View Full Version : When did you first fall in love with a 240?
Titan
01-26-2003, 07:47 AM
Today is the one year anniversary when I first took buying a 240 into heavy consideration. I remember it like it was yesterday.
It was Super Bowl Sunday, my friends and I were heading over to another friends house for the party. So we decided to stop by the local variety store for some snackables.
As we were pulling in I laid my eyes on a beautiful black s13 with a fresh wax job. I stared at it so long I forgot to buy snacks. That very night I logged on to autotrader and begun my search. :D
Several months later in October I stumbled upon a mint, single owned, red 89 s13 with only 105,000 miles.
I though I would be bored with her by now... but I end up loving her more everyday.
So, share your stories on the first encounter with your love.
96SEChick
01-26-2003, 10:43 AM
It was March, 2000. My bf and I were having a nice dinner and I had just been given my dad's '92 Olds 88. I didn't want it, but it was reliable. We were waiting for our food and I was talking about how I wanted to sell the car so badly and I looked outside and saw a red S14 and a red S13 parked next to each other outside the restaurant.
I told Chris "That's the car I want. I want either one." So I started looking on Autotrader--the S13's in my area were in bad shape and the S14's were way too expensive. So, I saved and saved $$$$ and kept looking.
In April '01, I had almost given up. I had moved to Tulsa in September '00 (there's a pretty good car market) and still couldn't find anything. 97-98's were selling for $18k and they were auto's. I drove a couple of auto's and it didn't excite me, but everything else about the car I started to love even more. I started test-driving Eclipses, V-6 Camaros and then one day.................I drove past a carlot and saw HER.
Beautiful, red, glowing '96 S14 SE w/ sunroof. I called on it and it was a 5-speed w/ 62976 miles. They said on the phone they wanted $10300 for it. I went in, test drove it and they said they'd only give me $1500 for the Olds. I was bummed. I couldn't afford that much of a note--I only wanted to pay $200/month--hadn't graduated college yet.
I went home and had a message on my machine from a guy who wanted to buy my car (I had it on Autotrader). He said he'd give me $3500 if I delivered it to him--he lived 400 miles away. I called him back--no answer, no machine. So I waited a couple of days, trying to contact this guy.
I went back and test-drove the car again. I loved it even more. I told them I probably had a buyer for the car, but I haven't been able to contact him to set up arrangements. I started seeing how much my payments would be--the sales manager said the price was $10999 (still 2g below book at the time), and he didn't care that the original salesguy told me it was $10300. We haggled and they wouldn't budge. I said fock it, let's go through with paperwork. I checked my messages at home and I had one from the guy who wanted to buy my car--and he gave me a cell phone number. I finished my paperwork on the car, drove it home, and called him back.
I delivered the car to him 3 days later and it was worth every minute of hell I had to go through to get this car!!
Sorry for the long story, but with everything I went through trying to find the car and all of a sudden a guy wanting my other car--just worked out perfect!! It was meant to be!!
whateverjames
01-26-2003, 11:55 AM
i had seen a red s13 going down the highway, when i was with my parents. i must have been about 17. it was kind of far away and i couldn't tell what it was really. two years later, my friend's dad was selling a mazda mx6, he called it. when i went to go check it out, i said screw the mx6, this is the car i've been wanting, but i didn't know what it was. and my friend said this was the car. it was actually a black s13. yay. i've had it since i was 19 and i'm going on 23.
i've never seen or knew about 240sx's before i saw the one on the highway :o i guess i just didn't care enough to notice them. back then me and my friend were into mustangs. after my friend saw how great the 240sx was, he too changed his japanese car hating ways and bought a 300zx tt.
