New member. EXTREMELY keen for an FTO ASAP.

[Bennoz]

just wait, the perfect one for you will come around.

http://ftoaustralia.com/v3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=25336

there ya go.

Yeah ive been looking at that one intently actually.
What do you think about it?
Got much experience in the mechanical aspect of an FTO?

I haven't been around since harry joined but if you've had a car for that long and selling it for a genuine reason, I don't see a problem with it. Also being in the club this long, he "should" have a bit of a knowledge about the beast. f**k, if you searched his name it would come up with any problems he's had with the car. Apart from that, just take it and him to a mechanic, pay your ~$100 and get it checked out.

Sorry but whose Harry? Lol.
Well im just gonna keep looking around I suppose, if i can find one on this forum then great. If not, no biggie.
I think im gonna have no option but to take it to a mechanic as most of my friends are around my age & i really wouldnt take their word on any mechanical aspect of a car lol.
As for my parents they wouldnt have they first clue about mechanics either, if they did then i wouldnt be in this dilemma haha.
Well mate if you could keep an eye out for me that'll be really appreciated. & I dont mean actively going out and searching lol, thats pretty rediculous. Just if something comes across you, it wouldnt hurt to gimmie a yell
Anyways man, I really appreciate all the advice & help. Cheers

If you read the for sale thread, you'd see that Harry is the seller.

Ex club cars are some of the best, they've had our input & advice to fix any problems with them.

[Taz]

Definitely keep looking, thats a lemon waiting to happen (if not already)

For a start, its a red p plater - guaranteed to be raped. second he is bullshitting about prices with what was paid, i mean come on nearly 900 to replace an alternator? was it made of solid gold? put in by god himself? and the 1400 seems dodgy too, far more than id expect for the items listed.
He says stock standard but has modified the intake, put a big cat back with a cannon on, and has chrome wheels. Not to mention a cracked stereo surround (and in my opinion a crappy 'custom' interior which is comprised of a few home paint jobs)

The tacho is not working, and it has roof rust, so expect another few thousand to cut that out and has tinted windows (might be illegally tinted)
Oh and its auto...i mean come on icing on cake here..

[Bennoz]

Definitely keep looking, thats a lemon waiting to happen (if not already)

For a start, its a red p plater - guaranteed to be raped. second he is bullshitting about prices with what was paid, i mean come on nearly 900 to replace an alternator? was it made of solid gold? put in by god himself? and the 1400 seems dodgy too, far more than id expect for the items listed.
He says stock standard but has modified the intake, put a big cat back with a cannon on, and has chrome wheels. Not to mention a cracked stereo surround (and in my opinion a crappy 'custom' interior which is comprised of a few home paint jobs)

The tacho is not working, and it has roof rust, so expect another few thousand to cut that out and has tinted windows (might be illegally tinted)
Oh and its auto...i mean come on icing on cake here..

Whats wrong with you?

[Taz]

Ex club cars are some of the best, they've had our input & advice to fix any problems with them.

Well...excluding sarp's car...kinda rushed into that one (however for the record there is a lot of goodies in the car that do slightly make up for the other stuff like genuine strut braces, perfect stereo surround etc)

But yea, club or not, nomatter where or what condition it seems, ALWAYS get it up on a hoist and inspected properly before buying, a lot of hidden nasty costs can be told from a proper inspection.

I do remember reading an excellent buyers guide on here that was very descriptive and had good points, so search that out 'what to look for when buying an fto' i think the thread was

Good luck

[iPilot]

Whats wrong with you?

Why do you say that Ben?

[Astron_Boy]

Whats wrong with you?

Why do you say that Ben?

no, that comment was aimed at Taz, not you. And I tend to agree with Bennoz.

If you are willing to spend a bit on Harrys car to get it going, then it WILL be a good purchase.

The alternative is to find one that doesn't have as many quivels, but there will always be Something to replace or fix, fact of the car in general.

the autos can be just as good for the average driver.
On the track it;s a bit different, took me a while to get used to the timing of the gears and knowing when/ if the gbox would let me slip 2 gears down etc.
But overall the tips are really quite good if you can't be bothered with an extra pedal.
Personally I would go manual, but I prefer a bit more car control myself.

[iPilot]

Yes i understand that that comment was aimed at Taz, but I would like Bens opinion for why he said that.
Taz wasnt correct in what he was saying? (as i'd have no clue and would take his word for it )

Well theres no way i'd be putting it on the track, its only going to be for recreational use, going for a cruise with mates, getting to and from work etc etc.
It would probably need to be auto/tiptronic because it's probably going to be shared with my mother as she has no clue on how to drive manual. (although it's not going to stop me from lookin at manual ones and maybe even end up purchasing one )

I've found another FTO that might be alright, how about this one guys?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/_W0QQcmdZViewIte ... 962wt_1396

(btw its just a coincidence im finding them on ebay haha)

[phi-tec]

white one looks good (from pics, looks unmolested) but its a GR, not a gpx

try get 97+,
GPvR/GPX

[iPilot]

Lol yea. On the outside.
Thats also the problem, I want a GPX!

[Astron_Boy]

That white was one was an ex-newbies.
He signed up, posted once or twice then disappeared.

BTW, that car's a manual...

(in my opinion only, not Bens) The comments made by Taz were out of line, not going to hijack (edit: seems I did), but he doesn't know the alternator change didn't cost him $900 as perhaps that was a grand total of things that needed to be done with changing it, plus the FTO alternator, unless experienced are a prick to remove.
Red P plater mean nothing, I was a red P plater once and guess what, I still own my first car which is in one perfect piece...

