Hella_GTR

This one just came available! https://ucar.carview.yahoo.co.jp/model/nissan/skyline-gtr/3446006302UV/ I'm on it. They don't show any photos under the car or the shock towers though...

Yeah i'm down to import one from the UK or AU. I google'd all the UK sites and one company HJA said they'd send one back to me but they don't have any full normal series 1 right now. I googled Australian importers but couldn't find a series 1 but I'm not that familiar with other countries sites and who sells trusted cars. If you know any, I'm open ears. They just need to be willing to send one back to Japan and then we'd have to work out how to get a "Y" license plate on it, not a kanji plate. Thanks!

totally feel you. I've built too many cars and lost too many thousands. But I guess it's what we do because of our passion and because it's worth it. It's better than gambling and doing drugs right? I think I lost the most on my v8 Rx7 build and probably the r34 I bought via the auctions which clearly wasn't a grade 4 car as advertised. I would totally spend a year on the hunt but the prices will continue to rise and I don't exactly know when I will be leaving Japan. Also, I really want a car cause taking the train to work in these humid times sucks. Yes I can buy a beater to get by but I'm only allowed one car with my status here so I'd have to sell it before finding another car and it's a pain selling cars here. They don't do private to private much at all. But nonetheless I agree with you that patience is the key. But to be honest, none of the cars I'm looking at melt my heart like my r34 did. Sucks we'll never see a r34 with a CA Plate. the one Toprank is working on is a 1999 and $50k so far to attempt to make it pass CA SMOG. I could do another FD3s which i love but man I spent more hours under the hood than driving it. Supras are another option but they sold those in the US. I would love a 1995 ITR but they only made 1300 of them and they're hard AF to find. 1st world problems, right? I just want something fun to enjoy, have some memories here, take advantage of the tuner shops here, and take back with me a well sorted car that I can enjoy at the local tracks like Laguna Seca and Sonoma Raceway, and drive to work once in a while.

Thanks for pointing out that r33's flaws man. Garage Yoshida is pretty reputable here too so it's a bit surprising to see that. About Prostock, I've been in touch with them. Them and Crafsports are basically like the top names in the game for quality cars. Prostock does carry cars with repair history but their repair quality is stellar. They recommended their white r32 v-spec II for me but out the door it's over 5,000,000 yen which is a little more than i want to spend. They have their other white one with over 200,000km's on it but it's super clean. They actually recommended Best R as well which is the car I've been interested for 3,480,000yen out the door https://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/goo/13/700055104730190702001.html I'm kinda thinking just to swoop that car since it's got 700,000 yen worth of parts on it from the Ohlins and rays wheels. It's just got a lot of miles on it but solid maintenance history. But I've been definitely watching Pro-stock's inventory. They're very responsive too. Your car must be stellar man. You're living the dream with a r33 and s15. I miss my s15....Another reason to move to Australia.

You guys seem cool enough. I'm down. If you know any willing available Australian visa givers (marriage maybe?) please let m know That would actually be awesome. lol

You sound like you live in the SF bay area, right? I lived in SF for 17 years, left in Jan 2018 to Japan. i was hoping that a recession would happen while I'm gone so I can have a chance to own 2bedroom 3-sorty 11' wide tandem garage townhouse with $500 HOA dues/month with a 45 mins commute. The american dream lol. Too many tech bros there now with tons of cash and not enough new development due to various reasons. This is going off on a tangent. But man, the beaches, the food, the weather, the sightseeing. It's just a special place. I can't think of a better place in the US. If you don't mind not having sunshine there's plenty of other great options. Living in Japan was the first time i've lived in my own apartment. Can't go back to a sharhouse...I'm 36 damnit. You're right, I don't even know why i'm buying a car I can never afford to park in a garage.

Trust me, I've looked into this as well. Thing is, CA is where home, family, and friends are. And driving down Pacific Coast Highway is just amazing. I know CA has it's issues though, but some does everywhere. I'd have to leave that all behind and make trips back there. Plus my future work is back in California. I'd have to start over so-to-say in a different state. I was thinking about Portland or Seattle but i need the sun. It would be neat to live in Australia or Germany for a bit but I'd have to find a job to sponsor me for a visa.

