Thinking of Selling

[mcleansc]

Thinking of doing something I'd never do... Sell the S-Body. I have completely fallen for the 200SX, this was my first but by no means will be my last. I'm a paid up member and will be keeping it that way. Trying to juggle renovating a flat, saving to buy a house, enjoy the life of a young man and save for the future along with owning, maintaining and modifying a 200SX is just getting too much. I also want to move away from the modification scene a wee bit and get a car a bit more practical as my Gran relies on me at times and finds it very hard to get in and out along with helping my sister with her crazy children when her man is abroad.

I do love the car and the original plan was to wait until I'd paid off a loan I took out, (partly to buy the car and mostly to fix the heating etc in my flat and get it up and running) take it off the road, buy a nice comfy daily and turn it into a project car. Right now it's between what it was and what I want and I just feel there's always something else I need to buy for me to be happy with it. This isn't a sales thread as I need to get a rough estimation of what it's worth before I can plan any further.

So here's a brief description:

1999 200SX S14a
4 previous owners
83,000 miles on the clock
FSH: At Nissan until 2001, Hypertech from 2002 - 2012 and Automek from 2012 - 2014 (due a service next month which it is already booked in for and will be done if I sell it)
Sapphire Blue
10 months on the MOT I think

The car was standard up to 70,000 miles (until I got my hands on it) and has been run on standard boost all its life.

It doesn't have a high spec list, but it is as follows:

£800 spent on rust repairs, the rear underside was in a bad way so it was off the road for 4 months whilst the rust was cut out and new metal welded back in. Will get pics next time I'm under it
Apex Type 2 FMIC
Apex Stainless Steel Intake Trunk
K&N Cone Filter
H-Dev Exhaust Manifold
Hose Solutions Braided turbo lines
Apex Stainless Steel Turbo Elbow
EPRacing 3" Downpipe welded into a continuous 3" de-cat exhaust system terminating in a 5" oval tip with a lifetime guarantee done at C&C Exhausts.
Replaced all turbo exhaust Gaskets at Christmas with genuine Nissan Gaskets.
Walbro 255 Fuel Pump fitted by Automek

It has a Depo Boost gauge and AEM Wideband Gauge, both fitted by Automek.

It is on stock shocks and Tein 30mm lowering springs and has 17" 9.5J Rota Grid Drifts all round.

It will also come with used Nismo 555cc injectors (bought from Limitless Imports with low miles) and unused, still boxed Stack Professional Analogue water temp and oil temp gauges. Also have all the standard items along with new Engine Mounts I'll chuck in.

Paintwork is what you'd expect from a 15 year old car but comes up great with a polish. There is some bubbling at the tip of the nearside front wing where the indicator meets the wing and quite bad bubbling/rust on the rear nearside arch. Been quoted £300 to get it all sorted but I wasn't sure if I was going to go for wider arches/flare the arches or leave as standard, so never got it done.
Personally it needs coilovers or lowered at the front a bit more to look bang on and it is overfueling due to being on a standard map. I was going to go Nistune but all you need is a manual boost controller and a H-Dev chip for Stage 2a, fit the injectors and have you'll have a 300bhp/300lbft torque 200SX (until the T28 blows up lol!). On the topic of turbo, I had it out over xmas to replace turbo exhaust gaskets and fit my H-Dev mani and it was perfect. No in/out or up/down play at all, doesn't smoke at all. The car has had regular oil changes every 6,000 miles at Automek and is always warmed up and cooled down before switching off.

Mechanically it has never let me down in the 2 years of owning it, a number of people have commented on how smooth the engine sounds. No VVT rattle at all.

So what is it worth!?

[mcleansc]

Pics of when I first bought it ^^^









More recent pics, the bottom being the most recent. I'll be washing and waxing it at work tomorrow night so will get detailed pics up then

[R3K1355]

Bang a 1a chip and a manual boost controller on it.

Stick it up for £4500 and see if there's any interest.
£3500 would probably see a fairly quick sale tho.

[mcleansc]

I'd be happy with £3500, I mean mechanically it's absolutely spot on but cosmetically it could do with some TLC, nothing too bad but the wee spots of rust on the arches do spoil it a tad and it needs more lows on the front. I think the fact I've stretched the tires at the front makes the height look worse than it is, or maybe I'm just pernickity.

I really do love it and when I buy my house with a garage I'll be buying an import or rust free shell and starting a project, it's just difficult doing everything at once and I love the car that much my flat is coming second best financially, when the flat will eventually make me money as opposed to the car costing me money!

On the topic of another car, I was seriously considering an E46 M3. I know a few guys on here have one as a daily and was wondering if I could get an input on running costs, maintenance etc? If that works out counter-productive financially I'll just go for a E46 330 Sport. I'm even thinking of just getting a Jazz and waiting until my priorities are sorted financially then splashing out on a nice car and project.

[zeppelin101]

I had an M3. Replaced it with my 180SX.

The costs are not to be sniffed at. Tyres for instance (which M3s annihilate at a prodigious rate) will run £500 for the rear pair if on 19s, somewhere between £250 and £300 for the fronts. Inspection 1 is never likely to be much less than £500, Inspection 2 is anywhere from £750 upwards depending on where you go.

Then there is the cracking boot floor issue, which does seem to affect every car BMW made. That's going to be lots to fix unless you have one that has already been repaired. Or you may get lucky and it doesn't cause a problem.

Usefully, mine wasn't that dreadful on fuel. I averaged 26.6mpg over 7000 miles in 6 months but depending on the sort of journey you're doing that could go from sub 20 mpg to over 30 on a motorway cruise.

