# Pro's and Cons of Skyline Ownership



## sn:afu (Feb 18, 2009)

Had a look through the search function but couldn't really find a definitive answer to the above question.

Basically looking to see what people think are the good points and bad points as well as any common issues/potential problems that arise with owning a Skyline.

I've already taken into account, high fuel, high insurance and some costly parts 

Also, could someone please explain the term 'spun a shell'? :thumbsup:


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## Dynamix (Nov 1, 2007)

Spun a shell usualy means you have spun a big end bearing, i problem of the rb motors.

Ok, i'll start on pro's

*Great bang for buck. For the price you cant really beat it for the performance you get

*Great handling/awd/power, The rb26dett is prerrty damn strong as is the driveline and awd system, can get good power with simple type mods, the awd system is better than most things as so is the handling.

*Looks. I think all the models looks better than 99% of other cars within the same price bracket

*Great platform. For whatever you do with the the car it will excell at doing most things, drag, street, circuit, daily. 

*The smile it puts on your face, even driving a lightly modified car will put a grin on your face from ear to ear, after driving other cars they pale in comparrison to a gt-r.

*People you meet, some of the nicest helping good spirited people i've met are skyline owners. Just look at this board.


Cons. 

*Just like any car they have there downfalls, the rb26 can be a bit hit and miss, some go pop and some dont, better of finding an unmolestered stock car or a well maintained car, alot of thrashed examples out there

*Insurance will make your door drop, and thiev's/vandals/idiots/police target imports

*Fuel/replacemant parts/servicing can be very very expensive, but you get what you pay for, the better you look after it, the better off you'll be..

*Impractical. As a daily driver they're a pain in the ass, only having 2 doors doesn't help, rear seats are cramped, no space to put heaps of shopping or if you have kids, also i dont like the idea of leaving mine in public car parks, dints/dents/marks will happen

*Money pit, add up insurance/tyres/fuel/upgrades ect and you can throw thousands upon thosands at a skyline and still never be done

*Age, r32's are old now, and most r33's are 10 years old at minimum, so there's problems that are associated with that, rubber bushes wear out, motors wear out, trim/carpets show ear marks, paint gets worn, shocks wear out and so on, the older/higher mile/worse condition you get a car the more it'll cost you in the long run, trust us on that

*Idiots. Skylines are half nice people/half idiont attracters, but aren't most cars?


I've probly missed a few but i'll add to that later. Some pro's outway the cons and visa versa with cons/pro's. You really need to look at what kinda of car you want and what you're going to do with it, is it within you budget and remember to factors insurance/servicing/fuel/tyres ect, and if something breaks, can you get it fixed if you need a car on a daily basis? 

Hope that helps

Mat.


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## ru' (Feb 18, 2007)

Minus: Tuning/Upgrade addiction
Plus: Everything else


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## gtrlux (Mar 8, 2006)

Pros: Every possible thing.
Cons: my wallet!


:chuckle:


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## sn:afu (Feb 18, 2009)

Well looking to spend between £10-£13K, ideally looking at an R34 GT-T but with the GTR conversion on. So hopefully find a pretty good example.....

Ok, i'm a bit of a novice with mechanics (got a lot of mates into drifting etc so they'd be pretty useful) but whats a big end bearing. Pleaee bbear in mind i've got an EP3 with an almost indestructable K20a in


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## iceager (Dec 23, 2004)

ru' said:


> Minus: Tuning/Upgrade addiction
> Plus: Everything else


Agree to that, once you started modding the car you will never stop unless you have the balls to make a plan and stick with it.

I think most of us had a plan, but never really stuck to it, there is always something.


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## dean j (Jan 28, 2007)

Ditch the civic and get a mint 32 mate. 10-13 will get you a pukka one! Dont get a GT-t. They look too dainty. lol

Never driven a V-tec engined car before, but i bet it dont kick in as hard aa 1 bar boost in the back! lol


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## m6beg (Apr 21, 2003)

Just keep it plain and simple like mine then you will be fine.


Mick:thumbsup:


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## TREG (May 20, 2004)

Pros- Once the car is tuned up alittle it will beat pretty much anything you may come across on the roads.


Cons- I'v had mine over 6 years and the first 5 years I had no serious issues at all.
Then year 6+ the head went, then cylinder no 6 along with piston 6.Then a faulty Ecu and various other electrical parts!
Just dont expect the car to be 100% reliable all of the time, they need money spent on them to keep them going.


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## sn:afu (Feb 18, 2009)

dean j said:


> Ditch the civic and get a mint 32 mate. 10-13 will get you a pukka one! Dont get a GT-t. They look too dainty. lol
> 
> Never driven a V-tec engined car before, but i bet it dont kick in as hard aa 1 bar boost in the back! lol


Still want something 'newer' and RWD, hence the 34.

No it doesn't kick as hard, but vtec is fun especially as its the other end of the rev counter from boost


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

maybe i can help

as i have a new type r for day to day driving, shopping etc, and its lovely to drive but has abit of poke, ive done just ove 25,000 miles in its first year and they have been faultless (bar a windscreen). Honda main dealer didnt even change the oil only in 12500 mile intervals...!

however its not as "fun" to drive as a noisy R34GTR. BUT

pros on the GTR- its a good giggle taking it out and owning it, its rewarding to own such an "icon"

cons - expensive even as a weekend car, your always buying stuff, upgrade or replacement/servicing. it will drain your wallet, what we tell you is prob not what you want to hear and you no doubt go and buy one anyways

the GTRs are not as comfy to use day to day (been there on my 32), and its a real pain to use as an everydayer

size of the car, just general practical things...

keep the type r

when they do need work on them, not just servicing


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## sn:afu (Feb 18, 2009)

This could be pushing me towards one of my next two options - Supra TT or S15......


