Mr Eps

ummm what??? you're asking SAU why we don't like the R33??? most posts have proven you incorrect the R33 is one of my favourite GTR's. the R32 is nice. i'd have ANY GTR if i could have any - but i just... haven't bought one i guess haha i LIKE the R33 because it's BIGGER fatter wider more coke bottle shaped... it's this fat whale of a thing.. it's styled on the premise of a muscle car, much like the supra... it encompasses everything about the golden era jap 90's cars... it's a very charming car providing the headlights are clean and the body is kept stock.. i forget who it is... but one of the owners here has got a steel grey R33 gtr and it's just CLEAN. like as in CLEAN clean. it's got nice fitting japanese wheels, and it's... not overdone... it looks amazing and i told him about how awesome his car was once, it made his day - i forget who it is i think he's from NSW if he's reading i encourage him to post pics! but a car's value has nothing to do with "whether we like it"

it's so cold lately here in perth... like - ridiculously cold for this time of year! couple months ago now - would've been like march i think i was in a rush to get home from work, for a job interview ...made it back to my house in 15 min (takes about 25 by car) i was turning into my street going about as fast as i can make a turn - still pedalling the whole way thru, fk braking of course, that shit's for pussies anyway, got pedal strike on the left pedal, rear end of the bike did a "hop" which was fine but the side wall of my vittoria rubino had completely dissinegrated and had come away from the bead... it's one of the most gnarly tyres i'd ever seen! anyway, full speed, turning corner,rim contacted on roads and bike completely slid out from under me... i held onto it for as long as i could... which... just so happened to land me in a neat pile in the path of on coming traffic lol then i rushed out to the job interview with blood pouring down my leg and cuts all up my arms and broken toes... fun story about the end though... beleive it or not i DIDN't get the job!!! HA!

nigel when i said raws are greedy i meant theknes who charge.little amount n dont fit restraint points etc... not thee good guys!!

....apology accepted dude n im sorry for patronising u ... unfortunately most imports hav to be models which meet acertain power to weight ratio .... this limits u to soarers supras na skylines and the loveable cube... to give u heads up... uwont get grannies driving and babying the cars we buy .. theyre just normal ppl who like us sometimes forget to service their cars etc.. still my cefiro's forsale just take it back to non turbo youll hav aball in it

bahaha. wow. you are very stupid newfag! first of all, your 87.05 means... hmm... NOTHING. second of all, all the points you made have been made by a thousand and twenty other young kids before you man... so you're no different! trust me... and calling you a hoon is justified. because you're talking about how thrashing your car on public roads causes the same strain on your car as driving on a track? man, you're stupid... seriously i couldn't give a shit less about what strain you put on your car, nobody else does either. but we care a damn site about you hitting an innocent driver coming in the opposite direction or hitting a pedestrian if you're playng "touge" on the roads... as for your nagata story, he can be an enthusiast. but driving 300kph on the road is a hoon act. no doubt that is just stupid. he could kill somoene minding their own business. you're a whining little dipshit and i tried to help you but you're clearly just another snot nosed prick trying to get in on the action. you don't know me at all. you haven't out smarted anybody you just proved my point right. the import scene does not need little assholes like you doing illegal activities on the streets. doing burnouts and drifting on public roads is not a talent. are you for real or is this an elaborate attempt at trolling a forum. cos you are literally laughable. and those guys in the video - yeah... better drivers than i'll ever be at drifting, why? because i don't drift, i don't race. i don't partake in motorsports. i'm an imported vehicle enthusiast and i have been for about ten years. i don't NEED to be a racer, i have different talents.. they are sticking to the speed limit giving way to my right sticking to my lanes indicating when i change lanes taking care of my cars public roads are there for public use. to be shared by other drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and are maintained by taxpayers money. they are there to be treated in a certain means which is the law. and you have to abide by it. like everyone else if you can't afford to get a CAMS license, then perhaps take up another hobby. motorsport is not meant for the low to mid income bracket. it costs thousands of dollars! i've been in SAU for 6 years. and i know what's what. if you're ready to buy an import and treat the roads with honest respect and are prepared to pay the money for it, then welcome aboard... but if you're a little brat who wants to drift on public roads, then have fun getting fined, having your car confiscated, or hopefully... sliding your car into a tree. oh and another thing. don't threaten me. you have a lot to learn, we're all happy to teach you and show you the ropes. and here are the facts you need to know as a noob! you can't under any circumstances drift on public roads. you can't race on public roads you can't import a non turbo silvia importing costs a lot of money and maintaining an import costs a lot of money the import community is a tight knit niche community. to get respect you must give respect. like in ANY community jash said in my thread about the sustainablity of the importing industry that importing of cars seems to attract the lowest scummiest filthiest douchiest dickheads... and that was not aimed at you... but you sure are making it about you!

