Can you get a R32 GT-R for 10K? / Best Fun $5K to $10K Vehicle - Your Opinion?

[GTRNub]

My question to you guys is.

I have seen multiple R32 GT-R's drop down to low as $8K in the GTA. The ones closer to $10K are in very good condition from what it looks like online. Is it possible to have a working, reliable, stock-ish, R32 GT-R for $10K?
It will be my single daily driver year round. With mostly city driving. A lot of spirited driving on the touge, highways, etc. I do not own a Skyline yet but have always wanted a Skyline especially the R32 GT-R. Is it hard to get parts in the GTA? The only place I know of in the GTA that really sells parts is Right Drive, yet again I do not own a Skyline anything comparable so I don't really know what shops sell OEM parts or close. I will be doing a track day a least once a year. And will plan to do basic mods over time. I would like to buy a clean sheet and make sure the GT-R is running at 150% before I do any modifications. And from what I have seen around the R32's are dropping in price due to the R34's finally coming in.

What do you think?

- Hopeful Future Skyline Owner?

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This post below was copied from a thread on a another forum that I made for a chart of cars that I am considering.

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Alright, I may be in the market for a new car and I made a list of what I can get that would fit me. I just wanted to hear from the community if you guys have:

1) Any suggestions for a car not listed within the $5K to $10K price range.
2) Reasons to support or not support any of cars listed below.

Please keep in mind I will be using this car as a year round daily driver in Canada, in mostly city driving with off and on highway/freeway driving, and some country driving. So remember snow and ice in the winter. Hence why some of these are AWD. But on the other side I do a lot of spirted driving in all types of environments. City, country, highway. I love a real driving feel (I drove a IS 300 and the steering feels fairly fake/very power assisted). It would be nice to take the car to the track, but I'm not really into real tracking as the cost of real good lapping sessions of the wear and tear on the car is a little too much for me since I am still in college. I will do modifications of course. I/H/E with suspension, tires, brakes and wheels to say the least over time. I don't really need to carry 5 people at all so I don't have a problem with a 2 seater. Storage is not really an issue. I also do want power as well as handling. Preferrably less than 6 second or less 0-60 out of the factory (which most of these cars do). I am very hardcore on maintenance so taking care of the more non-reliable vehicle is ok as long as they aren't braking down randomly while they are being regularly maintained. Such as the R32 Skyline GT-R or B5 S4.

Yes, some of the vehicles are RHD only. In Canada we are allowed to have imports less than 15 years or more. But insurance is hard to find and usually pretty expensive. And parts for some of the vehicles are extremely hard to get and I would literrally have to have parts deliver straight from Japan (I may have some local suppliers) but it's not like you can go to any parts store or dealer and get parts for any RB series Nissan motor in North America.

I've ranked them by tiers from AAA being best to C being worst of what I have chosen. I have ranked them by overall: performance, reliability, fun, ease of access to parts.

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Here is the list anyways (in order from top to bottom):

Tier AAA
Honda AP1 S2000
Infiniti V35 G35 Coupe (6 speed manual)
Subaru WRX Sedan/Wagon

Tier AA
Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R
Acura TL UA6/UA7 (6 speed manual)
Honda Accord V6 coupe 7th gen (06/07 model year) (6 speed manual)

Tier A
Nissan Pulsar GTI-R
Acura RSX Type-S (05/06 model year)

Tier B
Toyota MR2 SW20 Turbo
Nissan Skyline R33 GTS-T
Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-T Type M
Nissan Z32 300ZX/Fairlady Z Twin Turbo

Tier C
BMW E36 M3
Audi B5 S4 (heard of crazy reliability issues, but such a nice car)
Mazda RX8
Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205
Mitsubishi GTO/3000GT VR-4

[NismoS-tune]

this has been covered a milion times (your generic car questions which apply to any automobiles).

You get what you pay for. If you get a mega clean car for cheap, then you found someone who doesn't mind losing out on somthing.
if it's cheap, there's usually a reason. A 20 year old sports car (that has usually been driven hard at some point) is a dumb daily driver but w/e, if it lasts, it lasts.

I keep under 4000km a year on my gtr and have a few daily drivers. I enjoy my gtr when I need to, not when I drive to work every day

[gtrte37]

I agree, a gtr should be weekend/summer car. I put around 4K a year too and enjoy every one of them. That way you keep costs down, able to spend more on mods and appreciate it more in the long run. But then again my gtr isnt a typical beat up one.

[beacher1B0]

Since your from Ontario, Go get sum insurance quotes on the RHDs. That may narrow your contenders.

[Daryl @ RightDrive]

1) Get insurance quotes first, you may not even be able to get insurance for a RHD car in Ontario
2) Cheap GT-Rs are not worth the trouble. There are countless stories on this forum of those who bought cheap GT-Rs, and in the end the repairs over the years have cost them more that if they had purchased a good condition GT-R to begin with. Spend a little more now, and you won't have a constant drain on your wallet, and constant headache of a broken car. There is no such thing as a cheap, good condition, reliable GT-R....unless someone is dumping it and is losing a pile of money on it.

