Project Car / Motorbike thread. Let's see 'em.

[Plow King]

Seriously Chris if you're only going to have it for a year or so don't get it, because you'll lose so much money on it through mods, depreciation, insurance etc. You'd be SO, SO much better off if you just drove what ever it is you drive now and saved the extra money to get a better EVO once you're off your P's.


Getting it sounds great now but once you've had it for a while you'll regret buying it if you're in the market for another car anyway.

Lol there is like no depreciation on those cars. I know cos I was looking when I first got my license a year and a half ago. Insurance is like 1k plus i need a car to get to work etc. plus i cant borrow my parents car forever. I don't plan on moddin it I just want a tidy fun car to drive. Granted it's pretty slow but it'll be good to get used to an awd before i get some fuck off rediculous evo

 

[tudorsi]

Damn shame those things are shaft drive.

whats wrong with the shaft drives?

 

[$h0rty]

Lol there is like no depreciation on those cars. I know cos I was looking when I first got my license a year and a half ago. Insurance is like 1k plus i need a car to get to work etc. plus i cant borrow my parents car forever. I don't plan on moddin it I just want a tidy fun car to drive. Granted it's pretty slow but it'll be good to get used to an awd before i get some fuck off rediculous evo

Following on from what Venciferus said.

Depreciation on subies isn't as bad as some, but you really need to be realistic on how much you will really lose after only 12 months of ownership. Add in interest payed on the loan (if applicable), insurance etc etc and your a few thousand down the hole already.

If you want a 'tidy fun car to drive' look elsewhere - 2.0L 4cyl, pretty heavy for what they are, additional drivetrain loss of awd = SLOW. You could get a car thats more fun for a lot less.


If I was in your position, I'd buy a reliable, cheap (few $k) runabout, save on insurance, fuel, loan interest etc. then just buy the evo in 12months.

My 2c.

 

[bradleyR513]

Don't spose anyone knows what the more powerful LAMS approved bikes are?

The most powerful bikes on the LAMS approved bikes list would have to be the 450cc and 500cc+ Enduro dirt bikes such as the KTM450+530 EXC and the Husqvarna TE450+510. The bikes have an awesome power to weight ratio, and would normally be considered too powerful for the list. But, they are on the list... This is because these bikes come with a restricted throttle which reduces the bike to quarter throttle. It is as simple as a pin on the back of the air inlets in the carby that won't let it open up the whole way. I know that my local KTM dealer take this out as soon as they get it anyway. Strictly, this would make the bike illegal for an L plater, but 90% of cops wouldn't know if the bike has been derestricted or not, and they can't open up the carby to have a look. The only thing they can do is test the throttle and see if it twists more than it should.

So, buying one of these bikes would be a sneaky way to get an overpowered bike. Having said all of this, it is extremely unwise to buy one of these bikes and derestrict them if you haven't been riding for very long, or don't think you could handle the power of the bike. The best thing to do is to test a mates bike that is similar, up and down their street and give it full throttle. If you shit yourself, don't buy one. The best option then would be to get a smaller version in a 250, that way you get cheaper fuel costs, cheaper insurance, cheaper registration and a smaller chance of killing yourself.

 

[Venciferus]

Lol there is like no depreciation on those cars.

Ok, it's just a plain old fucking stupid idea then. Seriously you lose a lot more money owning a car then you'd expect, even in the first year, may need new pads, new tires all sorts of little things can really add up.

$1000 alone for the insurance is still a fair chunk by itself.

 

[lockieoc]

Just got:
Cold air induction kit, $45
moding the air box to house K&N pod filter, $55
Also got a set of Ferodo DS Performance pads F+R, Free
Ariving next month will be a set of DBA 4000 series slotted rotors F+R Free
Also just placed an order on a set of 1.5" lowering blocks for the rear and a set of super lows for the front. Blocks $65 Springs Free
Ahh the beauty of being in the industry.

 

[udi]

I just want a tidy fun car to drive. Granted it's pretty slow but it'll be good to get used to an awd before i get some fuck off rediculous evo

Seriously, that's a lot of cash - you could get a whole host of pretty awesome cars for that kind of money. I'd suggest something like the Renault Clio Sport, 11-12 will comfortably get you one of those. They're light, fast (0-100 in 7), and handle pretty well.

Also, I think starting off in the driving world with an awd is a bit girly. IMO start off with learning to drive an fwd or rwd (or both) at their limits, and grab an evo or something later if you still think awd is what you want.

 

[floody]

Assuming you want a comfortable but dull car for everyday duties, the RX will be brilliant at that.


Tudorsi, apart from being ugly and doing strange things to the handling, shaft drive is awesome.

In this case for me its because its the main thing separating the GTs from the KZ family and the wonderful world of awesome stuff you can do to them.

