just a couple questions for my momma

[SixRunner]

alright, so i found 2 240's that im considering. now these questions wont be about the cars themselves, but more about foreign cars. You see, my mom thinks foreign cars are some crazy alien technology, and when i try to tell her a car is a car she wants proof. so please answer these couple questions so i can finally get a 240.

*keep in mind i know all these answers, but my mom wants someone else to tell her the same thing*

1. do general auto repair shops service foreign vehicles?
2. does a brake job cost significantly more on a 240sx than a american made car?
3. how about oil changes?
4. are nuts and bolts and stuff different on foreign cars?

now heres a couple question for me..

1. how many miles can a KA withstand? i heard 250k+ but im not sure.
2. is it worth putting money into a 240 with 150k miles?
3. will good snow tires help driving in winter, or will it still be incredibly difficult.

[SkyS13Walker]

Will good snow tires help driving in winter, or will it still be incredibly difficult?
Driving any RWD car in the snow is never recommended at all, ether is on heavy rain. This could make the rear wheels spin easily out and create over-steer.

As of oil changes and maintenance on the car it is all the same at a auto shop they will still charge you on Parts + Labor + Taxes=

but i have to say that maintenance is quite easy on a 240sx and you have already unlock the first step in going on to the forums and asking questions. so doing it yourself can save you a lot of money in the long run. So good luck my friend and i hope I've been a help

[SixRunner]

sadly, i will have no choice but to drive it in the winter. as long as the roads are plowed, and i drive like an old lady i should be fine. i did it in my fiero so hopefully i can do it in the 240.

thanks for answering the questions. i know they were really dumb questions but you know how moms are.

[mechanicalmoron]

In the rain and snow, just do as you'd expect, drive slowly (front wheels can lose it too) and no sudden steering or brake motions, be very easy on the throttle. Any car is dangerous in snow and ice, but tires will help some.

Oil and parts, all available at any auto store. Some shops do imports, some do american stuff, some do both. You actually would usually be much better off at a shop that does a bunch of nissan stuff, of course.

Bolts are actually different, she's right. Metric as opposed to imperial threads (metric being japanese stuff). They won't fit at all and will bugger everything up, but it's not hard to find metric stuff, any good hardware store has both and any good parts store will cater to any japanese vehicle parts. It's not like all american parts fit all american cars or anything, either way you just need to buy the right part or tool for the job.

That's not bad milage, especially if it's in good shape. Give it TLC if you want it to last, and understand that it's a high milage vehicle and in a few years or a few dozens of thousands of miles, you can and will be looking at rebuilds just like with any car. Don't buy it if you'll just scrap it when something goes wrong, you can do that with chevy crap..... everything needs maintainence, and hopefully you end up loving your car and want to take care of/fix it.

Before you need an engine rebuild, you'll need injectors...... As I found when mine went, there's a billion and a half people who never even solve the issue and give up on the car, when they go they mess up all kinds of things, my motor still doesn't run right. So IF there's any preventive maintainence you want to do on the stock motor, get a good set of brand new OEM injectors, and replace them all properly with all new O-rings(shold come on them anyways) and don't forget to put vaseline or silicone or whatever on the rings or they'll tear going in, and make a world of hurt. Other than that, follow any guide on it, and that's my main suggestion. And make sure all your fluid is full, prefferably change it when you buy it. Don't forget the transmission and differential.

[SixRunner]

MechanicalMoron, thanks alot man. right now i just need a cheap car to get me back and forth to work and school since i totaled my malibu. ill be doing a swap or rebuild in a couple of years hopefully, when i can do it all myself.

now, both cars are in really good shape (even for a 1500 dollar car).
1995 with 150k miles ($1400 obo)
1992 coupe with 180k miles, one owner. ($1500)

the s14 is out of state, about 2.5 hours away. and the s13 is about 20 minutes away.
so hopefully my dad or someone will drive and get it for me.
or i could get the s13 and save up for a nicer 240

decisions decisions

[mechanicalmoron]

......are you implying that there's something wrong with s13's? I personally think they look much nicer, if that effects your choice at all..... and smaller cars are fun. s14 looks like a nissan that wanted to be a corolla, and the s13 can take a subframe, motor, or just about whatever else from an s14 if you're that worried about 2 inches or whatever the stance difference is. And if you don't like popup lights, you can put a silvia front on it, which is much classier looking than the s14, IMO. And s13 probably doesn't have stuff like ABS, which means more direct driver control and less junk to break or need professional repair.

