Anyone From Nz?

[win4ever]

The Port's website says it arrived on 6th July, so it's now the 3rd day it's there. I'll just wait for my dealer to contact me to go see and collect the car when it's at his yard. He is saying it's going to be either tomorrow or early next week. Keep my fingers crossed that it'll be ready

Anyway, when the car reach the port, does it need to go through any checks / test b4 it's released to the transporter? I know my dealer has at least 2 other cars coming in together with my car so hopefully if there's not much work there, it can come straight out and go for compliance and then be ready for collection. I am so so hoping to get my hands on it for a cruise this weekend 5 weeks is quite a long wait already for me...

I've checked and know which wharf the car is in. So touch wood, if the car is still not out by tomorrow, I'll go have a look around on Saturday. The colour of the car is slightly more rare being blueish grey. I've seen many white, black and silver ones in auctions, but mine was the first I've seen. So hopefully there's not a lot of similar colour v35 coupe there!

As for my Atenza, well, interest seems to be picking up. There's quite a few watchers on trademe now. Someone had a look the other day and seems quite happy but I think he is still shopping around. Another guy called is looks very eager as he kept asking if he view it on the weekend will the car still be available. So hopefully the timing will be just nice. Out go the Atenza and in come my new V35!

Yes, the ship will likely have unloaded and be on it's way to the next port. The most accurate info is on The Ports of Auckland site, and the ships sometimes arrive a day earlier or later than usual. Your car will probably be on the wharf that it was unloaded from, or may have already been collected by a transporter to be taken to the centre your dealer uses for overseeing compliance, depending on how busy they are down there. If you have a look around the wharf in areas you're allowed, there's a reasonable chance you'll see it, but then there could be several 350GT's in your colour so that may not help. I think you'd be very lucky to get it by this weekend, but you never know. How's that Atenza getting on?

Edited July 8, 2010 by win4ever

[X-Modcarz]

Hi Guys,

Am from Auckland and a 250GT 4-door sedan owner having bought the car only 2 days ago. Will be keen to keep in touch.

Cheers

[Blade NZ]

Hi Guys,

Am from Auckland and a 250GT 4-door sedan owner having bought the car only 2 days ago. Will be keen to keep in touch.

Cheers

Nice, another kiwi. Welcome! Plenty of info here on just about anything you need to know. Have fun and enjoy your very cool car!

[win4ever]

Welcome!!! Yeah! Glad to c another v35 owner here! I see lots of v35 sedans around but hardly see anyone with the car posting comments here! Really hope to form a little Kiwi community here to discuss topics and issues (if any). I am here a few weeks now and really find this place great to find out more details on the car!

Anyway, where are you located in Auckland? Do post some photos of your car and hope to c u around! Also, mind telling where you got your car from?

Well, enjoy the car! Mine's coming soon.... just waiting for my importing dealer to contact me when it's in his yard. Was hoping to c it today, but looking at it, with every passing minute, it's increasingly likely that I'll only be able to get hold of my car next week...

Hi Guys,

Am from Auckland and a 250GT 4-door sedan owner having bought the car only 2 days ago. Will be keen to keep in touch.

Cheers

[Spong]

Anyway, when the car reach the port, does it need to go through any checks / test b4 it's released to the transporter? I know my dealer has at least 2 other cars coming in together with my car so hopefully if there's not much work there, it can come straight out and go for compliance and then be ready for collection. I am so so hoping to get my hands on it for a cruise this weekend 5 weeks is quite a long wait already for me...

Cars are checked by NZ customs before they leave Japan, and can get "flagged" there if anything needs to be attended to in NZ, then they're checked again when they reach NZ by Customs and Agriculture. They look for stowaway spiders and suchlike. If the cars aren't collected withing a specified time, the importer has to pay storage fees, and they aren't cheap. I believe the time window for collection is only a day or two. From experience it seems to take about 2-3 days after arriving at the wharf before being transported. Your dealer will possibly contract out the job of overseeing compliance. For example, Maidestone Motors in Grey Lynn handle the job for several dealers, and when a lot of cars arrive, they can get a bit behind. I'm told that small importers get lower priority over the big ones. Waiting is the hardest part I know from experience. Once you get it though, it'll be like Christmas for sure.

Edited July 9, 2010 by Spong

[Spong]

Hi Guys,

Am from Auckland and a 250GT 4-door sedan owner having bought the car only 2 days ago. Will be keen to keep in touch.

Cheers

Welcome indeed. Good car choice there. Some of us have Stageas of course, but they're closely related. Maybe you'd like to enter your car in the "garage" area, then a link will show in your profile.

