ello john gotta new mota?

[maxpower]

After deciding the mongdeo doesn't do it for me and selling my volvo v40 to a fellow shiter on here... i had a look at the v70's and honda accord estates on the bay and elsewhere.

they all seem to be at one end of the scale or the other...silly prices or they have done more miles than the space shuttle.

so while browsing the t'interweb i stumbled on this little beauty of japanese shite... 2001 nissan stagea, 2.5L lump only done 46k looks the biz for blezzing about in.. never seen one before.

so a small refundable deposit secures it until i take a look at it next week... anyway here are some pics

 

anybody here know any pitfalls regarding these motors?

[ashmicro]

Stag Ear. From what I know they're heavy, thirsty and not that fast. The only other fact I know about these cars is that they can OM NOM NOM gearboxes.

[Tonka]

Apart from the obvious when buying any car, on a "Stage - A" look for rust under the door mirrors and behind the boot seal on it's lower edge, find yourself a bumpy bit of road to test the suspension as most cars coming to the UK have only been driven on billiard table roads and ours soon show up creaking bushes on the front end.

 

Most Stageas imported are fitted with aftermarket performance parts which if they fail can be expensive to replace new over here (my Blitz back box alone would cost £600 to replace) the Japanese seem to "do the car thing" more than any other nation so you tend to find all sorts of gadgets and gizmos but as standard exhausts are very restrictive, an aftermarket system is worth having though many are a bit loud, mine is but so's my paintjob!

 

If you want to tow be prepared to stump up around £200 for a quality bar from Watlings.

 

Being a 2001 model gives it the R34 Skyline interior which is much less mini-cab and more sports saloon if it's an RS4S manual not only is it the rarest of all but you'll have a LSD equipped manual box'd 280 bhp GTR wanabee.

 

They aren't as heavy as people think, only 1620 Kg which is positively anorexic compared with some Volvos, this will have the later NEO engine which is slightly more fuel efficient if it's tiptronic you'll probably get around 22-24 on a run, the manuals give nearer 26-28, if it's rwd beware, 4wd is much more desirable as it gives you a diff lock which works oh so well in the snow and being based on the GTR system gives you the confidence to throw it about like something half it's size which is all the more fun when you consider the amount of useable grunt under your right foot, in the snow anything Skyline based without 4wd is best left at home assuming of course it gets off the driveway!

 

Insurance can be a bit of a nightmare so shop around, spares are available over here, with much of it being either R33 or R34 Skyline, plus there are plenty being broken for spares (usually missing the engine which is the valuable bit!)

 

Gearboxes are "supposedly" weak as they can only handle 350-400bhp before they cry enough is enough, I only know of a couple that have given up the ghost, I've had mine 3 years now and haven't had to touch much at all apart from regular engine oil changes at 3000 miles, if yours is a turbo'd one don't use cheap oil and expect to buy good quality tyres as ditch finders on a car like this will do just that.

 

There is a thriving owners club who can help source any hard to find bits, advice aplenty can be found on all 3 main Skyline forums, they are a rare car over here but if you can live with the running costs (sadly many buy and a few months later realise they can't) being able to safely out perform 99% of other road users with the element of surprise makes it all worthwhile.

 

If you need to know anything else just ask away.

 

[maxpower]

Apart from the obvious when buying any car, on a "Stage - A" look for rust under the door mirrors and behind the boot seal on it's lower edge, find yourself a bumpy bit of road to test the suspension as most cars coming to the UK have only been driven on billiard table roads and ours soon show up creaking bushes on the front end.

 

Most Stageas imported are fitted with aftermarket performance parts which if they fail can be expensive to replace new over here (my Blitz back box alone would cost £600 to replace) the Japanese seem to "do the car thing" more than any other nation so you tend to find all sorts of gadgets and gizmos but as standard exhausts are very restrictive, an aftermarket system is worth having though many are a bit loud, mine is but so's my paintjob!

 

If you want to tow be prepared to stump up around £200 for a quality bar from Watlings.

 

Being a 2001 model gives it the R34 Skyline interior which is much less mini-cab and more sports saloon if it's an RS4S manual not only is it the rarest of all but you'll have a LSD equipped manual box'd 280 bhp GTR wanabee.

 

They aren't as heavy as people think, only 1620 Kg which is positively anorexic compared with some Volvos, this will have the later NEO engine which is slightly more fuel efficient if it's tiptronic you'll probably get around 22-24 on a run, the manuals give nearer 26-28, if it's rwd beware, 4wd is much more desirable as it gives you a diff lock which works oh so well in the snow and being based on the GTR system gives you the confidence to throw it about like something half it's size which is all the more fun when you consider the amount of useable grunt under your right foot, in the snow anything Skyline based without 4wd is best left at home assuming of course it gets off the driveway!

 

Insurance can be a bit of a nightmare so shop around, spares are available over here, with much of it being either R33 or R34 Skyline, plus there are plenty being broken for spares (usually missing the engine which is the valuable bit!)

 

Gearboxes are "supposedly" weak as they can only handle 350-400bhp before they cry enough is enough, I only know of a couple that have given up the ghost, I've had mine 3 years now and haven't had to touch much at all apart from regular engine oil changes at 3000 miles, if yours is a turbo'd one don't use cheap oil and expect to buy good quality tyres as ditch finders on a car like this will do just that.

 

There is a thriving owners club who can help source any hard to find bits, advice aplenty can be found on all 3 main Skyline forums, they are a rare car over here but if you can live with the running costs (sadly many buy and a few months later realise they can't) being able to safely out perform 99% of other road users with the element of surprise makes it all worthwhile.

 

If you need to know anything else just ask away.

 

 

it is 2wd RS tiptronic auto box and has the NEO6 engine

[Tonka]

If you are going to buy a N/A Stagea then don't go and give the tall thin man in Essex £4k, for that kind of money you will find a nice Turbo 4wd one elsewhere, and if you are sure you don't want a turbo'd one I've seen them go for a lot less as they are not that sought after over here.

 

I paid £5k for mine, at the time standard ones were £3-5K except at Goodmayes where they were £6-7K, a club member paid that too and bought the standard one I had looked at there. To add all the bits to a standard one to get the spec. I've got would have cost another £3K minimum so mine made financial sense, rising fuel costs played havoc with values until the snow came last year and they started to become popular again helped by the fact that many Skyline and GTR owners have now realised, having seen the Club stand at shows, you can have performance and still take the wife, kids shopping, plasterboard, wardrobes etc.....

 

I'd be tempted to have a go in an RS4 Turbo version before making your final decision, if you want a big fast stylish estate car that is straight forward to work on an RS4 Stagea makes perfect sense but if you just want a big estate car save the money you'll spend on fuel and insurance and buy another Volvo or similar.

 

I spent 6 months and did over 1500 miles looking for the right one before I stuck my hand in my pocket, then I had to wait another 3 months to take delivery but it still makes me smile when I get the chance to give it some!

 

If you decide to buy that particular car ask him how long he has had it because I reckon it's been advertised for at least 6 months maybe more, certain cars are like that, one I fancied was still on Ebay two years after getting mine and it was still too dear!