If I was you, I'd take the info you have on the s14 to the guy with the s13 and say look, it's newer and has lower milage by quite a bit, and cheaper/obo, why don't you sell me your car for 1000 dollars.... then work up from that.

I guess it's just me, but I think s14's are ugly and look more like they should be economy cars. They're not preportioned as nicely. But as far as practicality goes, it's newer and has a lot less wear on it.

If one's a standard, that also might be the clear choice. But this is all assuming you like cars and don't just want to play 2 fast 2 furious on the way to school. In that case, you should get the 95.

This is all just me, I know many/most take the opposite view on it.

[SixRunner]

no no, theres nothing wrong with s13's. actually, i would prefer a s13 by a slim margin. but id rather put money into a car with 150k miles rather than one with 180k.

they are both automatic so i owuld be doing a swap soon

[mechanicalmoron]

no no, theres nothing wrong with s13's. actually, i would prefer a s13 by a slim margin. but id rather put money into a car with 150k miles rather than one with 180k.

they are both automatic so i owuld be doing a swap soon

180 will creep up on you...

If you really plan on doing serious work on either of them, the s13, if it's in good shape and you take care of it, should last many thousands of miles, likely more than another 100k, before needing anything really serious done to it. Just drive it gently and don't run into anything.. If you're doing brake/hub upgrades or conversions, suspension upgrades, differential, motor swap or rebuild, then I don't see that the milage makes any difference, beyond the condition it's in now and the condition you keep it in.

Then again, they're used cars, might blow a gasket or have the transmission fall out of either one of them before you get it home.

[SixRunner]

If you're doing brake/hub upgrades or conversions, suspension upgrades, differential, motor swap or rebuild, then I don't see that the milage makes any difference

thats what i always thought, somehow forgot about that.
can anything major go wrong on a chassis with 250k+ miles? or is it mostly the bushings i should be worried about?

[SixRunner]

now that i think about it. if i got an s14 i would rather get a kouki.

and with a s13, it could be a potential drift car.

[mechanicalmoron]

If you're doing brake/hub upgrades or conversions, suspension upgrades, differential, motor swap or rebuild, then I don't see that the milage makes any difference

thats what i always thought, somehow forgot about that.
can anything major go wrong on a chassis with 250k+ miles? or is it mostly the bushings i should be worried about?

Anything CAN.... rust and metal fatigue. I wouldn't expect the latter to be an issue unless you like, jump your car and run into brick walls on the regular, model T's are still chugging along.

But about the rust, since you live in a snowy area either or both cars could need extensive welding and sealing work, depending on garage habits, salt on the roads, driving habits, etc. That's what I'd worry about.

there's guides that tell you where to look. The tire well and under the wing, and suspension and frame rails would be places to check real quick-like.

Bushings probably won't kill you, or anything, unless it's steering stuff. But they'll make things bumpy and loud.

In the end it's only a 3-year difference, with about 3 years worth of daily driving in milage difference. The main difference is what chassis you want, I expect, unless one has something horrible or one was not garaged or maintained.

Diesel trucks and such can go like a million miles when properly mantained. And then it's time for a rebuild, and another million. Of course this isn't a truck, but I'm saying that other than actual damage, there's no reason that the car will break in half on it's own if you don't do anything bad to it and you DO do the good things to it, and repair any frame problems as they appear.

[fiznowler]

I would rather buy an import with high miles than a domestic. And anymore imports are easier to work on than domestics and cost is very similar. S13 and S14 are so close as far as mechanics it comes down to condition and preference. I would take an S14 Kouki over any of them but you are not going to find one for 1500. The s13 silvia front coupe is a close second. That being said I would much rather have the s13 over the zenki. I just do not like zenki's as much as I try to.

[krash]

Driving any RWD car in the snow is never recommended at all, ether is on heavy rain. This could make the rear wheels spin easily out and create over-steer.

I just want to comment on how much BS I think this is (no offense to you personally, SkyS13Walker). I hate it when people automatically assume RWD will kill you in the snow. There was a time when FWD and AWD cars did not exist, what did exist was drivers that knew how to drive. Rain is a complete NON-issue and its pretty funny that you brought it up at all.

I've been daily driving my s13 for about 3 years now; rain, shine, snow, whatever. I went through 2 winters with some crappy tires and it did make for some interesting moments, but nothing that someone paying attention to their car can't handle. Good snow tires will make a WORLD of a difference in the snow.

