How come they are so cheap ? Whats wrong with them ?

Been looking at a few of these beasties in the trader and they seem pretty good cars. Anyone owned one that can give me a run down on the pros & cons of owning a 200sx ?

Had a flick through the 200sx owners club bbs which gave a few ood pointers.

Thanks :)

The ones I have seen have been around 10-12 grand for a 3 year old one, not that much difference than scoob prices.

just not such a demand as other cars. Fancied one myself till I drove the scoob and decided.

bit of a bargain though may not such an accomplished car as others out there. But in no way a bad car!

Watch out - they handle like a capri in the what - they depreciate like Roy Keane's replica shirts but drive quite well - bit sofa like for my taste. People who have them often say "its a mini-skyline..."

they handle fine - you just need to remember it's a proper RWD car.

The back can step out but it's easy to catch. Decent tyre's are a must.

Nissan main dealers tend to use the wrong oil which causes problems!!!

Once moving it's quick but you need to learn how to drive a RWD car to make it really quick.

They are cheap because the early ones didn't exactly look great (facelift in 97). Nissan have never had good residuals in this country.

Buy an older one and your laughing. i think new shape ones are about 7-8k.

servicing is every 6k or 6 months which is a bit often for my liking.

Still, 30mpg and can run on NUL with no problems. Oh and you can tune the nads off them if that's your thing, I heard the clutch could handle well over 300bhp and the gearbox too!

I've got one and its great, buy one a few years old and most of the money has already dropped off them

As for performance mines slightly moded, zorst, filter and 15psi boost and the difference is unbelievable

Went to JAPS on Sunday with 2 other 200, 3 scoobs and a GT4.

Absolutly left the std uk turbo for dead..
The moded scoobs where the same all the way the 150 mph..

Just be careful in the wet on roundabouts....

A mate of mine got a mint T plate one for 8k a few months ago.

I've always liked the new(er) shape ones... esp in red! Didn't realise they were capable of 150 though! What's the 0-60 like?

Pretty cheap on Autotrader - just had a gander!

RWD - Fun!!!! :D :D

Mike

They are incredibly cheap :) Whats the deal with the Touring ?

Mmmmmm, seriously considering one of these :D

Touring = bodykit (skirts) + CD Changer + leather.

Had one as a company car (from BT!!!). Took it on a track day at Combe. Good old fashioned RWD fun. Lots of 2nd gear oomph.

If you can find a '99/5 car, you should be able to get pale beige leather which lifts it no end. Mine was dark green/beige. Not bad. We called it "Pimp Car". When the Scoob came, the missus named it "Pimp Car 2".

Cheers

Lee.

Had one for 18 months and about 42k miles - great car.

Tyres last no time (got 13k from rears on mine, but then I drive like a poof and was doing mostly motorway - no corners!) Met another guy with one who said he got around 7k from his.

Think 0-60 was stated as 7.5, but more than one mag got around 6.5.

Watch the dealers! Had to tell mine when the services were due (6k, not 12k like all other nissans).

I have to say I thought it was better that no-one knew what it was - could give a few of them a surprise that way.

Neil.

0-100 is mid 16's :)

2nd is good for 75 mph, nice.

197 bhp, no driver aids at all and think it has about 220lbs from 3k.

I loved it...... hell I'm getting another.

oh and 12k gets the new shape...

250bhp 6 speed.

For the reason they're cheap compared to the Scoob, just look at all the publicity Scoobs have received since launch, Performance is similar in 70% of conditions (IMHO) but as a mag once said the Scoob will make a cr4p driver look good, whereas a 200 will direct a cr4p driver towards the nearest hedge!

Also a fair bit less practical, there's probably a joke about 'small bags in the back of a 200' you can use your imagination!:D

Service intervals are the same as Scoobs (untill recently) arn't they?

One good thing about the low profile of the 200 is that if you can find a Scoob to park next to you won't have to worry about it being nicked, The scrotes will always go for the Scoob first.

Only problem is what to go for next that has RWD and more poke, Cerbera anyone??

I had a 200 about 2 years ago and I reckon they out handle a scoob, sorry guys!, I own a v5 sti type r now and I reckon the nissan was quicker round bends. But the subaru is quicker everywhere else!

I had one as well and loved it. Seriously underrated much better motorway car than the scoob.

Just a tip if you are tall get a car without a sunroof (alot of tourings have them) as the head room is much better.

My other tip is give it more respect than the scoob as its rwd antics will catch you out one day. Mine did at about 70 mph and I only just managed not to mess up in a very big way. I recall from previous threads that a few others have written off 200s in this way.

IMHO Great cars, massively underrated, and superb value for money. I owned one for about a year, and look back on it with greater affection than I do my old MY99 scoob. They're great long distance cruisers, good fun to drive - will pretty much oversteer on demand in a very progressive easily catchable fashion, nice comfy cabin, no rattles and squeaks, reliable, low servicing bills etc.

Gary.

i had one brand new few yrs ago- after 6 months my wife span it in the wet and destroyed it and the landcruiser she hit!

bit tail happy!

T

*wipes tear from eye*

Yip, for the money some of these cars now go for (<500 quid for a 10 year old motor) they are HUGE fun and great project cars that dont cost a mint.

<they are HUGE fun and great project cars that dont cost a mint. >
THATS WHY i'm selling the cossie and getting a dark blue one on a N-M plate for about 4k.
astraboy.

where can you get the s15? i managed to find some info on it and it sounds a very good car, 6 speed over 200bhp and a nice looking front end (the one i saw on showatrade.com had some sort of factory kit on it.
Never seen one for sale and it looks like there is not a single one on the sxoc
The one on the auction site went for 12k before shipping and duty costs

by the way 4wd is for people that can't drive, Rwd is the proper drivers car

Hmmm 200sx...

Saw a lovely BRG one this morning - very tempting considering 2nd hand prices...

What's the BBS address again anyone !?!

crispy I got hold of a s15, drop me a mail if you want details.

http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/index.php

Y'know I could have sworn I posted about these cars before... mods have you been playing again?

Yeager... hahaha







[Edited by Mycroft - 4/10/2003 11:53:39 PM]

Good cars, and a bit of a bargain at the prices they are going for now. I had a 96 'P' a few years ago, before I got a scooby. Bought it for £17K and sold it 2 years later for £9k. Better build quality and nicer interior than the Impreza, not quite as fast, but still quick, and you have to be careful in the wet!

Pity that Nissan didn't bring the new shape one to the UK.
http://www.nissan.com.au/sx/images/g01m.jpg

cheers,
Andy

[Edited by andy_w - 4/11/2003 11:16:58 AM]