V35 - Import Or Buy Local?

[Mrman]

I have been considering importing a V35 skyline but I'm not sure if it will be a cheaper option than buying locally.

To import I know that you will need another $10,000 - $12,000 on top of the FOB price of the car to get it to your door complied. When I look at the price of cars at the auctions and add the $12,000, it doesn't end up being much cheaper than buying a local car.

Is there anyone out there that can share their opinion?

P.s

I would like a black or white 350gt coupe with the half leather or full leather seats, bose stereo and manual. I would also consider auto. Any other features like sunroof, brembo's etc. would be nice but I'm not fussy. Only really want to spend about 30k on road. This would mean I can only spend about 18-20k on the car which I'm guessing is on the lower end of the market.

George

[autoworx]

v35s have dropped dramatically in recent times

for an grade 4b-4.5a 03 auto 2 door 350gt with 50-80000km you can be looking as low at 11-12,000$ in japan . A rough figure landed and complied would be around 20-22.

Manuals and 04/05s are more , brembo's add a more also.

these prices are very cheap at the moment and could return to normal at any time.

[kakimoto33]

I agree totally, local prices have not dropped to match the recent decrease in average sale prices in Japan yet so now would be the worst time ever to buy a V35 locally ... either way another 6 months for local prices to follow suit (probably around $3,000 to $5,000 saving across the board) or buy in Japan and import one. It will always be cheaper to import because you have to consider that all cars being sold here have been imported at some stage and are almost always sold at a profit except for very odd situations, so although importing takes a while compared to buying locally you will always save money as long as you buy the right car.

We have heaps of good V35's available all the time and I will be happy to show you a bunch that you might like which are well within your budget if you email me directly at [email protected] with your required specs, your location in Australia, and also make sure you note that you are an SAU member too!

[Guest]

Read this link off SAU but this is only one side of a double edged knife as you would say, you will get good and bad story's from both sides and the retail/private pricing in Australia has caught up with the prices in Japan.

The last 3 personal cars of mine over a 2 year period being a JDM EVO 8, manual PV35 and F50 Cima were all purchased in Australia and I have access to any plate I want but that was my personal choice.

Shop around is the key and http://carpoint.com.au/ is a good place to start.

[WazR32GTSt]

i bought locally because its safer and easier, but you pay for it

its always goign to be cheaper to import, but you always have the risk

[Charles89]

i bought locally because its safer and easier, but you pay for it

its always goign to be cheaper to import, but you always have the risk

There shouldn't be any risks if you choose the right company to import the car for you.

[Guest]

There shouldn't be any risks if you choose the right company to import the car for you.

That is as far from the truth as you can get and any professional person in the industry would be full of shit if he didn't tell you that, their are risks no matter who you use in Japan or Australia and no matter how long you have been importing cars for be it private or dealer, remember that is were your "savings" are deemed to come from till something goes wrong.

What happens if your CPV35 head light is damaged in transit or that EVO 8 you imported has a stuffed transfer case (remember not test driven in Japan) or during moving at the docks because your car is so low it bottoms out and has damaged the chassis do you think Japan or the person helping you import the car is going to pay (yes it has all happened).

You have people who haven't had issues but then a few that have, if you are willing to take a risk so be it but you are told the more expensive the car is the more you save but they forget to tell you the more expensive it is the more it costs to repair......

[changi]

There shouldn't be any risks if you choose the right company to import the car for you.

hi,

I imported without any problems, but can't say there weren't a few anxious moments waiting to get it shipped, complied and safely in the garage. the adantage of importing is that you can [ as long as you are willing to wait] get the exact car you are looking for, and not settle for a veh that doesn't have all the 'wish list' items. hook up with someone knowledgable/trustworthy over there, tell him exactly what you want, then wait 'til he identifies a target car. if it is the car of your dreams, tell him to bid to a price you are willing to pay; bearing in mind what the car would sell for here. if the car's auction price is over your limit, aniother will come along [that happened to me], if it's auction price is less than your limit [that didn't happen to me], you have a bargain.

that is my experience with importing, for what it's worth!!. I am currently waiting for another car to be identified by my agent also.

good luck, whichever way you go.

regards

[WazR32GTSt]

There shouldn't be any risks if you choose the right company to import the car for you.

ignorance is bliss, hey?

DRIFTT summed it up well.. any unforseen event can happen, that's why they call it unforseen! hell the ship could sink or your container could fall off the ship there are so many places things could go wrong. 9/10 people don't have a problem but that's the risk you take

[Iron Chef]

^^^ Your aunty could also turn out to be a man. Life is full of risk, it's how you manage it that counts. Unfortunately, buying an import from a car dealer locally isn't necessarily a risk-free experience either... (that comment is not directed at anyone, so don't take it personally!)

Edited July 18, 2008 by Iron Chef

[666DAN]

I think importing is the way to go, I've seen many more horror stories with locally sourced cars unfortuantely. The V35 Premium my dad just got is what I'd class "as new" (I don't say that often) and was a steal. We looked at local non-premiums that were "well seasoned" and cost $10K more, pffft!

Anyway, all cars have issues at some point, it's just how frequently and how costly they get....it's a risk car ownership brings with it

[NISMO]

I've bought a V35 from Japan and locally, and was much more pleased with the local car.

My import process went fairly smoothly, but there were a couple of points on the car not mentioned in the auction sheet.