Well, up until now I had been driving my mom's car. She needed it back and told me that they would pay $5k towards a car, just like they did for my sister when she was my age. So me and my buddy Aaron [who I think it's safe to say steered me in the right direction in my newfound car enthusiasm] started car shopping. We spent countless hours driving all over the area test driving cars and talking to people, researching on the internet, and discussing potential cars and my available funds. After testing everything we could think of, both import and domestic, Aaron mentioned the Nissan 240sx. He said they weren't all that fast, but nice cars and RWD. I had never heard of a 240sx before, but I figured "why not" since I hadn't really liked anything else so far. [#1 on my list at this point was a 3000gt] So he showed me some pictures and we found a couple in the area that were for sale. We called the owners and asked them questions about the cars, only 1 looked like it was worth buying. A 1996 Nissan 240sx SE with only 43,000miles. We went to check it out, we saw it and almost turned around and went home without stopping because we thought it was purple...but we had already told the owner we were coming so I figured we could at least take it for a test drive. I liked it's body style right away after walking around it, and the color up close wasn't bad, when I got in she just hugged me...felt so nice. I took it for a test drive, cool car, but I couldn't really drive it too well since I had only driven a manual maybe 5 or 6 times, all in parking lots or neighborhoods. Even though I couldn't drive her well, and I stalled out with the owner riding shotgun on the test drive...I began to fall in love. Ok, so now I have a new #1 on my list, the 240sx...only problem is, the guy is asking $10,900, more than double what I have, so I ask my parents to take a look at the car and see if maybe I could get a loan for the rest. My dad thought it was a nice car, we talked the guy all the way down to $10,200, but at this point it was too late, the money didn't matter, I had to have her. So I got a loan and got my car on September 6th 2001. Well here I am today a year and a half later, learned how to drive stick, still paying monthly payments to keep her, and loving nearly every minute we spend together.
Heh, I keep the same story and just copy/paste now :p
thelinja
01-26-2003, 12:49 PM
The date was March 30th, 2002. My mom, brother, my friend, Alex, and I we're driving to NYC to visit my Uncle. We were near the Meadowlands heading North on I-95 I believe towards the Lincoln Tunnel. I was driving and I noticed this white car coming up behind me. It was moving quickly and it looked like it had a body kit. This was way before I was even interested in cars so I was like "ooooooo, ground effects." I sped up to stay in line with it. It had what I later learned was the N1 Dual, Silvia Badges, and a K's spoiler on the back. It soon sped up and I saw that it was badged a Silvia. I had no clue what a silvia was. But I thought that it looked awesome. So when I got home I learned that the Silvia was actually a 240SX in the US. I didn't really think about getting a new car because I had college coming up. But then at the end of my Sr. year my dad said I could buy a new car over the summer if I wanted. So I considered buying a 240SX, an MKIII turbo, or a Toyota Celica. I wanted the 240SX the most though, but I would take whatever I found first. I almost bought a 3000GT with 200K miles on it. I'm glad I didn't. I looked at a 240SX that was for sale by my house. It was a red 95 SE with AT and 97K. The kid was asking $7K. The car had a can muffler...warped brake rotors because he never changed the pads. torn leather seats and a busted foglight.
Then on July 10th I found a guy in Toledo, OH who had a 95 SE that was black and had an MT with 88K miles and was only asking $5K. We met him in FT. Wayne, IN and it was love at first sight. My dad and I both thought it was the coolest car we had ever seen. I have such a good time with this car....driving it, washing it, waxing it. I'm so glad I went with the 240 rather then the Supra or the Celica.
Bbandit
01-26-2003, 01:15 PM
the first time i fell in love with the s13 is when i watched initial D
......
:p yea right!!!
once upon a time..
when i was in highschool... i watched some japanese drifting videos and i fell in love with a silvia s13
i never knew a 240sx coupe exist in US back then
it was in the early 2000 when i started searching around for a car...
i was a bit confused between these two choices
an integra or a 240sx coupe
my budget was around 5grand...
i searched and asked around...
i joined a couple of forums (mostly honda since there werent that much 240sx forums)
and i decided to get an integra as my first car (very easy car to mess around with)
after a year playing with it..
i got bored...
i regret not buying a 240sx
then i sold my integra for 7500
a couple of months later.. i got myself a black 91 240sx coupe for 1500...
i always love a black car.. and coupe was my first love
so there..
now.. i live happily ever after with my stock koop...:D
DamnedButDetermined
01-26-2003, 01:49 PM
It was about three years ago, when i still had my 91 nissan sentra (Pimpssan ****ra). I got hooked on Nissans with that car and wanted somethig faster. I started asking about rear wheel drive cars that Nissan Made and came across the 300ZX and 240SX. People told me that both were great cars, but for a college student the 240 would be best. It also had a better weight ratio. I started reading about performance options and came across the SR swaps ( mind you way before they became trendy). I fell in love with all the pictures i saw, and started my search.
I finallly found one in my area, and bought it right away. STUPID IDEA! It has turned out to be a lemon and has givin me alot of problems. Even still, i love it more everyday. I will be selling this one hopefully soon and looking for a better S13!