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

supra way to big, and think they look quite dated without some kit on 

remind me of a frong on a skateboard

S15 - nice car

heres ours

http://neweraimports.com/soldcarDetails.jsp?carId=283


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## G40tee (Feb 25, 2008)

matty stop pushing this man away from owning a gtr!

yes they are expensive but good god i love it!

the attention, the drive, the looks, the noise . . .need i go on

i havent had it rivalled yet!

s15s are the same money as a gtr basically so sod them!

supra is a nice car (matty is right they look dated though) but the drive of then isnt as good as the gtr in my eyes


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## myline (Dec 10, 2005)

There is nowhere in the world like the inside of a Gtr and once you've had one you won't want anything else.

The v-tec engine runs on revs and needs to be screaming all the time, a Skyline has torque and is totally different, it will pull from nothing in a high gear to as fast as you like.

They drink petrol round town but are better on a run, if you fancy one it will be the only car you ever want once you have owned one.


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

correct me if im wrong but your talking GTT not GTR ownership arnt you?


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## G40tee (Feb 25, 2008)

oh yeah forgot about that!

well he said gtt with gtr conversion, im not a fan of gtt's but if you get a very nicely done gtt conversion with the full works then fair play go for it!


gtt on its own though would rather find something different


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

G40tee said:


> oh yeah forgot about that!
> 
> well he said gtt with gtr conversion, im not a fan of gtt's but if you get a very nicely done gtt conversion with the full works then fair play go for it!
> 
> ...


GTT with an RB26 will be rare to find and lets face it , its still not a 34gtr


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## sn:afu (Feb 18, 2009)

matty32 said:


> supra way to big, and think they look quite dated without some kit on
> 
> remind me of a frong on a skateboard
> 
> ...


Something like that would be ideal......a bit too pricey for me at the moment :bawling:


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## G40tee (Feb 25, 2008)

when i say conversion i mean the proper ones like was advertised on here a while ago, but yeah youre right it is very hard to find!


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## sn:afu (Feb 18, 2009)

matty32 said:


> GTT with an RB26 will be rare to find and lets face it , its still not a 34gtr


Ironically.......


check this out

RB26'd GTT


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## WillRobDon (Jul 29, 2006)

S15 would be an awesome car! They are really nice!

Have you considered an RX-7??

But really you should go for a good R32 GTR!!!!


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## The J (Apr 15, 2008)

Just don't buy it and then decide you can't support it. My R32 is super clean and even it has a lot alot alot of maintenance issues that I'm still dealing with almost a year in. Everyone thrashes these cars so no matter what, you will want at least enough to replace wear and tear stuff. It's more than most people initially realize.

I will grant that even in the United States, they're a very practical car. I'm daily driving mine to an Baskin Robbins franchise I help run and using it to pick up people and things. I take the train to commute to my day job though so it helps a lot. If it's a weekend battleship car, There's every reason to own one.


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## Cris (Sep 17, 2007)

S15s are over-priced IMHO. S14 with strawberry face (I think it's called) makes more sense. You could even get a UK then convert it which should save pennies on insurance.

I'd have said that an R33 GTR would be a fine day to day vehicle (economy aside).

Personally I wouldn't bother with a kitted GTT. If you're using it as a stepping stone fair enough but remember not to spend too much on the stepping stone otherwise you might as well have just bought the GTR in the first place. Though there is much discussion R34 prices have been dropping of late. If you bought a tidy fairly stock GTT ran it for a year then have a gander at the market. You may find that the R34 GTR is within your grasp. Again keeping the stepping stone GTT in good order and not painting it pink say will mean it's easy to shift when the time comes.


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## Dynamix (Nov 1, 2007)

Best thing to do is try and get a ride in each of the models you are interested in, nothing makes your mind up like the a ' seat of the pants ' ride in a nice car..


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## kismetcapitan (Nov 25, 2005)

the S15 is a great car, the SR20 is pretty tough to break, it looks awesome, and is as practical as an R32.

The problem you might run into is that you've settled for less than the ultimate. I ran into that with my BMW bike. I picked out a great bike, does EVERYTHING well, it's quick, nimble, can tour, the whole nine yards. But it's not a superbike, so in the end I had to add another to the stable. A 450bhp S15 will be incredible, drift, do donuts and burnouts and generally make you think you've got the greatest thing on earth. Just never get a ride in a 600~700bhp GT-R. Game over then. Once you've tasted a GT-R with serious power, there's NO going back.


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## Kendo (Dec 8, 2008)

I was having this same dilema a couple of months ago when i was thinkin of getting a R33 GTR. I decided what the hell, i'll probably not get the chance to do it again and bought it anyway.

Yes it is expensive to run, look after and insure and a lot of people think i'm crazy to buy it at this present time but the total enjoyment i get when driving it completly outways the cons!


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## dangerous dave (Dec 16, 2003)

As a mechanic there are pro's and cons to every car. Ask yourself is it really what I want? if the answer to that is yes (and only you can answer that!) Then you have to be prepared to take the good with the bad. Great cars with great potential.But its worth having some spare cash. I take time to find the right car with good spec and good or as much history as you can. 

S15's very nice lots of potential , but once you have felt the pull of a straight six , as mentioned you'll never look at 4 pots again.

As for rx7's love em but would you really want a car with an engine based on a hotpoint washing machine? and cirby grip components inside ??? 

The only negatives I have about skyline ownership is some of the twats who look at you with disgust in a petrol station when you disapoint them by telling them it dosent have 1000000000000hp. Oh and its a S K Y L I N E no bloody E R or the end, if one more person says here m8 is that a SkylineR I wont be help responsable for my actions.


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