R33 as a daily driver?
Discussion
I currently have a Clio Sport as a daily driver (Caterham 7 for when the sun shines)
The Clio will need to be replaced in the next 6 months or so and I have always fancied a GTR......or maybe a Toyota Supra.
1) I need a reliable car
2) I do about 8K miles a year
3) What are the general running costs like?
4) Parts. Are these easily available? I don't want to wait for a part to appear from Japan
5) It will be kept on the drive
6) Budget £10K max
Any other thoughts or suggestions?
The Clio will need to be replaced in the next 6 months or so and I have always fancied a GTR......or maybe a Toyota Supra.
1) I need a reliable car
2) I do about 8K miles a year
3) What are the general running costs like?
4) Parts. Are these easily available? I don't want to wait for a part to appear from Japan
5) It will be kept on the drive
6) Budget £10K max
Any other thoughts or suggestions?
Unfortunately nothing first hand to add on this one, but will be watching with interest, as I hope to be in the market myself soon.
From what I understand, running costs are high, as these are complicated and hard to work on cars, parts are easy enough to get hold of, with R33 being UK market as well as JDM Import, there are a number of specialists around the country as well.
It is worth nothing that the newest of R33s will now be around 17/18 years old now, and a lot of them have been in the hands of those less than willing to pay the running costs.
From what I understand, running costs are high, as these are complicated and hard to work on cars, parts are easy enough to get hold of, with R33 being UK market as well as JDM Import, there are a number of specialists around the country as well.
It is worth nothing that the newest of R33s will now be around 17/18 years old now, and a lot of them have been in the hands of those less than willing to pay the running costs.
Can't give any first hand advice on an R33, other than a good friend of mine took his 500bhp R33 GTR to Monza and back, and had no issues at all. It's not used as a daily, but could be quite happily.
I ran a lightly modified twin turbo Supra as a daily for about a year, it was reliable, the only problem was fuel economy, and even that's not that bad if you can control your right foot.
Parts for both are readily available through owners clubs.
I think both can be used quite happily as dailies if you can stomach the fuel bills. Just bear in mind both are getting on a bit, so keep on top of servicing and general preventative maintenance.
£10k should be able to get a good example of either.
I ran a lightly modified twin turbo Supra as a daily for about a year, it was reliable, the only problem was fuel economy, and even that's not that bad if you can control your right foot.
Parts for both are readily available through owners clubs.
I think both can be used quite happily as dailies if you can stomach the fuel bills. Just bear in mind both are getting on a bit, so keep on top of servicing and general preventative maintenance.
£10k should be able to get a good example of either.
In general Skylines are pretty mechanically tough and simple cars, obviously you could expect the odd age-related wear and tear issue but apart from that there is nothing to worry about. Parts for GTRs probably cost a lot more than for GTS-Ts etc though.
Edited by GravelBen on Monday 14th April 11:02
Although not a GTR I did run my R33 GTS-T as a daily driver for a couple of years. Aside from struggling to get into multistory car parks I never had any issues (this was my own fault though as she was lowered a lot!) . Reliability wasn't a problem, I even got used to the exhaust note (Blitz Nur Spec R with decat) on the regular journeys up to the Midlands from London! They're big cars so there's no issue in terms of loading space either.
To answer some of your questions:
What are the general running costs like?
I averaged 20mpg in mine (exhaust, decat, intercooler, boost controller didn't help this!).
Parts. Are these easily available? I don't want to wait for a part to appear from Japan.
My local Nissan dealer in St Albans were very unhelpful when it came to ordering parts or doing work. Even if I had the part number they refused to order it. Other Nissan dealers are known to be quite helpful though. My local mechanic on the other hand were fantastic and ended up doing all the work on the car for me.
It will be kept on the drive
Shouldn't be a problem, mine was kept out on the road every night.
To answer some of your questions:
What are the general running costs like?
I averaged 20mpg in mine (exhaust, decat, intercooler, boost controller didn't help this!).
Parts. Are these easily available? I don't want to wait for a part to appear from Japan.
My local Nissan dealer in St Albans were very unhelpful when it came to ordering parts or doing work. Even if I had the part number they refused to order it. Other Nissan dealers are known to be quite helpful though. My local mechanic on the other hand were fantastic and ended up doing all the work on the car for me.
It will be kept on the drive
Shouldn't be a problem, mine was kept out on the road every night.
Edited by offspring86 on Thursday 17th April 13:13
I ran 32 and 33 GTRs as daily drivers for a few years. No problems really, well a few big problems but nothing that wasn't fixed / upgraded, and more because it was used in anger at weekends than used as a commuter during the week. They can be a bit juicy but that's about it if you start with a solid one.
Parts are easy to get ahold of, GTR owners club is probably the best bet for most stuff - was when I had mine anyway.
Other running costs aren't out of the ordinary, servicing is pretty basic.
Parts are easy to get ahold of, GTR owners club is probably the best bet for most stuff - was when I had mine anyway.
Other running costs aren't out of the ordinary, servicing is pretty basic.
First post for me but I hope it helps.....
I had the pleasure of driving an R33 GTR for almost a year. My father bought it in a bit of a mid life crisis and as time went on he drove it less and less (partly due to racking up 9 points in short succession). It was sitting on my drive and starting to look sad and tired. I told him to get me on the insurance so I can take it out once in a while to keep things running smoothly. I ended up using it as a daily so here are my findings for you…….
