[zudeck]

Hello good people,

To begin with, I am from way up north, good ol Canada in the Toronto area. I am still a student and as everybody knows, students live well below poverty line. However, I am looking to buy a reliable and fun mode of transportation and usually main stream vehicles don't really suit me.

My 3 previous cars were, 1988 Mercedes Benz 300E which I had for a year and a half followed by a 1998 BMW 328is which I totaled in a snow storm 4 weeks later and then a 1988 Volkswagen Cabriolet, which died on me in two weeks. I am a huge fan of German machines but at the same time they do cost quite a penny to keep running.

My finances aren't the same as they used to be, so I have been looking for reliable and a lot less harsher on the pocket to maintain vehicles. I don't like Civic's, its a good student car but I just cant get into one.

High mileage never scared me in my German cars, the Benz had 200,000kms the Bimmer had 230,000kms and the Cabriolet had 289,000kms. And this is Nissan, I am guessing its good when it comes to reliability. I don't really know much about Nissan's technically so cant say much.

I am looking to get into a S14, I read up a little bit on Wikipedia and some old reviews on the car when it came out and thats about it. I'm used to rear wheel driving, owned 2..lol !! But I need to know more about S14's.

So yes, if anyone can help me with information such as,

-Fuel economy figures
-Cost of Upkeep of the vehicle
-What to look for when buying one
-Anything specific that needs to change at certain mileage like head gaskets or timing chains?
-How expensive are parts? (I work part time at a Toyota Dealership, so I can get OEM stuff at cost.)
-I hear the diff tends to be a problem area - True/Untrue?
-Etc.

I shall be asking a lot more questions so please be patient with my noobness

To sum it all up. Is this a car a student can buy and maintain it ?

Cheers

 

[rogoman]

So yes, if anyone can help me with information such as,

-Fuel economy figures
-Cost of Upkeep of the vehicle
-What to look for when buying one
-Anything specific that needs to change at certain mileage like head gaskets or timing chains?
-How expensive are parts? (I work part time at a Toyota Dealership, so I can get OEM stuff at cost.)
-I hear the diff tends to be a problem area - True/Untrue?
-Etc.

I shall be asking a lot more questions so please be patient with my noobness

To sum it all up. Is this a car a student can buy and maintain it ?

Cheers

Here's my take. Other members please chime in.

- mpg fuel economy: around 25 city, 28 highway
- cost of upkeep: average
- what to look for: timing chain rattle
- parts expense: average, not expensive
- differential problems: false

 

[zudeck]

Thanks rogoman, appreciate it.

Are these cars good high mileage cars or not really? The ones I am coming across have over 230,000 kms on the clock and just wondering if I should stay away from them or no.

I just don't want to end up in a position where I have to keep dumping money into a car after buying it, coz this goes wrong and then something else. Obviously some parts will need replacing as per maintenance.

My roomates are saying to stay away from S13/S14's because they are rather expensive to maintain and breakdown quite often. They are comparing its reliability to Honda Civic and Integra's. I find it a little hard to believe that the 240sx's would be problem cars, but at the same time can someone shed some light on it.

Basically looking for honest honest opinion about the cars. Not all cars are student cars and thats fine. If this happens to be a car a student can run and maintain then i shall pursue the idea if not, something else you know.

Once again thanks in advance for any advice information that will help me

 

[rogoman]

230,000 km is not that much at all for the 240sx's. If well taken care of, they can run for well over 400,000 km.

They are no more expensive to maintain then a typical Honda.

The only word of caution is be careful of the 89 - 90 models which use the SOHC motors. These motors had varying problems with the timing chain assemblies and oil pumps.

Look for a 91 or later 240sx is your best bet.