A newbie who can't settle on a car...
Discussion
;)
Fantastic read, chap. Just spent 2 hours reading this on my Sunday am when I should have been mowing the lawn and going to the garden centre! Incredible list of machinery and you're still in your teens!
Didn't get my first car until I was 25, and I couldn't afford to insure half those cars even now and I am 36
Not really a huge Jap fan but really impressed by the Supra and some of the Skylines. Love the M3 though. Still so expensive to run over here though - the "M-tax" I will own an e36 coupe if I can ever find an unmolested one...
Didn't get my first car until I was 25, and I couldn't afford to insure half those cars even now and I am 36
Not really a huge Jap fan but really impressed by the Supra and some of the Skylines. Love the M3 though. Still so expensive to run over here though - the "M-tax" I will own an e36 coupe if I can ever find an unmolested one...Right. As promised the final "current" update.
If you're squeamish, don't read any further....
So right now, I had no cars and had to drive the S13 Silvia with pink number plates around for necessity trips to uni and such.
I was fairly over cars at this point as there would be nothing I could afford that could best the GTR. I turned to the dark side (insert evil laugh here) and bought the most ugly, slow, pathetic-excuse-of-a-car possible.
A mazda 121.
Yup, the bubble car. Reasons: economical, had air con, cheap. The negatives: everyone asks if I'm batting for the other team
Here it is in all its (lack of) glory..
Note pink reflective stickers that were a non-factory add on...
Since then, the RHS front door trim is now in the boot and it only had 3 hubcaps and my dads daily had 2.. So now it has no hubcaps and my dad's daily has 4.
On the bright side, it has been totally brilliant. I have literally, not put a cent into it other than fuel and today, that's 8500kms later! I paid $1650 for it but had to put 6 months registration on it soon after - approx $2k. I've been thinking about servicing it.
Now.. Me being me, I was back looking for cars as the bubble with its estimated 40-50BHP struggled to keep me happy.. Heck I don't drive it at 100kmh as it feels like its dying (no tacho).
I found a 1996 R33 GTST skyline auto for sale that I thought would do me great as a daily driver. Con: it was unregistered.
I went to look at it. It had a flat battery, space saver wheel, scruffy interior and a boot full of the previous owner's belongings. This ranged from shoes, jeans, beer glasses, assignment papers to a passport. I never actually met the owner as he was interstate. After a massive faff to find a battery that would fit (in the boot, factory), a sneaky test drive eventuated. It drove fine aside from a misfire but I assumed (prayed) all was well and bought it for $3500.
Biggest mistake ever.
I organised payment and obtained a temporary movement permit and drove it home. My mate said he'd be happy to help out with all the mechanical work it needed to pass the licensing test. He may have regretted saying this now as the car lived at his house for a good 3 months.
I bought it at an evening viewing so I didn't notice the body condition... It has rust where both of the side skirts join the body at the front, the front bumper reinforcement bar was totally missing and there was what looked to be repaired damage at the rear of the passenger door.
Sigh. The mechanical side however seemed fine. I underestimated the work required to bring this up to scratch.
Money was spent on:
New pads all round
All rotors skimmed
Set of tyres (4)
LHR seatbelt
New radiator (old one blocked)
New windscreen (cracked, didn't notice this...)
Starter motor
Front reinforcement bumper support
Replacement front bumper in the wrong colour (not allowed fibreglass
)
New battery (current one was fine, but didn't meet the requirements of the licensing centre
)
New sparkplugs (fixed misfire)
General service
Eventually it was registered. Yay. I could bring it home now.
Then I discovered the AC was broken. (Winter when I bought it you see..)
To hell with it. I was totally over this car and put it for sale. (About 2 weeks ago). I'd put it up at 6900. Next thing to happen, was me driving it home from my mates place (finally) and the damn thing overheated on the freeway! I only knew as a kind bloke pulled up next to me and yelled he could smell coolant and I glanced at my temperature gauge to see it rocketing. This was totally unexpected as it had been fine between driving to and from the licensing centre and having a new radiator with fresh coolant.
