Skyline R34 GT-R Vs Nissan R35 GT-R
Discussion
Hello all, I am confused and need some info/advice/recommendations please.
I used to have an R33 Skyline GTS and have always loved the Skylines since I first saw them in Fast & the Furious way back when. My dream car was always an R34 GT-R in Bayside Blue like the one Paul Walker had. I hadn't looked at the price of Skylines for ages just due to having other cars and not being in a position to even think about a car that expensive.
Recently a friend of mine told me an early model R35 GT-R can be had for about £35k, I didnt believe him but checked it out and blimey, many 2009 models for around £35k. I then excitedly looked up R34 GT-R prices to see what they had dropped to...
£29k for a higher mileage undesirable colour, £35-44k for a lower mileage Blue. How is this possible? Can someone explain? An R33 GT-R is about 10k...
My dilemma is this, I might soon be in a position to buy said car, but how can I possibly justify spending £38k odd on a 1998 GT-R when I'll know I can get a 2009 GT-R that is technically on paper miles better all round?
I used to have an R33 Skyline GTS and have always loved the Skylines since I first saw them in Fast & the Furious way back when. My dream car was always an R34 GT-R in Bayside Blue like the one Paul Walker had. I hadn't looked at the price of Skylines for ages just due to having other cars and not being in a position to even think about a car that expensive.
Recently a friend of mine told me an early model R35 GT-R can be had for about £35k, I didnt believe him but checked it out and blimey, many 2009 models for around £35k. I then excitedly looked up R34 GT-R prices to see what they had dropped to...
£29k for a higher mileage undesirable colour, £35-44k for a lower mileage Blue. How is this possible? Can someone explain? An R33 GT-R is about 10k...
My dilemma is this, I might soon be in a position to buy said car, but how can I possibly justify spending £38k odd on a 1998 GT-R when I'll know I can get a 2009 GT-R that is technically on paper miles better all round?
There's a lot more R35 GTRs around than R34 Skyline GTRs and due to the limited numbers the R34 is now seen as a bit if a 'classic'. Early GTRs are holding their prices very well now and are actually creeping back up. I sold my 09 GTR just over 12 months ago for £36k and it has just been sold on for £37k!
The GTR is hands down a far better car than the Skyline,so as others have said,unless you are looking for a long term future investment or have a soft spot for the R34,there's no comparing them.
The GTR is hands down a far better car than the Skyline,so as others have said,unless you are looking for a long term future investment or have a soft spot for the R34,there's no comparing them.
All of the replies have described in some way my dilemma. Do I go for the car I loved as a childling/young adult or go for the car that is technically better on paper and a lot newer for the same money?
It's kind of like, why on earth would anyone spend 70k on a mint E-Type Jag, when they could clearly get a new F-Type that is the same money but technically better in every regard. Do I go with the head or the heart?! It's a hell of a lot of money to me, I'm not rich by any stretch.
It's kind of like, why on earth would anyone spend 70k on a mint E-Type Jag, when they could clearly get a new F-Type that is the same money but technically better in every regard. Do I go with the head or the heart?! It's a hell of a lot of money to me, I'm not rich by any stretch.
I'd go R34 as well. You'll likely have more fun if you do drive it and you'll make money on it (if you stick it in dry-storage and just look at it every now and again) if you don't.
Personal preference though, try test-driving both. A friend of mine has a slightly modified R35 and although he's near-constantly moaning that it's too fast for public road use and he's going to sell it, he's had that car for years now. Get him talking about it in the pub and he soon starts smiling.
Personal preference though, try test-driving both. A friend of mine has a slightly modified R35 and although he's near-constantly moaning that it's too fast for public road use and he's going to sell it, he's had that car for years now. Get him talking about it in the pub and he soon starts smiling.
Firstly it has nothing to do with Paul Walker and the Fast and Bi-curious films.
It's simple numbers.
R34 is rare and hard to find good examples, the r35 is mass produced and in plentiful supply on the second hand market.
The price increase can be seen across all the Skyline GTRs, not just the R34- good R32s will cost 12k+.
As for what one to go for, that's simple.
