Which would you pick and why?

- pristine inside and out 90 BNR32 in the "rare" grey with 40K original miles, no rust, barely any modifications, and no repair history.

OR

- 91 repainted white, excellent condition inside and out, 100K miles, N1 everything including engine with 6 speed getrag.

F that rare crap. Every other R32 is that boring gunmetal color. You know what needs to be done.

The repainted white car is the better bang for the buck, but you need to verify the validity of all the "N1 everything including engine with 6 speed getrag". N1s had a different block number stamping than a standard block, so check that out (or get pictures of it if you're 8000 miles from the car). The 6 speed is physically bigger and needs modification to the underbody/trans tunnel to fit (as well as the R34 transfer case), so check and see how that was done. I would want to see receipts. These parts should justify a higher price, but the engine could already be tired and the body can hide alot of maladies.

Grey was the most commonly produced color, but I like it.

It really comes down to what you intend to do with the car as to which one you should buy. Original "timepiece"? Grey car. Don't really care about originality and want all the later upgrades? White car. This is all given that they're both in the condition you say they are since most guys are getting into buying these cars wearing rose-colored glasses.

themadscientist wrote:F that rare crap. Every other R32 is that boring gunmetal color. You know what needs to be done.

Hahahaha I know. Was being sarcastic hence the quotes. The 32 isn't being advertised as a rare grey color. So N1?

well I like the N1 idea, if you are state side you are looking at an additional year of waiting. Don't know if that applies to you, but just something to keep in mind if it does.

usafdarkhorse wrote:The repainted white car is the better bang for the buck, but you need to verify the validity of all the "N1 everything including engine with 6 speed getrag". N1s had a different block number stamping than a standard block, so check that out (or get pictures of it if you're 8000 miles from the car). The 6 speed is physically bigger and needs modification to the underbody/trans tunnel to fit (as well as the R34 transfer case), so check and see how that was done. I would want to see receipts. These parts should justify a higher price, but the engine could already be tired and the body can hide alot of maladies.

Grey was the most commonly produced color, but I like it.

It really comes down to what you intend to do with the car as to which one you should buy. Original "timepiece"? Grey car. Don't really care about originality and want all the later upgrades? White car. This is all given that they're both in the condition you say they are since most guys are getting into buying these cars wearing rose-colored glasses.

Thank you Sir for the advice. Yes, the s/n of the block has been verified and all the work has been conducted by a highly reputable skyline tuner shop in Japan with everything documented and all records saved.

Pricewise, almost the same as the "pristine" gray. Feel like I would be paying for the engine/drive train with the white which, exterior/interior was also restored and with the gray, I'd be paying for the originality as its almost like buying a showroom condition car. Both would resale at a great price but, I tend to buy "keepers".

Internal battle/debate is killing me hahaha. Go with an almost new, low km original everything bnr32, knowing that the motor would have to eventually go out/ticking time bomb oil pump/crank OR white with good drive train where I wouldn't have worry too much when hitting the high revs.

Don't plan to go all race car'ed out with 700+ whp. Want to have a nice, clean, reliable, low key classic that is more than capable of having some fun once in a while. Long term power goal is around 450-500ps.

As for rose colored glasses, my clear contact lenses prevent me from becoming infatuated by the first bnr32 I see hahaha. I am a super anal enthusiast that pays too much attention to detail hahaha. I cry a little inside when I see the state side folks get raped by the mark up of greedy import/exporters. Seems lot a lot of these pop-up businesses are coming from all corners of shadyville hahaha.

I happened to have recently bought a June 1990 GTR in Gunmetal/Grey in great condition with intake/exhaust.

I would say buy the pristine one compared to the modified one.

I prefer built not bought!!

At least with the grey GTR you can modify it the way you want and you know the car isn't a hack job and been beat to death.

Modify the stock car and slowly build the car up to 500hp. If your not racing no need for an N1 motor with 6 speed Getrag.

But if they are the same price you would save a lot of money in the long run as the one car is already heavily modded.

I looked at the Harlow Jap website in UK and would love to drop $25k on a 600hp modified GTR and just be done but there is no fun in that.

There are always two camps of GTR owners. One keeps the car as original and clean as possible, and the other goes for big power mods. Personally I would not get a GTR in between the two, so right now I'm getting a pristine one. I will continue to keep it stock, and maybe sell it a few years later and get a big power '92 or '93 from a very reputable tuning shop.