This was Perth's first "hot" day, 35degrees and here I was sitting on the freeway shoulder in a sky-sauna waiting for the tow truck.
After what seemed like a year, he came and dropped the car and I home. My mate really couldn't be bothered with it anymore and that was fair enough. I filled the radiator up and drove to a workshop that I'm known at (luckily, 3mins away).
I essentially told them to fix it if it was a leak or leave it if it had a BHG. I got a call saying they'd found a leak and fixed it, yay. The bad news was that it may happen again if I don't change all the hoses in the engine bay but that would be at a big cost. I figured I was selling it anyway so as long as it performed well in the meantime, it would be ok.
Next, I dropped the price to 6000 and had many people come look. The car has performed well during all test drives however the most recent was the most eventful (yesterday). An American guy came to look at it, seemed fairly "normal" until he got the keys. Next thing I know, we were doing 160kmh through an 80 zone on the freeway and hitting the limiter, holding it in gears etc. I then learnt he'd had his scooter impounded earlier for reckless driving as he was doing 105 in the emergency lane through a tunnel - 80 speed limit. A proper douche bag I'd say...
Finally, we returned home, he said 5k but he had to look at one more car and get his GF's tick of approval (to be her car, hence auto). Fine I said.
Still no call back...
For sale pictures make it look better than it really is... (sort of)
I'm thinking about dropping the advertised to 5k firm and just getting rid... However I'm unsure whether or not I should get the front bumper fixed and sprayed. (LHS held on by a bolt due to broken mounting tab.....)
In the meantime, I've been pondering other cars. I was extremely close to buying a 2001 Boxster S. The only thing that held me back, was the fact that it was rusty underneath - not heavy but basically everywhere (UK car). That was $29,000.
That sold, I spied a yellow one, year 2000 but Australia delivered at a dealer. Funny thing about this car, was that there were 2 advertisements for it, one private seller (35k), one dealer (46k). I rang the private number but no answer. I then contacted the dealer requesting the story and they told me they'd bought it off the private seller.
Probably at 30k too. (Market price would've been 37k, was an urgent sale from the ad description.)
I waited it out, saw the price drop... and drop... finally saw it in an autotrader magazine for $34k.
I just had to offload the stupid, soul-reaping, smelly (previous owner smoked), silver skyline first to get the funds (and negotiate a bit off the 34k price).
No luck, it was sold and I'm still stuck with the skyline. Previous to looking at both Porsches and purchasing the skyline, I had a close look at this car:
A 1999 black on black Honda S2000 that was in immaculate condition.
Picture two young guys walking into a dealership at a $20k advertised sports car. The salesman would've been so happy to see us!
My mate and I had a good look over it but didn't request a test drive. It seemed to be the exact car I wanted. I told the salesman I'd be looking at one other one then I'd get back to him.
I rung up, said I'd offer 16k for it. He said no and that was the end of that. (Wish I bought it now, wouldn't have had that stupid skyline!)
As it stands, I've got the skyline in my shed and my bubble, overdue for a service and possibly CV joints sitting outside exposed to a storm tonight. As soon as I sell the Skyline, I'm putting the bubble for sale and then will simply buy one nice, super cold air-conditioned (or convertible), reliable, comfortable car that will last me a year or so until I come to England.
I'll keep this topic updated with whatever happens if there is interest? It'd regard the sales of current cars and the purchasing of future ones. Thanks for reading!
If you're squeamish, don't read any further....
So right now, I had no cars and had to drive the S13 Silvia with pink number plates around for necessity trips to uni and such.
I was fairly over cars at this point as there would be nothing I could afford that could best the GTR. I turned to the dark side (insert evil laugh here) and bought the most ugly, slow, pathetic-excuse-of-a-car possible.
A mazda 121.
Yup, the bubble car. Reasons: economical, had air con, cheap. The negatives: everyone asks if I'm batting for the other team
Here it is in all its (lack of) glory..
Note pink reflective stickers that were a non-factory add on...
Since then, the RHS front door trim is now in the boot and it only had 3 hubcaps and my dads daily had 2.. So now it has no hubcaps and my dad's daily has 4.
