[mpaver]

Hi,

First time poster, long time reader. I'm in need of some brutally honest feedback for a real reality check. Aware this may be a repeat topic, but can't find any from a quick search. Long story short, I've wanted a Skyline/GTR since I was 12 and have been pretty much obsessed since. I'm now 28 and in ~2 years may be in a position to buy one.

For those here with mortgages, wife's, kid's (which I have), and would consider themselves pretty "set", how realistic do you think it would be to buy and run a second hand GTR based on the below:

- £1400+ free cash per month once loans are paid next year + random bonuses and shares which sum up to about £62k per year currently (Sole earner)
- After that, only major outgoing is a mortgage
- No more kids on the horizon + stable household and job
- Want a used model maybe around £35-40k, but ideally want the 2011+ models with the newer updates (not sure how much these will be in 2 years. but 2009/2010's seem to be going for £35-40k on auto-trader. Could be in dreamland here, just want the uprated engine and improved parts)
- Car will be financed for 3 or more years with a small deposit, not sure on monthly amount
- Won't ever track it, will be an everyday car, so want costs to way lower than the ~£4k p/y i keep seeing for tyres/brakes/service etc.

The wife wants a discovery, or dare I say it, this new 2013 Rav4 (we've had 2 in the past). Can't bring myself to buy one of those, especially since I got to have my first taste of something fast a bit ago when I had an old Volvo V40 T5 for 2 months (sold as it cost me £300 in fuel in the first few weeks, poor poor economy).

So, there you have it, feel free to crush my dreams, as I said, I need a reality check whether it's practical as an everyday car, can be used by a family, and won't cost me the price of a 2 week vacation to the Maldives every year.

Cheers in advance.

 

[JamieP]

It's only a car, family comes first so don't stretch yourself.

You earn a decent wage, save up the money and buy outright would be my advice, I could not stand the thought of giving a finance company my hard earned just for a car.

 

[andrew186]

how many miles do you plan to do per year?

how hard do you want to drive it?

basic costs

insurance
fuel avg 18-20mpg, long run you can get 26mpg
tyres £1000 /10000miles
brakes £1500 / 15000miles
servicing £600-700 / year for a full service

how much the 35 will cost to maintain really depends on how much and how hard you use it..


from your post it sounds like you will easily afford to run it as long as you not planning to do 30k miles per year in it

go for it.. in stock or lightly modified form its a great car as a daily drive

oh and dont bother with the "extras" that the 2011+ have.. its a rip off buy a 59 plate sat nav or if you dont need sat nav then just go for a nice 09 plate.. easy!

live a little

 

[CT17]

It's only a car, family comes first so don't stretch yourself.

You earn a decent wage, save up the money and buy outright would be my advice, I could not stand the thought of giving a finance company my hard earned just for a car.

I agree with Jamie.

While it''s a nice car, buying one with a small deposit is not a good idea IMO.
You end up looking at the running costs, adding the large HP payment and having 2nd thoughts which does not make it a nice car to own.

Save up a bigger deposit, otherwie to much of your free cash will go into a car.


Have to say I would not have one as a family sole vehicle.
You need a run-about you can park anywhere and fit in a parking space.
Also you wrote kidS plural. You need to be a rather short family to ue the R35 as a 2+2 seater unless you like playing sardines.

 

[Chris1049]

Maybe assess the situation when your in a position to buy?

Alot can happen in 2 years. Besides, the world ends on Friday.

 

[Fred]

If you are going to use it as a family car, forget it in my opinion. The seats at the back are useless unless you and the wife are dwarfs. Definitely try before you buy.

If you want a quick family car, you should consider an M5 (great cars) or an Rs6 (great family car, fast in all weathers, but not a drivers' car). Or their smaller siblings the m3/rs4.

 

[sw20GTS]

You earn more than enough with over a grand free cash (of which I presume your take home should be over 2k) and certainly can afford a GTR no problem. You could even afford the 2011/12 model next year!

However, it would be very costly if you are considering using it as a family car/commuting. It would be good if you can buy outright but finance/lease is not the root of all evil if you can find a good deal.

Sounds like you are pretty sorted financially and family wise so sometimes it's worth it to go after your dreams

 

[Gavinsan]

I dont think as your only car it is a good idea as it is not very practical and drinks fuel heavily even compared to your volvo ! It is a great car and you will surely love it but need a little run around for other duties imho

 

[smifffy]

I'd say you're too close to the edge of affordability for a car like the GTR. They are very heavy on the brakes/tyres. As others have said - it depends on how many miles you're going to do per year and under what conditions? Driving between Hove and West London I averaged 16mpg, but touring down to Italy and back in was over 19. I've never seen 26?

I did around 20k miles in 14 months. I used Dunlop tyres so they were expensive, but they cost £3.1k in that time. I had some issues with discs so replaced a set but even using Litchfield the servicing goes beyond your budget. See the running costs here: Smifffy's Nissan  GT-R  Black Edition  (2009)

As an only car the GTR can be practical for 2 people, but a full family? Not so sure. The boot is large but the rear seats are for midgets. The car is harshly sprung, so 4 up over speedbumps will be horrible & getting the family in/out all the time will be tough. Car parks are a pain as the car is over 1.9 metres wide - so I ended up parking well away from everyone if possible.

