PJAuto

Hi George... We're having problems with the """Australian Government""" Even though the front seatbelt mounting positions are identical to the 4 seater that was imported to Australia, they reckon that they are not acceptable because the car is a 2 seater. We have argued that the front seating position is identical in both 2 and 4 seaters but the Australian Government being the usual ***Australian Government, this is not good enough. We may have to somehow install one of those extender arns like the R33 in order to beat them which will mean another $300 or so added to each compliance job... I expect some instructions from them by the end of the week. I do have a 4 seater coming from Japan as we speak, maybe we'l get that one through quicker. Either way, I don't expect any results till maybe April May... Cheerz Peter

Yes, George NZ can get them in without too many hassles... Probably not as occupant safe as us but there's room for improvement when they get here I have started making some enquiries about bringin them from NZ... as far as I can tell, there is no problem as long as the japanese deregistration papers are available we may end up with a good market between NZ and AUS in all these imports... boost your economy... lol... cheerz

Yo R34_ You may be still alowed to have the car complied under RAWS... DoTaRS had transitional measures in place, which have now expired... However, there are exemptions for the people who were ripped off by Low Volume plate holders... If this car is any good, complied, it's worth more than double what you're asking... If you email me the VIN and a copy of the Import approval, I can talk to the DoTaRs RAWS team and get some answers for you... Cheers Peter www.raws.net.au

Just a couple of points in defence of the law makers... Originally, used car imports were not allowed... Someone found a loophole in the law and took it to court... The importing practice of the motor companies was used as the catalyst to the courts decision of allowing us to import... That being the reason we are allowed to import and comply. it's only fair that we do it under the same conditions as the motor companies... For example: If you go to a Holden dealer and buy a new commodore, (or Astra), you ask and pay for 20" alloys and 3.5" exhaust... Holden builds your car, (or imports it), complies it with the allowable wheels and only after it's complied and probably registered, do they fit the 20" wheels and exhaust that you ordered... Same as RAWS... One more thing... 17", 18" wheels, big exhausts, aftermarket brakes, spoilers, gages, etc CAN COMPLY... As long as each item is tested by an engineer and proven to meet the Australian Standards. Brake pads, it costs $8-12,000 to test ONE brand of brake pads. If they don't pass, another $8-12,000 to test another... etc... Same goes for wheels, tyres, exhausts etc... To get All the hundreds types and sizes of wheels and tyres, exhausts, and various aftermarket bits approved, would cost engineers many thousands of hours and millions of DOLLARS... This would obviously reflect on the price of compliance... Not many people would be prepared to pay $10,000 plus, to comply their R33 or S13 etc... Would they ??? It's much cheaper to make the car STOCK and then fit the gear AFTER it's complied and registered... I hope this helps you guys understand some of the why's of this industry... Cheerz PS... BTW, I agree, all politicians SHOULD be shot... PMSL

32, Surprisingly, they cost verry little to run ... The ZX is a very high quality vehicle, better than all the yank tanks, better than most euro cars, certainly in the top 3 japcars and definitely (and regretfully) 10 times better than the best aussie car (and the junk the rest of the world sells us)... My 1st Z was an 85 model back in 93... nearly 3 years, changed oils, brake pads and regassed the a/c... Then in 96, it was a '90 model Z32 aus delivered ... 7 years, apart from normal tyres, brake pads, a battery, oil changes, there was one clutch slave cylinder (same as 180B $28.00), brake master cylinder kit, 1 fuel damper and of course a clutch kit (for obvious reasons)... Then the swb 2in turbo auto came from japan... nearly 2 years, 1 radiator cap and a couple oil changes... then down the cliff... see pics... that cost heaps...lol... I thought i'd slow down a bit and got a skyline... LOL... 3 x R33's and a non turbo Z later, I can't help myself... bought another swb TT Z ... manual this time and I'll add it to my RAWS schedule... I'll have to sell the non turbo z and the last R33 by the time the new Z is complied... or I will be very broke ... Arch, thanks man, she'a beauty all right... Got 6 effen months before I can drive her (legally)... it is Sickening....

Seems Chrismas was abitious.... I've been waiting 6 weeks just to get an "INSPECTION DATE" for my 180SX test vehicle.... And still no date... The way these guys are going, it looks like February/March for the Z... Oh well, looks like I'll have to drive around in the NA one... Or keep the R33 a little longer...

HOORAY... the beast has landed... docks to quarantine today... and home to papa on friday....... full tune, service, standardisation next week... and off to sunny QLD to finish off the engineers evidence.... And if the VSS boys act swiftly,,, ( FAT CHANCE) ,,, Complied by Xmas... CAN"T WAIT....

PMSL... Yes, I see it day in and day out... Poor people ending up with 96 r33's owing them $23 - $24k .... Because no one shows them the actual after-sale auction form... I guess the importers / agents that rip their customers off, will be shortlived in this business... My guy over there costs 30-40,000 yen more than the (advertised) average FOB, however, I don't at all mind paying as I always know what I'm getting for my $$$. ...ON A MORE PLEASANT NOTE: ...HOORAY.... MY BLACK BEAST ARRIVED... TOOK HER FROM DOCK TO QUARANTINE TODAY... SHOULD BE SHOWING THESE GTR's A THING OR 2 BY Xmas... LOL...

