Silvia S15 Spec-R Buying Advice

[Neith]

I'm considering changing cars soon and always wanted to own either a Silvia or a Skyline R33. R33 is still way out of my insurance bracket so I'm looking at a S15 Spec-R Silvia (which for some reason is £200 cheaper to insure than my EP3).

I have a few worries about it though so I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this:
- I've never imported a Japanese car before, any recommended companies to use would be appreciated!
- Most S15s are 1998-ish; are there any massive risks with buying a car of this age? My EP3 is 8 years old now, but I've never owned a car from before 2000.

If anyone has any experience with S15s I'd be glad to hear any advice on them (and opinions from owners!)

Thanks for any help, there was another S15 thread but it's months old so I didn't want to bump it.

[Midshipracer]

If anything the car would be better built if you find a good one, Just compare the over-engineered cars of say the Skyline Supra to the throw away cars we have now.

Just do as much research on S15s join the owners club so you know what to look out for

A bit of perspective my '94 turbo (MR2)is on its original turbo unopened engine 70k and everything is working perfectly.

How many cars made these days can say that?

[Marf]

Friend of mine had one for 3 years, and was driven enthusiastically often. The only thing that went wrong was the exhaust manifold cracked, which is as far as I'm aware a common problem on all SR20DET 200SXs of any age.

Buy a good'un, treat it well and it'll not let you down, like most Japanese turbo cars of that era.

Also you are going to pay a premium right now for importing one of these as the yen is quite strong against the pound.

[Neith]

I'm looking around for one, but would obviously weigh up whether it's worth it first. It would be nice if the exchange rates changed a bit though.

It's good to hear they seem reliable, I was just worried about buying a car of that age. I know loads of people on here have cars that are much older but I didn't want to chance it and end up regretting anything.

Does anyone know if a Spec-R is viable as a daily driver? I'd be looking at using it to/from work every weekday and for drives at the weekend (as well as a semi-frequent 400-mile round trip to Norwich).

Thanks for all the advice so far!

[Marf]

Neith said:

I'm looking around for one, but would obviously weigh up whether it's worth it first. It would be nice if the exchange rates changed a bit though.

It's good to hear they seem reliable, I was just worried about buying a car of that age. I know loads of people on here have cars that are much older but I didn't want to chance it and end up regretting anything.

Does anyone know if a Spec-R is viable as a daily driver? I'd be looking at using it to/from work every weekday and for drives at the weekend (as well as a semi-frequent 400-mile round trip to Norwich).

Thanks for all the advice so far!

My friend ran his as a daily driver. You just need to be aware you have a very responsive turbo engine, going through the rear wheels with a tight differential and no traction control! i.e. they like to kick the back end out

On the flipside the chassis is very balanced and a slide is easily caught.

Other than that the only real consideration as a daily driver is the MPG. Don't expect much more than 28mpg unless you spend lots of time on the motorway. much less if you drive it "enthusiastically", which you will.

The age of the car is really irrelevant. Jap Turbo cars are very reliable. My 1995 MR2 Turbo has never let me down in 40odd thousand miles of daily driving.

They're lovely cars IMO, I don't think you'd be disappointed.

[Neith]

Marf said:

Other than that the only real consideration as a daily driver is the MPG. Don't expect much more than 28mpg unless you spend lots of time on the motorway. much less if you drive it "enthusiastically", which you will.

The age of the car is really irrelevant. Jap Turbo cars are very reliable. My 1995 MR2 Turbo has never let me down in 40odd thousand miles of daily driving.

They're lovely cars IMO, I don't think you'd be disappointed.

My EP3 drinks petrol anyway, so I'm used to that side of it

In regards to importing, it looks like the main two I've seen mentioned are JM-Imports and Torque GT; I'm in Middlesbrough so JM is a lot closer, but as I have a couple of months left on my EP3's finance I'm not sure if I'd get a better deal going to Torque... I know one of the founding members of S15OC used Torque but it's a hell of a drive for me to go there.

I suppose if the car is worth it, a 300 mile trip there and back is fine but it almost seems stupid when JM is about 40 miles away. On the flipside, Torque would mean 300 miles back in the new car

[Marf]

I did a 400 mile round trip to buy my MR2, and I drove my mate a similar distance to get his S15

Torque GT may be miles away, but if they have some stock to look at I'd be tempted to visit both JM and Torque GT. These are rare cars afterall so it'd be good to get a comparison. Plus it'd be a great drive home to get aquainted with the car

[bazza1000]

Buy one that's already in the country, will have UK service history and all Uk compliant alarms, speedo conversion, undersealed etc already done. Save you a lot of money as the exchange rate is terrible so you will pay through the nose for a fresh import.