I talked a bit with Garage Yoshida. They said they can put the stock computer back but I'm waiting to hear back about the turbos and intake components. If they can, then I think it can work. They said "small repair on the right front," and , "no problem,." The language is hard here. But their shop is well known so I suppose I could just trust him. I'll keep you posted. https://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/goo/16/700070889930190813001.html Thanks!

Yes please I'm looking for a clean 1995 r33 in Japan! You guys and the Americans swooped them all up already. Give one back! I guess I could just get that garage defend r33 Vspec. The faded blue plate is odd though. But I talked to many locals here. It's hit and miss. I think the purists like the r32 but most people admit the r33 is a better car. I can't say for sure cause I've never driven either. Both look good to me in their own ways but personally I like the rawness look of the r32 but then I see all these Americans driving around in beat up r32's spray painted bbq black with purple wheels and I'm like....ok yeah I need to distance myself from that.

Gotcha, thanks man. Looks like the Yoshida r33 has a swapped engine, a Nur spec one with a light tune so I don't see that being easy to get back to original, but anything is prossible right. I've heard nothing but good things for Garage Yoshida. Also, Midori Seibi is good but probably more $$$. Best-R is also good and less expensive. It's hard being in the US and navigating all this. Luckily I've got some OG Skyline guru's at work to help me out. However, they all seem on the expensive side, but they truly know the GTR. I think you should visit some shops if you make the trek out here. Midori has an english speaker but many others don't. Check out Prostock and Craftsports. They have english speakers and can help out too. They are both highly recommended around here. I'll let you know if I make the visit to Garage Yoshida and what I think. I"m also thinking hard about what you said regarding a USDM ITR, but those are like $$$ now too. A JDM ITR can be had for like $15k. There's a super clean 98 CTR for like $25k but it's like brand new. Thanks!! Evan

Wow man you're like the only one who seems to get this stuff. Sounds like you have a series 1 GTR in CA. Agreed that the series 1 is the least desirable and the steering wheel...uggh. Regarding the Garage Yoshida one, what you say sounds right but there's this one clause that scares me: A vehicle is exempted if it has been 21 years or more since its original production year and it is in its original unmodified condition. Vehicles in any condition may be excluded if they were manufactured prior to the year in which EPA's regulations for the class of vehicle took effect. Vehicles at least 21 years old with replacement engines are not eligible for this exemption unless they contain equivalent or newer EPA certified engines and emission control systems. Upon entry, the importer must file an EPA Form 3520-1 with Customs and declare code “E” on the form. But maybe that doesn't apply since it's a newer engine...if they even care or would know. I will try to talk to Yoshida to find out more about that car and why the v-spec sticker is gone and who knows what the interior looks like. I'll keep on searching man. Or I may just go for a 96 Honda ITR since they come OBD2a and figure that out and they haven't gone crazy expensive like the R33's. I need a Asahi Superdry to think this over. Thanks for the info, you seem extremely knowledgeable on this stuff. It's just crazy how you need to pass the FTP-75 which doesn't say you need OBD but then to pass BAR and SMOG you need OBDII. WTF.

https://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/goo/16/700070889930190813001.html Man yoshida's R33 is looking really good and good price. I need to find out more about the repair history though but Garage Yoshida sells quality stuff. Do you know if passing CA FTP-75 would be a problem with a R34 engine? I don't think they care about the engine matching at all, I think it's more about the pollutants that come out of the tailpipe. So hard to find info on this stuff. Thanks!

Good info here man. I actually saw that on yahoo auctions too and emailed them about it but I think they're closed. I was worried about the r34 engine and CA compliance. Ok I have a new question about this CA stuff. I did some intense reading on the long train ride here, and the CA law says the car does not need OBD if bringing it in as an individual, it just needs to pass the FTP-75. So why does Toprank tell me 1996+ won't work if OBD is not an issue. What's the difference between a 1995 and 1996 passing FTP? I know 1996's won't be federally legal until 2021 but that's not an issue to me since I don't plan to return to CA until at least 2021. I would really like to understand this better as 1996's are much easier to find and lower priced. I also love 1996 ITR's. Anyone know or understand this or there's probably no Cali love peoples here lol. Thanks!

