Am I mad for evening slightly considering a 3000GT/GTO as a first car

KillBoY_UK

KillBoY_UK

KillBoY_UK

Soldato
Joined
20 Apr 2004
Posts
4,410
Location
Rugby
I'm learning to drive atm (up to hour 12 of lessons) and been kinda looking at cars.

I'm not a "car" person but I've always wanted one as I like the looks and it was my "car" in the GT games (sad I know). The odd thing is when Ive done insurance quotes (not eusing my name and using a different flat number) one of theas would be CHEAPER to insure than a senceable first car at around £900 pm.

Sensible cars I've looked at insurance for have been Skoda Fabia's , Octavia's , Seat Leon's (vanity thing) Ibiza, Ford fiestas . All of various ages and configurations have ranged from £1100-1300 which is more like what I was expecting.

ignoring the tax and the fuel consumption would it be bad idea to get one for mainly going between North oxford and MK twice a week. Or would I just wrapp it round a tree.

Its not helped that my mad Kiwi boss is telling me to get one as she loved hers lol

Oh I'm 33 and in IT, no real desire to be a boy racer type.
 
I still lust after a 300ZX Twin Turbo. It'd almost certainly be a one way street to financial ruin but I love them.
 
Not necessarily a mad idea but you need to bear the following in mind: they're heavy, fairly dull, a pain to work on, difficult to maintain to the proper standard in this day and age and quite expensive for one you'd actually want to drive and live with.

Are you willing to put up with all of that for the sake of owning a complex '90s Japanese coupe? If any of that makes you hesitate for a moment, drop the concept – as you'd likely soon end up hating it otherwise and it'd quickly become an anchor.

Perhaps consider a 350Z instead? Far more entertaining, more affordable and easy to look after. :)

In any case, might be worth investing in at least a little additional training if you go that route.
 
I owned a 3000GT, really good car to be honest, its heavy, it drinks fuel, but are surprisingly quick.
Mine was a blue UK car, all I did to it was a downpipe and was running around 360HP, very comfy car with high levels of grip and average handling.

They can throw some massive bills, watch out for leaking steering racks, over a grand to fix and most suffer from it, plus they are old cars now so make sure everything works like active aero, 4WS, 4WD and their is no fluid leaks etc.
Mine however was bullit proof, never let me down and never needed any work, I got lucky.

The ultimate was the 3000GTO MR spec, they had none of the active aero or 4WS so were around 100kg lighter, but those were import only and thus had less power (smaller turbos) and smaller brakes. The UK cars got bigger brakes and bigger turbos. :)
 
Lashout_UK said:
Not necessarily a mad idea but you need to bear the following in mind: they're heavy, fairly dull, a pain to work on, difficult to maintain to the proper standard in this day and age and quite expensive for one you'd actually want to drive and live with.

Are you willing to put up with all of that for the sake of owning a complex '90s Japanese coupe? If any of that makes you hesitate for a moment, drop the concept – as you'd likely soon end up hating it otherwise and it'd quickly become an anchor.

Perhaps consider a 350Z instead? Far more entertaining, more affordable and easy to look after. :)
Click to expand...

Would relay like something comfortable anyways as the Oxford to MK commute is about 1hour which is ok my parents live on the welsh coast and my sister in Bradford so a long journeys is a consideration.

Doing the 2 day a week MK commute on bus's and taxi;s (even if its a E class merc) kinda sucks as it can take 2 hours each way some times
 
Well, a 350Z's fine over long distances, if that's a concern (drove one to Spa and back, no gripes at all) – but it depends what floats your boat and what you're willing to put up with. Some might find the clutch actuation too heavy; I don't, personally, but then I'm used to things like that. :)
 
Gibbo said:
I owned a 3000GT, really good car to be honest, its heavy, it drinks fuel, but are surprisingly quick.
Mine was a blue UK car, all I did to it was a downpipe and was running around 360HP, very comfy car with high levels of grip and average handling.

