Hi Guys, need some advise

[John-]

I'm thinking about getting an S15 spec R.
Have been looking at them for a few months now, and think they look amazing and seem to be a great car from what I have read on here.
To top it off, i got an insurance quote, £550, Great.
However, I'm coming from German cars to Japanese and I don't know much about them.
I will be using the car as a daily driver, my current daily being a Corrado G60, that is a little temperamental! just wondering how many of you use yours as a daily, or is this a bad idea?
any sort of general do's and don'ts about what to look for would be nice. I'm looking to spend about £10000 in the new year!

Thanks Guys.

 

[Max]

I use mine as a daily and I'm quite happy with it, just keep it clean and rust treated to maintain it's value

You probably want to get a standard one and leave it that way to use as a daily, and as such are quite comfortable and reliable. It is only when you (I) start playing with things that reliability misses a beat on a decent car. MPG is quite good (32 if you are v careful)

Good luck with buying one! I think they are beautiful cars, but I am biased

 

[Luke]

what max said is right try and go for one prity much standard, i got nismo suspension and its prity ruff but the mpg is quiet good for there power out puts and the tax is really funny i got mates with smaller engine slower cars and there paying more tax than me haha and that's a good quote i pay 1400 for mine, i got torque gt to import mine and there very helpful and heard lots of good things bout them from others, and reliability wise i really think you cant get better than Japanese, ive always gone jap and German and had better luck with jap cars, and nice car your driving now i like them, the vw are good i got an old golf mk 3 diesel and use it for driving around were i live across fields and i abuse it on purpose and it just wont break and its bloody good off road

 

[pegliobaglio]

Welcome , I don't necessarily agree with the guys here as I know people who have used theirs as a daily when they have been tuned to over 300bhp and never had a problem. As long as the at is clean and mods have been done properly , ie mapped correctly, then you shouldn't have any problem tbh.
Some uprated suspension can be a bit unforgiving on our roads, whatever you buy make sure to take your time to get used to the car, alot of people bin them in the first few weeks because they think they can just jump in and give it the beans.
I had an m3 before this which was quick in its own right but a completely different beast to this.
Good luck with yor search there is plenty of info in the useful threads about what to look for when buying, rule is normally look for a clean car rather than worry about mileage too man as long as they are looked after they go on for ever!

 

[Auss15]

My car has 353HP and it is still a nice car to drive on the streets. I agree with the above, you can set the car up with good HP and handling mods and still drive it daily. The S15's don't become either a little princess who is to precious to drive, or some untamed wild beast that's a hand full. They are very robust and can also handle mods without losing the fun to drive factor

 

[John-]

Thanks for the advise guys, I've been browsing the for sale section, and a perfect white one is on there, just a shame I'm not ready to buy yet!
I'm sure another one will come along early next year though.
I'll probably be sad to see the G60 go, but its a little too old now and I need something more reliable, but still rare and fast!
I'll be sure to start some sort of thread on here when I do purchase one!

 

[Tommy Kaira]

Swapping a VW for an S15...you WONT be sad to see it go!

Just don't be tempted to go for a car with super-hard coilovers as they are not really suited to daily driving on UK roads. Other than that, you should have no problems!

 

[John-]

I'm looking at getting this, http://forum.s15oc.com/showthread.php?11468-00-white-vertex-kitted-S15-Spec-R-45k
is it a good idea? has anyone seen this in the flesh before?
Also how hard would it be to fit the standard steering wheel, drivers seat and gear knob.
cheers

 

[John-]

Just a little update, I'm now talking with Darren from Torque GT and trying to find the perfect white spec R.
Bidding on one last night and missed out though!
I'm starting to get impatient! I sold my car so long ago now and, my girlfriends Citroen C3 Pluriel is making me want to kill myself, more and more each day!!
I need an S15!

 

[tet offensive]

What about the black spec r that's for sale in Glasgow that looks mint 2001 with 45 k . Or does it need to be white .

 

[John-]

Needs to be white really, also Glasgow is a 13 hour round trip! Plus I like the idea of having a fresh one from Japan!
I'm definitely going to start a build thread on here as i'm trying to get a bog standard one!

 

[Cap'n Crash]

Is that black one an ex monster unit car? They're normally very clean and well cared for, it'll be a good buy for someone.

 

[spoonman]

Needs to be white really, also Glasgow is a 13 hour round trip! Plus I like the idea of having a fresh one from Japan!
I'm definitely going to start a build thread on here as i'm trying to get a bog standard one!

standard ones are getting fewer and fewer, but they pop up every now and again

 

[Neith]

I'm in the same boat as you at the minute (but I've gone through DCY Europe, not Torque GT as it's 200+ miles closer!). I'm also after a relatively standard Spec-R, but having trouble at the minute. The ones on the auctions in Japan lately have been very hit or miss. Bid on one last week but got beat (by £180 >_>), very few decent ones at the minute though.

Good luck finding one, it's so sad when you wake up on the morning and have been outbid!

 

[John-]

Yeah, I know the feeling, when I just got used to the disappointment I won a completely standard one on Thursday with 60k miles on the clock. Just started a build thread that ill update along the way!
Good luck to you in your search! Hope to see pictures of it on here soon!