just watched that video you posted man... you're 18... you're young... probably a bit daft... but if that is what made you want an impor tthen you are horribly mistaken... you really need to do some soul searching because us genuine enthusiasts know to get our CAMS license and keep this stuff on the track... we have all spent years trying to distance ourselves from people like you and shake the stigma that we're all hoons either change your values and attitudes... if you won't... then buy a commodore... immature drivers and hoons are not welcome on this forum man! we're happy to provide advice and guidance and share ideas but you seem like a destructive person is all

ahhh sweet newfag... you are cute aren't you... =P first of all... learn to post links!!!! i'll see if i can find the car you're talking about i'll have a quick check nope... can't find it.. hold on, you mean pre-auction? there's a white GTS 25 type M for 680K yen. is that the one you mean mate? if this is the one.. that car looks like an absolute pearler... that looks like it'd be off the showroom floor but.. 38 thousand km... for a 1996? that's 14 years old... that's implying that the owner has done on average 2,718 km a year... you beleive that??? i mean, of course, it's POSSIBLE that it's travelled that distance, but unlikely... winding back odometers is very common practice. but that doesn't mean that it's a bad car even if it HAS been wound back.. if the panels are straight, if the interior is clean, if the car runs well.. who cares how many km it's done! same goes for auction grade... auction grade means NOTHING unless you're looking at grade R or grade O (this means it's accidented and repaired... but EVEN THEN you can attain a bargain at auction, because if it's had a light tap in the back and repaired well... who's to know?) but auction grade means nothing ... especially with your budget... i've been looking for a car for months and i'll get a grade 4 car inspected and up close it'll be a turd bucket, grade 3 cars can often be pearlers! they're only a guideline... you're buying a CAR not some paperwork!!!! grade 4 means great conditon for it's age, 4.5 means "almost good as new" 3/3.5 means average condition for it's age so don't be shy... ae86 is about 25/30 years old now... it's not easy keeping a car of that age in ANY shape let alone grade 4 condition by an auction assessor... but be prepared to pay thru the nose for them no offense but you're loking at buying an import for all the wrong reasons man... you want one to "learn how to drive properly" and "perfect weight balance" importing cars is for people who want to drive a unique enthusiast car and cherish them really... you wanna drive a car at 110kmh thru the mountains cos you saw a japanese dude drifting then get a commodore.. you wanna get a grade four golden era japanese car so you can "learn to drift" or "have a touge run" (on public roads i'm assuming... thanks for doing that by the way... if there's one thing austrlaia needs more of is more max orido wannabes uploading video footage of themselves speeding through public streets) but yeah i say don't be afraid to import... it's a good idea... you'll hopefully learn a lot along the way and grow into a more mature person because of it... but understand with your budget you're not going to get a "showroom condition" car... same as over here in aus... your budget won't allow for well maintained cars man

to clarify more into what kris has (kris = iron chef) they haven't been able to comply since SEVS was introduced, SEVS means "specialist and enthusiast vehicles" not "i'm 17 and have 10 grand to spend" sevs is strictly for people who want to pay big money for old silly cars =P to my knowledge, there was no such thing a non turbo 180sx my question is - what the hell do you want a non turbo s13 for??? they don't make much power... you want one cos what, you saw one in a touge battle? that's ridiculous. you'll kill yourself doggie! pro tip: you want an import that will make your friends jealous you need no turbo you have a small budget.. get ready for some education. put on a helmet. cos this shit will blow your mind. on carsales in NSW for 11grand is an NA silvia. i won't post links cos that's just mean it's 11 grand, your max budget. it has no grill. faded paint. is 19 years old. has a deep corn steering wheel. and a dildo gear knob. with 110km... ...it's 19 years old... looks like it's had a hard life... 110,000km.. you beleive those km? anyway that's eleven grand. now... get ready. cos this shit's about to get heavy. i was going to buy this car for my mum at auction in japan, my mum fumbled and umm'd and arr'd about it, and a japanese dealer got hold of it. as you can see. it's a soarer. boring old soarer... right? look. it's black it has a black interior it's not a turbo it's got a 2Jz VVTI motor. (that's a 3litre doggies.. with VVT. as opposed to 2litre non VVT found in a silvia) it has 19" SSR wheels lowered suspension it's got 87xxx km it's got dual airbags it's got electric seats, windows, mirrors, FOLDING mirrors. cruise control, updated body shape it's a 1997 it's a lot newer, it's a lot more advanced. it's a lot cleaner, it's a lot nicer. that's from a dealer in japan and can be landed and complied for about 12 grand. that's the DEALER price. if you had've got that at auction when i saw it... you probably could've had it for a few thousand dollars less.. why the hell would ANYBODY want a silvia when THAT can be had???

