i live in toronto, canada
i currently drive a '01 20th ann max and i notice that (at 90k km) it doesn't run as strong as it was new (after broken in of cuz)

well, as nissan lovers in north america know, it's very rare/expensive (or even impossible in canada) to get ur hands on a skyline gt-r
the only way to get one here in canada is to wait 15 years b4 u can import ur own
anyway, i found this seller selling his r32 for like $25,000 which isnt bad considered its almost like one of a kind in the city

the problem is that it HAS 90k km on it

is there ANY way to make the car run like brand new again?

 

Without a major overhaul of everything from the engine to the tires, I think its impossible to make a car run exactly like it did when it was first driven out of the dealership. Have you driven this car yet? Also, how well was the car maintained by the previous owner?

 

thats the major problem
cuz the shop selling it is very far away, i have to go check it out when i have time for road trip
and they don't have full info and history on the previous owner
oh man... haha

 

You are talking kilometres, not miles right? 90,000 kilometres on a Nissan Maxima is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I have 94,285 kilometres on my 95SE. I have the original tires and spark plugs still and the car runs like the day I bought it. It strikes me that you just need to do a little maintenance on your Maxima.

What kind of driving is it subjected to? Mostly city, highway, combination thereof?

When was the oil, air filter, fuel filter last changed or replaced? Have you ever added any fuel injector cleaner? If not try a bottle of Chevron Techron before your next oil change.

I don't think you have enough miles on your car to even be concerned about cleaning the throttle body and IACV and replacing the PCV valve etc. Is there any hesitation when you step on it? How does it idle?

 

He's talking about a R32 Skyline, imported from Japan.

 

I know but he's also b!tching about the performance of his 2001 Maxima which only has 90,000 kilometres on it. That's only 56,000 miles. My initial reaction is he is dissatisfied with it.

My comments apply to his own car and for that matter the Skyline with the same mileage.

If he is hell bent on buying the Skyline, I suggest he bite the bullet and go take a look at it and pay to have it inspected.

 

If you have 25 g's, why not get a little more and put a downpayment on a condo in Toronto? I hear a one-bed can be had from the low 300's, brand-new. Not sure how your financing works in Canada, but many young people put only 10% down here in the USA. Then they laugh all the way to the bank when they turn 30 and they've got a 1/4 million in equity. Happened to a few people I know in DC/northern VA. Right place, right time. But I hear good things about Toronto.

 

I thought so, I was just post whoring

 

Frank's right on. Toronto is ridiculous. 40% of Canada's yearly immigration (250,000) goes to the T.O. There is nothing but growth in the forseeable future (as evident by all the new 'cities' growing out of nowhere surrounding Toronto). Downtown is crazy expensive though...25 g's won't do much unless you have some serious income coming in.

An '01 with 90k isn't that bad and still a fairly new car. An r32 would be cool b/c its rare but there is a lot more you could do with $25 g's like investing and then getting a way nicer car in a few years. You still have a nice car. I'm currently looking at trading my 4th gen for a 5th (after getting smoked by one last week: see Weekend Battles!).

 

I believe you can get in to the real estate market in Canada now with 0 down, but I'm not positive. It used to be a minimum of 5% and if you don't put 25% down you didn't qualify for an NHA mortgage at reduced rates. It's thinking like yours, Frank Fontaine, thats going to bankrupt a lot of people at this stage of the housing cycle when the real estate market implodes in 2006 or 2007.

Where I live housing prices are utterly ridiculous and in my experience when things are too good to be true, they in fact are to good to be true. Take for example the Nasdaq in March 2000.

Toronto had a real-estate bust about 10 years or so ago, where a lot of people were literally walking away from residences they speculated on. They declared bankruptcy and gave the keys to the bank. It's happened before and will again.

 

hehe, first of all, i'm satisfied with my max, its still good
its just a small small smaaall subtle difference between the current performance and its new condition
well, im just concerned that once i bought that skyline, something bad is gonna happen (cuz ive never looked for a highmileage used car b4)
i dunno, man, its just that ive dreamed of having a gtr since i was a teenager,
it would feel great if i can have one that runs like new

the real estate here is startin to slow down actually
and i hate the real estate agent here
i'm just wonderin, how much do they charge over there in the states?
ours charge like 4.5 to 6% of ur price eh, so if ur house were sold for 1million, u have to pay them 50k on average........

im just wonderin, how much does it cost to overhaul the car to its original condition (performance wise)?

