His and her Nissan's. Not sure which one is which, but I have time to figure it out.
I was looking at r32 gtr's, but although much cheaper than one would be in the States, about 8kGBP (12kUSD), it's still a lot of money, and if I ever drive it in this country, the gtr's are VERY expensive to insure. Quotes upwards of 5kGBP yearly were normal with the godzilla engine under the hood.
Scaling back, but not far enough, fresh s15's are easily found unloading from import by a number of companies. These actually cost more than the used r32's that have been in the country for a while, or even the ones on the same boat as it turns out. Between how MOT/Tax regulations have molded the car market in this country, and the crazy exchange rates, newer is viewed as much better, and thus more expensive than the used car segments. It's as if there is NO do-it-yourself mindset in this country at all. I realize there's many in the magazines I've been reading to get my car fix, but outside of that, nothing.
Yearly MOT/Tax comes around and everyone brings their car. MOT includes not only emissions, but inspections. This includes everything under the sun, from minimum tire depth, to seat belts not retracting, to rust spots, to worn suspension bushes, serpentine belts making those funny noises, and low wiper fluids. Certain things are recommended to take care of, others are required to pass. MOT centers will run the test, fail you, call to let you know of your dirty air filter that passed emissions, but not inspections, and finally let you know how much it will cost for them to fix it. You have 7 days for a free retest at the same location, and depending how close you are to your MOT date, this removes most DIY intention.
If you are still allowed to drive the car, in theory you could take it to another shop for cheaper parts, but I think all the shops are on the same network and know better than most what the going rates are for service. They would charge you again for their own MOT test, negating potential savings, but also risking new failures, adding to the cost. Unless you can get parts at wholesale and are doing the work yourself in your non-existent garage with non-existent tools and know-how, which would make you an owner of your own MOT center, it isn't worth it.
The prices are just below the limit that would tip the scales between effort and cost outside the MOT centers, and the UK mindset of paying the "expert" is engrained from the very top. All maintenance items that don't cause the car to stop rolling down the road are taken care of by the MOT centers, giving the car another year on its life lease. Eventually these yearly MOT costs are high enough that it's cheaper for the owner to buy a new car and start again, propagating the mindset of new is better all over again.
This started because my wagon in the States needs an engine. I was considering a local ka24 or some variant of sr, whether it be a DET, DE, or Autech. I came to the conclusion that most small displacement non-turbo engines are too underpowered. It takes so much more dollar per hp, or quid per pferdestärke, to get good results from these that it's just not worth it. The right engine was also based on the fact I didn't want the wagon to be a racecar, I already have one of those projects. These Nissan engines simply bolt in, so it's quick and easy as far as swaps go. The engine compartment of the wagon is small, fitting at most 4 cylinders length wise. A larger v6 might work nicely assuming it fits width wise, with a v8 sitting on the other end of the spectrum, but again, not racecar.
I decided on an sr20det, and since I'm already in the UK, I started looking into s14's with this engine standard. Depending on cost of shipping, it may work out, get the engine I want with the ability to actually test drive it in the actual car it came in. This would completely eliminating the risk of not getting everything needed for the swap when ordering a motorset. It's even better than ordering a half cut, which can run pricey especially when considering shipping.
I was looking for another stock 200sx, this time with an sr20, but rightfully so, it seems more of these are modified. If it wasn't oem, the changes needed to be correct, on a clean chassis. To be honest, I never researched all the differences of s14 variants in the jdm v domestic v uk markets. S14's in the States didn't usually do it for me, although every now and then I would spot one that was slightly different I liked, making me wonder.
I quickly came to the personal conclusion that the kouki facelift makes the s14 look completely different, in a great way. A quick search will show the differences between headlights, taillights, fenders, bumpers, and hoods between the later models and the earlier zenki. UK classifies this model distinction simply by s14 and s14a.
Another issue about classifieds in the UK to overcome are distances between sales. Imports can be few and far between, quality is of high concern with used cars, and most classified services cater to the entire UK. There might be a great car for sale in Edinburgh, but who wants to take a 7 hour drive to get there, not to mention getting everyone home.
