May as well say hello from Adelaide!

[sanjay]

Hey guys,

Name's Sanjay. Have been lurking here for the last week or so (should be studying for damn uni exams!) as ever since I first saw a Galant VR-4 on the road (in that beautiful mauve colour) I wanted one...always assumed they would be insultingly expensive but they really aren't.

My current drive:

i know, booooringggg, but insurance is dirt cheap and its been nothing but a gem for me so far.

would love to get a VR-4, but being only 18 I know that the one issue that will get me is really preventing me from buying one - insurance. Insurance is only $580 a year for my liberty, but as soon as I jump into a Turbo until im 25 AAMI wont insure me. Maybe in a couple of years - I figure i could sell my liberty tomorrow for $8k and only a couple grand more i could have my own VR-4 on the boat from japan...

...I am, however, certain that my next car will be a VR-4. We dont live long enough in this world to put off our desires, and the thought of a bigger, more comfy 'evo' for around $10k is pretty hard to resist. Not to mention, they look absolutely horn.

anyway, the community looks pretty ace here so I know when I finally do bite the bullet to get one, I'll have all the help and support I need here.

alternatively if anyone in SA imports one that they no longer want, give me a holla!

 

[SupremeMoFo]

GTFO sanjay, don't stalk me!

j/k =P wish I could've gone through with getting a VR4.

 

[sanjay]

why'd you bail?

importing too much of a head**** for you?

to be honest id prolly try and get one thats already arrived and been complied before i went for importing one myself...theres a really nice mauve one on carsales atm in queensland for $10750...75000km, fresh off the boat and complied, ready to go.

 

[SupremeMoFo]

There were a few problems. Insurance. Even in my parents name it was going to be hard to find, and expensive. The fuel economy scared me given that I wasn't even going to be using the car in the hills much, so 14L/100kms+ for city driving was too high. The manual gearbox is geared far too short considering how much travelling I'll be doing later this year (3000rpm @ 100km/h vs 2600 for the Magna) and it's well, well into making boost at that point. The auto was better but the fuel consumption was worse again and I'd seen many comments about their durability. Aaand I was also kinda concerned about having that much power and driving around going POWERRRRR. Yeah. I still really like them - just not that suitable for the short term. See how I go next year maybe.

Importing wasn't that much of an issue as I was planning to have it sent to Melbourne, the delays for compliance are much shorter there.

 

[sanjay]

why the hell did you have to scare me off a VR4 with that one paragraph

im sure its not all bad. again, its bit more of a long term prospect for me as well.

 

[SupremeMoFo]

Oh, no, I still want one, but the manual gearbox is a huge stumbling point for me - if I could put up with an auto long term...

Same for an Aristo, although there are some manual Chasers around the place. Even a Caldina may be better for my needs (the second gen one, not the ugly-as-sin first gen) Who knows, I'm keeping the Magna for a while anyway.

 

[SiliconAngel]

Welcome to the site Sanjay. Don't worry it's not all doom and gloom - there are people regularly getting 10L/100km out of their cars and just 'cause you're at 3000rpm doesn't mean the turbos are necessarily working too hard... well, as long as you keep the pressure on the accelerator constant, anyway.

But compared to your liberty, a twin-turbo or really any car with lots of power will of course be far less fuel efficient if you like to jump on the throttle. But then, that's the point of having a quick car - if you aren't prepared to feed the horses then maybe its not the right sort of car for you? Not that I'm trying to talk you out of it of course, but the most heartbreaking thing I've seen since joining this site is people who have obsessed over a car, gone through all the pain of importing and getting the car on the road only to have to sell it again a few months later. Make sure you can afford it, make sure it's what you want well before you bite the bullet and stick one in your garage. And if you can and you do, you'll have a grin a mile wide every time you sit behind the wheel

 

[sanjay]

sound advice siliconangel, appreciate it

fuel consumption isnt my concern - as you say, you need to be prepared to feed the horses. prior to my liberty i owned a 1998 au falcon xr6 VCT, i NEVER, NEVER got better than 16l/100km with that lump of lard. to even get 13 or 14l/100km with a legnum would be supreme, considering the power they have.

with the liberty i get about 9l/100km accompanied by granny shifting, but its not exactly an exciting drive, as im sure you can all appreciate...its also a bit boring to look at (compared with the VR-4, anyway!)

my concerns are echoed by suprememofo though, mainly insurance and maintenance.

i wouldnt be bothered about auto or manual TBH, i hear the autos in these are miles ahead of what we generally come to expect in aussie cars (the 4sp BRT box in the xr6 was an experience to forget...) and theyre 5 speed too.

i just see the odd $8500 - $9000 VR-4 on j-spec's lists and wonder whether it would be a total money pit - for instance, i got my xr6 supremely cheaply, then ended up spending $2500 (almost half what the car cost me to begin with) purely to get it up to spec, and even after that it was still rattly, vibrating and certainly felt its age.

 

[bradc]

3000rpm is actually 114kmh in 5th with the manual, and the auto is 2500rpm at the same speed.

 

[mookers]

The manual is nice. Yes it's geared a bit short, but really you can pull some decent economy out of it. My best so far is 11.5/100 with mostly granny driving but some people do better than that. When I don't take pains to keep the revs down, I get about 12.5 which is still OK given the power. I haven't done a full tank being a hoon the entire time yet!

There is a fuel economy thread somewhere. The numbers vary a lot - I think it depends strongly on the style of driving as well as the overall condition of the car.

What I'm trying to say is: don't let the fuel usage prevent you from getting one. Given the way oil prices are going, this could be your last chance to get a performance car...

 

[Guest]

Oh, no, I still want one, but the manual gearbox is a huge stumbling point for me - if I could put up with an auto long term...

Same for an Aristo, although there are some manual Chasers around the place. Even a Caldina may be better for my needs (the second gen one, not the ugly-as-sin first gen) Who knows, I'm keeping the Magna for a while anyway.

I have 2 Manual Caldina's, facelift one Black 2001 grade 4.5 and aonther white one grade 4 both have 18 inch wheels, if you want pics let me know.

Cheers

 

[bogan bob]

Welcome Sanjay! Try hard to place insurance for a quote, they are an offshoot of RAA insurance for younger drivers. Slightly more than just cars but better service, esp if you have to make a claim.

Also theres an SA cruise coming up in the next couple of weeks, check teh SA section for details, all cars are welcome!

 

[sanjay]

haha i think my 92kw of POWAH would have trouble keeping up with you guys.

will check out "hard to place". never heard of them before...youd think the market for insurance for young people would be pretty big...but only really justcar exists in any big way.

 

[Hotwire]

Hi Sanjay, and welcome.
For the SA cruise, dont get confused, it's not just about the power, but how well you can drive. My SP23 kept up with a Legnum and Galant just fine on an SA cruise - Just ask Nissy or Gilly

Now I have the legnum, I'm keen to see how well I go

 

[sanjay]

ive just realised from reading the thread its going to be on the 6th of july which aint no good to me, i'll be in victor getting smashed to forget about the pain of exams this week!

 

[JRVR4]

if insurance worries you that much you could just do what i did. I'm 19 and insurance was going to be ridiculous. So i went with third party fire and theft.

 

[SupremeMoFo]

I have 2 Manual Caldina's, facelift one Black 2001 grade 4.5 and aonther white one grade 4 both have 18 inch wheels, if you want pics let me know.

Cheers

ic... thanks for the offer, but I'd be interested in the model after that, and sometime next year as well.