General Comments:

Not long ago, these car were well over $10k, but now you can easily pick up a decent unit for under $10k. But before you rush in and sign the papers, it is wise to get a professional to do a check over for few hundred bucks (could be your best investment).

After all, these machines are built for one purpose -- to bring the devil outta ya!!

No one can resist putting the pedal to the metal once you get in one of these, but unfortunately not everyone knows how to handle one, especially if the previous owner just reached puberty not that long ago...

If you're looking at a GST-T or GTR, check the turbo and make sure it's not cooked.

Better still, get a pro to look at it all over as mentioned above. The last thing you want is to end up with 2 for the price of 1 (I mean 2x half cars put together as 1).

Also pay attention to aftermarket parts use on the vehicle. They're not all bad, but not all good either (depends what it is and how it was fitted). My one, I prefer everything stock standard, but that's just me.

Otherwise, what a bargain!! A sub $10k car that gives you over 180kw (if it runs well), turns heads (hopefully it impresses) and puts a smile on your face as long as you don't get carried away upgrading this and modifying that... then it will be a $20k plus car in no time.

Faults:

I've had this car for 3 weeks. It's a great car to drive, but the first week I had it, it was like missing in gears; it is an auto. So I took it back, they gave me the car back, they changed the plugs, but that still didn't work.

Two weeks ago I took it back. They changed the injectors, and put a new radiator in.

I got it back yesterday, and now the problem is worse than what it was before. It feels like the car is slugging along. Does anyone know what it would be?

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with this car, apart from one or two small things that are pretty much a given.

Front brake pads almost finished.

Front tires need replacing soon.

General Comments:

Performance is amazing for such a heavy car. Has more than enough power for passing safely, but care should be taken as it can break the rear wheels loose and send you spinning off the road when shifting, even with the smooth-shifting automatic.

The interior is very comfortable, the driver's seat is highly adjustable - even the sides can be adjusted in and out.

The car looks good in burgundy, and draws lots of compliments - even had a photographer go at it!

A classic Japanese sports cruiser - the perfect blend of sport, practicality and style.

Faults:

Turbo needed rebuilding after 60000 Km. ($2000AU to fix)

Seats were worn easily.

Radiator overheated and leaked. @ 61340km.

Door did not seal properly and was difficult to shut. This cost $1500 to replace the door and re-fit electrics.

Leaver for folding seat forward snapped off on passenger side.

Rust in boot lining, major problem is getting rid of it.

Tire in front drivers side kept wearing out and had to be replaced regularly.

Failure to start on most cold mornings. Had to borrow my brother's fiat X/19 to drive to work (30km drive around tight bends)

Fuel injector busted and needed to be replaced (replaced with a high flow injector)

Head gasket blew at 65780Km. this was the last straw for me. This car just had to go.

General Comments:

This car is quick, but what people say about these cars out running everything on the road is bollocs. I tried racing/dragging Porsche's (old ones at that), a Saab 9000 Carlsson, some slightly modified performance Citroens (BX 16v and a CX turbo), Subarus, a Lotus Elise, a few Ford Falcon XR6 non turbo and turbo variants, the list goes on, this car just could not get going fast enough to match all the guff that people said about it. I feel that my old Citroen BX 16 valve could get going quicker and that was a non turbo vehicle.

13-litres per 100km fuel consumption if driven hard.

All the nonsense that people say about it handling well is ridicules. The Citroen could out pace the Skyline around the twistys easily.

I read the magazines about how you can tune these cars and make them go faster than a Ferrari. Well if you want to kill the engine in six months then yes you can go faster than a Ferrari, but it will pay you back with frequent breakdowns.

Police attention is massive. I would get pulled over twice a week at the least and on one trip home from work I got pulled over 4 times and by the same officer two times in one night. These cars are cop magnets. This never happened in the Citroen.

The mechanical problems were endless and when the radiator went I just had to sell the damn thing. A lot of mornings it failed to start completely and I had to borrow my brother's Fiat X/19 which would also kill it around the corners and it was built in 1982. Citroen's have a reputation of spending more time at the mechanic than on the road, but I found it extremely reliable in comparison with the Nissan which lived up to the "don't buy imports as they brake down" reputation.

The seats are uncomfortable, but I can't judge this too harshly because he Citroen was the best long distance traveler I have ever driven and was extremely comfortable.

Faults:

The clutch started slipping and gave out a stench. The mechanic told it it was due to me riding the clutch.

The door has some clicking noises in it when riding over bumps.

The dash construction has some clicking noises inside too which I do not know how to remedy.

General Comments:

Extremely reliable although costly to run car. The parts are not very easy to come by as imports are frowned upon.

Well looked after will give many years of rewarding speedy drives.

Faults:

Air con leaked, and was finally traced to TX valve in passenger compartment. Cost NZ$250 to fix.

Leather around handbrake is worn to the threads, but doesn't look too bad.

Paint finish needs a really good polish - maybe the salty air on the transport ship from Japan was to blame...

General Comments:

This car is pretty quick, even though its not a turbo model.

I drive 200km per day to get to work and back, and the 2.5 liter engine allows really good cruising.

100kph equates to 2,000 revs - not bad at all!

Fuel consumption (roughly worked out) is 32mpg.