Went to Motorex today...in an R32

[DAEDALUS]

So I get back to work from lunch today, and I see a small black car at the end fo the row, parked behind a Honda, with skyline taillights. I almost walk over, but I think that it's probably some Sentra with fake lights, and I don't want to waste my time, so I go back to work. I leave 15 minutes later for a meeting, and as I'm walking to my car, I pass a manager, who says, "Hey, did you see Jason's Skyline? It sounds really good!" Holy crap! Well, I have to get to my meeting, so I figure I'll check the car out when I get back. An hour later, I'm back in the parking lot, and the Skyline's gone. DAMN! I race upstairs, jump on the phone, and call (crazy) Jason's cell phone. "Jason?" "Yes?" "Where's the Skyline?""Oh, hey man! I'm in it right now...I'll be at work soon and I'll come by your office".So crazy Jason comes by a half hour later, and we head out to see the car. It's a '92 R32 with a RB20DET in it. Turns out it's his friend's and they swapped rides for a few days. He says he needs to go see someone, and of course I immediately volunteer to keep him company on his trip, wheverever he's going. Work be damned, to an extent. Well, his friend, blowing my mind, works at Motorex, which is the only importer of street legal Skylines in the country. The car was AMAZING. The engine has a real deep sound, almost like a TL1000R. It takes off like a bucking bronco, with its wheels skipping as they try to hook up. You can swing the rear end out in turns with total confidence, and bring the car back in line whenever you want. Like my friend says, "The car makes you look good." It's wheels chirp during shifts, and the BOV sounds kind of like a short coyote howl. Vernon at Motorex is a way cool guy, and takes care of getting all the cars US compliant in every way possible before turning them loose. Emissions and structural regulations mostly. He smiled when I mentioned Rex's name...I guess they have a small enough customer base to remember every person and the car they buy.He let us walk around the "showroom" which is a large warehouse-type structure filled with about 20 vehicles, mostly Skylines, and some Silvias too. All were in various stages of legalization from what I understand. They had a couple newer ones with the dashboard display. Waaaay cool. There were a few techs in there working on vehicles. Most of them, BTW, drive SR-powered 240s, from what I was told. On the other side of the building (the "display model side) they had some real beasts. There was a TT Skyline in there that lays down about 3x the hp of a stock vehicle. Totally pimp, with roll cage and racing harnesses. There was a red Supra being worked on too, with a muffler that a baby could almost crawl down. At least a few of the cars I saw had some bottles mounted in them, which I don't believe were fire extinguishers.We stopped at my house on the way back, and I got a few pictures of the car. I really wish I had my video camera, so I could record the sound of the engine. All in all a great day. Crazy Jason is nothing if not--well--crazy. Always out on the edge.If anyone would like to get in on a "Skyline group buy" (sounds crazy, yes) let me know. Crazy Jason will most likely get one regardless, and the bigger the commitment, the better the price. Figure an R32 like the one I was in would probably run in the mid-20s. For a ballpark figure, see Motorex's website (http://www.motorex.net). I am not here to organize any deals whatsoever, but just to spread the word in case anyone's interested. I can pass the word on to the right people if you're serious about it.

[nametakennow]

Mmmm... Skyline... my favourite car ever... That's sweet man, and like 6 months ago an R32 GTS-T ran about 28,300$, which isn't bad at all, even if it is used. That's the lowest price car they offer I think... and it's always about 30k$. ::SMACK:: (that's me punching you in the face for being in a Skyline)

[Structure240sx]

whats insurance like on them?

[Thee 240sx Owner]

whats insurance like on them?

I was thinking the same thing.. Wondering if it cost more since its imported and its Right side driven

[Structure240sx]

i could prob have the money for an r32 by december but i think ill jsut stick with my 240. until i can afford an r33 or r34 GTR

[op.tic]

whats insurance like on them?

im wondering the same thingi heard in oz its like 800 (in usd) a month for an r34and theres also luxury tax from what ive heard

[Structure240sx]

damn forget that

[SmithSR]

Daedalus, excellent story... got pics?