They can throw some massive bills, watch out for leaking steering racks, over a grand to fix and most suffer from it, plus they are old cars now so make sure everything works like active aero, 4WS, 4WD and their is no fluid leaks etc.
Mine however was bullit proof, never let me down and never needed any work, I got lucky.

The ultimate was the 3000GTO MR spec, they had none of the active aero or 4WS so were around 100kg lighter, but those were import only and thus had less power (smaller turbos) and smaller brakes. The UK cars got bigger brakes and bigger turbos. :)
Click to expand...

I had always though about getting a one that needed some TLC, take some time to do it up while i drive something more sensible for the first year
 
Lashout_UK said:
Well, a 350Z's fine over long distances, if that's a concern (drove one to Spa and back, no gripes at all) – but it depends what floats your boat and what you're willing to put up with. Some might find the clutch actuation too heavy; I don't, personally, but then I'm used to things like that. :)
Click to expand...

Well my clutch control has been spot on my instructor as said, just abit heavy on the breaking. Where should I be after 12 hours of lessons roughly
 
KillBoY_UK said:
Well my clutch control has been spot on my instructor as said, just abit heavy on the breaking. Where should I be after 12 hours of lessons roughly
Click to expand...

No, no - I mean the clutch pedal is heavy; consequently, it can become too much of a chore/pain for people to drive in traffic. I don't mind it, though, because it's light compared to some stuff I used to have. :D

Always amuses me when I get in a modern car, though, as every time I always think the hydraulics have failed because I inevitably stab the pedal to the floor like it wasn't there. :D
 
I have a Civic Type R EP3 (mini van version) and its a great car. Not too much to run and you get some great performance. Not easy to work on but easy enough.
 
KillBoY_UK said:
I had always though about getting a one that needed some TLC, take some time to do it up while i drive something more sensible for the first year
Click to expand...

Given insurance will be a lot, it's probably not sensible to have 2 cars in your first year. Unless you can take it off the road and don't need to insure it?
 
Marvt74 said:
Given insurance will be a lot, it's probably not sensible to have 2 cars in your first year. Unless you can take it off the road and don't need to insure it?
Click to expand...

would be off the road in this situation, the 350Z's look nice but out of my price range. Would like to keep it under 5k hence why something like the Octavia looked like a good option.
 
if you can forgo the twin hairdryes then the N/A gto is a really good car with little to go wrong and the parts are far cheaper/plentyfull.
Otherwise Id be happy to take you out in my MR TT the next time your in MK. :D

When stock there no less reliable than any other 90's jap car. you get niggles for sure but mines been pretty rock solid in the 8-9 years i've owned it and still yet to throw a bill, though its getting to the point where things need changing but there age related.

Gibbo said:
The ultimate was the 3000GTO MR spec, they had none of the active aero or 4WS so were around 100kg lighter, but those were import only and thus had less power (smaller turbos) and smaller brakes. The UK cars got bigger brakes and bigger turbos. :)
Click to expand...

Same brake sizes between 3000gt/gtos, the different sizes were dictated by there generation. ie gen 1 had the smaller brakes.
gto's do have the smaller turbos but also lacked the 3rd cat converter found in the 3000gt so closer in power than the stats would suggest. :)
 
Jap sports cars can be pretty wild (drifting is big business in Japan!) and they aren't really for non-petrolheads tbh. Get a few years of experience and learn basic maintenance first :)
 
Last edited:
a GTO was a dream car of a mate. they talked about wanting one for years and eventually thought they might as well go for it... Spent ages on owners group, looking through as many cars as possible and chose one they thought was in better condition than most. First ~6months was ace, but then turned into a complete money pit. Ended up miles away at some GTO specialist getting effectively rebuilt. Love and trust in the car dropped and was soon sold.

They're just too specialist and high maintenance for most people, with too many things to go wrong. If you're wanting a car as a project then cool. But, as something you want to use daily or as a main (reliable) car - tbh, it's pretty much too late now, unless you're amazingly lucky.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom