Import Yard info..

[docile]

G'day. This is my first post, so no flames please. And yes: im a complete noob!!

Basically over the last year or so i've been condsidering buying a 180sx. Funds havent managed to let me though. Thankfully now, they have and after having a look around, i've decided to get a skyline. Bit more comfort etc

Heres the thing, its alot of money (i plan to spend around 23 / 25K, but not much more) so i want to go through a dealer. I know i can get a car cheaper from private sale etc...etc, however i want some fallback just in case.

Having a look around its clear that there are some real dodgy yards, with absolutely crap cars (imports and non imports!)

I had a look up at AutoWorx the other day and they seemed to have some nice cars, for quite reasonable prices. The attitudes of a couple of the guys i spoke to, seemed pretty genuine. Of all the guys i've spoken to (although not a lot so far) they seem

So basically 2 or 3 questions!

1) Has anyone dealt with these guys before and what was their opinion on them (maybe a PM if bad)?

2) Any other dealers worth looking at that i may have missed?

3) Will i be able to get a decent R33 turbo for around that price. Maybe minor mods. Exhaust etc

Insurance isnt going to be a problem (although $$$)

Cheers

Mat

[rob77]

I've bought a few bits and pieces of Paul from Autoworx and he seems like a pretty reasonable guy. He's car are well priced (for a dealer) and seem to be pretty straight. Jeff Ash from C-red is quite reasonable as well, nice guy just very busy, again I've bought parts from him. If you had time up your sleeve and this was about 6 months ago, you could have imported it yourself through prestige motorsports (or someone simular) and had a wad of cash left over to spend on more mods. Give Jeff a call at C-red and see what r33's he's got in stock or coming in, he does get some very nice cars, there is a yellow r33 on his website, www.c-red.com.au

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Docile,

Welcome to the forum, and we don't flame people for proper threads:D

There are lots of good car dealers around, but the most important thing will be to get the car checked by a proper import mechanic, not the RAC etc.

Good luck with your hunt, I hope you find a nice car:D

See'ya:burnout:

[APA]

welcome to the club!

adrian

[RB20LagWagon]

A word of warning, Dont pay too much, for 23 you should be able to get a very very very very nice car. Myself i would buy privately, a bit more of a risk, but the reward will be a better deal, im not sure at the moment but someone from the forum may be selling their R33.

All in all is im saying dont go to a yard and pay 30k for a skyline with a bodykit, exhaust and SAFC

[chrisroi]

docile,we have bought 2 r33,s from autoworx, very good condition and he also goes over them well prior to sale. chris

[C-Red]

I've got some really nice 33s in stock for the money you want to spend, come down and I'll walk you through what I've got.

Jash

C-Red Tuning

www.c-red.com.au

[zanda]

Mat,

you will find that everyone hasvarying opinions on who is "good". my advice is that having come this far, dont rush out and buy a car this week. Talk to LOTS of people who have bought cars and their own experiences.

Like I put in another post some time back, everyone in this scene is essentially an enthusiast. (THIS NEXT STATEMENT IS NOT DIRECTED AT ANY ONE PARTICULAR GROUP/COMPANY) Whilst that might make them enthusiatic, it doesnt necessarily translate into excellent customer-oriented-business or proffessionalism. there are quite a few dodgy cats around, and its unfortunate, but sometimes the only way to identify them is to ask people for their own experiences.

2c.

[C-Red]

You're drawing a fairly long bow saying that everyone in the scene is an enthusiast. There are an awful lot of yards that'd struggle to tell you what a cat back exhaust does or what a coilover is. Probably the best guide to which yards are run by enthusiasts would be what they drive themselves.

Jash

[zanda]

Jash.

agreed. not everyone is an enthusiast. some people are indeed crusty and pathetically un-proffessional "quick buck" types, and these guys are probably the worst of the lot. theyre also probably the easiest guys to pick.

