33 replies to this topic

[Roadsterchinsk]

Guys,

A mate atwork and I are going to view a 200sx tomorrow. Its a 1995.

I have no idea about these cars and he wanted me to come along as he didn't want to go alone.

To save me trawlingvarious websites does anyone know much about these? Im guessing some of youhave some good tips on these cars.

What tolook out for?

MPG?

Lag?

Gear boxes?

Suspension?


Its isnt a high miler at 89k

Apparently itsCat D stolen recovered but that normally says to me ct d damaged but best tosay stolen recovered.
Doesn't soundgood to me.

However, hewant an unmodified one – nothing done to it. Its going to be a daily driver/commuter.
Help appreciated.

Cheers
Jonathan

http://www.autotrade...e33pa?logcode=p

[PGD]

Theirs plenty of knowledge on these cars over on sxoc, try looking/searching on there. Like this buyers guide

A common problem is 'floaty rear suspension' when the subframe bushes have worn out. Its fixable but quite a job, but I guess such wear and tear is to be expected somewhat with the cars age..

[Roadsterchinsk]

thanks for the link.

[AndyZim]

he should pay a couple of quid for HPI check, it will clarify whether it really was stolen/recovered or accident damaged? Also the date that it happened normally

[Roadsterchinsk]

he should pay a couple of quid for HPI check, it will clarify whether it really was stolen/recovered or accident damaged? Also the date that it happened normally

wont it just say Cat d stolen recovered but not say anything about any damage?

To me even though its parts price is getting close, it still feels to expensive for a cat D which dont get anything on insurance if it came to it. (Bering in mind it has to face East London traffic everyday and hour each way)
There are service history clean cars for nearer £2k.

Think we will have a look for himto get a feel for the car, but inless this one is very cheap on a deal it will just serve as a bench mark.

[JAMX5J]

Look for rust and listen for vvt rattle.

I'd avoid an auto - there are plenty of manuals and they're much more fun to drive and easier to sell.

[sgt_raffie]

as said, vvt rattle, oil changes, turbo seals. See if it`s been running stock boost (any traces of boos controllers), rusts in usuall places, one headlight seems to have more gaps than the other so check panel alignments. and a word of warning, there is no such a thing as stock s-body. These are FAAAR to easy to modify. I give Your mate 3 months until he starts messing with it.

Raf

PS. SXOC FTW

[Roadsterchinsk]

Look for rust and listen for vvt rattle.

I'd avoid an auto - there are plenty of manuals and they're much more fun to drive and easier to sell.

Auto is the way forward here - his commute is 22 miles and much of it is in heavy traffic into East London. We are at Bromley by Bow just north of Blackwell tunnel so it can be really bad traffic around here. One incident on the A12 or A406 and East London is gridlocked. Crawling along between 1st and 2nd for over an hour and a half is usual 4 hours common and 7 hours occasional.

Really a TDI polo would be the right choice but he wants a good looking auto and it to be nice to drive.

Ive recently swapped to an auto and its a god send.



Thanks for the tips.

[ecksjay]

it'll do about 10mpg sat in traffic, they really are only good on a run.
2k should get a 'reasonable' early s14 (not an s14a), however if it's a cat d or whatever i wouldnt even bother. a friend of mine bought one in reasonable condition for years ago for 2k which was stock. needed standard things like exhaust gaskets, but that's normal, and they'll all need doing at some point.
the stock wing mount intercooler WILL be cracked also, as they're shit. replace that with a cheap fmic and it'll go like stink, without doing anything else. my s14a had 52k when i bought it, and the wing mount intercooler was literally in two pieces.

[Roadsterchinsk]

seriously - that bad, 10mpg will take this off his shopping list.



Mods definitely wont be happening to a nissan with him. He has a 67 Murcury Cougar to get running as a project.

[mazdachris]

I got better mpg out of my 200sx than I've had out of both my roadsters. arund 25mpg in traffic, higher on long runs. When I picked it up from caerphilly, I used less fuel on the motorway on the way back to Milton Keynes than my friend in his 1.4 Fiat Bravo, as I was sat as lower rpm while he was using lots of throttle to keep up.

don't worry too much about vvt rattle. It happens on them, but makes little difference to performance really. Nothing bad will happen if it rattles, it's just an annoying sound.

I'd avoid ones with messed around ECUS, tweaked boost etc, if he's just looking for a runabout. Look out for rust, and check around the front and rear end very carefully for badly repaired accident damage as these cars are getting cheap now and are being bought by young guys who want to try and do powerslides, so often end up interfacing with objects at the roadside. I've also seen damage to subframes etc as a result of bashing kerbs, so check underneath that nothing is cracked or bent.

As mentioned, the WMIC is a chocolate item and a frequent cause of boost leaks. It's a pain to replace, so if you get one with a knackered one, I'd just stick a FMIC in there instead.

[slowpoke]

Turbo gaskets go around 65Kish and need to be changed - whilst you're there you may as well do the lines and convert to braided as they go eventually too

Aside from that, they're really reliable cars. Check for rusy. LOL @ 10mpg. I used to get 30mpg from mine not exactly taking it easy, with mixed commute and regular trips upto 15psi. On a good run that'd go upto 35+ Though I had a HD chip which helped.

[Ron Bones]

Brilliant cars!! But I wouldnt bother looking at a Cat C one when you can get good one's for such little money. They just dont seem to be holding theyre value for some reason. I recently sold mine because I couldnt afford to run it. MPG is brilliant on a good run, but as has been said really suffers when pottering about. Not quite 10mpg but I used to get about 17 - 20 ish. The main problem is that it is impossible to keep off the loud pedal even if your conciously trying to be good! It's just too much fun. Like 5's I think the main thing to watch for is rot. Even late 14a's are often looking scabby now and everything else is so cheap to replace/repair but bodywork will cost ya! Theyre really easy to work on too which is a bonus. They are just perfect really. Wish I never had to sell mine, but the 5's keeping my mind of it!

[adam0bmx0]

Dont get an auto, i had a standard auto s14a and it was shit on fuel compared to my manual stage 1 280bhp S14.

[Pedro]

I see alot of people buying these cars...


Whats so special about them?

[AndyBRG]

I see alot of people buying these cars...


Whats so special about them?

Powerful, cheap and reliable.

Shame they have no style or class.

[Roadsterchinsk]

I think he has decided on a corrado now!

The nissans locally just seem a bit dodgy. This means manual though.

Certainly a nice corrado is probably not going to loose any money.

Thanks for the info so far.

[bigfootisblurry]

Powerful, cheap and reliable.

Shame they have no style or class.

Blaspheme, I loved my old one. Shame it was a pig and had many problems.

Look for rust, calipers can stick, exhaust gaskets. Regular servicing too, they like an oil change.

[narc]

I see alot of people buying these cars...


Whats so special about them?

Cheap and love to get sideways.

[mazdachris]

Nothing really special about them. Very dull to drive. Comfy enough for eating up motorway miles. They are super easy to powerslide so if you've got no driver skill I suppose it makes you feel like you're something special.