I actually prefer RWD cars in the snow, and here is why. In a front wheel drive car, if your front tires start sliding in the packed snow, you're done, theres not much you can do. With a rear wheel drive car, if you lose traction on the front tires, you still have control over the rear wheels, and you can control what the car does from there. It can get you out of a lot of bad situations in the snow where a FWD car cant. All you need to do is know how the car works and know how to control it. You can also throw some sandbags in the trunk when it snows to weigh it down, this helps a bit with the rear-wheel traction.

So please for the love of god, if your mom is going to say "Oh well rear-wheel-drive cars are dangerous in the snow", politely tell her that she is mistaken.

[mechanicalmoron]

Driving any RWD car in the snow is never recommended at all, ether is on heavy rain. This could make the rear wheels spin easily out and create over-steer.

I just want to comment on how much BS I think this is (no offense to you personally, SkyS13Walker). I hate it when people automatically assume RWD will kill you in the snow. There was a time when FWD and AWD cars did not exist, what did exist was drivers that knew how to drive. Rain is a complete NON-issue and its pretty funny that you brought it up at all.

I've been daily driving my s13 for about 3 years now; rain, shine, snow, whatever. I went through 2 winters with some crappy tires and it did make for some interesting moments, but nothing that someone paying attention to their car can't handle. Good snow tires will make a WORLD of a difference in the snow.

I actually prefer RWD cars in the snow, and here is why. In a front wheel drive car, if your front tires start sliding in the packed snow, you're done, theres not much you can do. With a rear wheel drive car, if you lose traction on the front tires, you still have control over the rear wheels, and you can control what the car does from there. It can get you out of a lot of bad situations in the snow where a FWD car cant. All you need to do is know how the car works and know how to control it. You can also throw some sandbags in the trunk when it snows to weigh it down, this helps a bit with the rear-wheel traction.

So please for the love of god, if your mom is going to say "Oh well rear-wheel-drive cars are dangerous in the snow", politely tell her that she is mistaken.

I agree with this, but for the opposite reason. FWD may not slide as fast, but when it does, there's no going back. On RWD you have much more time to gently correct, let off the throttle or brakes, and the back end will come back in line. I don't have snow here, though, so I mean on gravel (high speed improperly rolled chipseal roads are deadly) and water.

[BoostedA33]

I hate to come in here and talk all kinds of sedan smack but.....

If youre looking for a good daily driver with a little fun under the peddle, get a 95-99 maxima with a 5 speed.

Ive driven through snow, ice, rain, etc and never had any problems. Yes, its FWD. But they are pretty fast in stock form and are a pretty good platform to modify. VQ35 swap anyone?

I guess my point is that for 1500, you can find one in fair shape, perform basic preventitive maint. and have a good ride.

Good luck either way, just dont buy a honduh or a dumbestic.

[mechanicalmoron]

I hate to come in here and talk all kinds of sedan smack but.....

If youre looking for a good daily driver with a little fun under the peddle, get a 95-99 maxima with a 5 speed.

Ive driven through snow, ice, rain, etc and never had any problems. Yes, its FWD. But they are pretty fast in stock form and are a pretty good platform to modify. VQ35 swap anyone?

I guess my point is that for 1500, you can find one in fair shape, perform basic preventitive maint. and have a good ride.

Good luck either way, just dont buy a honduh or a dumbestic.

Hey there, as far as sedans or fwd go, why NOT buy a honda? Good quality cars that will drive to hell and back, just because the civic isn't a racecar isn't a blow on honda. And if things are stock, frankly most small cars can be driven in a spirited way and plenty of fun can be had, and they're all pretty similar.

This is just my experience, but I checked out a 98 altima, was a fine looking car but the front driver side strut tower top was totally ripped off, it had been repaired with a steel strap running from the strut bolts to the suspension crosspiece.... I don't know if that's because it's a weak spot, or because of something partucilarly bad, this had originally been a police auction car, guy was selling cause he'd meant to bid on a truck, so maybe it'd been in a wreck or driven into a ditch or jumped or something.

[SixRunner]

well cant get my hands on a decent 240 anymore, so since i need a car this weekend i think i might go with a acura legend or a maxima like someone mentioned. just need something so i can get back to work and save up some money for a nice 240 down the road. plus if i get a 240 after winter i think it would be better since ill have time to undercoat it and everything. and i dont wanna get a paint job right before winter.