Join one of the forums and wait for a nice one to come up for sale!

[Neith]

bazza1000 said:

Buy one that's already in the country, will have UK service history and all Uk compliant alarms, speedo conversion, undersealed etc already done. Save you a lot of money as the exchange rate is terrible so you will pay through the nose for a fresh import.

Join one of the forums and wait for a nice one to come up for sale!

Yeah, I'm not limiting myself purely to fresh imports at the moment.

Currently I'm not sure what's happening with my contract at work after December so it'll need to wait until at least then so I can plan funding it. Hopefully by then the exchange rate will have improved a bit if I do need to import.

[Henrico]

I've owned mine for about 3 years now, it's never gone wrong, it's as rare as any other car on the road (I've never seen another one on the road in 3 years), a lot of fun to drive fast (and sideways), comfortable motorway cruiser and isn't that expensive to run (insurance on mine is about £350 a year, get about 23mpg when on it and 30+ on motorways). Also, as they're all imports rust is not as much of an issue as a similar aged s14..

ps I'm thinking of selling mine soon if you're interested ;-)

[Neith]

Henrico said:

I've owned mine for about 3 years now, it's never gone wrong, it's as rare as any other car on the road (I've never seen another one on the road in 3 years), a lot of fun to drive fast (and sideways), comfortable motorway cruiser and isn't that expensive to run (insurance on mine is about £350 a year, get about 23mpg when on it and 30+ on motorways). Also, as they're all imports rust is not as much of an issue as a similar aged s14..

ps I'm thinking of selling mine soon if you're interested ;-)

Good to hear, hoping to hear about my contract tomorrow so that'll dictate when I can start looking for one!

Unfortunately I have my EP3 Type-R to sell/part-ex or I'd have maybe taken you up on it

[sparkyhx]

What about a late S14a - they are available right up to 2001 (albeit late registered) and you are not paying the S15 premium. Styling wise its a toss up for me.
There are no issues with cracked manifolds (unless cheap stainless ones) but there are issues with cracked intercooler pipes, and there cannot be many UK ones with the original still on. S15 intercoolers are bigger than S14.

Reliability wise there are plenty 100k+ Sr20DET's running stage 1 (280bhp) with many running even more. I personally know of one with over 300k+ and one with 200k+ on the clock. There are S14/14a's.

Most common faults -
- Fuel pump dies around 70k
- Intercooler pipes crack
- oil spray bars can clog if car not serviced, this leads to bottom end failure.
- Coil Packs go
- front calipers stick
- Turbo gaskets

Look for evidence of modding - some may have been modded and returned to standard - not necessarily a bad thing, but just be aware.
If its been kept standard and regularly serviced it should be fine. If its been modded then you need to make sure it been done well.

[Neith]

sparkyhx said:

What about a late S14a - they are available right up to 2001 (albeit late registered) and you are not paying the S15 premium. Styling wise its a toss up for me.
There are no issues with cracked manifolds (unless cheap stainless ones) but there are issues with cracked intercooler pipes, and there cannot be many UK ones with the original still on. S15 intercoolers are bigger than S14.

Reliability wise there are plenty 100k+ Sr20DET's running stage 1 (280bhp) with many running even more. I personally know of one with over 300k+ and one with 200k+ on the clock. There are S14/14a's.

Most common faults -
- Fuel pump dies around 70k
- Intercooler pipes crack
- oil spray bars can clog if car not serviced, this leads to bottom end failure.
- Coil Packs go
- front calipers stick
- Turbo gaskets

Look for evidence of modding - some may have been modded and returned to standard - not necessarily a bad thing, but just be aware.
If its been kept standard and regularly serviced it should be fine. If its been modded then you need to make sure it been done well.

I do like the S14 and have been very tempted at times to go for one (especially with them being much easier to find!), but ultimately the styling of the S15 wins it for me. It's a couple of months until I can finalise getting one sorted anyway so an S14 is an option but only if I can't get a S15.

[Riknos]

Neith said:

I do like the S14 and have been very tempted at times to go for one (especially with them being much easier to find!), but ultimately the styling of the S15 wins it for me. It's a couple of months until I can finalise getting one sorted anyway so an S14 is an option but only if I can't get a S15.

S14 is the cop out, lazy way out. Stick to your guns and get the S15 - You will love the exclusiveness.

[sparkyhx]

S15's are exclusive, but then the 200sx is pretty rare anyway in whatever guise. As a 25k Datsun they were never big sellers. I think there are only a few hundred S14's still on the road. (More S14a's).