In my view, they aren't that comfy (suspension setup is stiff as a board, may be better on 18s), they are quick but don't necessarily feel it, the engine is an utter masterpiece and the chassis shows it's weight and lack of damping down your average B road. The steering is a little vague off centre, the seats are nice though and the driving position is very adjustable. The gearbox is recalcitrant at best when cold and not that nice to use when hot (manual) and the driveline makes a lot of clonking noises that, in my view, shouldn't be present on a 50k premium car. The worst thing though is the brakes, which are woeful.

I'd like the engine in another car, but I wouldn't buy another E46 M3. Conversely, there are a few other guys (Chavbo, MEL, SXRORY) who have one and they all love theirs to bits so I'm very much in the minority.

[SXRORY]

You talk about money a lot in your post bud financially etc etc. Zeps has covered of the costs really. 40k car is always a 40k car to fix no matter what you pay for it. They are getting on a bit too. It does not sound like your solution.
The big issues
Head gasket getting common now 1.5k
Vanos 1k
Subframe if cracked 1.5k

Other than that great place to sit. loads of grip and engine is a peach.

[mcleansc]

Thanks for the replies, that was a really informative post zeppelin101 mate. Yeah I've read it over and realised I'm talking about finance and then buying a M3 in the same post sxrory do all the E46 body types suffer from the cracking subframe or is it just the M3?

I want a car that would be as fun to drive but more practical, I just find myself constantly buying things for the SX, I do one thing and it means I need to do another. Obviously the answer then is don't buy parts but then I'm unhappy with how the car is lmao. It's a vicious cycle haha. As it stands I'm just dabbling, I wanted a rough guestimation on what the forum thinks it was worth.

I gave it a wash and wax tonight and refitted my interior along with some soundproofing in the arches and have fallen in love with it again. I never tend to think things through and just dive in, I've definitely done that with the SX, it's now between stages, overfueling, bubbling is getting worse and it's getting me annoyed. Then I've got the flat I'm supposed to be renovating and saving for a deposit for another mortgage. I'll be getting a H-Dev Stage 2 in case I do decide to sell, so will see how I feel after I have the engine side of things where I'm happy with.

[zeppelin101]

Thanks for the replies, that was a really informative post zeppelin101 mate. Yeah I've read it over and realised I'm talking about finance and then buying a M3 in the same post sxrory do all the E46 body types suffer from the cracking subframe or is it just the M3?

It's the same design with no additional strengthening on all E46s, however the problem only really seems to affect the 330d and 330i as well as the M3. 330i to alesser extent than the diesel and M3 though.

[mcleansc]

It's the same design with no additional strengthening on all E46s, however the problem only really seems to affect the 330d and 330i as well as the M3. 330i to alesser extent than the diesel and M3 though.

My initial thought was a 330CI Sport or Clubsport as I'd owned a 320CI Sport before this and although it was nowhere near as fast it was a lovely place to sit and had usable back seats, I took my dad, gran and cousin to newcastle in it and it was a comfortable ride for everyone. I then seen that for the price of a mint, low miles, FSH 330 I could get a very tidy FSH M3 which got me intrigued. I'm now thinking back to a 330. Or maybe even a 330 diesel. If I sell at all. Would I be correct in saying if the car is an 05 or 55 plate I could still get the subframe sorted if it is cracked as I read somewhere BMW are covering it for 10 years? Even if it isn't cracked and hasn't had work would BMW still strengthen it as it's a known weak point do you know mate?

[Jonny Wilkinson]

Can you work out a plan that allows you to sort out the niggles on the 200 then not spend anything on mods for 18 months giving you a clear run at the flat ?

Alternatively, have a look for an un-fiddled-with Impreza. 4-doors, sensible suspension, pretty good fun to drive, easy to get in an out of and reliable (if its not been messed with).

4000 should get you a fairly decent one, I'd have thought though maybe not an STi. Still, a WRX with PPP is quite a nice place to be.

[silverzx]

Can you work out a plan that allows you to sort out the niggles on the 200 then not spend anything on mods for 18 months giving you a clear run at the flat ?

Alternatively, have a look for an un-fiddled-with Impreza. 4-doors, sensible suspension, pretty good fun to drive, easy to get in an out of and reliable (if its not been messed with).

4000 should get you a fairly decent one, I'd have thought though maybe not an STi. Still, a WRX with PPP is quite a nice place to be.

+1 for the Impreza. Very impressed with my friends "Standard" one!

[pippin89]

+1 for the Impreza. Very impressed with my friends "Standard" one!

+2 for the imprezza. I would say WRX with PPP would be the best bet as well. A friend of mine had a normal WRX and it just wasn't enough. But then for a daily it probably would be. Drive one and see! Nows the time though as prices go up closer to winter.... 4wd!!

[mcleansc]

Can you work out a plan that allows you to sort out the niggles on the 200 then not spend anything on mods for 18 months giving you a clear run at the flat ?

Alternatively, have a look for an un-fiddled-with Impreza. 4-doors, sensible suspension, pretty good fun to drive, easy to get in an out of and reliable (if its not been messed with).

4000 should get you a fairly decent one, I'd have thought though maybe not an STi. Still, a WRX with PPP is quite a nice place to be.

Decided to invest only into the car for a bit lol it only needs a MBC and Stage 2 Chip and at least the engine will be running and fuelling right. After that it'll be flat flat flat (I hope). Anything else I spend on the car will be pocket money. There's also a chance of a part time job thats flexible with my shifts in the pipeline which would be a great help. My Gran is also buying a new car meaning she won't be relying on me for the shopping (I think she'll miss getting driven in the sx though haha)

Just had a bad week where everything was going wrong and i was making rash decisions like my typical self.

While I'm here and quoting Jonny, as I have a feeling you will know, can I run Nismo 555cc injectors on a standard map? Or will that cause even more overfuelling?

Cheers for the replies guys