Edited July 9, 2010 by Spong

[win4ever]

Yeah, gotta say, the worse part of importing is the long wait... i thought it would be relatively easy 2 wait as I have a car to use and it's just a matter of 1 month+ which seems to usually pass very quickly due to my workload in the office which made weeks pass like days! But since i secured this car, it does feel much much longer!

Anyway, no call til now, so I guess my hope of getting a feel for the car over the weekend is gone (compliance don't work on saturday rite?). Well, it shouldn't be too long now I hope.... another few days won't be that bad I guess. I'll run over to the wharf today n c if the car is still there. Will be gutted if I still see it sitting there.

Oh well, that's the price to pay for getting a car at a lower price....

Cars are checked by NZ customs before they leave Japan, and can get "flagged" there if anything needs to be attended to in NZ, then they're checked again when they reach NZ by Customs and Agriculture. They look for stowaway spiders and suchlike. If the cars aren't collected withing a specified time, the importer has to pay storage fees, and they aren't cheap. I believe the time window for collection is only a day or two. From experience it seems to take about 2-3 days after arriving at the wharf before being transported. Your dealer will possibly contract out the job of overseeing compliance. For example, Maidestone Motors in Grey Lynn handle the job for several dealers, and when a lot of cars arrive, they can get a bit behind. I'm told that small importers get lower priority over the big ones. Waiting is the hardest part I know from experience. Once you get it though, it'll be like Christmas for sure.

[X-Modcarz]

Thanks guys, will keep in touch. Still taking baby steps so will post pics and info as I learn how to.

Cheers guys. Always keen.

[win4ever]

Did anyone tried topping up their transmission fluid? I heard Castrol's Transmax J is the same as the Matic J of Nissan. Went to Super Cheap today and noted they only have Transmax M. Anyone seen the J?

Also, I was looking at some roof racks on sale and not too sure if they can fit a v35 coupe. They seem to say it can fit most cars but not sure if it can fit a v35 coupe. Anyone knows? Just thinking I can get those detachable ones if I need 2 get to the ski field with my snowboards and wife together with 2 frens (in which case, I can lower the back seat to fit the boards.

Anyway, Dave, u were right, i was at the wharf yesterday and saw my car there! It's park at the parking closest to the fence so I can see it clearly! Guess it's really gonna take a few days next week b4 I can possibly wish the get my hands on the car!

[Spong]

Did anyone tried topping up their transmission fluid? I heard Castrol's Transmax J is the same as the Matic J of Nissan. Went to Super Cheap today and noted they only have Transmax M. Anyone seen the J?

Also, I was looking at some roof racks on sale and not too sure if they can fit a v35 coupe. They seem to say it can fit most cars but not sure if it can fit a v35 coupe. Anyone knows? Just thinking I can get those detachable ones if I need 2 get to the ski field with my snowboards and wife together with 2 frens (in which case, I can lower the back seat to fit the boards.

Anyway, Dave, u were right, i was at the wharf yesterday and saw my car there! It's park at the parking closest to the fence so I can see it clearly! Guess it's really gonna take a few days next week b4 I can possibly wish the get my hands on the car!

I see Castrol NZ list Transmax J on their site, so I guess it should be available in NZ, perhaps to order. I'd be interested if it's better priced than Matic J, as I'll probably be doing a flush of mine in the next 6 months or so.

Re: your new car, they do get dirty in the ship on the way over, so if your one didn't look great it probably will after a good clean. Some cars get collected by the transporters over the weekends, but only if the garages they're going to are open in the weekend. When I was there on a Saturday, I saw several transporters loading up, and by Monday my Stag was looking quite lonely and forlorn waiting to be collected. Back when I imported my previous cars (previous to the Stag was my Cefiro in 2003) you could collect them yourself, and drive them direct (with dealer plates) to the garage overseeing compliance, but now it's compulsory to pay for an official transporter ($70 to Grey Lynn in my case) - another case of someone else getting their share. The time mine took to arrive and be collected seems to be about the same as yours. I'd say your one will probably be collected Monday.

[Ant]

Hey Guy's, just thought I'd update you after my service at City Nissan. All in all I was happy with the work done and the service provided. The people there are very good. One sticky point I've outlined in the direct injection thread so check that out.

It was a 100k service with an underbody check and a trans flush. They found that the two front shocks had very slight dampness but still performed well, that the lower control arm bush had slight cracking and both air con & alt belt will need doing. All would be fine until next service. Full synthetic oil used and matic fluid J. All up it was NZ$650 which is pretty good and on par with Holden pricing here and better than BMW. They also provided quotes on future parts required. To sum up, I will go back there! Cheers.

Re the belts - if they get noisy on cold start after being changed pop back to City Nissan, this is fairly normal and takes them a few minutes to re-adjust.