 

I know we're getting off topic, but most real estate is sold through MLS (multiple-listing service). The commission is typically 7% on the first $100,000 and 2.5% after that plus 7% GST. So on a Cdn$1.0 million sale, I believe the real estate commission, including GST, would be more like $31,565,
not $50,000.

The purchaser in British Columbia, however, gets nailed with a property purchase tax, which may have gone up with the higher prices. A year or so ago, it was 2% on the first $200,000 and 1% thereafter, with no 7% GST. So to buy a $1.0 million house, the purchaser would pay $12,000.

So to flip a $1.0 million house, there is a cost associated (at least in BC) of $43,565, plus any interest costs to carry it, before you even break even. And if its not a principal residence then you have to pay capital gains tax (a form of income tax) if you sell it.


the real estate here is startin to slow down actually
and i hate the real estate agent here
i'm just wonderin, how much do they charge over there in the states?
ours charge like 4.5 to 6% of ur price eh, so if ur house were sold for 1million, u have to pay them 50k on average........

im just wonderin, how much does it cost to overhaul the car to its original condition (performance wise)?[/QUOTE]

 

I have to give the above advice, I'm a part-time realtor. Just kidding. I dunno about the market imploding, it did in Manhattan after 9/11. Look at it today. The thing about real estate is you have to live somewhere. So you can justify the elimination of a rent payment. Second, you can deduct the interest. Sure, you can lose equity too, and home ownership in month 1 is a highly-leveraged position. But wasting money on a car when you're 18 is a sure-fire way of having nothing when you're 30. It'll happen to all of us someday. Turning 30, that is......

 

All I'm saying is that when real estate prices are in the stratosphere and appear to be good to be true if you are long real estate, perhaps they are. As the saying goes Caveat Emptor.

And you're preaching to the converted when you suggest cars aren't a good investment. I learned that a long time ago (and several $ later).

There is one fundamental difference between real estate ownership in Canada and the US. In Canada, we can't deduct mortgage interest on our income tax like you can in the US. So rather than take out 30-year mortgages and use real estate equity on paper as an ATM, most Canadians try and pay their homes off ASAP and go to great lengths to reduce amortization periods and make balloon payments annually in order to save thousands of $ in interest payments.

Allan Greenspan et al. are performing a very delicate balancing act trying not to raise interest rates too far, too fast, while ensuring the stock market doesn't crater and housing prices don't soften too quickly. Stay tuned to see how this unfolds in 2006 and beyond. If things don't work out the US economy will be in deep trouble and good cars will be a dime a dozen. I am not saying the sky is falling, but its getting time to be very careful in real estate. Many a person has made money in the past by selling at or near the top and renting for some time. Just my 2 cents. I digress, lol!

 

Wow! Thanks for clarifying that. Everything changes if you cannot deduct your interest payment. That is a major factor in the USA, why generally speaking we can "overextend" ourselves a bit on our first home. The idea is that our salary is climbing and we grow into our payment.

When you really think about it, that deduction is a huge assistance in realizing the so-called American dream of home ownership......

 

You've got that right. Offsetting that is the fact that we have very good medical coverage in Canada at a reasonable price and prescription drugs cost considerably less than in the US. Most decent jobs in Canada provide medical coverage, life insurance, short and long-term disability insurance, dental, extended health (hospital, ambulance, prescriptions, orthotics etc.). And if you are lucky enough to get that you may pay nothing for it through work, other than income tax at your marginal rate on the premium cost of the medical and life insurance components, which is not much in the scheme of things.

But our gasoline prices suck and we are taxed too high!

 

I love how this got turned into the money magazine talk on real estate in canada!

 

well.... this thread took a very unexpected turn

 

90k is nothing, my 98 max just rolled over 200k and it still runs fine, granted probably not as well as it did at 40k

a 89 or a 90 r32 can be had via several importers for 15-20k, good condition, best to stay away from modified cars. Taking your car to the track is very popular in japan and any modified skyline has definatly had the crap driven out of it.