Nissan Skyline GT-R R33: what to check before you buy one in Japan
Sources checked 2 October 2026
I owned an R33 GT-R, a BCNR33. If I were looking at one for sale in Japan today, these are the places I'd check first. Most of them are about rust, and a dealer's listing photos rarely show them. Bear in mind too that R33 prices were at rock bottom for a while, so in my view a lot of them have had a fairly hard life.
Where I'd look on an R33 GT-R
The strut towers
On the R33, and the R34 too, the first place to look is where the strut towers (turrets) meet the body. In my experience they rot there. If rust is already showing at this point, it costs a lot of money to fix.
To be honest, I'd assume almost every car has some rust here. If one doesn't, that's a sign it might be a good car.
The bottom of the A-pillars
On the R33, the base of the A-pillars rots as well, and in my experience a lot of cars are badly rusted there. It's also a hard place to repair. This is one I'd definitely look at.
The rear arches and quarter panels (rear fenders)
Look carefully at the rear arches and quarter panels on any R32, R33 or R34 GT-R.
The boot (trunk): leaks and the spare wheel well
Check the boot for water leaks. In my experience, there's a good chance of finding a puddle in the spare wheel well, and rust along with it.
The jacking points
In my experience, a lot of cars have crushed jacking points. They get bent, rust starts from there, and on some cars the floor ends up badly rusted. A floor that far gone isn't that common, but it matters.
The interior on early cars
On early cars (zenki, as early models are called in Japan), the coating on the trim around the instruments and around the window switches peels and turns sticky. It's a known weakness of the early cars. Your choices are to live with it, buy new parts for the early car, or change to the later type.
What photos can't tell you
Every place on that list is somewhere a listing photo rarely goes: the base of a strut tower, the bottom of an A-pillar, under the boot floor, the jacking points from below. And even when there is a photo, it shows the surface, not how far the rust goes. That's the same for any car; see what dealer photos miss and rust on the body or a part.
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 photograph what we see. We don't tell you whether to buy.
Found an R33 GT-R in Japan? Send us the listing and tell us which of these places worry you. We'll look at as much of each as can be seen without lifting the car or removing anything, and tell you what we couldn't see.
Photos to ask the dealer for
If you can't get someone to the car, ask the dealer for close photos of the same places:
- Both strut towers, where they meet the body
- The base of each A-pillar
- Both rear arches and quarter panels
- The boot floor with the mat lifted, and the spare wheel well
- Each jacking point
- On an early car, the trim around the instruments and the window switches
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.
Sources
- What to check, and why: the founder's own experience owning a BCNR33 R33 GT-R. "In my experience" means one owner's view, not a survey
- What we look at on a viewing: On-Site Vehicle Viewing, checked 2 October 2026
If it's the strut towers or the A-pillars you're worried about, send us the car.