The tacho not working is 1 of 2 things, there are 2 current threads about it even.
The roof rust is a common issue unless you buy a facelift model, or buy one that has had the rust removed, it will come up regardless.
interior paint job can be fixed in 2 sec,
the stereo surrounds break all the time, dstocks can get replacements easily, though they do cost.
canon is a muffler which can be removed for $50 with replacement

For every argument, there is a counter.

If the cars engine mechanicals check out, then the car is solid, period.

I'm not saying buy this car, I'm saying don't take one persons word based on zero supported fact.

The forums is here to search, it has a mamoth amount of information.

Get to reading all the stickies, the buyers guide, and the help section, it will give you all the answers you need.

Even look at the diy guides for simple fixes on some of the common problems, you could even do some of them if you find a car with that particular fault.
Sometimes it's a $10 fix but it seems so much worse.

[iPilot]

That white was one was an ex-newbies.
He signed up, posted once or twice then disappeared.

BTW, that car's a manual...

(in my opinion only, not Bens) The comments made by Taz were out of line, not going to hijack (edit: seems I did), but he doesn't know the alternator change didn't cost him $900 as perhaps that was a grand total of things that needed to be done with changing it, plus the FTO alternator, unless experienced are a prick to remove.
Red P plater mean nothing, I was a red P plater once and guess what, I still own my first car which is in one perfect piece...

The tacho not working is 1 of 2 things, there are 2 current threads about it even.
The roof rust is a common issue unless you buy a facelift model, or buy one that has had the rust removed, it will come up regardless.
interior paint job can be fixed in 2 sec,
the stereo surrounds break all the time, dstocks can get replacements easily, though they do cost.
canon is a muffler which can be removed for $50 with replacement

For every argument, there is a counter.

If the cars engine mechanicals check out, then the car is solid, period.

I'm not saying buy this car, I'm saying don't take one persons word based on zero supported fact.

The forums is here to search, it has a mamoth amount of information.

Get to reading all the stickies, the buyers guide, and the help section, it will give you all the answers you need.

Even look at the diy guides for simple fixes on some of the common problems, you could even do some of them if you find a car with that particular fault.
Sometimes it's a $10 fix but it seems so much worse.

Yeah im quite aware that the cars manual. I might end up getting a manual one just to spite my mother as she's been pretty unsupportive of my efforts in searching for a car.
Well im glad to know it's an ex-members car hopefully it should be in good nick.

In regards to the black one with the chrome rims and rust on the roof i'd probably need to take it to a mechanic to check it out but the only problem there is the car has no bloody rego so i cant even take it outta the guys backyard haha!!

Well no matter how much i search in the buyers guides or DIY section a lot of you FTO enthusiasts are talking about particular parts that need to be replaced or whatnot and i wouldnt even understand half the jargon thats being used so it would probably do me no good aye?
I mean it cant hurt to have a look and the more I look the more i'd learn I suppose & thats the whole point of it right?

Im really looking forward to seeing some of u guys in person when I eventually get my car and go for these FTO cruises. Its gonna be off the chain and this forum is the bombb! Cheers guys!

[EscapingFate]

@Astron... you spelt mammoth wrong... lmao

I completely agree with Astron here. I didnt thrash my FTO when i had it... i gave it some on straights but i never thrashed it.. Ive had 5 cars in 3 years and its because i get bored with them but for the most part i dont thrash them... my skyline... i admit ive been doing some drifting as of late... but till now i have never thrashed a car. So you cant just go ahead and assume because a p plater owned it they have thrashed it... If you take a look at A LOT of full license people... they thrash turbo skylines, fpv's, 180sx... and the list goes on. SO moral of my story... dont just assume cause it makes and ass of you and me.


As for buying the cars get them checked out... doesnt matter who you buy it off sorry to say but even if i was to buy FOR EXAMPLE bennoz's car off him... id still get it inspected.. as much as i trust him ... there might be something he may have missed and didnt know about yet. So for that reason alone you should get any car you are interested in inspected by a third party such as MTA i got my FTO inspected by them and they gave me an 8 page full report with pictures about the car and it was VERY useful and they criticize EVERY detail about the car. I spent about $180 on the inspection and i must say it was the best $180 ive spent it gave me piece of mind when buying the car, as i knew everything that was wrong with it and i knew what i was getting myself into.

Good luck with finding a fto =] they are an amazing car.

[Sahin]

I'm a p plater and I have never gone over 110 in my FTO and never redlined it. so the theory that all p platers thrash their car is retarded.

[Taz]

He wanted to know opinions, i gave mine - case closed

[Taz]

What do you guys think about this?
ALL OPINIONS WANTED!!

[dr390]

Go out and actually check out car dealers man on parra road.
As good as a members car would be the chances of that is slim you know,
I bought mine from a dealer.
Bring a trusted mechanic if you do find one to double check everything but be patient,
Good things happen to those who wait because

[rock_it]

Any second hand car has the chances of mechanical failure.. Be it a dealer car, or an ex members car..

These cars are getting a bit long in the tooth...

Good luck with the hunt though..

[iPilot]

Go out and actually check out car dealers man on parra road.
As good as a members car would be the chances of that is slim you know,
I bought mine from a dealer.
Bring a trusted mechanic if you do find one to double check everything but be patient,
Good things happen to those who wait because

Yeah i think ive got no choice really. Im gonna go see one on wednesday on parra rd in five dock. Its going for $3999 but it seems too good to be true, there has to or had to have something wrong with it.
Ill probably also check out harry's car and see how we go from there.

[dr390]

Look on parra road trust me when i was looking for a new car i came across a few fto's or car sales

[phi-tec]

I'm a p plater and I have never gone over 110 in my FTO and never redlined it. so the theory that all p platers thrash their car is retarded.

LOL?!