Im not prepared to go out on a limb, because I can only really speak from my own experience, however I do know of people who have been dissatisfied by the service they got from "enthusiast shops".

My advice therefore is simply to do as much homework as possible. speak to everyone and anyone and read everything. make sure that you dont have any unanswered questions by the time you fork out your money.

be an informed buyer.

[C-Red]

Well as the owner of an enthusiast shop I can assure you its hard to please everyone all the time. We are about the only import yard that can handle modifications on all levels on cars that we sell.

Jash

[caminperth]

Agreed with Zanda.. be informed and don't rush into anything.. there's plenty of skylines around...

best way to do anything really..

even turn up to some of the cruises and have a chat with people.. there's usually plenty of spare passenger seats to go around - though don't ride with paul.. he's craaaazy.. hehehe

[docile]

Hey guys. Thanks for the info and the welcome. I've got a while up my sleeve, so having a look around is no problems. I know i could get a better deal with a private sale, but having a bit of fallback is probably worth it (its alot of money for me!). I wont go over 24k unless i really, really have to!

Looking around there are some very dodgy cars available from some very dodgy people. When i went to up to Autoworx, they had a bit of a chat and didnt really try to sell me a car (which was a good thing). They seemed pretty genuine and did have some very nice cars.

I had another look at a few cars on sunday (which could narrow the "bigger" yards down a bit...) and one seemed to have awful cars in awful condition, while the other had very unrealistic prices, for ok cars (nothing special though)

I will definetly come round and have a chat Jash. Is it cool if i just come in to have a look, get some info etc? Your cars look good and i've heard some very good things from people!

My old man is a pretty experienced (ex) mechanic, with heaps of knowledge about old school V8's, but he knows bugger all about jap turbos etc. When buying my current car (XF falcon) it took ages to find a car that was in the best condition for the right money. He saved me a heap of money and now i have a good run around car thats in immacualate condition with 150K's on the clock! Hes picky when it comes to cars, which is great in the end, but we will definitely get a proper import mechanic to have a look.

One thing i noticed though, In the majority of the cars i've looked at is that the "boots" (i think thats what their called?) around the handbrake are torn / ripped. In some cases the rest of the interior seems in pretty good nick. Is this a common problem? I guess it wouldn't really matter, would it? I'm thinking it would be easy enough to replace?

Thanks for the help

Cheers

Mat

[PACEY]

Docile

I was just in your position a couple of weeks ago. I looked everywhere. I found the best, most informative service at C-red, before you ask, no this is not Jash and i am no relative, just telling it how it was.

Unfortunatly they didnt have a Series 2, which is what i was after but go check them out.

As for the statement about dodgy dealers, yer there were afew. I am now slowly finding things that were covered up when i insected it. not happy!

[C-Red]

Yeah come down docile, later in the afternoon is best for me, and I enjoy talking crap so come on down.

Jash

[Steve]

docile,

I just have to throw in a couple of words for Jash and C-red. I have dealt with them a bit when I was in the west, and you will get great service after the sale as well. I spent a bit of cash on my car after I bought it, and all the guys down there were very free with the advice and did me some great deals with parts and tuning etc, - was always a pleasure dealing with them.

Just my 0.02

PS - I am not a WA local anymore, so I hope no one gets upset me posting here. Just had some really good experiences dealing with C-red.

[docile]

Thanks Jash. I probably wont be able to get down and say g'day until easter is over, Unless your open Good friday... or easter monday!!

I heard some more good things about you guys, today at work (woolworths of all places), so yeh things will start to settle down after easter so i will definitely come and see you.

cheers mat

[C-Red]

Dude,

You've got two hopes of me being open over easter, but yeah after easter come on down.

Jash

[docile]

Haha thats what i figured..... Alright for those who dont have to work this weekend!!

Pacey: Where did you end up buying your car from, if thats ok??

[PACEY]

Docile

That is not something im going to disclose on a public forum.

Check your PM.