HOWEVER, GT750 and 550s are absolutely unf**kable cockroaches of things. If one motorcycle were to survive a nuclear holocaust, it would be that.

 

[Plow King]

Hmmm, fair enough. Appreciate the advice...

I'm not that fussed about insurance to be honestl As I'd be paying 850 a year on comp insurance for the rx (With a high Excess. I don't plan on crashing the fucker) However for an 2000 Model Barina I'd be paying about the same for insurance anyway. The quick quote I did then stated that it'd be exactly the same to insure a 2000 barina worth 5500... (Yeah, I dunno either. Ask Aami( So I wouldn't really be losing out, I'd be paying the same insurance for a pos shit car.

I would only have to worry about depreciation really. Either way, if I get a pos car I'm still losing out on insurance. I might lose about 1k (tops, I wasn't kidding about looking at them last year) on but think about it. Which is more likely to go wrong a cheap car or a more expensive one... Chances are if I buy a 1995 - 1996 barina with X km's for a year which would be an absolute skank to drive. The likely hood of shit going wrong in that is way higher than a sooby right?

Thanks for the suggestion of the Renault Udi but the last car we had was a renault and we spent about 3-4k on the fucking thing in the past 2 years trying to keep it going. Thank god some wanker wrote it off now we have a ford fiesta zetec <3

I might start looking around for an RS however they're conciderably more pricey/rare than the RX/GX's.

What do you think of that reasoning or does that sound way off?

I just like the soobys because of the look at them, they're pretty damn reliable and the fact that they're AWD.

 

[Ivan]

What do you think of that reasoning or does that sound way off?

I wouldn't bother getting comprehensive insurance on a car worth $5500 if it was going to be $850 a year. Just get 3rd party, and drive passively.

A couple of years ago I bought a Corolla of an old guy for $900. It cost me another $300 to get it roadworthy, and another 200 to put a nice stereo in (second-hand with new speakers). I owned it for 18 months, and never spent a cent on it except for petrol and oil. The Aircon worked, it had power steering etc, and was a fun little car to drive.

Oh, and third party only insurance cost me something like $300 a year. I ended up giving it away, and the guy I gave it too reckons it's still running mint.

The point to this ramble is - You can buy cheap bulletproof cars, that will help you save faster while you're on your P's, so you can step into a nicer car when it's legal. Just don't plan on picking up potential girlfriends in it.

 

[Plow King]

I wouldn't bother getting comprehensive insurance on a car worth $5500 if it was going to be $850 a year. Just get 3rd party, and drive passively.

A couple of years ago I bought a Corolla of an old guy for $900. It cost me another $300 to get it roadworthy, and another 200 to put a nice stereo in (second-hand with new speakers). I owned it for 18 months, and never spent a cent on it except for petrol and oil. The Aircon worked, it had power steering etc, and was a fun little car to drive.

Oh, and third party only insurance cost me something like $300 a year. I ended up giving it away, and the guy I gave it too reckons it's still running mint.

The point to this ramble is - You can buy cheap bulletproof cars, that will help you save faster while you're on your P's, so you can step into a nicer car when it's legal. Just don't plan on picking up potential girlfriends in it.

Yeah. The 3rd party on the Barina was 550 anyway. Apparently!?

But think about it, you spent 1500 on the car + 300 on insurance, then you gave it away. So that's like 1800 you lost buying a cheap car. The loan I have is 5% over 1 year (Some mortgage thing with my parents) So I'm only paying what.. 350 on interest. Absolutely nothing practically

Plus there is the fact that obviously cheaper cars (In most circumstances) are more likely to have shit wrong and if you fuck the engine you've just lost 2-3k or whatever you've spent on it.

I really don't wanna come accross like a understand it all because I'm obviously aware that I don't. I've never bought a car before and you guys have owned plenty.. I just don't see the point of buying a cheaper car, which will essentially be a piece of crap. Either way I will lose out on money and there is the higher likely hood that shit will break on it?

 

[Breaka]

I wouldn't bother getting comprehensive insurance on a car worth $5500 if it was going to be $850 a year. Just get 3rd party, and drive passively.

I completely agree.

I've not bothered with comprehensive insurance for any of my cars. Reason being two of them are/were non-replacable if I were to wreck them and I can't warrant spending $500-$1000 p/a on insurance alone given that's a fair percentage of what their market value.

When I buy something decent and I get a little older I will no doubt have my vehicles comprehensively insured. JZX100 is on the horizon.

For those wanting to buy their 'first' car I'll share some advice that's been given many times before. Buy something shit, learn it's basic mechanics and learn how to drive it properly. This doesn't mean buying a deathbox, just something simple, realiable and doesn't drive itself.


