Well this is a weird one, it’s two cars in one.
After I sold the BMW I had a real hankering for yet another R33 GTS25T Skyline, so I went on Trademe and found one that was in my price range and looked OK in the photos. It was a silver one that looked mostly stock, the ks were moderate and didn’t have derpy mods all over it. Only catch, it was in Auckland. I spoke with the owner on the phone and she confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the car, no rust, no body issues and it all in good shape. I paid the money and booked the truck.
When it arrived, I was shocked. Actually shocked to the core. I could see immediately, before it had been driven off the truck, that it was a POS. I could already see some hefty dents in the bodywork and traces of rust bubbling through. It was unloaded, and I just dumped it in the garage and went to work, to deal with it later.
A thorough inspection showed it was completely stuffed. Rust everywhere, almost more rust than good metal. Also sizable dents in critical places like the sills. It also ran rough, misfired badly, the battery went flat while I was at work, the stereo didn’t work, the boot leaked badly (probably due to the rust), the ABS light was on, and the interior wasn’t that flash either (completely missing all the boot linings, tears in the seats and door cards etc).
I took over a hundred evidential photos of the car and took it to a panel beater. They quoted thousands to repair all the rust and basically said the car was more or less a write off. This included fixing the sill damage, which they said shouldn’t pass a warrant.
There was also plenty of evidence in the car that they knew of issues. Someone had tried to paint over some of the boot rust. All the boot lining was gone and the floor drain plug missing. A set of unknown spark plugs and the coil cover were in the boot. The fuse was sitting in the centre cup holder. it’s like they tried to fix it, and then said fark this and sold the car in “good condition, well looked after”.
I contacted the seller, who instantly went on the defensive and claimed I had ruined the car, and that it was my fault. “I described it as in good condition, not perfect” she said in one email. I provided all the evidence I had, and wrote out a full list of issues and stated that I rejected the car. After a lengthy and heated discussion on the phone she agreed to a refund once the car was back with her in Auckland, needless to say I lost it and said that wasn’t happening. We agreed that she would pay half the shipping cost to get the car back, and would pay half of my refund now and the rest when the car was delivered to her. She did end up pulling through, but I still lost out on 1.5 transport costs, which were in the vicinity of $800. Thankfully I got the rest back and wasn’t left trying to unload this shitter myself.
So all this mess fits into the story between the 525i and the WRX Sti Type R, but I figure it was best in here instead of its own place.
After the Accord sold I decided I wanted to try the Skyline thing again, and once again the one I wanted was in Auckland. This time it was white and almost identical to my first one that was stolen. Side skirts, sunroof and Falcon XR6 wheels. Super uncanny.
I enlisted a chap on a forum to go view the car on my behalf, and in his defence he did a good job, letting me know how it drove and what he saw. Obviously he isn’t as pedantic as me, but no one is.
I paid the money and arranged the truck. It arrived and all looked pretty decent. It had some minor issues I knew about like the tacho not working and some dents, but over all it was a million times tidier than the silver one. Unfortuantely what I was told was just paint cracking from a dent on the rear guard was actually rust coming through, but that seemed to be the only trace of rust.
It drove well, no issues with misfires like the other one and like a typical auto R33 turbo it liked to spin the tyres where ever it could.
Sadly the icing on the cake for me, and what made me get rid of it, was that unknown to me when I purchased it, it had suffered a rear end impact at some point. It had been repaired properly and didn’t really cause any issues, but the rear panel gaps just didn’t line up and it bothered the shit out of me. I hate cars with damage like this.
Update 8/3/20 – The silver one is currently registered, but hasnt had a WOF for 7 months. Its failed a lot of previous WOFs. The white one is still on the road with reg/WOF but looks quite a bit different now.