Do you covet the latest super car slayer to wear a GTR badge, clearly the better car on paper, and something to impress others with in the pub.
Or
Do you covet an icon like the R34 and the feeling it gives you when you drive it.
That's up to you. I chose the 34.
It's simple numbers.
R34 is rare and hard to find good examples, the r35 is mass produced and in plentiful supply on the second hand market.
The price increase can be seen across all the Skyline GTRs, not just the R34- good R32s will cost 12k+.
As for what one to go for, that's simple.
Do you covet the latest super car slayer to wear a GTR badge, clearly the better car on paper, and something to impress others with in the pub.
Or
Do you covet an icon like the R34 and the feeling it gives you when you drive it.
That's up to you. I chose the 34.
My gut feeling is the R34 will be a better "investment" in terms of 1) the rawness of the driving appeal, 2) unlikely to lose much of your capital outlay, and 3) cheaper to run regarding servicing and maintenance.
I now drives a manual 996 Turbo, not because it is a competent car, but because it is raw and quite difficult to drive well. I probably won't get another 911 Turbo since you can no longer get a manual - they are all autos from now on.
Lastly, no matter how good the double-clutch gearboxes are nowadays, there will always be a deep-seated suspicion that their reliability will never be as good as and their costs of servicing / repair be as low as a good old fashion manual over (say) 10 years / 100k miles if you bought the car second-hand. (The fact that Walter Rohrl also agreeed when he bought his last Porsche)
I now drives a manual 996 Turbo, not because it is a competent car, but because it is raw and quite difficult to drive well. I probably won't get another 911 Turbo since you can no longer get a manual - they are all autos from now on.
Lastly, no matter how good the double-clutch gearboxes are nowadays, there will always be a deep-seated suspicion that their reliability will never be as good as and their costs of servicing / repair be as low as a good old fashion manual over (say) 10 years / 100k miles if you bought the car second-hand. (The fact that Walter Rohrl also agreeed when he bought his last Porsche)
Do you prefer paying £2k for a set of tyres or £400 lol?!
The R34 will hold its value better no doubt, for starters it isn't a specialist car to work on so maintenance will cost a lot less. The R35 will rapidly become a far dearer car to maintain I suspect, especially when they start to become a little long in the tooth.
With regards the driving experience, the R35 is a fast car and you'd need to have a well tuned 550-700bhp R34 to compete with the performance of the R35, especially with its fast shifting box. That said, the R35 is not as involving to drive as the R34 which is a lot more visceral and the R34 ironically has far more useable rear seats, the r35's are pretty tokenistic if that's a factor. Add to that the R34 is a far rarer beast.
I could never justify the running costs of the 35 GTR, the sheer cost of brakes and tyres would annoy me far too much! Perhaps this has come down now from when I was considering one. I also think they are way over valued in the current market, they should be into the late 20's by now for a 2008/9. I nearly bought a 2010MY in 2011 for 42k with 5k miles. 4 years on and with a lot more mileage and no warranty they are asking similar if not more money. I think I'd rather have a Bentley GT if I were spending that!
The R34 will hold its value better no doubt, for starters it isn't a specialist car to work on so maintenance will cost a lot less. The R35 will rapidly become a far dearer car to maintain I suspect, especially when they start to become a little long in the tooth.
With regards the driving experience, the R35 is a fast car and you'd need to have a well tuned 550-700bhp R34 to compete with the performance of the R35, especially with its fast shifting box. That said, the R35 is not as involving to drive as the R34 which is a lot more visceral and the R34 ironically has far more useable rear seats, the r35's are pretty tokenistic if that's a factor. Add to that the R34 is a far rarer beast.
I could never justify the running costs of the 35 GTR, the sheer cost of brakes and tyres would annoy me far too much! Perhaps this has come down now from when I was considering one. I also think they are way over valued in the current market, they should be into the late 20's by now for a 2008/9. I nearly bought a 2010MY in 2011 for 42k with 5k miles. 4 years on and with a lot more mileage and no warranty they are asking similar if not more money. I think I'd rather have a Bentley GT if I were spending that!
