Buy A Used R35 Nissan GT-R For Less Than A New Toyota GR Yaris

After 17 years in production, the end of the R35 Nissan GT-R is almost upon us. It’s impressive it’s lasted this long but by the end of the year, the final examples will finally leave the production line in Tochigi.

In truth, for those of us outside of Japan and the US, it feels like it’s been gone a while. We haven’t been able to buy a new R35 in the UK since 2022 and even then, it was selling in such small numbers that spotting a new one was a rare treat.

Yet, because you could buy a new one for so long, there has never been a huge clamour for used examples. That, and really, everyone who wanted a GT-R really wanted an R34 or an R32.

As a result, while Skyline GT-Rs have absolutely shot through the roof in recent years to the point it takes us by surprise when a particularly rare example of an R34 doesn’t sell for much more than £250,0000, you have to wonder how long it will be before the R35 gets the same sort of love.

Naturally, that’s led us to the classifieds to seek out what’s on offer. Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, you’ve got yourself about £45,000 that you’d set aside for a brand-new Toyota GR Yaris, but sadly missed out on an allocation. How much R35 GT-R could that buy you?

Quite a lot, actually, with 18 examples listed at the time we’re looking on Auto Trader. Granted, some of those are absolute heifers with questionable wraps, dodgy visual mods and more than a few low-rent remaps. That said, a few will stand out – like this particularly tempting 2009 example for £43,950.

As one of the very earliest UK Nissan GT-Rs, this Black Edition produced 478bhp from its 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6. As we know, the VR38DETT is very keen to take mods so you could always up that if you felt so inclined, but in this case, we think things are best left untouched.

That’s because this is an extremely rare case of a totally unmodified early R35. That, and one with just two owners in that entire time and only 28,000 miles on the clock.

Granted, the listing doesn’t give too much information away about the car so it will require some investigation. An inspection of the images doesn’t reveal a great deal of cosmetic things to worry about, and even the Alcantara and leather in the interior look in great nick, too.

We can also relay that a check through its MOT history doesn’t raise any concerns. It’s passed every single time, and the only advisories that have come up are tyre wear-related which suggests this has been immaculately kept.

That would also infer a meticulous service history, but the listing doesn’t offer any insight on that front. That’s definitely something to enquire about with the dealer.

There’s also one large red flag to be considerate of. Early 2009 GT-Rs, like this car, became notorious for gearboxes that would self-detonate without much warning. These seemingly happen at random and are not limited to exact cars or exact mileages, so it’s very possible this one could be completely issue-free. It’s worth enquiring if any work has been done to the six-speed automatic on the car already, providing it is still the original ‘box, and being especially mindful of its service history.

Surely, the R35 GT-R can’t stay this relatively affordable for long. With no more being made, and those who grew up with the R35 as a poster car soon being able to afford such things – as happened with the earlier Skylines – an unmodified one is surely set to shoot up in value someday. Really, we don’t think there’s a better time than now to bite the bullet.