Should I get an FTO again?...

[Timmy_fto_]

Hey guys,

I've been on this forum for a while, (not THAT active but o well...)
I had a white 1997 GR, but due to personal reasons, we had to sell it.

By the way, I JUST finished high school, AND got an ATAR- 97.85! and I'm very happy about it!

I'm thinking of getting an FTO again, so with my alright results, my parents decided to "help".
We found this FTO, 94 GPX, with 101,000 kms on it, and the price is GOOD!
So I've got some questions.

1. Should I get an FTO again? or should I move on.
I know this question is a little bit stupid, because I LOVE ftos, they are fun to drive, but I'm worried about maintenance costs, insurance (being 18 and still on my red Ps).
For insurance, I'm only getting third party, there's no way I could afford comprehensive.

2. Fuel costs.
Petrol prices keep going up and up. How much does it cost to fill up one tank? and how long will it last?
I'm going to use it as my daily anyways. From home to uni, and possibly to work. (Bellevue Hill to UTS, so it's not THAT far)

3. THE CAR IS OUT OF REGO!
So the rego JUST ran out. But I'm not buying a car without test driving it. So what are you guys' thoughts? should I risk my license and test drive it?
Because the seller does not want to put rego on it.
and if we DO test drive it, what should we "do"? Mivec, general stuff like air cons etc etc, but what else?

MANY THANKS
AND HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!

[Kustom]

I had 3 FTO's, They are a great car.

1) This is totally up to you, the forum can't really decide it for you. What we can suggest is trying other cars to see if you enjoy it as much as the FTO.

2) From memory the tank would cost around $70 to fill depending how low you go on it, that would get you about 400-500k's.

3) I would suggest finding one with rego and is in good conditions so you don't have any un-expected bills straight away - though that is just my opinion.

Goodluck & wish you a happy new year too.

[nikhan]

I would take the car to a mech to have it checked out. A car can tell plenty of stories by just hoisting it up and having a look at the bottom

Things to take note of most importantly is whether the car has done its major service. ie Timing belt, water pump, seals etc. If it hasnt then probably would set you back quite a bit in costs.

Secondly has the car been frequently serviced. You may need to get receipts to prove the fact it is regularly serviced or else there is no point getting it cheap when problems surfaces later.

Maintenence of an FTO can set you back quite a bit. Yes I agree it looks good but being an old car problems are sure to surface here and there. If you just have enough to buy the car and still worry about fuel and insurance cost I would advise you not to buy an FTO. Most likely sometime down the road you will need to change your alternator and stepper motor which ard that Kms you are getting would soon be on its way out.

Next, the car is 101,000kms and u claimed that it is good, which I interprete it as going quite cheap. Mind clarifying the price?? because for that mileage I would be looking at maybe 7-10 grand when sold privately. If its going for cheap might be a little sus and why didnt the seller want to put rego on it? Was there a big problem with which couldnt pass roadworthy? Or was there a problem with the car which is gonna cost an arm or leg to get it fixed? You need to ask yourself these questions before plunging into the purchase.

Well just my 2 cents worth

[Shane001]

First up it's difficult to comment without knowing what the 'good price' is.

If it is without rego you would want it to be at least $1500 less than would be if had good reg.

As for item 3, you're a moron if you 'risk your licence' to test drive it

If you're not confident on the condition pay for an onsite mechanics inspection (not sure if NRMA still do these).

[Timmy_fto_]

Thank you for the replies guys!
The negotiated price is 4,500. And it's yellow (car of the year model)
And I agree with some of you, that the car might have some problems (hence the cheap price)
hmmm! Thank you but

[Shane001]

So really when you factor in rego, green slip and the few inevitable things that it will need for a pink slip even if it was in perfect condition, the price to you on the road is $6K.

I'd also ask how long it has been out of reg, from memory you need more than just a pink slip to re register it if it's been out for a while (someone will confirm, or not lol)?

And yellow...

[Timmy_fto_]

it JUST ran out of rego (like 2 days ago or something)
so I don't know. I should just find one with rego on it. But it's yellow, that's why I'm considering to buy this haha.

[nikhan]

Dude if u really want to get it at least take the steps on getting the car checked by a mech first. No point liking the car and getting it if problems crop up later. U are gonna end up hating it.

[Technikhaus]

Yes you should get another FTO, which one though....

[phi-tec]

well with above you said its çar of the year model' double check if it is? pretty sure someone here saw or was selling one which happened to originally black? - e.g 'fake or something'

and i would urge to get it checked out by mechanic, i mean if your gonna spend anymore then 2g on a car its worth spending like 150 bucks to get it checked out before u buy personally i would never buy a car (unless its a p.o.s daily, without a rwc etc or confirmation of its condition). as to maintenance and fuel efficiency, i would say the car is pretty average when it comes to costs? not sure if everyone would agree on that, i mean its pretty decent on fuel considering its a v6, i only burn a lot if i pound it some. and servicing seems straight foward im yet to learn myself but my mates had a quick peep and sees that its pretty easy to get to.

fto do have those common problems main one i think is to avoid fto's with rust - big no no , big hole in wallet. then comes stepper motor nd other things - which most are easily fixed by the looks of it.

and as kustom said we cant tell you to buy or not, but if your wanting to buy we can always help you with advice. plus any parts required can be found here via dstocks hehehe

enjoy and happy new year

[silverGPX]

$4000 fto thats unregistered? Owner doesnt want to puy rego on it?

I wonder why.

Use your brain.

[Taz]

If only i had a penny for every time someone neglected to go to Dwayne first, and now it seems whenever someone starts a 'should i buy' thread
You would think that people would know its a waste of time asking an FTO club if they should buy an FTO....cause you know we're not going to be biased in any way

In any case, WTTC

[topao]

Don't get one. Save your money for something newer

[mosti]

Don't get one. Save your money for something newer

+1