Hi lads and ladettes... here is a brand new miniature website to answer (hopefully) all your RAWS questions www.raws.net.au there's no hit counter yet, so to anyone who looks in, i'd really appreciate some questions, suggestions, feedback... or just say: Yo...SAU!!! cheerz PJAuto

Hi DRIFT... Just because a car is graded A, R, even O, does not necessarily mean it had a big hit. Many times they are graded so due to replacement of panels, fitting of body kits, major modificatios and/or based on what the seller/consignor tells the auction when they sell or consign the car. Also, grade to condition relationship tends to differ from auction to auction. For example, I recently bought my 180SX sample vehicle from USS tokyo graded 4C. When the car got here, my estimate is 3.5B... An R car we bought last year came in and my estimate was 3.5/4B easy... Had had replaced guards, front bumper/ headlights grill and bootlid because they had been stolen in Japan several years earlier (out of the owners own garage) and replaced immaculately. We'd never have known, except he chose to tell the auction rep when he sold the car. My aim here is mostly to INFORM the buyer of what they are buying and to show them that "good/genuine" AND "low kms" AND "cheap" is a rare combination. The RAWS Guidelines relate only to "Structural Damage"... There is no law that says that a car can not have had panel damage repaired or panels replaced. As a matter of fact, the car can have current non structural damage and still be complied. This is where the Japanese agent becomes the key to the operation and why we pay him so much money... He thouroughly inspects the cars we target and reports back before we bid. Our guy has steered us away from many grade 3.5 and 4 cars that had hidden damage and has picked up a few R cars that were graded so only because of panel replacement. Over 100 vehicles imported in the past 3 years, some Rs, a couple of As, there has not been even 1 bad car. One of my customers imported an immaculate low km grade 4A R33 series 2 M early last year. Paid biiig bucks for it,,, Guess what, his agent missed the wrinkles on the inner skirts and the car had to go back to Japan... It happens... Anyhow, having said all that, the vehicles posted on the site are examples only... They serve to show the difference between the cost of a Good Genuine car and the ones with previous damage history. I am not suggesting anyone buys these, especially since they are already sold. However, don't be surprised if you see many of these cars, especially the GTR you mentioned above, pop up for sale by some dealer or importer here in Aus, posing as a high grade low km car for $40g or something.... I'm currently constructing a new website "WWW.JAPCARS.NET.AU" which will be the buying information site. I'd better set up categories such as:"recomended" and "not recomended" cars...LOL... Anyone buys a car through me, will participate in the arduous and frustrating process of elimination, until we get the best car his/her money can buy... CHEERZ Peter

WON'T BE LONG NOW GTS ONE OF MY MATES IS HOPING TO BE APPROVED BY CHRISTMAS...

IF YOU'RE IN SYDNEY HELLBOY, WE CAN TAKE CARE OF THIS FOR YOU FOR BETWEEN $800 AND $1500 INCLUDING IMPORT PLATE & BLUE SLIP. MORE ACCURATE PRICE IF YOU CAN GIVE ME MORE INFO ON THE CAR TECHNICALLY THE CAR HAS TO BE STOCK BUT WITH PERSONAL IMPORTS A LOT OF MODS CAN BE BYPASSED BASED ON "STATE" REGULATIONS. TELL YOUR COUSIN TO APPLY FOR A PERSONAL IMPORT APPROVAL, THAT WAY YOU WON'T NEED AN ENGINEERS CERTIFICATE. NOT IN NSW... WHEN WE DO THE JOB AND ARE GIVEN ALL THE DOCUMENTS FROM THE CUSTOMER, THE COMPLIANCE PROCESS TAKES 4-5 WORKING DAYS.

I started with R33 in november 03 and delicas in october 04. Looks like the 180SX will be on at around oct/nov this year and with a bit (a big bit) of luck the swb Z32 by xmas... The cost varies with volume, specific requirements of the owner and the condition of the vehicle when it gets here. Discounts and other considerations WILL of course apply to customers originating from SAU My website ( www.japcars.com.au ) has much info including pricing structures, follow the "Pricing" link on the left of the page. I also have good and inexpensive access to other services such as aftermarket rectification, for NSW importers we can do the blue slip certificate and for interstate importers a few ideas that can greatly simplify the process. Also, as of recently, access to almost every auction house in Japan, with useful info and examples of recent sales and costings on the website. PS... Can I put a link to SAU on my website ???

Cool, I'll do my best...lol... Next question, I made a scoop purchase of some stainless steel 3" high flow cats to suit all the hot (and cold) Nissans... I've sold quite a few on that *bay place but the REAL skyliners here are missing out. To inform SAU members/readers, of this top deal, which section(s) will be appropriate in order to adhere to the reg's ???

i was altogether new to the whole importing business and at the time, neither the consulting engineers nor the department of transport even knew what they were doing... took well over a year... nowdays, with the right consultation and funds availability it should take around 6 months...