NITO said:
Do you prefer paying £2k for a set of tyres or £400 lol?!
You can pickup MPSS for £900 or Dunlop/Bridgestone Runflats for around £1000 now, much cheaper than when the cars first appeared. Same goes for most things, servicing is much cheaper and better using a specialist rather than the Nissan numptys. Brakes can be had for £750 discs. £250 pads (per axle).I have an R35 and love it.
A few things to consider, the way to describe an R35 is its a bit bi-polar and more of a real, what I'd call, all rounder.
If you want to you can slap it in cruise control and trundle along for miles if you want and it will sit there quite happily (we drove down to the south of france in it for 7 hours and were perfectly comfortable). Is it a waft mobile like a bentley, no, but its pretty comfortable and does the job pretty well.
If you want something that is fast, fun (IMHO), can go round corners on rails or sideways if you wish, then it can also do that. Is it a race thoroughbred like a GT3 Porsche, no its not, but it'll keep up with one quite happily.
If you want something which draws attention, then yes it does in its own way, is it a sculpted Fezza, Aston or a Lambo, god no, but it has its own following and there are many who will walk over to talk to you about it at the petrol station.
Is it the cheapest thing to run, nope and I'd imagine its a hell of alot cheaper to run an R34. But again its not as bad as everyone makes out (take a look here - http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/Content/GTR%20S... Its certainly not ford focus territory but its certainly not super car costs to run either.
So, is it the best cruiser, no, but its good enough you won't be crawling out the drivers door looking for an ice pack for your arse, is it the best drivers car, no, but its good at making some of the best look a little silly, is it the best looking, no but it certainly gets the attention, is it the cheapest to run, no but for a 500BHP car its pretty good.
As I said IMHO, I think its a great allrounder.
A few things to consider, the way to describe an R35 is its a bit bi-polar and more of a real, what I'd call, all rounder.
If you want to you can slap it in cruise control and trundle along for miles if you want and it will sit there quite happily (we drove down to the south of france in it for 7 hours and were perfectly comfortable). Is it a waft mobile like a bentley, no, but its pretty comfortable and does the job pretty well.
If you want something that is fast, fun (IMHO), can go round corners on rails or sideways if you wish, then it can also do that. Is it a race thoroughbred like a GT3 Porsche, no its not, but it'll keep up with one quite happily.
If you want something which draws attention, then yes it does in its own way, is it a sculpted Fezza, Aston or a Lambo, god no, but it has its own following and there are many who will walk over to talk to you about it at the petrol station.
Is it the cheapest thing to run, nope and I'd imagine its a hell of alot cheaper to run an R34. But again its not as bad as everyone makes out (take a look here - http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/Content/GTR%20S... Its certainly not ford focus territory but its certainly not super car costs to run either.
So, is it the best cruiser, no, but its good enough you won't be crawling out the drivers door looking for an ice pack for your arse, is it the best drivers car, no, but its good at making some of the best look a little silly, is it the best looking, no but it certainly gets the attention, is it the cheapest to run, no but for a 500BHP car its pretty good.
As I said IMHO, I think its a great allrounder.
I'm still into my first few weeks of R35 ownership and can't believe the amount of (positive) attention it gets. So many people taking photos, winding down the windows etc
Coming from M3's the performance is on another level completely and I can't imagine driving something this fast with a manual box. The gearbox suits it perfectly.
Coming from M3's the performance is on another level completely and I can't imagine driving something this fast with a manual box. The gearbox suits it perfectly.
R34 has way more room in the back if that's in any way a consideration. Can't get any adults in the back of an 'R35'.
R34's RB26 engine also revs much higher and sounds way better with a pipe on it.
No denying the R35 motor's potency, they feel factory tuned, but the RB26 is a more exotic engine, an all-time classic.
You could get an R34 that could keep up with a stock R35 in a straight line for £40k but not in the corners!
R34's RB26 engine also revs much higher and sounds way better with a pipe on it.
No denying the R35 motor's potency, they feel factory tuned, but the RB26 is a more exotic engine, an all-time classic.
You could get an R34 that could keep up with a stock R35 in a straight line for £40k but not in the corners!
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