Newbie seriously considering a GT

Sam McGoo

Sam McGoo

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1,766
Well, my car has gone so I'm officially car-less (other than the wife's). Let the hunt begin!

I'm 99% sure It's gonna be a GT. :luvit:

I'm really struggling to decide at what level to enter Maser ownership. As expected there are not a massive amount for sale around in my budget, so going to see more than a couple within a hundred miles will be time consuming, but probably necessary to make a good comparison of value/condition.

Biggest problem is whether to go private on a 4.2 at under 35k and have a little spare just in case, Dealer 35-40k with a warranty so shouldn't need any spare, or stretch myself to 40+ and try and get a 4.7 S in a private sale and keep my fingers crossed that I have no issues requiring £k. ??

I really want one, but I am a little nervous about such a big (for me) outlay. Looking around the net, I can't find much info in the UK in recent years as to potential problems or faults that might be occurring on these cars now they are few years older, can anyone help? Is there a buyers guide on here somewhere? If not, why not? LOL.

I've found a fair few problem threads on US forums, mainly rear lights failing, batteries going flat, dash lights, warnings and leather peeling. I'm quite handy with a spanner and multimeter so don't mind tinkering with the simple things but are there any more major or potential problems I should be looking out for?

Any help/ opinions welcome.

cheers
 
conaero

conaero

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If you can stretch yourself to a 4.7S preferably the MC Shift its an awsome bit of kit and residules have been solid for nearly 4 years now. Expect to pay £45k for an early private (2008) car with sub 30k miles on it. Known issues other than those you have already highlighted are twanging rear springs, clicking rear driveshaft splines and rusting under guards. Engines and boxes are strong as are the clutches that should be trouble free for 50k miles. Front parking sensors fail quite regularly too.

The rear light were a recall so should have already been dealt with. The infotainment units can be a bit of a b!atch
 
StuartW

StuartW

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9,314
Conaero said:
If you can stretch yourself to a 4.7S preferably the MC Shift its an awsome bit of kit and residules have been solid for nearly 4 years now. Expect to pay £45k for an early private (2008) car with sub 30k miles on it. Known issues other than those you have already highlighted are twanging rear springs, clicking rear driveshaft splines and rusting under guards. Engines and boxes are strong as are the clutches that should be trouble free for 50k miles. Front parking sensors fail quite regularly too.

The rear light were a recall so should have already been dealt with. The infotainment units can be a bit of a b!atch
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree, I was in a very similar situation as you budget wise and decided to stretch it and go for a MCS. I decided to go via an independent dealer so as to get a warranty and have no regrets at all. I had a limited budget so had to settle for an earlier MY with 50k miles but they wear the miles well if properly maintained and prepared.
Good luck
 
conaero

conaero

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34,630
Oh one more thing to check is leaking AC pumps. The fluid then gets sprayed about and can cause bigger issues and they are not cheap and the brakes are mega bucks so get it up over motorway speeds and check for vibration. I had mine skimmed successfully at a main dealer with a bolt on the hub skimmer and never had any further issues.
 
hoyin

hoyin

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1,842
Personally I would always buy what you can afford with some spare in the pocket to give you that extra bit of assurance should anything go wrong.

You don't want to completely max your budget and then always be worried that you won't be able to fix anything. For me that would ruin the experience of having the car.

However these are just my opinions. A GT no matter what spec will always be a nice car.
 
Sam McGoo

Sam McGoo

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1,766
So just a little update.
I've been a bit delayed in the hunt for my dream car as things at work haven't been great and for 30% of us redundancies are looming! I will find out in 2 to 3 weeks whether I'm one of them or not, so fingers crossed.

If I'm one of the lucky ones then I hope to get something soon afterwards. My budget has had to grow slightly as I'm now pretty convinced it'll have to be a 4.7 to keep me interested. Need to decide between the Auto and the MC-Shift now. Stuart has very kindly offered to meet up in a couple of weeks so I can experience the MC to help me decide.

The only other potential (please don't think badly of me) might be a R35 GTR but I fear other than the mental speed of it, it might not that fun to drive long term. I've always had powerful RWD cars and love the the feedback and way they move around when your pressing on. I don't think you could ever get that feeling from the GTR on the road as you just could not get near its limit!

Anyway GT is still number one on the list, and I'm getting excited to think that it might actually be a reality soon! (just gotta keep my job now!)
 
hoyin

hoyin

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Well then it is all up to Stewart to convince you then!!

GTR - an amazing car no doubt. What it can do is amazing. But can't sit 4 people and every 21 year old has one.
 
D Walker

D Walker

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LincsOSCA said:
That's an excellent price, about as low as I've seen for a trade sale and with some great options too - Bose, comfort pack & front sensors - someone needs to snap that one up
Click to expand...

Exactly what I was thinking Stuart - Hence no comment as I was thinking I was missing something - If only I had a bigger garage - thats 4,2 money!!!
Looks like it will be due a clutch soon(ish) and service circa October.
 
safrane

safrane

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16,848
There is a second one with higher miles for a few grand less on AT

Also why would it need a clutch? I get 1,000 miles per 1% on my GS?
 
Sam McGoo

Sam McGoo

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1,766
Hmm lovely !

This is killing me...there has been a couple in the last couple of weeks that have really floated my boat...Work won't give a firm date regarding the redundancies, only that the calls are "taking some time" and that they won't call me to say I'm safe, only if I'm at "high risk". Could go on for a while yet. :-(

I'm tempted to just go for it and worry about it if it happens. What worries me if I get one and I turn out to be one of the unlucky ones, is it wouldn't look good if I had to put the car back up for sale just a few wekks/months after purchase to any perspective buyer.
 
safrane

safrane

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When Emblem did the 1st Inspection on it in June 2014 and then again in June 2015 the change in clutch wear was +0.4%... after 4k...so maybe 200k
 
D Walker

D Walker

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9,827
safrane said:
When Emblem did the 1st Inspection on it in June 2014 and then again in June 2015 the change in clutch wear was +0.4%... after 4k...so maybe 200k
Click to expand...

wow - now that would be amazing - you might be the first person to send one to the knackers yard on original clutch!!!!
 
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