Not sure if the member is on this forum, but I met hims a couple years ago in Toronto....he bought a cheap sub-$10K GT-R from a local "JDM" importer that begins with T, and was bragging about how the condition was so pristine, and anyone who bought a GT-R for over $10K was getting hosed. He picked up his car from the shop, and the engine blew up on the way home. So his cheap sub-10K GT-R just cost him a $5K-$7K engine rebuild in the first day.

Not to say all cheap GT-Rs are bad, but for me I would spend the extra money on a proper one from the start. And that applies to any car...if it's too good to be true, beware.

P.S. Many of the answers to your questions are already on this forum, so take a look around first.

[Nexsys]

I paid 9k for mine, lasted about 4 months(2 months a year) of daily driving before the oil pump went and took my bottom end with it but what can ya do, RB30 FTW!

So, personally, increase your budget to about 15-20k, and youll get a great example of a gtr, but like people say, check insurance first, that will probly end up costing you more then the car within 2 years

[wannabe_sky]

i think mine is worth the $16000 im asking, have every record provided even from japan, no rust or dents no rock chips.

[Black BNR32]

shameful plug

this will be better for your needs

http://saskatoon.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1998-BMW-M3-Coupe-supercharged-W0QQAdIdZ520454768

[GTRNub]

Thanks everyone for your opinions.
I was kind of skeptical getting a GT-R for less than $10K, it's hard to tell if they were abused or not because they come over here in mint condition and a lots of them are virgin/unmodified which makes it harder to tell if they have been beaten on. There is this one near Hamilton I was looking at for $8999. Looked good but I think I should just hold off for now on a GT-R until I can afford to do it right.

Now how about a R32 GTS-T vs a R33 GTS25-t?
Those seem like more doable options in my budget. I may a previous thread on those before aswell.
I like the R32 chassis and all but I am afraid that the RB20DET has limited potential vs the RB25DET in the R33 GTS25-T.
Any personal experiences with this?

I have been looking for RHD for about 2 years on and off hardcore. Last summer I called every major insurance company in Ontario and every single local broker in my town. Nothing. I think I have found a broker to get RHD insurance through a friend that already has RHD insurance. So I still have to confirm on Tuesday when they are open again before I can make any final decisions. I will call them and see if I can get insurance on any of the RHD cars I listed above. I will hope for the best. But my friend said I'm pretty sure I will get it so I'm pretty hyped but you know how it is with RHD insurance. :P

[RixR32]

I got my GTR for a STEAL of a deal, just under 9k, for just the main reason people are stating above.

The guy could not get INSURANCE.

It used to be possible to get the classic policies on these cars if you qualified as a driver, but the douchebaggery of some people has closed that door now too.
That said, finding daily driver coverage on a GTR is likely next to impossible. It took me a few full days of calling around just for my Pajero, after the company I was with dropped it, for NO REASON and WITHOUT WARNING.....
Luckily my GTR is grandfathered in at one of those calssic companies (so I've been told), or I would likely dump my car.
ITS NOT WORTH paying Facililty rates with the drunks and other horrible drivers, as someone stated you'll pay more than the car's worth in the first couple years...
Keep in mind as well that I'm not even in the GTA......3 hrs out in the stix.

Maybe someday we'll get enough unity for a lawsuit of some sort, it's the only way this will change.

All that seems quite negative I know, but it's the truth. Don't jump the gun on a car you could possibly never drive.

Good luck!

Rick

[caliber676]

Your chooses are kinda scattered in my opinion. Awd mixed with rwd with fwd. You got horribly expensive and unreliable European cars with turbo'd 20year old Japanese cars then 6 year old imports. I think you should weigh the options of all if your basing it mostly on looks before anything else. Cars like s2000's and mr2's are weekend cars, Accords and tl's are not performance oriented. G35's are a mix of performance and luxury. Gt3000's and gtr's are straight performance. Europeans fall into performance luxury but with a way higher price tag for repairs, trust me I work at a audi dealer. All that coupled with different drive drain, seating, options and huge year gaps, you might want to really dig into all that first.

[kyledude351]

I got 2 daily drivers, I plan on keeping my BNR32 in the shop for the winter months, and only taking it out for the occasional weekend burn, track days, car show etc.

Picked up a BNR32 with absolute mint body in Calgary AB just last week, car has 104,000km, few simple mods (Intercooler, hard piping, cat back exhaust, intake etc.)
$6000, with 2 spare turbos and the receipts from most the of services it had, including a fresh turbo rebuild in July 2013! $1500!
The owner was going to school in california, and the father sold it too me, poor guy. I could tell he was sad to see it go.
brand new tires and racing coil overs as well.

Keep looking, you never know when a good deal may present itself!

Good luck