The Ins And Outs Of Cars In Japan

[m3gtr]

Finding the right car is proving a royal pain in the ass.

Is there any hope going to an auction?

[Beer Baron]

is this the kind of thing you're after?

[Beer Baron]

or this, an 04 CSL.

[Beer Baron]

or another 04 CSL?

[Beer Baron]

actually, you should really just do an R35 GTR.

[Beer Baron]

nice 2007 M3.

[Beer Baron]

nice 04 CSL, could be quite cheap due to the accident history. as long as it was repaired nicely it could be a cheap buy.

[Beer Baron]

nice silver R35 with 3,000kms would be good.

[m3gtr]

Richard! You champion! Where did you find all these??

Yes, its very much along the lines of what im after! Not the CSL, id LOVE one but can only find them in LHD.

The GTR is just too expensive mate... ive got MAXIMUM 5.5 to spend. Thats the limit.

Mate can you point me in the right direction? Ive basically exhausted all dealer avenues..the same stock...and the ones that i was having a serious look at are either gone or damaged or incomplete spec wise...

halp!

[m3gtr]

nice 2007 M3.

Holy cow THAT is cheap for a 2007 model!!!

*drooling*

[m3gtr]

that cheap CSL has had the boot, bonnet and right front fender replaced...plus no shaken...probably a sizey bingle.

[Beer Baron]

lol, thanks for pointing that out mr auction expert!! btw impossible to tell what was replaced or repaired or how bad unless you inspect in in person though. the sheet is just a guide to give you a rough idea what to expect. sure it says bonnet, guard, boot replaced but you never know what a car is like till you look at it and check it properly. it could still be quite nice. or it could be completely f**ked.

all those cars have where to find them on the left. namely, USS yokohama, uss tokyo (chiba), uss kyushu etc.

I completely forgot about the whole LHD thing as I never buy euros in japan. so yeah that will cull a lot of the decent beemers.

also, do not get excited about those prices, they are all just start prices. sometimes people start low, sometimes they start high, but they all aim to end up around the same place.

I can't remember your budget? was it 6mil? if it is I would seriously just save a bit more and buy a used R35 with a few thousand kms on it.

[Beer Baron]

anyway exporters like laurence will have the same kind of access i do to auction info, he can search out for you pretty easily.

[m3gtr]

Richo, that silver M3 is perfect. RHD, 23,000 kays, 04 model...

[m3gtr]

lol, thanks for pointing that out mr auction expert!! btw impossible to tell what was replaced or repaired or how bad unless you inspect in in person though. the sheet is just a guide to give you a rough idea what to expect. sure it says bonnet, guard, boot replaced but you never know what a car is like till you look at it and check it properly. it could still be quite nice. or it could be completely f**ked.

all those cars have where to find them on the left. namely, USS yokohama, uss tokyo (chiba), uss kyushu etc.

I completely forgot about the whole LHD thing as I never buy euros in japan. so yeah that will cull a lot of the decent beemers.

also, do not get excited about those prices, they are all just start prices. sometimes people start low, sometimes they start high, but they all aim to end up around the same place.

I can't remember your budget? was it 6mil? if it is I would seriously just save a bit more and buy a used R35 with a few thousand kms on it.

5.5 max. not a penny more. I was originally only going to spend 4.5 but we can budget for more...

[Beer Baron]

the first one? it's coming up this thursday. USS T.

[m3gtr]

Laurence is down in Osaka isnt he? I would want to see the car with my own eyes, i mean smell the damn leather close.

How do i go about doing that?

Maybe pay for Laurence to come up here?

[m3gtr]

the first one? it's coming up this thursday. USS T.

Really? So how do i go about getting more photos at least. I need to know if its got a few things i need but cant see from the photos supplied.

[Beer Baron]

no can do. It seems most probably an auction car is not for you. there is little or no opportunity for people without auction house membership to view the car and no chance of any test drive before purchase. and more pics prior to auction day are impossible. if you are buying an auction car you need to get someone with a dealers account to buy it for you, and that means trusting their judgement and understanding of what you want 100%. the first time you'll see the car is after you've bought it. the up side of auction is wide selection and cheap price.

probably best to keep cruising the dealers.

[Laurence]

Yes, as Beer Baron says, with the Auctions you get to look at the car in the morning and basically you have however long it is until the car is at auction to inspect it. They are usually parked nose to tail so you can check things like how the transmission engages and what the leather smells like but not much else. You can check under the body for damage or rust and check the oil and water to see if the engine is completely stuffed. Most of the people that go there have been looking at cars forever and as you get better at it you learn what to look for, especially if you deal with particular models. Dealers you are selling to often mention specific things they want you to check.

Also remember that in the auction the price goes up... The website we are looking at only shows the start price. Also there are auction fees and 5% sales tax, so the number you buy it for is just the beginning. I don't know the fees for such an expensive car so I can work that out when I get back to Japan. You can come to the auction as a guest, but if you run around the carpark without ID they get suss and 100% that car would be locked so they wouldn't let you have the key. I would like to check out USS Tokyo so I may be able to help out with that.

Unfortunately USS Tokyo takes tiny pictures...

edit: LOL they have finally changed 右 左 to 左 右. It was so annoying the other way around.

I am back in Japan on Friday. I can find out how much that Silver car went for and let you know.

Edited April 1, 2008 by Laurence