-DbD-
Natty
01-26-2003, 05:11 PM
When I was about 5-6 my mom was taking me to school in oceanside califiornia. I saw a 240sx and I thought it looked cool. This was back in the very early 90s. I probably forgot about it 10 minutes later :p
Fastfoward to my senior year in high school, last year. I was looking for a VW to replace my ****box 8v A2 Jetta. Well, no luck. On the same day I saw a sophmore in a charcoal fastback breeze by the bus. I only knew what it was because I saw it in the autotrader magazine that day. I discarded it int he magazine because it looked so normal.
I went onto www.vwvortex.com and someone suggested a 240sx. 3 signs in a day. I went out shopping and looked over at least 10. I regestered here, but bought in February. I love this car so much. To quote someone, "get it, you won't regret it!"
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=186508
Jeff
AKADriver
01-26-2003, 06:33 PM
Whoa, it's weird to read that thread - that was before I owned my 240SX. That was when I had just bought my GTI and was trying to sell my 200SX (S12) and my Neon.
I bought my 240SX in february of 2002.
But, I've been a fan of the car for ages. I remember first reading about the 240SX and Silvia back in early 1996... someone in #cars on EFNet had a web page about cars in Japan unavailable in the US, including the Silvia, Skyline, and at the time, the Integra Type-R...
I met a few 240SX owners here and there on general car forums, learned more about the car and its potential, but I wasn't really interested in owning one at the time.
In the summer of 2000 I was ready to buy my first car. My parents didn't want me to buy the classic Mopar I wanted, so I searched for anything fun I could find from the mid-'80s and later. I looked for 240SXs, amongst other things (turbo Dodges, Neons, SE-Rs, Infiniti G20s, AE86s). I only found one for sale locally, and it was a dud, so I ended up with a Neon, which I loved and I still miss.
I came back to the 240SX in 2001 when I was looking for a fun second car. I bought an S12, but it needed more work than I was willing to put in so I sold it to find the S13 I wanted and, here I am.
240Driver39
01-26-2003, 07:02 PM
I get my licence and am immediatly faced with the fact that i if i was gonna do ne driving, i was gonna have to get a car. Soon enough a 92 nissan sentra SE was in my possession. It was a great car reliable, but being auto and such, it just wasnt that interesting to drive. When i first bought this car i knew only some about nissans, i had admired z's and such but hadnt known much beyond that. So i joined sr20deforum.com and other boards to see what else was out there for the sentra. I began my search for the classic sentra se-r. While searchin the forsale forums i found a se-r owner that was selling his '91 5spd 240sx SE fb w/ 107k. not knowing pretty much nething about the car i did a lil research and became very interested. I made the drive from pa to nj to look at the car. my crappy mapquest directions guiding me, i had to call and meet the guy at a local landmark. As i was pulling in i saw him in my rearview mirror and knew i wanted that car, so nice. So i took it for a test drive and the car ran beautifully. After scopin it out i laid down a deposit. We settled on a price of 2900. 3 weeks later in june of '02 i picked it up and have loved drivin it ever since....
:D :D :D
Natty
01-26-2003, 07:53 PM
Originally posted by AKADriver
Whoa, it's weird to read that thread - that was before I owned my 240SX. That was when I had just bought my GTI and was trying to sell my 200SX (S12) and my Neon.
That was about a month before I bought mine too. I bought it because of you, CanuckPal, and fastfour.
It also made me register here.
I didn't buy that car though. It was one of the many duds.
Jeff
mrmephistopheles
01-27-2003, 11:38 PM
Well, it started around Feb or so of 2000 while I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan as a Marine. As an MP, I'd stand at the main gate and control incoming traffic. There were always nice Silvias, 180s, and Rx7s as well as pooboxes like Bongo vans (although those ARE indestructible).
I decided to stay an extra year, so I was going to buy a nice S14 with a new turbo and intercooler. My plans were changed when I ended up not getting orders to stay, and was instead shipped back to the States, (California to be exact).
I'd spent a few weeks talking to a friend with a Veilside kitted S14, and he said that the Silvias had a carbon copy in the states. He didn't know much beyond that, but it gave me hope.
I flew back, and while on leave, I pretty much forgot about cars, and regretted selling my pickup.
After about a month of being carless in California, I got fed up and started looking for a car. I looked at a few Integras and some 3rd gen Supras.
I ended up buying the first 240 I test drove. I loved every aspect of it. I talked them down $300 on the price, and paid $4880 out the door in June of 2000. It had 139k on the dial, but I thought I got a great deal. In truth, I got raped, but my car has been so reliable to me. I love it.
About a year after having it, I got a second loan and put a few goodies onto it. I should've waited, but at least it made it more fun to drive.
I plan on never parting ways with my S13.
Odometer reads 163k miles.
-Kevin
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