hey where r u located? i havent got a silvia but i have a clean well priced good condition cefiro for sale that im happy to sell to a good home thats within your budget if youll take good care of it... its turbo though.. but easy to convert back to non turbo or just buy it for safe keeping!!!

as for your last point about charging higher for prices Kris, it's a good idea really... but in theory only... for instance, my current Cefiro was imported under the 15 year rule, complied properly mind you, but try telling a potential buyer what it's worth n they'll always have a whinge... i even had some guy come around n check it out n told me i was asking too much cos "it's an auto" mind you - i told him i wanted 8 for it... and he's chasing a total hack... which my car is unfortunately not... or even in my case... i'm currently looking at a particular soarer and am finally getting close to committing to purchasing... but it's landed + complied price will be about 15 /16 grand... (trust me.. it's worth it... well... i think it's worth it.. i can email pics if you are interested in seeing it, i'm a bit proud of it TBH) but once i get it here and let's say one day i want to sell it... try telling a buyer that it's worth what i paid for it... they'll cry! even on carsales, there's a white soarer 97 vvti with 19" work VSXX, manual, genuine km and official TRD parts looks in FANTASTIC condition from it's pics... and he is asking 19K for it... is he going to get offered anything NEAR that for it??? i doubt it!!! poor bloke australians have a culture of boganism and greed instilled in all of us (as both customers AND as dodgy raws / brokers it seems) are to (what i feel) blame for the current problems you guys may be facing... customers are greedy in aust and want to pay for the car HERE what the car was worth in japan... say the car was 600K yen FOB then once landed people only want to pay 7K for it... because they want to screw anyone down so they can save up for second hand TEIN coilovers.. brokers are greedy because of what's already been said... undercutting and giving false promises, i had no idea that those backyard brokers actually MADE moves!!! i've ALWAYS looked at those sorts of ads n thought to myself "that's gotta be a lie" when they sugest S15 for 14K but that's just me / most people... obviously some people get bitten, by THEIR greed... because THEY are greedy for expecting a 14K imported s15 RAWS workshops are greedy because they want market share in the short run in an attempt to gain a client basis and recoup lost costs at all costs... it's not ONE SINGLE PARTY that's causing the problems i don't think... i think it's just majority of australian's culture of expecting something for nothing and our nature of being "grass cutters" and thinking that we deserve a "piece of the pie" =/

Nigel, elbaorate... how did the brokers f**k the industry up, though? and what sort of brokers?

zebra - that's what i was confused about - that isn't explained in their press statement... ie "to what extent" does "modification" mean... also you have to PROVE that the modifications were done prior to 1jan 1989... how the FUCK can ANYBODY prove that!?!? case in point, lets say a new engine was fitted... let's say a twin turbo L28 was fitted into a 260Z in november 1988... let's say that's the case do they want receipts from the 1988 payment? to prove the work was done on that date? because food for thought, a receipt - in the business world, is known as a record. a record is a business movement or financial transaction bla bla bla. if it's important, the document is given an R&D schedule, retention n Disposal, this governs how long the record is kept, and when it is OKAY to send offsite or to be destroyed completely. usually there are scans taken they're asking for documents of evidence from an overseas car which are records that have been kept... for 22 years??? NO BUSINESS. NO LOCAL STATE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION HAS AN R&D schedule like that. ESPECIALLY not a private vehicle owner. why? because PAPER DETERIORATES. IT CORRODES AND FALLS APART. there is no way that this can be acceptable to us as the public. thats ridiculous... nobody keeps that sort of info at hand for that long. so it's unrealistic on their part to expect it! i mean, sure... there could be electronic scanned images of these documents. but this dates back to 1988 - there WERE no scanners or EDRMS systems etc, back then they had microfische... (taking a picture and shrinking it onto a tiny piece of photofilm, so that when needed it can be zoomed in on sepcial projector and it was very uncommon for public use this is such an unrealistic expectation!