Let me know what you mean about upgrading to the r33. The locals here prefer the r32 for driver satisfaction but I know the r33 is a faster car around the track with more modern tech too. I'm curious your thoughts. I spend most nights wishing someone would find a cheap solution to California emissions requirements...

That's a lot but worth it for an expensive car like what we're getting. A lot of shops are closed now so hopefully I'll hear back next week. I did get some clarification on the chassis number plate from Garage Defend. They say it is peeling from the previous owner using some cleaner or just age. That makes the car more promising but still waiting to hear about accident history.

Thanks man I just sent Garage Defend some questions on that one, like what is up with that spray on the blue plate. I have had zero luck finding someone to check cars out for me but I'll keep trying. Perhaps Garage Defend will allow me to take the car to Garage Yoshida for inspection since they're not TOO far from one another. And you're right, would need to source OEM parts to pass CA emissions...$$$ Appreciate the help!

Yeah that flawless one is nice but 7,000,000 yen + tax is wow ALOT. That's R34 money. The red one is just as you said, OK. It's in Ehime which is super far unfortunately, even with the high-speed shinkansen trains. Acutally google can't find a way there via train. The GTNet ones...I've been told to stay away from GTNet because of their quality. I've personally never seen one from GTNet though so perhaps shouldn't let other sway me. I would rather find one with no rust to be honest. I still think this one is probably the best of the r33's at a reasonable price for 3,600,000 yen + tax. It's also local in Kanagawa Prefecture (like 1.5hrs away from me via train). https://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/goo/13/700050502330190611001.html There's also this one still from Garage Defend but when discussed in the previous post I made, there was some negative things found on it. It is a V-spec though. https://garage-defend.com/cars/inventory/nissan/335-nissan-skyline-bcnr33-gt-r-v-spec-for-sale-3439 Actually looking more at the Garage Defend car...the paint spray over the blue VIN plate is scary. That's the thing with places like Garage Defend and Top Rank, they make these cars shiny to sell and most american's don't know any better so they buy them anyway. Tough market! Sounds like nobody likes the Best R R32 though! https://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/goo/13/700055104730190702001.html

This one just popped up. Needs a lot of love and high mileage (193,000km's) but pretty cheap in today's market and no accidents https://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/goo/13/700040351830190813001.html

Yeah I'm really kicking myself in the ass for not knowing that the R34 I bought when the market was high would never be legal in CA due to CA requiring OBD2 emissions equipment. Now I'm looking for a CA legal capable car (1995 and older) and the market is already high. It's like buying stocks when the market is high... Timing is everything I guess. The exporters here just don't know about the CA compliance issues so never informed me. I should have done a better job and reached out to CA importers myself I guess. Problem is there's only one shop and one man who knows about the process for Skylines, Sean Morris at TopRank long beach (former Motorex employee).

You got it, I did show it before. I think it's the only R33 under $40k and thanks for the help on the repairs. That's something I will keep in mind. But you said it best, if I want a clean series 1 r33, i'm going to have to drop a lot of money on it. It sort of takes the fun out of the car. It's not so much a car anymore, it's an investment that you become scared to drive around in because you don't want to damage it. We can blame the Americans for this and all their fb and google money swooping these up! haha. I will still need to pay about $10k for CA compliance work as well. Crazy. Hence why i'm leaning towards the best R R32 for $32k. Supras have sort of been forgotten and they can now be had for $40k at the auctions for a grade 3.5. Not too bad. $56k AUD seems legit for that R33. That color though...

The skyline market here is pretty crazy in general now. R34's haven't gone up as exponentially as the R33's. You can still get a grade 4 R34 for $60-70k USD. R33's, the 1995 is the main one that shot up. This is due for two reasons, 1) they become federally legal in the US, and 2) the series 1 is the only R33 that will ever be legal in California (at least until someone develops a OBD2 piggy pack system for the skylines). An example of how crazy it is, me and the shop I worked with to source my last two cars from the auction bid on a 1995 White V-spec (photo attached). We predicted based on previous sales that it would go for about 3,600,000 yen. It ended up selling for 4,500,000 yen ~($42k). That's an indicator of the market trend. The silver GTR i sent a link to in my previous reply is about $35k, non-vspec and high mileage. So expect clean, especially white, r33's to be close to $40k. If you don't care about repair history and high mileage you can find them cheaper. I'm not an expert but this is the current talk here. Regarding r32's this is pretty crazy too. low mileage non-repair history R32's are $45-60k. Middle range non-repair cars are $30-45k. High mileage repair history cars are $25-30k. I got these numbers from current experience, looking at dealers, auctions, and a japanese friend found a great website in a japanese only that shows current market values that I can't find on my US based phone...probably because i can't search in kanji. Again, not an expert, but this is my experience.