People who are ready/willing/able to purchase such a car aren't doing it on a shoestring budget. Meaning, high insurance cost is a non-issue...all just part of the duty of ownership of such a coveted car...something the people who afford the car will readily pay. People shy away because they realize they couldn't afford it. That's totally the wrong attitude to have. If people really wanted the car, they'd arrange their priorities to get it. It comes down to a question of dedication. Can you look ahead and see the steps you'll need to take to afford the car? and can you discipline yourself to focus on the goal? or will you falter, and settle for something less unique?

Some people don't care for the car, which is fine. For the endless string of fanboys who gush over it, damn it'd be cool if some of these younger guys would put together a priority list and set out to achieve the goal of ownership.

-Phil

[DAEDALUS]

http://home.socal.rr.com/robverna/skyline.html

Sorry, I didn't get any pics of the engine. And I'm really sorry I didn't pick up my camera before going to Motorex instead of after.

Crazy Jason (in the pics) has had the car since Sunday night, and he's already gotten in trouble with security at work, and he got cited for a moving violation . This cop pulls him over after he does a wide, screeching fish-tailing U-turn. The cop walks up to the *left* side of the car and, without bending over, says, "What's up, too-fast-too-furious?" into the open window. Jason leans over and says, "Uh, officer, I'm over here." The cop was *kinda* cool about it. Gave him a ticket for an improper turn instead of reckless driving.I suppose Jason's got his priorities in order. He'll probably sell his brand new truck to fund the Skyline. Considering how much the truck is worth, I'm guessing he'll get an R33. I'll ask him about the insurace costs.

[SmithSR]

Beautiful...love it...cool Alpine deck too:D

-Phil

[jdmfreak]

How much does it cost to register one of those things?

[SR22DET]

AHHHH R32 my fave from the 32,33,34 looks so mean!!

[jdmfreak]

I think the r34 v-spec 2 is more agressive looking imo.

[DAEDALUS]

The registration itself is not the issue; it's making the vehicle legal to be registered. NICO has an entire forum dedicated to the Skyline, but in a nutshell, my understanding is that Motorex emissions- and crash-tested the Skyline on their own, to prove them safe (with documented structual mods), and then protected the data through a patent or something, so that no one else can use the crash data to legalize the vehicles. There's nothing barring anyone else from doing the exact same thing, and competing with Motorex (thus, technically, they do NOT have a monopoly), but I'm quite certain there isn't quite enough demand to justify it, and one company (the newer one, probably) would soon go out of business. Motorex charges a healthy chunk of change for their services, but their costs are high too. The fact that no one is competing with them indicates it's not exactly a high-profit business. And I'm glad. Rarity has a lot of value on its own.

[jdmfreak]

Thanks my cousin wants an r33 or 34 and he asked me to ask you guys what the total prices of each of those cars would be. I think he is leaning towards the r33, but he might go with the 34. Any help would be appreciated.

[DAEDALUS]

Here's the Motorex price list:

http://www.motorex.net/m_uspricing.html

They're only rough figures I think. It's kind of funny how you may or may not get every option you want in the car. If you pick a rare color, for instance, the scouters in Japan might not be able to find one very quick. Some models are pretty common.

[jdmfreak]

I appreciate it. Ill tell him about it. Boy oh boy would it be cool if I could drive it (if he let me hehe) or even get picked up in that car.

[yeswepromise]

i dont believe they get r34 often. mostly 33 and 32. did they have the blue r33 n1 LM car there? it is freaking sweet.

[jdmfreak]

hell yea! I dream of owning a skyline one day and that is one of the skys Iwouldnt mind having.

[DAEDALUS]

They did have a bright blue R33 there that was pretty nice (well, geez, they were all nice). I remember it because Jason pointed it out as being the color he wanted. I don't think it was a showcar though...wrong side of the building.