I found this recently listed s14a, located diagonally 3o minutes from work and home, in what looked to be a house on a farm at the end of a street of town-homes. The owner's son apparently had several cars and was looking to consolidate, so all were for sale, luckily the kouki didn't have stickers, as the other cars were more modified than I would like in this case, moreover not Nissan, rear wheel drive, or awesome.
Back to the s14a...
There was a little negotiation on price, and a test drive later, handshakes were made. More importantly, they agreed to hand deliver the car to my flat in London, solving many logistical issues I would otherwise have. All this was during a heck-tick travel season at work, so I wired over a deposit that night, probably more trusting than I should. The owner needed time to transfer the private reg over, which included several steps from applying to the DVLA for removal, to adding back on the original numbers that came with the car, and picking up new plates at Halfords.Yes, they print plates at the local auto parts store after presenting the proper ownership documents.
Next lesson about the UK, registration follows the car, not the person, so if and when you sell or buy a car, the plates, otherwise known as the reg number, goes with the car and is transferred to the new owner. The same number stays with the car throughout it's life, unless the owner buys a private reg and goes through the process of re-registering it. Private registrations are so expensive though that this wouldn't normally be transferred to the new buyer.
As a side note, you can tell what year the car is in this country and what location it was originally sold by the registration number, which is much more useful than the 1oo % random numbers you get stateside.
Carbon trunk, tinted tail lights, real hid's, paint matched bonnet, big strut bars, adjustable shocks, coils, and suspension arms with spares, similar rota grid's I have on the 24o z back home, clean body and full oem leather interior, power everything, fmic with pipe work and full exhaust, standard engine, chipped and tuned ecu pushing 1.2 bar, no crazy gauges, wings, or bodykits, delivered to my door. That and I really like the sparco wheel and bride seat.
There is a mild stretch on the tires, but nothing too drastic and fits the body lines well. The camber and height settings are normal, not that couldn't be reset easily with all the adjustable bits underneith, but just something else not to worry about. It also gives me a warm fuzzy about the previous owners and how the car was raised.
I was looking at r32 gtr's, but although much cheaper than one would be in the States, about 8kGBP (12kUSD), it's still a lot of money, and if I ever drive it in this country, the gtr's are VERY expensive to insure. Quotes upwards of 5kGBP yearly were normal with the godzilla engine under the hood.
Scaling back, but not far enough, fresh s15's are easily found unloading from import by a number of companies. These actually cost more than the used r32's that have been in the country for a while, or even the ones on the same boat as it turns out. Between how MOT/Tax regulations have molded the car market in this country, and the crazy exchange rates, newer is viewed as much better, and thus more expensive than the used car segments. It's as if there is NO do-it-yourself mindset in this country at all. I realize there's many in the magazines I've been reading to get my car fix, but outside of that, nothing.
Yearly MOT/Tax comes around and everyone brings their car. MOT includes not only emissions, but inspections. This includes everything under the sun, from minimum tire depth, to seat belts not retracting, to rust spots, to worn suspension bushes, serpentine belts making those funny noises, and low wiper fluids. Certain things are recommended to take care of, others are required to pass. MOT centers will run the test, fail you, call to let you know of your dirty air filter that passed emissions, but not inspections, and finally let you know how much it will cost for them to fix it. You have 7 days for a free retest at the same location, and depending how close you are to your MOT date, this removes most DIY intention.
If you are still allowed to drive the car, in theory you could take it to another shop for cheaper parts, but I think all the shops are on the same network and know better than most what the going rates are for service. They would charge you again for their own MOT test, negating potential savings, but also risking new failures, adding to the cost. Unless you can get parts at wholesale and are doing the work yourself in your non-existent garage with non-existent tools and know-how, which would make you an owner of your own MOT center, it isn't worth it.
The prices are just below the limit that would tip the scales between effort and cost outside the MOT centers, and the UK mindset of paying the "expert" is engrained from the very top. All maintenance items that don't cause the car to stop rolling down the road are taken care of by the MOT centers, giving the car another year on its life lease. Eventually these yearly MOT costs are high enough that it's cheaper for the owner to buy a new car and start again, propagating the mindset of new is better all over again.