Re the lower control arm bushings - inner or outer? I've just had both inner bushings done on mine due to severe cracking, initially was told by City Nissan that the whole arm has to be replaced at $600 each (very expensive chunks of aluminium)! Fortunately I've got a mechanical warranty and this part is covered - and the warranty people discovered that you can replaced the bushing as a separate item.

Also had one of my wheel bearings done - what a difference that has made, never noticed how noisy it was, put the noise down to tyre roar. Now the car is like a tomb inside!

[win4ever]

Hey Dave, thanks for the update! I was just doing some random lookaround in Super Cheap today as they are having this big sale apparently. Anyway, if anyone did try Transmax J, do update us! I'll be keen to find out the price and how it is as well!

Re my car, surprisingly, from far, it looks really clean and nice. Doubt it get collected over the weekend as I was passing by yesterday night (around 11pm) after a friend's bday party and saw the car is still there. Hopefully it'll be collected tomorrow! And yes, it's looking quite lonely there too with only a few other cars in that parking area (although there're quite a few more cars further away in another parking area.

Well, everything seems to be looking good now, just to wait for it to be collected, complied and then I can pay and get it registered! And at the same time, hope my Atenza will find a new home soon! Another person came today but seems to be more keen on a stationwagon.... hopefully more luck soon!

I see Castrol NZ list Transmax J on their site, so I guess it should be available in NZ, perhaps to order. I'd be interested if it's better priced than Matic J, as I'll probably be doing a flush of mine in the next 6 months or so.

Re: your new car, they do get dirty in the ship on the way over, so if your one didn't look great it probably will after a good clean. Some cars get collected by the transporters over the weekends, but only if the garages they're going to are open in the weekend. When I was there on a Saturday, I saw several transporters loading up, and by Monday my Stag was looking quite lonely and forlorn waiting to be collected. Back when I imported my previous cars (previous to the Stag was my Cefiro in 2003) you could collect them yourself, and drive them direct (with dealer plates) to the garage overseeing compliance, but now it's compulsory to pay for an official transporter ($70 to Grey Lynn in my case) - another case of someone else getting their share. The time mine took to arrive and be collected seems to be about the same as yours. I'd say your one will probably be collected Monday.

[win4ever]

Guys, just a quick question. I've seen in other threads that our v35 TV screen has an AV input which we can connect a reversing camera onto it. I saw that there are quite a few reversing camera for sale on trademe and is wondering will these cameras work if they are connected to the TV screen?

Will it affect the TV screen / sat nav system in any way?

Thanks!

[win4ever]

Dave, surprise surprise! The car was only actually collected TODAY!!! Quite surprising actually but regardless, at least it's collected now and it's in my dealer's yard now! Going over to check the car out and if all goes well, make the payment and get the car complied and registered. Sure hope tat doesn't take too long...

Hopefully will have the car at home this weekend.

I see Castrol NZ list Transmax J on their site, so I guess it should be available in NZ, perhaps to order. I'd be interested if it's better priced than Matic J, as I'll probably be doing a flush of mine in the next 6 months or so.

Re: your new car, they do get dirty in the ship on the way over, so if your one didn't look great it probably will after a good clean. Some cars get collected by the transporters over the weekends, but only if the garages they're going to are open in the weekend. When I was there on a Saturday, I saw several transporters loading up, and by Monday my Stag was looking quite lonely and forlorn waiting to be collected. Back when I imported my previous cars (previous to the Stag was my Cefiro in 2003) you could collect them yourself, and drive them direct (with dealer plates) to the garage overseeing compliance, but now it's compulsory to pay for an official transporter ($70 to Grey Lynn in my case) - another case of someone else getting their share. The time mine took to arrive and be collected seems to be about the same as yours. I'd say your one will probably be collected Monday.

[Blade NZ]

Hey guy's

Some followup info for you all. After City Nissan noted that the two front shocks were leaking I thought I'd get it checked out at Wairau Alignment & Suspension centre (The Shock Shop). I've used these guy's in the past and they are very good. They gave me a free inspection and test which included a loosening of all components whilst in the air, lubing and a reset when on the ground (this has made a difference when driving). The showed me the front shocks and yes they are leaking and explained that a tide mark on the shaft, from sitting on the boat, has now damaged the seals.

Nissan quoted me around $1250 for OEM incl. installation but the shock shop quoted KYB premuim (much better than OEM) for $790 installed. No brainer really, great guy's to deal with, better product for less and will only take two hours to install and check alignment.

I'm a bit pissed that this needs doing at all but he said it was not that uncommon for fresh imports.

But really if someone had just jacked up the car before driving it around and cleaned the shafts this may not have happened.

Cheers!

