

[SMOKEYV35]

mate, any rust - walk away.

because if it's rusting in places you can see, just imagine what it's like in all those places you can't see. and rust is literally like cancer - you need to remove so much more than what appears to be damaged just to make sure it doesn't come back.

do yourself a favour and walk away. buy a clean base car to start with - it's the best advice i've ever been given, and the best advice i can give anyone looking.

[Chris_Beli]

Only thing that hasn't been mentioned, the rs4 s models that came with a 5 speed from factory are not AWD they are RWD, if ur looking at a manual car with AWD it has been converted, also as the other yellow stag owners of said yes the under hood area is always a different colour and as pipster said being a more out their colour they draw alot of attention, usually more positive then negative though

[lilcrash]

Chris. You are very very wrong. Rs4s is a factory built car. You may aswell try telling people the world is flat.

[wolverine]

^^ yep