The woes of buying used cars......aka "My dream car is killing me!"

[Count Zero]

Got my 1990 GT-R (a rare Motorex car, even) on December 12th.

Brake pads needed replacing when I got it...no problem, I knew about that...but still.

Within the short 3 months I've had it, I've already had to do the following:Transmission (reverse broke...luckily I got a whole complete replacement for just $150)Radiator (plastic top tank split 6 inches. JB Weld temp fix, but got a Koyo on order)Front Brake Rotors (rotors are unknown maker, cross-drilled...both front ones have nasty cracks in them...getting DBA slotted rotors)2 lug bolts stripped and broke off. (Minimal cost, but annoying)Tires are totally bald; it's like driving on racing slicks.and HORRIBLY in need of an alignment.

Doesn't sound like much, but:transmission: $350Radiator: $460Brake Rotors: $350Lug bolts: $5Tires: lucked out; have an almost-new set of 225/55r16 Pirelli's (not exactly the right size, but close enough to save me almost $400) But figure about $25 to get them mounted and balanced.

Only had it 3 months and already spent over $1000 in repairs.And that's not even counting the annoyance factor or an alignment.

Good thing I love this car so much!*grumble*

[themadscientist]

Hello Mcfly its 17 ****ing years old! What did you expect? I suspect you would be dealing with the same problems with a 90' 240, quit whining! My 180SX has no high beams, one low beam, the whole exhuast manifold is loose, oil is running down both sides of the engine, the passenger door doesn't open sometimes, all boots are shot etc etc and it's an 89'.There are legions of Nicoites that would gladly take the R off your hands silly. You are having less problems than R owners in Japan actually. I think you have a pretty solid car there man.

[rotorimp]

Yea I would not put up for it one second longer--I'll be happy to take it off your hands. How much are you asking?

[CarolinaR32]

Wow I fell really lucky right now, Ive had my 93 GTST for almost three months and all I have to do is some routine maintenance. But anything worth having takes some work.

[Count Zero]

Hello Mcfly its 17 ****ing years old! What did you expect? I suspect you would be dealing with the same problems with a 90' 240, quit whining!

Yea, I know...Guess it's just a matter of having mistakingly assumed that it would have been a little better prepped and checked over prior to handing it over.

I'm just whining about it all hitting me at once.

Quote »My 180SX has no high beams, one low beam, the whole exhuast manifold is loose, oil is running down both sides of the engine, the passenger door doesn't open sometimes, all boots are shot etc etc and it's an 89'.[/quote]Yea, but....I mean....but....

Ok, I'll stop whining.

Quote »There are legions of Nicoites that would gladly take the R off your hands silly. [/quote]Hell no!Troubles or not, it's still my dream car!And taking it out last night felt SOOOOOOO good. Restored my faith.

Quote »You are having less problems than R owners in Japan actually. I think you have a pretty solid car there man.[/quote] Probably....and I guess in retrospect, it's best to hit all at once. Maybe not from the financial standpoint but it's better to deal with one big round of hassle than be going down every other month or so, ruining the whole summer.Like with the lug-bolts. First off, both broken bolts are on one hub....much easier than having to pull off two hubs. And better for the second to have broken BEFORE the first was fixed....that would have been REALLY annoying.

Plus the "Oh what's broken now!?!?!" mindset has me going over every inch of the car now, looking at the condition of it all.

Once I get the new radiator, front rotors and lug-bolts installed (all should be in next week), the only thing to do is put new rubber on it and get an alignment, and then I should be sitting pretty.

Guess I just needed to vent and whine a bit to get it out of my system and then put stuff back in perspective.

[turbo junkie]

You own a GT-R and your complaining? get over it try having to repair a p.o.s. s13 on a regular while figuring out how to get my hands on a skyline to begin with. I wish I could repair my skyline? j/k do you have any pics of the car?

[Count Zero]

You own a GT-R and your complaining? get over it try having to repair a p.o.s. s13 on a regular while figuring out how to get my hands on a skyline to begin with. I wish I could repair my skyline?

Hey, I'm an American...it's my Constitutional Right to whine. Quote » j/k do you have any pics of the car? [/quote] All the current pics of it are here:http://www.gothcop.com/cars/R32Half of them are from the guy I bought it from (particularly the ones where it's dirty and covered in dust/cardboard)

Just got some really good ones taken of it last night, but don't have them from the guy who took them yet.

[themadscientist]

Your doing pretty good actually. Rs are always breaking. One of the reasons I have never owned one; one major component F-s up and I am down for months. I can't afford the constant maintenance.

[Suicide.Veteran]

the car has probably been beat on buy the previous owner since day one.At least thats what an average GT-R owner would do , unless your name is Misaki, you live in Kumamoto, own A dark green GT-R, bought it because it looked pretty at the time, and you wont let it loose, nor let Andy tear up the roads in it......

I miss the shinkansen, kiosks at the stations, those damn prepackaged french cakes, men's pocky, okonomiyaki, and Osaka..... [/rant]

oh well.

besides, I spend at least 200 a month average on my car.

[themadscientist]

I prefer the Little Pocky. Mens Pocky has that darker chocolate on it doesn't it?

[shnaped_second]

Man i think youve had it pretty easy so far, how many k's are on it? if its got over 100000k's your gona get stuff breaking, especially if your driving it hard, dont worry, i would be too

[Suicide.Veteran]

yeah, dark choco is sexy.

JACK: what are the cookie sticks with the crumbly stuff on them and are like double the price of pocky? Also can you find out what those cakes at the kiosk are called? They are soft, round, in a cupcake kinda paper thing, and are a swirl color, I believe colored or some crap with tobacco.

oh yeah lucky you Zero, you have a gt-r!

