reliability?

[njshofear]

I recently was rearended in my 2003 Nissan Spec-v. Im looking for a "new" car. i was thinking since i can get a 86-87 Flying brick for about 9Grand. The thing is i need a relatively reliable car...how reliable is a nash? im gonna need to be driving a decent amount every day and i was wondering how these cars last. also how bad is the insurance payments on the car? im 19 with a perfect record...
thanks for you help

 

[b231v6]

When they were new they were fairly reliable. 100,000 mile gn is still fairly reliable. But, they are'nt like an Accord or Camry. The've be driven hard most likely. Check over the car very good. Is their a person you know who knows gn's? If I were to get into this hobby now with little knowledge I'd get a car with a straight body.I.E no rust.Few if any mods unless the person will help you out down the road.

I pay normal car insurance,not like a mustang or camaro.But I'm not 19 either.

good luck

 

[njshofear]

i know my way around a car and a GN...ivebeen working on cars since iwas 12...i have modded a 1989 SHO and am restoring a 1968 stang. the nissan was bought as a daily driver but was rearended 3 months (3200mi) after i purchased it. ive always loved the GN and my three top used car choices are:
1) 1996 Impala ss
2) 1986-1987 GN (dont want a hot air GN)
3) 1995+ BMW M3
i may just end up getting a new car but wanted ur guys opinions on this car as a daily driver.

 

[nickb]

If you know so much about cars why are you worried about how reliable these "Flying Bricks" are? Any car if in good condition wont leave you stranded. Any "fast" car after a certain point becomes unreliable. Just think of what you want and what your needs are.

I like 96 impalas, but they are still i little pricing with decent mileage.

95 and up M3's are cool, but thats when the M standed for "Marketing," they are reliable though. My brother has a 89 M3 that is unreal, and a true factory race car, but no where near reliable.


Lates, Nick

 

[CanVan87GN]

To answer your question

Mine is a daily driver and I have had very little troubles. I just fixed and updated stuff. I do not race my car as much as most people on the borad does though. Get a TR and don't look back

Shaun

 

[turbo buicks]

njshofear, are you on SHOFORUM.COM? i think i remember seeing you there when i had my SHO. anyways, i daily drive my GN everywhere. its my only car. i have driven it to and from school daily, to work almost daily, on a couple long trips (100+ miles), etc. so far only 4 things have gone wrong. 1) the tranny which is all the previous owners fault. he had SCAAMCO rebuild it and it never worked right until i had a shop who knew what the he!! they were doing around a BRF 200-4R GN tranny rebuild it and now it runs great. 2) the oil pan gasket (i first thought this was a rear main seal leak but later found it to be the pan gasket when the pan was pulled. changed the rear main anyways while i was there) 3) the wheel bearing blew and had to be fixed. after watching the mechanic do it i was like "wow thats easy enough to do at my friends house so next time im doing it at his house" and 4) the front main seal was bad and i replaced that along w/the timing ching since it had an unknown amount of miles on it and its right there with front main. my GN has been pretty reliable when i think about it (after all its 15 years old and after that amount of time, gaskets and seals will start to wear and may need replacing). its got almost 120K miles but doesnt burn oil or smoke any. im happy with it. i got it for $5000 so i expected it to be a little "rough" and to need some work to get it back to good running condition. i would say go for it. just make sure of who you buy it from and the cars previous maintenance and if you can, have a GN friend who knows these cars go with you to look at one. if not, go to www.gnttype.org and read up on the maintenance and buyers guide sections before you decide to buy.if you decide not to mod (which i doubt you will) just get a boost guage, fuel pump+hotwire kit, and a scanmaster and you should be good to go. i also like the impalas but you gotta mod the crap outta them to get them fast b/c they are HEAVY, and the M3, i would assume, would kill you on insurance worse than a GN or SS and would probably still need a lot of mods to run w/a modded GN (although a stock one could most likely take on a GN w/all the suspension mods in an autocross or road course, IMO) i think with my cars current combo listed in my sig (and the other little parts i dont have listed) i could hit a low/mid 12 on alky or racegas and a good launch/hook. just my $.02

 

[mikem]

if you buy a 86 t-type the insurance will by cheaper. but 86 turbo t's and and gns are more expensive. for the 86 t-type my insurance company doesn't know that it is a turbo. i pay the same price as my 84 grand prix slow a$$ 305.

 

[scottyb]

The main thing I like is the ease of repair. If you are handy with tools and can research sites like this one, then a GN/T-type is easy to care for. Of course, when you start modding and racing, then any car will require more maintanance and is more likely to break from abuse. The good thing is, they can take a lot of abuse. I recommend buying a stock t-type for price, reliability, insurance, and likelihood of theft.

I bought mine last year and drive it every day. It had 156,000 miles on it, was completely stock, and original engine and tranny as far as I know. It now has 168,000 miles and has not had a failure that made it inoperable. The biggest required fix I have had is the heater core. All others were for upgrades or general maintenance. (I hope I didn't just doom myself).