Here's a pretty good video I stumbled across on another forum. Most of you will get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gCpXVT99As

 

[Ivan]

Yeah. The 3rd party on the Barina was 550 anyway. Apparently!?

But think about it, you spent 1500 on the car + 300 on insurance, then you gave it away. So that's like 1800 you lost buying a cheap car.

I gave it to a friend, for various reasons, but I could have easily have sold it for what I paid for it. That's no loss. When your buying a dirt cheap car (and even though I'm crapping on about this, this may not be the best option for you) your buying something that's already done all it's depreciating.

The two biggest costs in buying a newer car are depreciation and interest on the loan. If your parents are happy to put it on their home loan, then that's awesome. But I ,like you, have looked at vehicles in the past and thought that they hadn't depreciated much in the year I had been looking at them, but then when it came time to sell I was never able to get my money back. Perhaps you will have better luck than I have had?

I drew up a car cost calculator in excel that covered a five year period and included things like insurance, depreciation, running/servicing costs, fuel consumption and interests paid on loans that was a huge help to me when I was looking at different cars. Maybe it's something you could look into. You would not believe how much more my second-hand XR6 turbo ute was costing compared to a brand new small car or even a little shit box.

I don't normally post in this thread, but I'm personally familiar the logic your using. And, I may be looking for a second car in the price range your looking in the near future.

 

[VW NUT]

Just thought id post this here too...

 

[NCR600]

This is my current bike.

It's a Kawasaki GT750 1985 model. I got it for $200 from my neighbour and am planning on painting it Kawasaki green and getting the leather re-done on the seat then selling it off, will post more pics up as it progresses.

Those things are awesome. Kawasaki did heaps of market resarch into the type of motorcycle that people would actually use with all the features they would like (comfortable, low maintenance, can carry a bit of luggage for work or a weekend away etc) and came up with the GT750. They thought it would sell buckets.

Unfortunately the people prefered GPz's, 1100 Katanas and CB1100R's and they couldn't give the bloody things away. There's a big difference between the bikes people need and the bikes people want, and faced with a choice, they'll always pay with the heart not the head.

 

[Venciferus]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!


What kinda cars do we see here, is it more VW's mostly or Euro's? Maybe I'll put my Sprinter in.



>To VW NUT

 

[donthucktoflat]

Lol there is like no depreciation on those cars. I know cos I was looking when I first got my license a year and a half ago. Insurance is like 1k plus i need a car to get to work etc. plus i cant borrow my parents car forever. I don't plan on moddin it I just want a tidy fun car to drive. Granted it's pretty slow but it'll be good to get used to an awd before i get some fuck off rediculous evo

i just got rid of my old gx liberty after having a reasonable quick RS liberty. underpowered awd is for the lose. not fun at all and a waste of time as far as im concerned. not even enough power to get you out of trouble (in the wet sometimes power is the answer). forget "getting used to" (underpowered) awd. it is like getting used to a lazy boy. doesn't take any skill or effort

step 1: buy old rolla with blown headgasket off someone who doesn't know shit
step 2: fix head gasket (<100 from autobarns)
step 3: bombproof and you have a car for <$500 that you don't care if it gets driven into etc.

alternative is buy something (anything) <1000 for your first car. spending any more a) makes you look like a wanker and b) is a waste because it will get scratched/driven into/drive into stuff etetc etc

 

[VW NUT]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!


What kinda cars do we see here, is it more VW's mostly or Euro's? Maybe I'll put my Sprinter in.



>To VW NUT

Yeah mate will be all Euro's... Not sure about that Jap sprinter getting any where near our Euro's. It will probably clutch kick and start munjii every where.... LOL

 

[Fixie God]

blah blah blah

OK. I am talking from a recent and current experience here. Hopefully this will help you understand what you and everyone is talking about.

Me and my Dad went halves in an $8000 VS Commo Ute III. We test drove it, had it checked out by a mate who is a mechanic and we generally know our stuff. Driving it from Wagga to Canberra after purchase, the clutch starts slipping and the gearbox is clearly shat. We soon find out the reverse switch on the box is shot, the bendix drive in the starter motor is f**cked and the rear suspension bushes are buggared. The brake pads are on the way out and the previous owner didnt do any maintence for a very long time by the looks. After some general maintence and some help from Tony we are $1200 worse off.

We did our research and did all the right things when we were looking and also thought buying an expensive car would be less an issue than a cheap one. We were wrong and while we didnt pay full price for the repairs its definetly hurt my pocket. Expensive first cars and second hand cars in general always have problems. Buy a cheapy and your wallet ends up better off.

Trust me.

 

[superfamtasich]

Yeah. The 3rd party on the Barina was 550 anyway.

But you really just want a phully sik rex to impress all the fat chicks in maccas carparks right?