2009 Nissan GT-R 3.8L Petrol · 35 TDY

RAC's GT-R used guide reports that early cars suffer gearbox control solenoid problems that wear or break internal components, and that the resulting repair is expensive because the whole transmission has to come out of the car; their test advice is simply to check that ratio changes are clean and smooth. Parkers backs up the other half of the picture - the dual-clutch automatic was noticeably jerky at urban speeds until the 2017 revisions. In practice the fault shows as a shudder or delay from a standstill, reluctance to select a ratio when hot, and a mechatronic unit that a specialist will quote four figures to rebuild.

The GT-R is honest money for performance but ruinous to live with if the previous owner used it properly. RAC's guide warns of the running costs: a clutch will set you back around £1,320, an exhaust is around £1,417, and tyres are £354 front and £429 rear - so a full set easily runs to £1,500. Parkers agrees that tyres and Brembo brake pads and discs wear rapidly under hard track use, and that early CBA models eat consumables faster than the later DBA and 4BA cars. On viewing, inspect the front and rear disc faces for heavy heat-crazing and lip wear (new discs and pads cost £600 to £1,200 per axle), check tyre wear evenly across all four tyres, and ask for a recent diagnostic read-out of clutch wear capacities.

The factory primary driveshaft bearing in the flywheel bellhousing develops excessive clearance within its aluminium casing, producing a characteristic metallic rattle or marbles-in-a-tin-can chatter from underneath the centre console at idle. While initially an acoustic defect that quietens once drive or reverse is engaged under torque load, severe bearing wear creates noticeable drivetrain vibration and can lead to housing failure. Nissan replaced housings under warranty with identical factory components that often failed again; UK specialists such as Litchfield developed upgraded fixed-roller-bearing sleeved assemblies.