I had done the gradual power mods route with my Z31, which had gone from 160whp stock to 330whp. I learned a lot and had plenty of fun, but from a money point of view it was completely idiotic. I would spend $250 on a profec B and get $0 in return, and the same for a set of fuel injectors that costed $400+. The costs add up fast and stupid, and the one thing that ever gave me return was probably a suspension overhaul that costed $2000 and increased the resale by $300. There is no such thing as reputable big power Z31 built to sell, so if you think about it, a 700hp Zenitani R32 for $26,000 probably beats any black Friday deal any year.

M35Squirrel wrote:There are always two camps of GTR owners. One keeps the car as original and clean as possible, and the other goes for big power mods. Personally I would not get a GTR in between the two, so right now I'm getting a pristine one. I will continue to keep it stock, and maybe sell it a few years later and get a big power '92 or '93 from a very reputable tuning shop.

I had done the gradual power mods route with my Z31, which had gone from 160whp stock to 330whp. I learned a lot and had plenty of fun, but from a money point of view it was completely idiotic. I would spend $250 on a profec B and get $0 in return, and the same for a set of fuel injectors that costed $400+. The costs add up fast and stupid, and the one thing that ever gave me return was probably a suspension overhaul that costed $2000 and increased the resale by $300. There is no such thing as reputable big power Z31 built to sell, so if you think about it, a 700hp Zenitani R32 for $26,000 probably beats any black Friday deal any year.

those pre-build cars scary me TBH. not from the driving aspect, but from the.... will this pass the EPA clean air act requirements.

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/documents/3520-1.pdf

if you read down in the 2nd section on the 1st page which asks which qualification does it meet to be exempt..... CODE E is what all cars being exempt are being filed under. I question how "original unmodified" they could possibly qualify as. Yes I know GTR garage and others are importing them currently, but faking or neglecting to state the actual condition is not good should a fed ask questions later on. Being ignorant of the laws, much like not knowing the posted speed limited, doesn't exempt you from getting tagged on the other side and the car being seized.

This is the same thing with GTSTs being swapped with 25's and 26s, which I have also seen companies import. The thing is, are you willing to gamble 26k on it?

justonebar wrote:I happened to have recently bought a June 1990 GTR in Gunmetal/Grey in great condition with intake/exhaust.

I would say buy the pristine one compared to the modified one.

I prefer built not bought!!

At least with the grey GTR you can modify it the way you want and you know the car isn't a hack job and been beat to death.

Modify the stock car and slowly build the car up to 500hp. If your not racing no need for an N1 motor with 6 speed Getrag.

But if they are the same price you would save a lot of money in the long run as the one car is already heavily modded.

I looked at the Harlow Jap website in UK and would love to drop $25k on a 600hp modified GTR and just be done but there is no fun in that.

THIS!!!

That's part of the reason I probably would never buy a modified car that was owned by anyone in the military stationed over there. I know of one R33 GT-R that has had 4 owners in the last 3 years. The first owner I knew took good care of it. The guy he sold it to did a whole bunch of mods himself and some had a shop do. Most of it was done pretty half-assed. The third guy that owned it (friend of mine) spent close to $2.5k just to fix all the major eff-ups that the second owner did. The current owner is still trying to fix all the remaining issues my friend couldn't fix before he left Japan.

I know of a really good condition Midnight Purple R33 V-Spec that's for sale for a damn good price. The owner will be available for viewing all of next week. It's mildly modified (HKS filters, hi-flo cat, Fujitsubo exhaust, tuned ECU, coilovers, 18" wheels and damn good tires) and has oil changes every 3,000-4,000kms.

$8,500. Needs shaken inspection though.

Gold Digger wrote:$8,500. Needs shaken inspection though.

$8,500 now, $18,500 5-10 years from now.
I'm no investment guru, but that probably beats 99.9% of the mutual funds out there.

I no longer live in Japan and my car is just sitting collecting dust over there. I'm not going to spend the money it take to store it over there because the cost is crazy expensive.

M35Squirrel wrote:

Gold Digger wrote:$8,500. Needs shaken inspection though.

$8,500 now, $18,500 5-10 years from now.
I'm no investment guru, but that probably beats 99.9% of the mutual funds out there.

won't be 18,500, that is probably ~ what it would sell for state side after taxes and everything. still sounds like a 1/2 decent price. I would expect a 50% return on that investment. the only kicker is storage fees.