On the bright side, it has been totally brilliant. I have literally, not put a cent into it other than fuel and today, that's 8500kms later! I paid $1650 for it but had to put 6 months registration on it soon after - approx $2k. I've been thinking about servicing it.
Now.. Me being me, I was back looking for cars as the bubble with its estimated 40-50BHP struggled to keep me happy.. Heck I don't drive it at 100kmh as it feels like its dying (no tacho).
I found a 1996 R33 GTST skyline auto for sale that I thought would do me great as a daily driver. Con: it was unregistered.
I went to look at it. It had a flat battery, space saver wheel, scruffy interior and a boot full of the previous owner's belongings. This ranged from shoes, jeans, beer glasses, assignment papers to a passport. I never actually met the owner as he was interstate. After a massive faff to find a battery that would fit (in the boot, factory), a sneaky test drive eventuated. It drove fine aside from a misfire but I assumed (prayed) all was well and bought it for $3500.
Biggest mistake ever.
I organised payment and obtained a temporary movement permit and drove it home. My mate said he'd be happy to help out with all the mechanical work it needed to pass the licensing test. He may have regretted saying this now as the car lived at his house for a good 3 months.
I bought it at an evening viewing so I didn't notice the body condition... It has rust where both of the side skirts join the body at the front, the front bumper reinforcement bar was totally missing and there was what looked to be repaired damage at the rear of the passenger door.
Sigh. The mechanical side however seemed fine. I underestimated the work required to bring this up to scratch.
Money was spent on:
New pads all round
All rotors skimmed
Set of tyres (4)
LHR seatbelt
New radiator (old one blocked)
New windscreen (cracked, didn't notice this...)
Starter motor
Front reinforcement bumper support
Replacement front bumper in the wrong colour (not allowed fibreglass
)New battery (current one was fine, but didn't meet the requirements of the licensing centre
)New sparkplugs (fixed misfire)
General service
Eventually it was registered. Yay. I could bring it home now.
Then I discovered the AC was broken.
(Winter when I bought it you see..)To hell with it. I was totally over this car and put it for sale. (About 2 weeks ago). I'd put it up at 6900. Next thing to happen, was me driving it home from my mates place (finally) and the damn thing overheated on the freeway! I only knew as a kind bloke pulled up next to me and yelled he could smell coolant and I glanced at my temperature gauge to see it rocketing. This was totally unexpected as it had been fine between driving to and from the licensing centre and having a new radiator with fresh coolant.
This was Perth's first "hot" day, 35degrees and here I was sitting on the freeway shoulder in a sky-sauna waiting for the tow truck.
After what seemed like a year, he came and dropped the car and I home. My mate really couldn't be bothered with it anymore and that was fair enough. I filled the radiator up and drove to a workshop that I'm known at (luckily, 3mins away).
I essentially told them to fix it if it was a leak or leave it if it had a BHG. I got a call saying they'd found a leak and fixed it, yay. The bad news was that it may happen again if I don't change all the hoses in the engine bay but that would be at a big cost. I figured I was selling it anyway so as long as it performed well in the meantime, it would be ok.
Next, I dropped the price to 6000 and had many people come look. The car has performed well during all test drives however the most recent was the most eventful (yesterday). An American guy came to look at it, seemed fairly "normal" until he got the keys. Next thing I know, we were doing 160kmh through an 80 zone on the freeway and hitting the limiter, holding it in gears etc. I then learnt he'd had his scooter impounded earlier for reckless driving as he was doing 105 in the emergency lane through a tunnel - 80 speed limit. A proper douche bag I'd say...
Finally, we returned home, he said 5k but he had to look at one more car and get his GF's tick of approval (to be her car, hence auto). Fine I said.
Still no call back...
For sale pictures make it look better than it really is... (sort of)
I'm thinking about dropping the advertised to 5k firm and just getting rid... However I'm unsure whether or not I should get the front bumper fixed and sprayed. (LHS held on by a bolt due to broken mounting tab.....)