There's also this one that I plan to go see: https://www.goo-net.com/usedcar/spread/goo/13/700050502330190611001.html My GTR guru in our office (old school Japanese worker who has been in the GTR scene for decades) said he doesn't recommend buying a GTR from a non-GTR specialty shop but it may be work checking out. They want 3,600,000 yen excluding tax (8% here...goes up to 10% in September).

Yeah I've been using top rank for about a year now at the auctions with not much success. They said they only inspect some cars, not all. Dukes in Hiroshima also checks auctions for me and they showed me a lot more than top rank. I think top rank has so many clients they pick and choose who they want to show what car to. That's just my thoughts from working with them. Garage defend has those two series 1 r33's now but one has some strut repairs that we previously discussed and the other one looks so so (per my previous post). And you're right, everything is shut down for obon (except for where I work which only gets US holidays). These cars move so fast here it's crazy though. The last white clean grade 4 set the bar for the auctions so they'll be going for $40k+. My last night cars were from the auctions, both grade 4, and the inspector didn't disclose the rust so I haven't had a good experience there. It's tough here man lol. I wish they did private to private sales here like we do in the US but that's just not a thing. Shops like best R, pro stock, and craft sports are all good reputable shops that I've been looking at. Midori too but they're busy as hell. I'm going to go back and see the best R 32 this weekend when they open back up. But thanks man something will work out and thanks for letting me vent.

Hi Josh, I'm 99% sure you're talking about the r33 from jdm-expo (correct me if I'm wrong). I actually watched the video of the car and it looks like it needs more work than I want to put in on it. With clean grade 4 r33 v-specs going for about $43k at the auctions, their price maybe makes sense as it would take some work to clean it up. Plus jdm expo never got back to me. I'm back to the r32 at Best R. I think it's still the best value out there for one with no accident history and it already has the wheels, suspension and brakes I like so that saves me about $5k or so. I just really don't know about the replaced quarter panels. I'm not an expert on body work but it looks like it was done well. I can't find a PPI company here either. Prestige auto got back to me for PPI but they said they don't really do it and they need to tow the car to a shop and made it sound very unreasonable and suggested I buy a car through them via the auctions (everyone is trying to make a sale...). About top rank, yeah they have cars in CA already but I've seen some of their cars and mmmm I'm not that impressed. I've been talking with them for a while now, at least their crew in Japan. I keep getting pushed into buying their r33 available with unknown miles and accident history. And they've never suggested any cars to me from the auction. The guys in long Beach though have been super helpful for me with my questions about California compliance and even put me in touch with Sean Morris, the California compliance guru. Their information is why I sold my r34 and am stuck with a 1995 and older. I'll still be in Japan for another year or two so my plan was to find a solid r32 or series 1 r33 here, get it well sorted out here since I have the shops and parts more available here, and enjoy the car here with some good memories, then take it back with me. True I can buy one in CA now but am stuck with what they have in stock or use their services for the auctions again. Note, their prices are for non-California states. Add $10k for California compliance. Thanks again for all the help! Wish I can find some local help here. I need to study more Japanese...

Dude nice find. I've been scouring the web and haven't found any. I just sent them an email. I prefer a '95 R33 but super hard to find here or they want crazy money. Hopefully they'll get back to me. Not sure if it's a non-repair history car or not but I'll ask them. I've also been searching for PPI folks with no luck. I've emailed about 5 places so far, including some local GTR shops. I don' think PPI is a thing here but they have pre-shipment inspections but that's after purchase. Thanks dude I'll let you know what the outcome is. I still like the '94 R32 from Best-R too. One of these should work out. Thanks!