[win4ever]

Hey Blade, thanks for the update! Looks like we've found potentially another good workshop 2 go to. I'll keep them in mind (touch wood, if I need anything done). So is the shocks now done? how's the car going now?

Hmmm... i do agree with you, few weeks on the boat travelling miles from Japan to hear may do some damage to cars. The salt content from the sea breeze is also definitely not helping. But, well, that's what we have to risk on for getting an import and for the car we are getting, i would say it's definitely worth it for the price and quality we are getting.

Anyway, my car just arrive yesterday and I've just test drove it last night. Feels just great! Can't wait for it to be complied and ready for pick-up which is going to be sometime next week.... 6 long weeks of waiting is finally coming to an end!

Hey guy's

Some followup info for you all. After City Nissan noted that the two front shocks were leaking I thought I'd get it checked out at Wairau Alignment & Suspension centre (The Shock Shop). I've used these guy's in the past and they are very good. They gave me a free inspection and test which included a loosening of all components whilst in the air, lubing and a reset when on the ground (this has made a difference when driving). The showed me the front shocks and yes they are leaking and explained that a tide mark on the shaft, from sitting on the boat, has now damaged the seals.

Nissan quoted me around $1250 for OEM incl. installation but the shock shop quoted KYB premuim (much better than OEM) for $790 installed. No brainer really, great guy's to deal with, better product for less and will only take two hours to install and check alignment.

I'm a bit pissed that this needs doing at all but he said it was not that uncommon for fresh imports.

But really if someone had just jacked up the car before driving it around and cleaned the shafts this may not have happened.

Cheers!

[Blade NZ]

Anyway, my car just arrive yesterday and I've just test drove it last night. Feels just great! Can't wait for it to be complied and ready for pick-up which is going to be sometime next week.... 6 long weeks of waiting is finally coming to an end!

Sleepless nights almost coming to an end! Congrats. I don't think I could wait that long. You'll be taking unnecessary drives very soon .

As for mine, no I haven't had the work done yet, still recovering from the service and as this was unexpected I'll have to re-prioritise the finances.....and convince the better half that this is needed sooner rather than later, using the 'ride quality and safety angle' to justify the expense.

[win4ever]

Yeah.... tbh, the wait was more unbearable than I have expected! I was initially thinking, well I have a decent car to use, I am in no hurry for the car, but then, I took quite awhile to finally win a car from the auction (due to my persistency on securing a car at a lower price), and then had to wait for 6 weeks for the car to make its way to Auckland and each day, the excitement just grew esp aftet I have test drove one b4 I won the auction. But yes, thx for the wishes! Certainly very happy to know it's coming to an end.

Anyway, hope your car is doing ok! So is the shocks doing better after they "serviced" it? Yeah, i would think it needs to be fixed sooner rather than later too. Mainly coz I am the type that can't stand it knowing something is not rite in the car esp. problems that creates a weird sound in the car when it's running.

Again, thx for the update on the service and issue. It's really great to know as much details as possible considering we have much lesser members here in NZ vs Aust.

Sleepless nights almost coming to an end! Congrats. I don't think I could wait that long. You'll be taking unnecessary drives very soon .

As for mine, no I haven't had the work done yet, still recovering from the service and as this was unexpected I'll have to re-prioritise the finances.....and convince the better half that this is needed sooner rather than later, using the 'ride quality and safety angle' to justify the expense.

[Blade NZ]

Yep I too hate things not being right in the car so it will be sooner rather than later. The car was a little 'creaky' over driveways and bumbs when at an angle and the front is a little harsh due to the shocks. Coming from motorbikes I felt that high speed compression was absent (and of course unadjustable on a stock car) so needed it checked out. What they did was loosen all linkages front and rear, lubed and retightened with body weight on. Everything was dry and in need of a reset. The creak has gone and it feels much better all round but the harshness persists and can only be remedied with new shocks. Im told the KYB shocks have a much more progressive action with better damping so will be an improvement over stock. It will have to wait a couple of weeks but hopefully that will be it for now....other than a plenum/intake clean out which I have to find the time to do.

[rayh1]

Hi Guys,

Am from Auckland and a 250GT 4-door sedan owner having bought the car only 2 days ago. Will be keen to keep in touch.

Cheers

New Owner here, having just bought a 3l 2001 V35, seems to be a Premium model, with Bose stereo half leather seats etc and only 28000kms which after a carefule look over does seem to be genuine

Its got the Nav system but no dvd so I am now looking everywhere to try and find one, I want to see if it can be rebuilt to include Nz maps

Am interested to see that there is someone who can do a conversion on the Satnav display from Japanese to English

and would be interested in finding out how succesful/worthwhile that is

Really great to have another skyline, I have had 3 other cars since I sold my M spec R32 and am glad to be back again

Regards to all.