Best Place To Go For Pre-purchase Inspection?

[Diomedes_]

Hey guys and girls, new member to the forum. Been thinking for ages about what car to upgrade to from my trusty beater, and have finally settled on my childhood dreamcar, the R34 GTR. If only it was so easy to go to a Nissan dealer and pick one up without any worries...

In line with this, I am wondering if you guys had any extra advice for me? I've read the tutorial in the DIY section about things to look for when buying a used skyline, so when I went today to have a look I had quite a few question to ask. Still some things I am wondering about though;

- Anybody had any dealings with fabcar out at cannington?

- They have a dyno and a workshop out the back, but I am still keen to get a second opinion at another mechanic, preferably one who specialises in Japanese performance cars. Any recommendations?

- What are some questions you guys would ask that I, a skyline newb but fairly over general car mechanics, should also ask?

- Is it possible to somehow find out how many k's the car has actually done? this one apparently has 60,000, not many for a car 16 years old.

Also a photo of the engine bay, see if any of you can spot anything amiss?

Thanks in advance.

[2fardown]

58,000kms??? The condition of that engine bay says otherwise. would have that verified by these guys: http://www.japanesehistorycheck.com

Get a copy of the original auction sheet and rego history.

Galvsport here in WA are a reputable workshop. Give them a call and ask if they can perform a pre purchase inspection.

Check for the usual GTR things. CV boots, suspension bushes, rust, chassis rails damaged from incorrect jacking, crunchy gearbox syncros, compression test engine. Check paint thickness for signs of past repairs etc.

Remember, you're spending $60k on a 16 year old car. Get it checked thoroughly, and don't be afraid to walk away.

Best of luck.

[t_revz]

Wound back odometers is common. Vehicle condition in/out will give an indication of real k's. Many people on here have been upset rushing into it, then learning later it has 200k when sold at auction.

Good luck on your search. Hope you find a good one!

[t_revz]

Just found the ad, looks good in pics, but... that nismo dash isn't original so I wouldn't trust it.

Id consider putting the for sale ad in the "automotive" section for r33,34 etc. many more 34gtr owners will see and and can spot less obvious things before even organising a workshop to inspect it.

[Diomedes_]

Thanks for the reply's. Yeah, I very much doubt the odo reading, think I'm going to get it to get it checked out by Galvsport and get a history check off that website provided by 2far before I do anything else. The other one i was looking at was the blue one that has only 26000 kms (apparently), but they want 85,000 for it... Way too much Im thinking...

[2fardown]

How'd you go with the history check?

[Diomedes_]

Just in the process of getting it translated now. Went for test drive today, seems alright. Seems like a bit of noise coming from the brakes? Like the pads are scraping? Can hear it at low speed. Apart from that, I couldnt see anything that seemed wrong with it. Wait for the dudes at galvsport to have a look over it and get it on a dyno before I do anything, however.

[t_revz]

Post the sheet or pm me and I'll do my best to translate

[t_revz]

Just in the process of getting it translated now. Went for test drive today, seems alright. Seems like a bit of noise coming from the brakes? Like the pads are scraping? Can hear it at low speed. Apart from that, I couldnt see anything that seemed wrong with it. Wait for the dudes at galvsport to have a look over it and get it on a dyno before I do anything, however.

Post the sheet or pm me and I'll do my best to translate

[Diomedes_]

They arent sending it till its translated

[t_revz]

Ah ok. What was that worth outta curiosity?

[Diomedes_]

It was US$75 for both the auction sheet and registration certificate from japan. Will have odo readings on both

[t_revz]

That's a bit rich, but good piece of mind. Wonder if it had the nismo dash at auction or it got fitted here...

[Diomedes_]

Yeah its got a nismo dash fitted, so it's pretty much assured that it's been wound back. I've got plans to modify the car fairly comprehensively, so I'm not too worried about it.

[t_revz]

Still don't wanna pay top dollar if it's done 200k

[Diomedes_]

Yeah, so took it to Josh at Galvsport. Josh is pretty sure its done well over 60,000 ks, still no reg notice from the japanese history check dudes. But I think I can get a dereg notice from the dealership that should have the actual ks the car was registered with in 2012/2014, so hopefully can get an idea of how many k's its done. Apart from that, the car still needs to have stuff changed for compliance, 99% sure its been partially resprayed at one point, seems to have a had a love tap on the bonnet as the gap on the bonnet is slightly larger on the drivers side. Also needs new control arms, but that is being taken car of by the dudes at fabcar. Mechanically however, seems to be ok apart from a resonably worn clutch and possibly a choked up cat in the exhaust? (Josh's thoughts) Probably going to see how low I can get them, but not willing to pay more than 50,000 for it.

[2fardown]

What was the auction grade? Were log books mentioned on the auction sheet? Any asterisk or question mark beside the kms?

[pol1on1]

When i went to see that car they said 3.5 and C i reckon the motor in better shape then the bsb vspec in como

[Diomedes_]

Yeah, auction grade was 3.5C as marek said. There was an asterisk next to the km's. I take it that means the auction house dosent agree with it/ Knows something is sus? Said it came with logbooks. And Josh did say the motor was in good pretty good shape regardless.

[2fardown]

Asterisk means kms aren't accurate. Dare say the old owner probably has the original cluster with 100 or so clicks on it. Plus what your nismo cluster shows