[yeswepromise]

yeah it isnt a normal blue color. its pretty bright. and it had nismo lm gt2 wheels if i remember correctly. the gauge cluster is a speacial nismo one for that car and has a lcd screen in it. the center piece of the wing is carbon fiber. and it has a sticker that says GTR and has 2 checkered flags on it on each of the C pillars

[op.tic]

http://home.socal.rr.com/robverna/skyline.html

Sorry, I didn't get any pics of the engine. And I'm really sorry I didn't pick up my camera before going to Motorex instead of after.

Crazy Jason (in the pics) has had the car since Sunday night, and he's already gotten in trouble with security at work, and he got cited for a moving violation . This cop pulls him over after he does a wide, screeching fish-tailing U-turn. The cop walks up to the *left* side of the car and, without bending over, says, "What's up, too-fast-too-furious?" into the open window. Jason leans over and says, "Uh, officer, I'm over here." The cop was *kinda* cool about it. Gave him a ticket for an improper turn instead of reckless driving.I suppose Jason's got his priorities in order. He'll probably sell his brand new truck to fund the Skyline. Considering how much the truck is worth, I'm guessing he'll get an R33. I'll ask him about the insurace costs.

let me guess.. the copy went to the left side window, when the car is right hand drive

[Holisticbeatz]

They did have a bright blue R33 there that was pretty nice (well, geez, they were all nice). I remember it because Jason pointed it out as being the color he wanted. I don't think it was a showcar though...wrong side of the building.

:rolleyes DAEDALUS's next car maybe?

[GatorS14]

great story.

I couldn't have left without cranking up a r34 and reving it up they would've had to beat my @$$. i would have grabbed keys and crunk the baddest r34 up and rev'ed the crap out of it.

I believe I would rather have a s13 or s14 coupe w/ rb26dett.which would be about $15k,legal,lighter,and not an arm & a leg to insure.Instead of a r32 for $28k.

Don't get me wrong skylines are the baddest and no matter what i do to the 240 i won't be awd.but unless you have money out the @$$. seems more logical to get a car made for here.

[vwluv10338]

Well they have a pretty good price on a white r32 gts right now. http://www.motorex.net/stocklist.html38k m/km? for 25 grand. I thought about saving for a skyline insted of a wrx or my "new" 240. It would be awsome but would suck every time I realized that a kid in japan could have bought the same car for around $4000 there. On the other hand I when to school with a kid who is now a nissan tech, he's 21 and just bought a 350z. If I had that kind of money I think I would have gone with the skyline. my .02

Eric

P.S. I just thought of this, a gtr is 10K more exprensive than the gts. Buy a gts, sell the rb20 and then buy a rb26. Should bolt in right?

[Meantime]

He let us walk around the "showroom" which is a large warehouse-type structure filled with about 20 vehicles, mostly Skylines, and some Silvias too. All were in various stages of legalization from what I understand.

Silvias in legalization mode?

That would be a first (and a welcome one at that).

[Sami]

P.S. I just thought of this, a gtr is 10K more exprensive than the gts. Buy a gts, sell the rb20 and then buy a rb26. Should bolt in right?

Don't even bother with the GTS. Even if you swap in the RB26 the car will be far from a GT-R. Besides, the RB26 costs a lot and it would cheaper to just get the GT-R.

If you want to get a Skyline in the States, with the Motorex fees it doesn't make sense to get anything else than a GT-R.

[Nathan]

Whoa...Sami, your in flower mound with a GTR? I live in Carrollton...I'll have to keep an eye out for you

[Sami]

Whoa...Sami, your in flower mound with a GTR? I live in Carrollton...I'll have to keep an eye out for you

Not anymore. Thanks for reminding me to change my profile. Not that it makes that much difference...DFW is DFW.

[Nathan]

Whoa...Sami, your in Lake Dallas with a GTR? We keep our boat at Lakeview Marina there...I'll have to keep an eye out for you hahaha