In the meantime, I've been pondering other cars. I was extremely close to buying a 2001 Boxster S. The only thing that held me back, was the fact that it was rusty underneath - not heavy but basically everywhere (UK car). That was $29,000.
That sold, I spied a yellow one, year 2000 but Australia delivered at a dealer. Funny thing about this car, was that there were 2 advertisements for it, one private seller (35k), one dealer (46k). I rang the private number but no answer. I then contacted the dealer requesting the story and they told me they'd bought it off the private seller.
Probably at 30k too. (Market price would've been 37k, was an urgent sale from the ad description.)
I waited it out, saw the price drop... and drop... finally saw it in an autotrader magazine for $34k.
I just had to offload the stupid, soul-reaping, smelly (previous owner smoked), silver skyline first to get the funds (and negotiate a bit off the 34k price).
No luck, it was sold and I'm still stuck with the skyline. Previous to looking at both Porsches and purchasing the skyline, I had a close look at this car:
A 1999 black on black Honda S2000 that was in immaculate condition.
Picture two young guys walking into a dealership at a $20k advertised sports car. The salesman would've been so happy to see us!
My mate and I had a good look over it but didn't request a test drive. It seemed to be the exact car I wanted. I told the salesman I'd be looking at one other one then I'd get back to him.
I rung up, said I'd offer 16k for it. He said no and that was the end of that. (Wish I bought it now, wouldn't have had that stupid skyline!)
As it stands, I've got the skyline in my shed and my bubble, overdue for a service and possibly CV joints sitting outside exposed to a storm tonight. As soon as I sell the Skyline, I'm putting the bubble for sale and then will simply buy one nice, super cold air-conditioned (or convertible), reliable, comfortable car that will last me a year or so until I come to England.
I'll keep this topic updated with whatever happens if there is interest? It'd regard the sales of current cars and the purchasing of future ones. Thanks for reading!
Edited by Ten Four on Wednesday 2nd November 15:42
NiceCupOfTea said:
Fantastic read, chap. Just spent 2 hours reading this on my Sunday am when I should have been mowing the lawn and going to the garden centre! Incredible list of machinery and you're still in your teens!
Didn't get my first car until I was 25, and I couldn't afford to insure half those cars even now and I am 36 Not really a huge Jap fan but really impressed by the Supra and some of the Skylines. Love the M3 though. Still so expensive to run over here though - the "M-tax" I will own an e36 coupe if I can ever find an unmolested one...
Glad I kept you from the worst possible hobby of all time... Didn't get my first car until I was 25, and I couldn't afford to insure half those cars even now and I am 36
Not really a huge Jap fan but really impressed by the Supra and some of the Skylines. Love the M3 though. Still so expensive to run over here though - the "M-tax" I will own an e36 coupe if I can ever find an unmolested one...
I still really, really miss the Supra and have the blokes number but don't want to see what he's turned it into
.Bungleaio said:
What a history! Fair play to you mate, it sounds like it's not really cost you much with you're careful buying and selling.
Oh you had to say it! 
Typical PH that 
NoVetec said:
Fantastic write-up and history mate, well done!
Maybe sell the bubble and get some German metal again?
I'm very much leaning toward this. Thinking E39 523/528i. One just popped up at a good price and decent mileage.. Its dark green though but I suppose that shouldn't matter as a daily driver...Maybe sell the bubble and get some German metal again?
However... On topic of car hunting, I've seen nothing much really. Then for fun, I clicked Ferrari on carsales.com.au and found this:
A Ferrari 308 GTSI?
Now, its advertised at 39k which I didn't have. I sent the seller an email saying I'd give him 30 cash (no finance) after an inspection to which he replied 34k. (I'd noticed the car has been for sale for a while now and he "may" be desperate to sell...)
Its a LHD New York city delivered car with 16k miles on it will all books and new clutch, belts etc - targa model.
I've emailed my dad's mechanic for his thoughts as he's had one personally and knows absolutely everything about them. He reckons I should set up and appointment to view with him...
My head says no, my bank account says no, my heart says yes.
God dammit...
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