Like the 180SX, the S13 was a drift car, so in my view most of them have had a hard life. If you're looking at one for sale in Japan, these are the three places I'd check. A dealer's listing photos are rarely taken to show any of them.
Where I'd look on an S13
In my view, these three are where an S13 goes.
The front frame rails, near the tension rod mounts
The front frame rails rust near where the tension rods are mounted.
The rear subframe mounts
The mounts for the rear subframe rust, and they can tear.
The sills, the strut towers and the seams
The sills, the strut towers and the seams in the body rust too. On a car with this kind of history, this is also where repairs from an old accident may not be obvious.
Which engine
In my view it has to be the SR20DET. You could also go naturally aspirated with individual throttle bodies. The CA18 is rarer, and years ago a lot of them were swapped out and scrapped, so if one fails, I'd expect a replacement engine to be hard to find.
If the car has been modified
For what a very low or braced and welded car can hide underneath, see lowered and modified cars.
What photos can't tell you
- How far the rust goes at the frame rails, the subframe mounts or the seams. A photo shows the surface.
- Whether a mount has started to tear, unless someone was looking for it with the right angle and light.
- How an old accident was repaired. We photograph the signs we can see. We don't certify accident or repair history.
We don't lift the car, so we look underneath from ground level and mark anything we can't see as Not verified in the report. We don't tell you whether to buy. See also what dealer photos miss and rust on the body or a part.
Got an S13 in Japan on your list? Send us the listing and name the places you want looked at.
Photos to ask the dealer for
If you can't get someone to the car, ask the dealer for close photos of:
- The front frame rails, around the tension rod mounts, as far as can be seen without lifting the car
- The rear subframe mounts, from ground level
- The sills and both front strut towers
A Remote Check is where we phone the dealer in Japanese and ask for these for you. We mainly cover the Tokai region (Aichi, Gifu and Mie) for viewings in person; for a car elsewhere in Japan, ask us and we'll quote the travel before you pay.
And the S14
In my view the S14 has had it rough too. When S14 prices were at rock bottom, plenty of people thrashed them, and a lot of them are in pretty bad shape. This page doesn't list specific places for the S14.
Sources
- What to check, and why: the founder's view of the S13 and S14, given on 3 October 2026. "In my view" means one person's view, not a survey
- What we look at on a viewing: On-Site Vehicle Viewing, checked 3 October 2026
Want the frame rails and subframe mounts looked at before you pay for an S13? Send us the listing.