Faults:

Bad engine mounts at 187000 caused the fan to shift and take out the radiator, necessitating both be replaced. Relatively simple jobs for the home DIY-er.

General Comments:

You simply cannot buy a better performance car for the money, however, be prepared to put the time, effort, and cash in to maintaining and repairing it.

At time of writing, my car has just turned 16 years old. It's been modified, and gets driven hard, so not surprisingly things DO break. If you don't own a socket set, don't want to get your hands dirty, and can't do a basic service yourself, stay away, as this car will drive you broke!

If you've got this far and you're not scared off, then jump in to a R32 with both feet, the level of enjoyment and aftermarket support offered is unparalleled. I simply love my R32 despite the odd headaches it causes me.

There's not a great deal of urge down low, but get the revs up (red-line ~7500RPM), on boost, and you really get moving. Add a free flowing exhaust, front mount inter-cooler, and good boost controller (for 12psi and quicker build up) for ~150KW at the wheels.

Stock handling is very good, but after-market suspension takes it to another level and is well worth your while (if you can live with a firm ride). It's light and very predictable when the rear end starts to lose traction.

The standard Type-M brakes will take anything you throw at them (even a couple of laps circuit racing with good fluid).

Faults:

One big problem; a miss under load and boost that no one can fix, no matter how much money is thrown at it.

General Comments:

OK, it goes alright, but the miss I mentioned destroys any enjoyment that is to be had with owning this car.

So be aware, if you live somewhere remote and you have a problem, then you've got a big problem.

I've heard about 45 things it could be, but nobody knows.

Having said that, the rev range and throttle I can use is great, and goes like a rat up a drainpipe.

From further posts, I noticed that other owners have other problems with shall we say tuning, and of course the front suspension is ridiculous, as it will break if breathed on wrong.

75km/h corners have been navigated at 180plus km/h, so it is a fantastic piece of machinery, and I have wanted one for 8 years, and after buying one and to find this problem (like I mentioned previously), well I have to say it's like realizing a childhood dream, as to say don't do it; the dreams are better than reality.

The interior buttons pop off more often and with less encouragement than a stripper's clothes. And the paint from factory can be scratched, or just plain taking off the metal by a drunk bum wearing jeans rubbing against it.

But of course if you want a relatively cheap high performance car that will have you changing your underwear (more so on wet roads) frequently, then don't let any of this put you off doing so.

Email if you wish at grantgtst@yahoo.com

Faults:

The head gasket started leaking recently.

Seat belts are not retracting properly.

Front top arm bushes are worn.

The horn stopped working.

General Comments:

Quite a nice sports car, a timeless tough look, with excellent availability of aftermarket parts. The cabin is simple and effective for a sports car, though it does come with some nice luxury's such as digital climate control and all the electrics you would need. I used aftermarket coil-over suspension which makes the handling absolutely AWESOME! For a stereo the car has really good acoustics. If you are mechanically minded, you will enjoy working on the Rb20det as it is quite a simple engine to work on. Not the fastest Nissan around, but a few simple mods (inter-cooler, turbo upgrade, tuned ROM, exhaust, air pod, fuel pump) and you've got yourself a 300rwhp capable machine (probably running on 100% injector duty cycle though, so you might want to change those also :)