This started because my wagon in the States needs an engine. I was considering a local ka24 or some variant of sr, whether it be a DET, DE, or Autech. I came to the conclusion that most small displacement non-turbo engines are too underpowered. It takes so much more dollar per hp, or quid per pferdestärke, to get good results from these that it's just not worth it. The right engine was also based on the fact I didn't want the wagon to be a racecar, I already have one of those projects. These Nissan engines simply bolt in, so it's quick and easy as far as swaps go. The engine compartment of the wagon is small, fitting at most 4 cylinders length wise. A larger v6 might work nicely assuming it fits width wise, with a v8 sitting on the other end of the spectrum, but again, not racecar.
I decided on an sr20det, and since I'm already in the UK, I started looking into s14's with this engine standard. Depending on cost of shipping, it may work out, get the engine I want with the ability to actually test drive it in the actual car it came in. This would completely eliminating the risk of not getting everything needed for the swap when ordering a motorset. It's even better than ordering a half cut, which can run pricey especially when considering shipping.
I was looking for another stock 200sx, this time with an sr20, but rightfully so, it seems more of these are modified. If it wasn't oem, the changes needed to be correct, on a clean chassis. To be honest, I never researched all the differences of s14 variants in the jdm v domestic v uk markets. S14's in the States didn't usually do it for me, although every now and then I would spot one that was slightly different I liked, making me wonder.
I quickly came to the personal conclusion that the kouki facelift makes the s14 look completely different, in a great way. A quick search will show the differences between headlights, taillights, fenders, bumpers, and hoods between the later models and the earlier zenki. UK classifies this model distinction simply by s14 and s14a.
Another issue about classifieds in the UK to overcome are distances between sales. Imports can be few and far between, quality is of high concern with used cars, and most classified services cater to the entire UK. There might be a great car for sale in Edinburgh, but who wants to take a 7 hour drive to get there, not to mention getting everyone home.
I found this recently listed s14a, located diagonally 3o minutes from work and home, in what looked to be a house on a farm at the end of a street of town-homes. The owner's son apparently had several cars and was looking to consolidate, so all were for sale, luckily the kouki didn't have stickers, as the other cars were more modified than I would like in this case, moreover not Nissan, rear wheel drive, or awesome.
Back to the s14a...
There was a little negotiation on price, and a test drive later, handshakes were made. More importantly, they agreed to hand deliver the car to my flat in London, solving many logistical issues I would otherwise have. All this was during a heck-tick travel season at work, so I wired over a deposit that night, probably more trusting than I should. The owner needed time to transfer the private reg over, which included several steps from applying to the DVLA for removal, to adding back on the original numbers that came with the car, and picking up new plates at Halfords.Yes, they print plates at the local auto parts store after presenting the proper ownership documents.
Next lesson about the UK, registration follows the car, not the person, so if and when you sell or buy a car, the plates, otherwise known as the reg number, goes with the car and is transferred to the new owner. The same number stays with the car throughout it's life, unless the owner buys a private reg and goes through the process of re-registering it. Private registrations are so expensive though that this wouldn't normally be transferred to the new buyer.
As a side note, you can tell what year the car is in this country and what location it was originally sold by the registration number, which is much more useful than the 1oo % random numbers you get stateside.
Carbon trunk, tinted tail lights, real hid's, paint matched bonnet, big strut bars, adjustable shocks, coils, and suspension arms with spares, similar rota grid's I have on the 24o z back home, clean body and full oem leather interior, power everything, fmic with pipe work and full exhaust, standard engine, chipped and tuned ecu pushing 1.2 bar, no crazy gauges, wings, or bodykits, delivered to my door. That and I really like the sparco wheel and bride seat.
There is a mild stretch on the tires, but nothing too drastic and fits the body lines well. The camber and height settings are normal, not that couldn't be reset easily with all the adjustable bits underneith, but just something else not to worry about. It also gives me a warm fuzzy about the previous owners and how the car was raised.
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