Reliability – it was perfect. Even in the time he had it the engine never had a problem (wear and tear items needed changing but that’s to be expected, however be warned that things seem to wear out quicker in a performance car). The clutch needed doing twice I seem to remember over 7 years of ownership.
Running costs – this is the big negative.
Tyres - So dads Skyline had 430bhp I seem to remember and to keep it safely on the road it needed good shoes. These were around £250 a tyre I seem to remember and it would go through two sets in a year (he drove it fast everywhere though, this is hard to avoid however in such a powerful car).
Shocks – It would also munch through a set of shocks in about a year too. It was lowered and the British roads covered in potholes helped wear them out twice as fast.
Fuel – didn’t even look at the MPG as I knew it was bad. It didn’t help that his only liked running on v-power or other high octane fuels.
Drivability – so speed bumps and ramps will become your worst enemy. Me and the Mrs once took it over to the isle of Wight for the weekend and had to book special boarding priorities for the ferry as we wouldn’t have been able to get up the ramp to the car deck. We had to go on in the lorry bay.
Comfort – not too bad and it can take four adults along with a reasonable boot. Saying that, due to the stiffness of the ride, my girlfriend soon came to dislike the car due to constant bumping over the smallest undulations in the road and it hurting certain parts of her upper body.
Temper – sounds silly but I became a bit of a monster behind the wheel. It made me quite aggressive as people wouldn’t move out of your way on the motorway even though you could pass them in seconds and they could then pull back out. It was dangerously fast.
All in all a good car and if looked after properly very reliable but just don’t expect cheap motoring and some everyday aspects (like speed bumps) will become a daily challenge if the motor you choose is lowered.
I had the pleasure of driving an R33 GTR for almost a year. My father bought it in a bit of a mid life crisis and as time went on he drove it less and less (partly due to racking up 9 points in short succession). It was sitting on my drive and starting to look sad and tired. I told him to get me on the insurance so I can take it out once in a while to keep things running smoothly. I ended up using it as a daily so here are my findings for you…….
Reliability – it was perfect. Even in the time he had it the engine never had a problem (wear and tear items needed changing but that’s to be expected, however be warned that things seem to wear out quicker in a performance car). The clutch needed doing twice I seem to remember over 7 years of ownership.
Running costs – this is the big negative.
Tyres - So dads Skyline had 430bhp I seem to remember and to keep it safely on the road it needed good shoes. These were around £250 a tyre I seem to remember and it would go through two sets in a year (he drove it fast everywhere though, this is hard to avoid however in such a powerful car).
Shocks – It would also munch through a set of shocks in about a year too. It was lowered and the British roads covered in potholes helped wear them out twice as fast.
Fuel – didn’t even look at the MPG as I knew it was bad. It didn’t help that his only liked running on v-power or other high octane fuels.
Drivability – so speed bumps and ramps will become your worst enemy. Me and the Mrs once took it over to the isle of Wight for the weekend and had to book special boarding priorities for the ferry as we wouldn’t have been able to get up the ramp to the car deck. We had to go on in the lorry bay.
Comfort – not too bad and it can take four adults along with a reasonable boot. Saying that, due to the stiffness of the ride, my girlfriend soon came to dislike the car due to constant bumping over the smallest undulations in the road and it hurting certain parts of her upper body.
Temper – sounds silly but I became a bit of a monster behind the wheel. It made me quite aggressive as people wouldn’t move out of your way on the motorway even though you could pass them in seconds and they could then pull back out. It was dangerously fast.
All in all a good car and if looked after properly very reliable but just don’t expect cheap motoring and some everyday aspects (like speed bumps) will become a daily challenge if the motor you choose is lowered.
Fatrat said:
I currently have a Clio Sport as a daily driver (Caterham 7 for when the sun shines)
The Clio will need to be replaced in the next 6 months or so and I have always fancied a GTR......or maybe a Toyota Supra.
1) I need a reliable car
2) I do about 8K miles a year
3) What are the general running costs like?
4) Parts. Are these easily available? I don't want to wait for a part to appear from Japan
5) It will be kept on the drive
6) Budget £10K max
Any other thoughts or suggestions?
I have an R34- the same car for what your asking.The Clio will need to be replaced in the next 6 months or so and I have always fancied a GTR......or maybe a Toyota Supra.
1) I need a reliable car
2) I do about 8K miles a year
3) What are the general running costs like?
4) Parts. Are these easily available? I don't want to wait for a part to appear from Japan
5) It will be kept on the drive
6) Budget £10K max
Any other thoughts or suggestions?
1+6) you may need to stretch the budget if you want a good reliable car. They are old now and you can't always tell how they have been driven/maintained. Look to buy the best car you can afford and you shouldnt run into any reliability issues. Buy a dog and it will cost you alot!
2) Doesn't matter as long as you can afford the fuel.
3) Running costs come down to servicing once a year with an oil change every six months or so- depends on you really. Fuel, will be thirsty if you buy a high power car or its not mapped properly. Mine is 500hp and is more economical than it was at 400hp.
Tyres should last unless you drive like a tit or its not setup properly, had mine on for four years and not really worn too much. Best sticking to standard suspensiona and ride height, maybe lowering springs but no more for daily driving. nismo s tune suspension is good on the road aswell if you get one with nackered shocks.
Like every car, drive it like you stole it, everytime you get in it and you will need deep pockets. Show some mechnical sympathy and you will hardly spend out on it. When looked after and not neglected they are very reliable.
4)Any specialist normally carries most parts so you wont have to wait.
5) Expect your insurance to increase if its on the drive.
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