Help! Nissan Stagea? Yes or no?

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Carlos

Carlos

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Hi guys!

I've found, I think, a pretty clean Nissan Stagea RS4. It has the RB25dett engine and the GTR chassis (it's AWD). The car did 126.xxx km and is from 1996. The options are climate control, everything electric and a double sunroof. The gearbox is auto, wich I think is đź‘Ž , but on the other hand it would be the perfect daily.. It's recently imported, doesn't have Dutch license plates yet. Planning on buying this car but I'm a little scared..

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Oh and, it's the only one for sale here in The Netherlands.
 
If you don't have any experience owning a "performance" car and importing parts for one... scary.
 
Buying parts from overseas is not new to me, did alot for my Honda. I've driven powerful machines too, so that's not what scares me. What does is that this car is quite 'new' to me so need some help from people who really know this car..
 
Not familiar specifically with the RB25DET. All I know is that the bottom end is relatively durable, but any Nissan at over 126k kms will need evaluation...

Check that it idles right and that no weird electronic gremlins turn up after it's had time to heat soak a bit in traffic. And you will definitely need to pay attention to the condition of the turbo, the automatic transmission (most mid-90's japanese ATs suck like hell if the previous owner has skipped a fluid change or two) and the brakes.
 
Carlos
Buying parts from overseas is not new to me, did alot for my Honda. I've driven powerful machines too, so that's not what scares me. What does is that this car is quite 'new' to me so need some help from people who really know this car..
Click to expand...

With the RB25DET it's commonly referred to as a Skyline wagon, however it has the chassis from the C34 Laurel. Most of the engine choices are RB engines though and most of the tech is standard Skyline fare as well; optional HICAS 4WS and ATTESA AWD (not the GT-R ATTESA-ETS but still). Power is about 230hp; and being mostly Skyline running gear it's all pretty robust and it has similar aftermarket availability. The only real difference is that the Stagea was, I believe, exported in much lower volume than the Skyline was so it jacks the prices up a fair bit.

Australia got these as imports as well; tempted to buy one myself if it was so damn expensive to insure. Bit of a bugger the only one in the Netherlands is a series one, the later models got a manual option, tiptronic option and the R34 NEO RB25DET with about 40 more horsepower.
 
Don't know anything about the car, but what worries me is the price. Asking price of just under 4000 Euro for an imported car that looks to be in decent shape makes me a bit suspicious :scared:

You can always take your girl for a day out and visit the dealer while you're there. Ever been to Texel? I haven't :lol:
 
Yes I am worried about the price too, it's not stock so it could be trashed.. It's also a car not everybody is looking for, it is possible the price is that low becaus he can't sell it. If I'm planning to go look at it, it will be a whole day out becaus I live in Spijkenisse and that's a long drive..

Haha if I go to Texel I would stay a week and drink nothing but beer! Should get myself a girl first though......
 
It would be a unique car to own I'd say. Not much into Japanese imports, but I have never seen one here.

Without Dutch license plates, only enthousiasts or traders would buy the car I suppose. Did you already contact the seller? If he imported the car from the UK, the low price would make sense since cars are relatively cheap there.
Car looks stock enough to me though. An extra set of wheels and another exhaust doesn't sound worrying. Also the smoke out of the exhaust has the right colour haha.

The seller is a Citroen dealer, 40 year old family business. I'd give them a call and ask all the necessary questions before you decide to make the trip...
 
Oh really?! Haven't looked up his other adverts, thanks! Didn't knew that. I'm giving them a call tomorow, I'm at work now..

I have a Opel Vectra from 2001 with some nice options (cruise, climate etc) for daily now, maybe I can trade with a little extra money..

It sure is unique, haven't seen one before on the streets. I'm all pumped up now haha.. Imagin it on wide 18'' Volks <3 and a low stance!
 
Have them deliver the car with license plates (meaning it will have to be approved for public roads by the RDW) and a fresh APK. Seller appears legit, but if you don't trust it have a report made up by an expert (ANWB/DEKRA). Doesn't cost the world. :)
 
Personally, I think you would regret NOT buying the Nissan Stagea more than you would if you did buy it.

You'd always have that 'what if' in the back of your mind...the proverbial "one that got away." If you did buy it and decided a few months or a year later that the car is crap, you can sell it again and recoup some of your costs...maybe even make a small profit.

Take a chance. As the Great One one said, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." This car could turn out to be a real gem. At the very worst, you can find another buyer later on.
 
I would say yes to getting it, if you can promise not to wrap this one around a lamp post. :lol:
 
^ +1 for that, I've seen Skylines aplenty clocking over 300 thou kms and still running beautifully. Just so long as they haven't been thrashed of course.

Being a 1996 model it seems it's been driven far below average annually.
 
126k km in Asian traffic > 126k km on US or Aussie highways. And yes, there is always the possibility of previous owner hoonage. Can't hurt to be too safe.
 
That is one sweet looking ride, bro...... I'm not really helping, but seriously, that is a cool wagon. :lol:
 
Sorry, had no time to check becaus I had to work a bit more than usual.. =( This weekend I'm free to go, I'm considering other cars too but this car is just so interesting..

I'll update this weekend!

SRV2LOW4ME
I would say yes to getting it, if you can promise not to wrap this one around a lamp post. :lol:
Click to expand...
Hahahaha, I'm a few miles more experienced, so I hope not... xD
 
Looks like a nice ride. You'll be happy if you decide to buy!:) But make sure it's in good nick. Is there an EU or Dutch equivalent of Carfax? If there is, that's a very good place to start.

Out of curiosity, what other cars are you looking at?
 
You can have it checked independantly by the ANWB. Costs you a few hundred Euro's, but can save you thousands on a car like this.

Don't know if you can trace the history of the car since it's imported. The amount of paperwork that's included with the car should something about the condition of the car.
 
126,000kms is nothing for a RB25DET (one "T"), however many have had pod filters fitted which tend to dirt up the hot wire in MAF sensor causing a lean condition and knock (often ignored) when driven hard. Checking the pictures from what I can see it looks like it hasn't been played around with in that department so the engine should be like new.

The automatics used are not the hotest (while the Manual is VERY good), especially when driven hard often. The ATTESA isn't GT-R spec (or chassis) but it is still good.
We have a lot of Stageas here in Australia and they generally are great reliable cars, but remember you want to run the best fuel available in it, I'm not sure of fuel standards in the Netherlands but in Australia it can be a problem as these cars (RB25DET) were factory tuned with Japanese premium fuels.

As for parts, once again I am not sure about the Netherlands but here in Australia I buy most my parts directly from Nissan, they have much of them locally even though they never officially sold them here, if they don't have the part local they can fly it in, in a couple days (no extra charge).


*EDIT* Just noticed I should have checked the OP date :indiff:
 
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Just get someone with knowledge of cars to come with you to check on the car, enough people here on dutch forums with experience to help you. And ofcourse to help you to get it through RDW to put it on dutch plates. That said, car looks mint. Mpg/ benzine verbruik is a bit less nice as its a heavy car with quite a thirsty engine (dutch: 1 op 6/7 ongeveer). (i have experienced it with a friends stagea thats for sale as well right atm) But really, auto or not. This thing pulls!! And is a hoot to drive. DOUBLE SUNROOF ALL THE WAY.
 
Importing costs aside, I wouldn't do it if one of your primary needs is sports driving. The auto just won't do it.
 

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