ok... i saw this post when it was first posted up lastnight... and... i'm really sorry ...but i don't get it... what is it, what's it do and what's it for? EDIT i dunno why - but i just got that image in my mind of Homer Simpson's dream invention HOMER! do you realise that BECAUSE of your invention EVERY american home is going to have at least THREE, or FOUR of this product!!! ...can i see it? HOMER!!! what do YOU need to see it for? you INVENTED it!!! hahaha

it /may/ have been sold locally... =/

kris - i guess if you're ceating an HPI article based my my thread titled "the import industry" you could further elaborate what this means? i'm a little hazey myself on it... is it saying that pre 1989 built hot rods / street rods / rat rods etc can no longer be imported??? if so... how does this affect ANYBODY??? umm that came out wrong... i meant to say how does the 0.000005% of cars which are converted into hotrods etc which are imported... affect ANYONE these owners are just very proud individuals who drive their cars once a weekend to the beach and all the kids point and stare - why would this rule change!? who has it upset? and can anything be done to change the rule?

^^^This guy, THis guy here What a guy!

no.

^^^ a good point... and to z240... perhaps that cost has never been mentioned because not many of us are aware that is even exists! i for one didn't know it costs $20 grand for an evidence package... how can you justify that to a consumer though? as in how do you stop them from thinkng "so, not MY problem?"

this is an excellent thread... i'm impressed with all contributors to it... and i'm glad kris has found some inspiration! i made this thread because it's obvious that the import industry is .... on the verge of going down the gurgler really... and nobody's actually done anything or worked out a plan to see through this storm... the GFC of 2009 (and current) has brought this industry to it's knees, from all sides of it, however... to repair itself it's not as simple as "cutting costs" to keep the customer happy... because there isn't any profit for the businesses which support us... however if the businesses have it their way entirely... many of us on the customer end are squeezed out of a market... it's a situation where nobody can be kept happy entirely.. we're all "hungry" to have it our way and nobody is willing to comprimise... so what's sustainable? or "future proof?" realistically as kristian said .. paying 4 grand for compliance is definately future proof from an industry standpoint for sure... however being from WA myself over here, i (again) have to pay about $1500 to get any car i desire sent from over east, because of WA's conservative and timid RAWS list of eligable cars... so that's $6500 odd on compliance and trasport alone... not inclusive of tyres, or registration! which in this case would squeeze me... with my current budget for a car out of a market... and i wouldn't be the only one in this boat! most of the Z11 market would be removed from the market also... why do you think they're buying a Cube in the first place? part of it would be so that they can "drive something different" on a budget... so there's two sides there... either compromise on profit... and risk sustainability for the industry in the (near) future... or maximise profits, guaranteeing the economical safety for the industry in the long term... but also removing a good 20-30% (guess) of the eligable market, causing more strain on the already difficult situation... =| my hair just went grey.. anyone else?

Ok, Chris... excellent post! - but then... you just gave me a great example... the cat pipes for a Z11 Cube is $2000. and that's the cost for the part alone. - why? WHY is that piece of metal 2 thousand dollars... where is the part manufactured and what's so different about the japanese cat converter set? i mean - kris... you ...or should i say... your COMPANY charge "around about" a grand... to hunt down a car, inspect the car, de-reg the car, trasport the car, organise shipping, see the car sent to a ship. ship the car to australia, organise customs, transport, compliance and all necessary towing... for a thousand dollars. how is a piece of metal have twice the financial worth more than your service fee? how is a piece of metal worth more than the profit a RAWS workshop will receive for their labour? or the money needed to pay their bills, staff, and loan repayments?

