Importing ? or Buying Whats already here?

[Dragon18]

hay guys buying a 180sx soon importing it but afew poeple are saying? get one already here?

i belive that if i import one i can pay same price in getting one here but in better nik =)

i dont mind waiting just want a good clean car +)

What you guys THINK????

whats the way to go?

[Shell]

Dragon18, it's up to you really

In most cases you'll save $$$ by importing, so yes, you'll probably be able to afford one in better nick or a newer model or whatever, than if you bought from a dealer here.

The downside is you're relying on someone elses opinion/inspection of the car, so make sure you use a trustworthy importer

I would go check out a few dealers, go look at a few private sales, and also join a mailing list like prestige motorsports (if you're not already on it) which shows you examples of cars in Jap and their condition/prices.

Compare what you can get for your money and then decide which way you'd prefer to go...

Personally I'd import :uh-huh:

[B-Man]

Down side of importing is the wait.......... tell me about it .. 5 days to go before my ship comes in....... ahhhhh it seems like I've been waiting for years. Oh well - it'll be worth it !!

BF

[inark]

hehe yeah the waits a killer.. luckily when dealing with Mark from centreline everything ran perfectly on time and was scheduled to get shipped to my door 5 days early.

it was meant to be here on friday in which i got a call from the trucking company telling me there had been a delay and that it wont be here til monday... which was when it was meant to be here anyway hehe

importing is the only way to go providing you can find a decent importer... only 2 i would suggest is Mark from Centreline Australia and Craig from J-Spec

[one8tsx]

Like the others have said, the wait is the most annoying part. But i think it is well worth it. Even though you can't inspect the cars yourself before they are imported, they seem to be in much better condition than the ones here.

I got my 180sx last year, very good condition and very happy with it.

[franks]

at the end of the day if your up to save a buck then your probably better off finding a reliable importer. of course the risks involved with this option include:

a) does the importer carry warranty? in most cases no.

B) can you trust the importer with their auction reports and car details? if you've seen a jap auction report before they are quite detailed and the auction houses carry heavy fines if misleading information is given by the seller.

c) can you wait for your ship to come in, customs to clear and compliancing work to be done? about 10 weeks from date of purchase.

d) depending on importer (as some may do this all for you) can you be bothered with dealing with customs, compliance and registration?

when buying from a dealer its obvious there is a buck to be made - but hey, everyones gotta make a living and your usually paying for convenience anyways! you'll find different import yards have different profit margins and quality of cars may vary aswell. the best thing about car yards are you can touch, feel, smell and drive the car your going to buy.

so i guess it comes down with what you feel most comfortable with? but i reckon you look at both options and your decision should be based on the car that comes up on offer rather than the source it comes from.

my R34 GTT is coming very shortly....Richard @ Edge Imports organised everything, i just have to drive it home....currently it's at the compliance stage and everything seems to be running like clockwork.

Edge is also importing a friend of mine's R33 GTSt shortly after....

[2fardown]

Im with Franks here - can you say WARRANTY.

Who's to say your 180sx is only running on 5 cylinders or turbo is on its last legs after importing.

[gtrken]

I have imported a few cars over the years from the Jap auctions and my buyer gives dead accurate body reports.

When the vehicles arrive, I invariably have to fix brakes, usually a clutch, sometimes repair a noisy diff or a stuffed syncro and give them a good tune.

The trouble is, no matter how good the report and/or the buyer , they can't DRIVE them enough to pick up some of these problems.

Sure, buy from Japan but unless you are or have a good friend who's a mechanic, any saving may be gone.

You don't hear too much about the bad cars from Japan that someone has imported cos no one likes to admit they bought a lemon.

My 2c

Ken

[Evan]

Depends that age 180sx, early model ones you maybe better buying here cause after all the shipping and taxes and complience you dont save all that much. But if you want a late one like 96 model a lot more money can be saved.

eg a early 180sx all the taxes , compliance etc maybe 50% of the cost, a 96 model you may find taxes shipping etc maybe only 30% of the cost.

E

[adam 32]

its simple

if what you want is here, buy it. if not import....

when i was deciding to import or buy locally i wanted a modified car... which dont really exist at dealers so i imported. from experience if you want a standard car you can easily get one already landed. especially with 180s as the jap market is still keen on them and so are more expensive then say silvias or R32s...

[Dr_Drift]

There are risks and benefits either way you go, just make sure if you import one that you can get a guantee on the quality of the vehicle matching what you are told, and there is a good report on the condition of the car.

Also: E-MAIL me bout those PM's on alarm etc