When it came to my second V35 I went locally. Actually interstate. I had the car completely inspected with a 5 page report highlighting any issues.

Locally you're also able to go and see the car for yourself, and of course take it for a test drive.

BUT the most important thing!!

If you find what you want locally, you don't have to wait 3 months between handing your money over and driving the thing :-)))

I would consider importing again, as the people I used were great. (quick plug - J-Spec). But would really only do so if I'm saving around $5k+ or so or if I had absolutely no luck here in Aus.

[Guest]

^^^ Your aunty could also turn out to be a man. Life is full of risk, it's how you manage it that counts. Unfortunately, buying an import from a car dealer locally isn't necessarily a risk-free experience either... (that comment is not directed at anyone, so don't take it personally!)

The exporters in Japan who sell low grade cars of course sell the cars to anybody be it private importers or car dealers and certain exporters (Chef knows who I am talking about) just stung another car dealer big time.

[Iron Chef]

Quality control in Japan is becoming more and more important, particularly with more and more people fighting over less and less cars.

[NISMO]

Quality control in Japan is becoming more and more important, particularly with more and more people fighting over less and less cars.

Chef, has there been any quick changes to help this, or is the system as was, just buyers are a little more careful?

[Iron Chef]

It really depends on the supplier in Japan - ones that have high overheads and have to do big numbers to survive often start to panic and end up buying crap just to keep sales up (works in the short term, but burns customers obviously). Auction houses also have the same problems, so what used to be a grade 3.5 is now a 4, and cars can be a 4B and be totally rusted out underneath, so you have to really know your stuff when reading auction sheets.

My last trip to Japan, I literally picked up half the number of cars I normally do, and none at all from USS Tokyo on the Thursday, which is the largest auction in Japan. In the end, I'd rather buy no cars than crap ones. There are still good cars around, but you have to pay reasonable money for them. It's the customers who want to throw low bids on everything and try and snag something cheap that often end up waiting much longer than they used to.

[GTR-N1]

Hi George,

When a person is on a tight budget, one has to be even more careful to get the most reliable car there is, first up! You don't want to be forking out $$ straight away after the purchase.

From the posts above, there is risk whether or not you import or buy locally; however, you minimise that risk through buying locally.

Why?

After using your eyes to look over the condition of its engine, body, undercarriage etc, you then turn the engine on and then... What?

How many messages do you get through your seat?

How many messages do you get through the wheel?

These messages will not show up on the Auction Sheet! You only get a Number #3/3.5/4/4.5/5 and these numbers can be embellished.

I've bought GTRs locally every time - and of course I've had the luxury of analysing every nuance that I could. Then I can make a more valued choice.

One more important thing. Every GTR that I've sold,

i) I've only lost $2K per year in depreciation (because I not only took care of it, but it was a prime example of what most GTR buyers would want on 1st inspection) &

ii) Every buyer has said that the car I was selling was the best example out of the array that they had inspected over months of seeking

So if you pick a good one - you'll end up selling a good one later on.

Cheers,

Terry

[WazR32GTSt]

So if you pick a good one - you'll end up selling a good one later on.

best call ever.

this is too true, and in terms of hte V35, there is a HUGE difference between the options you can get and the condition of the cars. by getting a godo condition car with all the options you are just making it that much easier to sell the car in a few years time when there are hundreds on the market and yours stands out like dogs balls as being the best example

[GTR-N1]

best call ever.

this is too true, and in terms of hte V35, there is a HUGE difference between the options you can get and the condition of the cars. by getting a godo condition car with all the options you are just making it that much easier to sell the car in a few years time when there are hundreds on the market and yours stands out like dogs balls as being the best example

You betcha Waz,

It even applies to a Hi-oon-die that the owner sells to a teenager for his/her 1st car.

We never want to sell them a dud!

Cheers,T

[Iron Chef]

Hi George,

When a person is on a tight budget, one has to be even more careful to get the most reliable car there is, first up! You don't want to be forking out $$ straight away after the purchase.

From the posts above, there is risk whether or not you import or buy locally; however, you minimise that risk through buying locally.

Why?

After using your eyes to look over the condition of its engine, body, undercarriage etc, you then turn the engine on and then... What?

How many messages do you get through your seat?

How many messages do you get through the wheel?

These messages will not show up on the Auction Sheet! You only get a Number #3/3.5/4/4.5/5 and these numbers can be embellished.

I've bought GTRs locally every time - and of course I've had the luxury of analysing every nuance that I could. Then I can make a more valued choice.

One more important thing. Every GTR that I've sold,

i) I've only lost $2K per year in depreciation (because I not only took care of it, but it was a prime example of what most GTR buyers would want on 1st inspection) &

ii) Every buyer has said that the car I was selling was the best example out of the array that they had inspected over months of seeking

So if you pick a good one - you'll end up selling a good one later on.

Cheers,

Terry

I agree with everything you've said Terry, the problem comes when the seller isn't as scrupulous as you (or me for that matter - I've just spent $2K fixing everything on my JZX100 getting it ready for sale), and the buyer isn't that good at checking cars (or worse, over-confident about it).

One of the hardest things for people to get their heads around is that, yes cars available locally are generally more expensive than importing your own, but someone else has tied their money up to bring that car in, and you should pay more to have the luxury of seeing the car and test driving it before you buy.

You'd be amazed at the number of people who call me wanting a car, but don't want to pay for it until they've seen it in the metal...I'm not sure who they think will cover all the bills for it in the meantime...