Messiah - i disagree with your idea - not to shoot it down completely but to mask everything as an "aus wide fee" just further perpetuates the reason why (i beleive) customers DO try to screw down the price... for instance - me as a customer, i look at the car in japan, i see it, i get it registed and in my ownership, and it looks no different on the surface - so i - as a customer - don't KNOW what i paid ~3 grand for... so i try to low ball the compliance workshop - because i don't know the intricacies of workmanship they perform... ...if you mask ALL fees... and just invoice the customer for 5/6 thousand dollars ... how does the customer know where that money's going? it's just perpetuating the problem (that's what i think about it anyway) i mean you gotta see this from an objective standpoint really - see it as someone who's giving money to a guy... not from someone that KNOWS the processes and the work needed etc... and i think that's where the problem stems from... lack of knowledge in what product we're receiving... if you MASK the fees more so... that creates an even bigger knowledge gap.. Jash - a few things... 1) where the heck have you been I haven't heard from / about / spoken in YEARS. haha, doubt you'd even remember me! and - i think we've got mixed up... i'm after a series 3 soarer, single turbo JZZ30 VVTI bla bla bla.. can only be complied over east then transported to WA fun times. and you're on the right track, many RAWS workshops will be quick to say "think of the paper work we have to do, and the safety work we carry out" etc etc - i think maybe the customer would like to know exactly what this paperwork is, and what manual work is carried out on their car to make it driveable on our roads... furthermore - if the paperwork, audits and legal side of things is so complicated... - -why? why is it made so difficult? is there any changes or process improvements to the system you would implement to make it easier on your jobs? or easier on your finances to help maximise your own profits? also... off topic but how many RAWS workshops are members of the Capricorn Society? do they help out with this style of work? and Kris... i guess now that we've made a full "roundabout" to come to this conclusion... $3300 is a fair call for all cars YES... but what about us westerners where many of the more "exclusive" cars are not avail for compliance over here??? case in point, my soarer, must be complied over east then trasported over to WA... that alone is about $1300 cost, so if the compliance fee is exploded by a further $1100 that then means by the time i GET my soarer... i'd be looking at about 16/17 grand... for a car that's 11-15 years old... that's my perspective as a consumer... so if you increase the costs further - would that squeeze many customers out of the market? it's a tough situation... you increase the cost of imports to keep the industry happy... but also risk losing customer interest, you screw the price down on the industry... and customer interest increase (as much as customer interest CAN increase - importing will only EVER be a niche market) .... so is change to the system possible? are there costs we can minimise to make it affordable for customers but also sustainable for the industry??? ie; can we request to lower the taxation rates? (unlikely) can we remove the GST which is charged on our tax? (unlikey being the GST is static) surely someone must have an opinion on somebody who's finger is in the bowl taking more than their fair share...

a particular user of this thread said in another thread of the future risks to our car import industry... i'm starting this thread to discuss exactly what that is and what that will mean to us on the consumer side of things - and what it means to business owners in the industry... the user said in a loose term... if people paid a fair price for compliance then the industry wouldn't be in the danger it is in now because workshops are closing and not bothering reason i want to know more is... - for a consumer, $2,200 is the GENERAL going rate to comply a basic car... and upwards... if that's not a fair price - then what would you suggest IS a fair price? i personally was a bit shocked to find nobody here in WA has any evidence packages or plates to comply any Toyota Soarer 1996 onwards - becuase nobody wants to touch them... nobody wants to take that risk on board... reason i think people don't "pay a fair price" for compliance is... all consumers see is a car that looks identical to what we purchased in japan... and we're paying thousands of dollars and many of us don't know what has been done, does that make sense? perhaps if we- the consumers - were kept more "in the loop" regarding what service we are receiving for our compliance fee, rather than just being invoiced for it... perhaps we'd have a better understanding of what we're paying for and get a better grasp of it's financial worth... i remember hearing the catallictic convertor for M35 stagea is $1700 alone, so what's a general cost breakdown? also, approximately how much profit do the RAWS workshop see of our fee? and what does that profit go towards, ie - does it generate wealth for the owner? does it perpetuate the industry in any way? as a side note i will say being gracious with money is not something many Australians hold closely to our culture... for a good example go check the parts for sale thread in this forum... everywhere you look you'll see someone putting up a set of imported work wheels for sale for say $1700 and you'll have someone in public forum just blurting out "i'll give ya $600 for em these aren't worth what you're asking mate" ... not only does this destroy the credibility of the seller but also scares off responsible offers of the item... try sell a car - "i'll give ya 2 grand fer it" i guess same premise applies here with compliance - screw the workshop down in price that way consumer wins in the short term... as opposed to in, say - Japan, where price haggling and offering lower amounts than sale price is considered rude and shameful... that is my view as to what could be a bane for the import industry... australians and our culture of expecting to receive an amazing product with tiny outlay... also feel free to discuss opinions on the SEVS rule as a whole here, good and bad points of it... not just as a "reminisce over the 15 year rule" point... but more as a SEVS is here to stay, it's been here for years... how's it changed or changing the import industry since it's inception? any light that can be shed on it by other users?

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG 12 months away?!?!?!?! i have been wishing for these for AGES!!!! i'll keep my soarer for a little whlie i think... the soarer that i don't have that is.. haha these cars are AMAZING can't WAIT!!!! keep us in the loop

floor it harder. duh ok i've bit my tongue this entire page but i can't keep my peace any longer... i'm sorry - but everything that can be said - has been said. like... 20 times over... can we just... let this one die pls?

hahaha, and i would've! ok guys enough about me & soarers, this has gone wayyyy off topic... and kris - what's that in refence to??? upon proof reading my post i notice that i A) rambled incoherrently and B) "threw my hate" in the ring... (supposed to be hat) and C) ..."mind you this was literally the second day i had started even STARTING to study auctions" wow i really need to learn to English. or was there something i've missed...?