[Count Zero]

Man i think youve had it pretty easy so far, how many k's are on it? if its got over 100000k's your gona get stuff breaking, especially if your driving it hard, dont worry, i would be too

66+KHad little over 64K when I got it, but the first 14xx miles were gentle highway miles getting it home...

And yea, I'll admit that I don't exactly baby it. Hell, it's a GT-R; I drive it like it should be.

I'm down to the last few things in the works, and aside from a large chunk of meat ripped out of my left pointer finger, I'm actually enjoying working on it again.

I'd say "no blood, no foul" but....well, my finger bled quite a bit today.

[HurryupandrunS13]

Is your R32 Black by chance? Were you cruising Patton recently?

[Count Zero]

N

Is your R32 Black by chance? Were you cruising Patton recently?

Patton? Don't even know where that is.

But no, it's Gunmetal grey.I did drive it down to Memphis this past weekend for a Drift Day.

[HurryupandrunS13]

My bad. I was talking to Carolina R32, my buddies have seen it, but I have yet to catch a glimpse (dammit)

[CarolinaR32]

Yeah mine is black but no ones gonna be seeing it for a while...

[Count Zero]

Well, all the work and repairs made themselves worth every penny and hour of work and even chunks of flesh I accidentally ripped off...

Mempis Motorsports Park hosted their 10th Drift Day, and I actually got the car sideways for the first time....

[HurryupandrunS13]

Well warn me before you bring it back out!!!

[kuuligan]

I just wish I had a GTR! lol

lack of power and no traction gets old after a few weeks

[Count Zero]

Hey, it's a Skyline, innit? And a nice R34?Hard to complain, ya know?

Though I admit I could have gotten a GTS easier and cheaper, but I know me; I'd not have been content it instead of a GT-R.

[kuuligan]

actually, mines a R33

awesome shape (you were referring to me right?) lol

[Count Zero]

97? Uhm, yea, I meant 33.......

Ah well, the point is, it's a Skyline.Even a GTS in stock form is better than the most modded-out Civic in the world.

[kuuligan]

lol..no kidding. regardless how "slow" my car is...I love how it looks, how it drives and handles =P

All I need to do is find some tools to lower my N1 coilovers abit more.

Its alot slower than my single'd IS300 but alot more fun to drive

[Count Zero]

Hopefully by June I'll have the money to actually get it tuned (since all the tunning money went into the repairs)

I hate having a GT-R that's slower than my 2.0L "Daily Driver":D

[NSR_s30]

If its too much trouble for you, you can give it to me.

[kuuligan]

Hopefully by June I'll have the money to actually get it tuned (since all the tunning money went into the repairs)

I hate having a GT-R that's slower than my 2.0L "Daily Driver":D

which engine management are you using?

[Count Zero]

If its too much trouble for you, you can give it to me.

Lemme think about that.......

......I'll pass.

which engine management are you using?

None at the moment; running stock ECU (Which has made me wonder if it being OEM tuned for the JDM premium gas being 100 octane isn't part of it)

The car came with an AEM EMS, but it wasn't put in yet. By the time I fixed the unexpected repairs, no money left. Since the EMS is "powerful" enough and I know not a single thing about engine tuning, I figure it's best to not mess with it and risk destroying the motor.

So I'm stuck until I've saved enough to pay someone who actually knows what they're doing.

[Count Zero]

Ahhhh! It never ends!

First my brakesThen my brake rotorsThen my transmissionThen my radiator

NOW THIS!!!!*grumble*Good thing this car is my freakin dream car, elsewise I'd probably not consider it worth it!

Ok, so I'm driving down 270, barely even speeding, not driving hard at all....In fact, had slowed down to change lanes to exit to 40.

Then....*SNAP**rattle rattle rattle* No resistance to throttle, no accelrating...

I immediately hit the hazzards and pull over going "Great, there goes my rear diff!"

Get out, see trail of liquid, which is now pooling down out by the rear tire.Great....so the rear diff totally exploded....which was wierd as it didn't FEEL that bad. Must have just blown a gasket.

Then notice that liquid seems rather thin and runny for Diff. Oil. Doesn't smell like oil either. WTF?

Look under car: liquid is coming from next to and above rear diff. WTF? Brakes? But they felt fine, and how the hell could that cause car to not accelerate?

Then I thought about it.....the ETS engages the transfer gears/front powershaft with a hydraulic push-clutch. The reservoir for said hydraulics are in the trunk, going down under the car. Yep, reservoir is now empty.

Great, the diff going out somehow scragged the ETS lines, too. No idea how, but obviously did.

So.....get car towed home. Jack up rear end to get under it.Right driveshaft isn't even connected to the diff! WTF!?? All 6 bolts are gone. Connection points/holes look fine, like the bolts just....fell out....

CV boot is torn and I see what happened to the ETS: Driveshaft came away from diff however it did...and popped upwards, where it snagged the ETS lines and ripped them. One is still wrapped around the driveshaft a little.

No idea if diff is ok or not.No idea if CV joint is scragged or not...probably.No idea how the hell it even happened....but it did.

*sigh*So, spending tomorrow under it, trying to sort out damage. May have to pull shaft completely out.

Even if it's OK and the only thing I have to do is bolt it back to the diff, not sure if it's a good idea to be driving around on with a torn dust-cover boot.*sigh*

So yea, not happy right now. Just as I THOUGHT that everything was fixed. *grumble*

[Count Zero]

Update: $400 poorer, but good news:

Axle broken, but diff seems fine.RB Motoring had an axle in stock and is overnighting it to me. Yay!

ETS hydraulics are still torn, and not sure if pump is damaged or not...but with a new axle I can at least get around in RWD mode.