Probably not what you want to hear but I think the advice to save a bit more and get a 2nd run around is sensible. You're definitely doing the right thing to look at this decision very carefully though - good luck either way.

 

[mpaver]

Sorry just saw all the replies, for some reason I didn't receive any notifications.

Thanks for the replies so far. To try and answer your questions:

- saving up to buy outright would take me many years and GTR's would probably have grey beards by then
- I'd do less than 10k miles p/y and I'd say at least 75% of the driving will be relatively steady given i may have the wife or kid with me. We also do a 2hr journey from milton keynes to yorkshire 1-2 times p/m to see family.
- We have no plans to buy anything else significant, no more kids, jobs stable, and unless the house explodes, we're pretty set. So don't expect anything unexpected to get in the way.
- To Fred, understand, the kid is small though for now, and once the wife learns to drive soon i'll buy her a cheap mini or something to do the family driving. Oh, and there's also the fact I've wanted one for 16+ years, so it's hard to look at anything else.

Seems that if i get a cheap family run around, and keep the miles/speed down in the GTR, that it could be feasible for me to run. There's only one niggle I have, and it's if something like the gearbox blows, which I don't have £10-20k for.

 

[CT17]

Gearbox issues are much cheaper than that.
If something breaks you don't go to Nissan for a whole new gearbox, you go to a specialist and get the problem fixed.
I'd expect most things to cost between £2k and £3k.

 

[MattGTR750]

Take out a Litchfield warranty for £1,000 and you have peace of mind!

The gear box isn't £10-20k to fix and parts like that will only fail if driven hard which you say you won't be doing?

Buy the car if it's not going to blow your budget and enjoy it they are amazing! The right priced 09/59 plate won't depreciate that much either if miles are kept low and maintained well!

 

[CT17]

The right priced 09/59 plate won't depreciate that much either if miles are kept low and maintained well! 11/12 plates are plummeting ...

I bought my MY11 in April.
Suggesting the value is plumeting is wrong, IMO.
It seems to be depreciating, like cars tend to do.

 

[mpaver]

I'd definitely have a warranty, I'm thinking I'd like a MY11 too, but like I said, only if the price drops. I'll have a couple of pay rises and prob a promotion between now and purchasing, so money should be even less of an issue, but still, i wouldn't want to pay more than £35-40k. Fingers crossed.

oh, and are there any guys in Milton would let me have a closer look or maybe take me for a drive? (passenger)

 

[Webber]

I'm in a similar situation to, same age and earnings but my partner also earns and we dont have kids...

I get by ok, but the cars seem to go through tyres quickly and brakes are pricey as people have mentioned! I took a Litchfield warranty out to cover any unexpected issues and also I ended up buying a cheap diesel to run around in as I want to keep my GTR in the best condition as possible and keep the mileage down.

I bought a litchfield stage 4.5 car, which I'm very glad about as I would've ended up spending £6k doing it myself! I think the modding bug that comes with these cars is inevitable

 

[mpaver]

Not sure I can afford to mod to be honest, my insurance will already be very high, let alone slapping on 1-2-3-400hp more (would love to though ). We had a £15k rav4 stolen and burnt out which I had to claim 2 years ago, and before that someone bunny hopped their car into me slightly but with no damage at all to my car. So I rang the insurance just to inform them in case the guy tried to swindle me, as i'm seeing a lot happen these days, but turns out they now penalise me for this as they say regardless who's fault it is, I was in a collision. Needless to say, it's the last time i call my insurance about things like that.

So anyways, I'm 28 and still pay nearly £1k to drive a crappy Toyota Auris 1.6 petrol.

 

[KingOfTheGT-R]

I'd definitely have a warranty, I'm thinking I'd like a MY11 too, but like I said, only if the price drops. I'll have a couple of pay rises and prob a promotion between now and purchasing, so money should be even less of an issue, but still, i wouldn't want to pay more than £35-40k. Fingers crossed.

oh, and are there any guys in Milton would let me have a closer look or maybe take me for a drive? (passenger)

You will need 55-60k for an 11 plate. 35-40 will secure you an 09/59 plate.

I think if you take it easy you can afford it. No track days saves loads of money. You're gonna be driving hard even if you tell yourself you won't, it's a GTR!

But just moderate it and you will be fine.

 

[mpaver]

I'm looking at buying in a couple of years, would an 11 plate not have reduced significantly like the 09 plates by then?

Needing the reality check now so I can stop annoying myself if it's not like feasible, which I've been doing in recent years.

 

[KingOfTheGT-R]

I'm looking at buying in a couple of years, would an 11 plate not have reduced significantly like the 09 plates by then?

Needing the reality check now so I can stop annoying myself if it's not like feasible, which I've been doing in recent years.

In 2 years maybe... The new GTR's are staying 75k so that should push the price down of the older models.

Two years is a long time, i'd worry about it nearer the time. A lot happens in two years.

 

[Webber]

Also, if you are worried about not being able to afford it, why not aim for an 09 in a couple of years? Will be even cheaper...