Advise Importing A Tommy Kaira R33 Gtr

[Mr Eps]

batman67 - this doesn't make you a "sucker" man, you're not the first person to ever get grifted in the world.. yes it's a large sum of money.. but as Richard said.. the industry is but a small one.. and - for what it's worth... (in my opinion) the guys that lurk these forums are the best in the industry. they are genuine trustworthy guys with MOUNTAINS of knowledge. I - and a lot of people are forever grateful for the work they do and the help they lend people..

these guys above put in so much work and don't receive enough kudos.. i wish you all the best in your closures!

[batman67]

I really do appreciate all the offers of advise & assistance. I really wish I was on this forum & learning a bit more about imports before I went down the path I did.

All you young fellas out there that are looking at importing a car or buying an import car don't be put off by my misfortune, but take it onboard & learn.

Do abit of research, talk to the people in the know & you will do alot better than me.

I am going to contact Iron Chef & Beer Baron in the hope they may know someone that knows someone who knows.

I am a 43 year old business owner & I deal with the public all day everyday, why was I sucked in by this so called Aussie broker?

I called him a friend, now I feel like having him hunted down & .......

He has been a customer of mine for a few years now, he helped me with renovations in my shop, we would have a few beers together on the odd friday arvo & he imported the Evo 5 for my wife earlier this year, which she loves & it so far seems to be a great car, It goes like the clappers.

Ben (aussie broker) has a Stagea & we got talking about me buying a Skyline. I thought it would be a great idea, A sort of mid life crisis & I'm not into red sports cars, so the GTR looked like a bit of me. You know how it goes from there.

[Mr Eps]

batman if you know him that well then he IS traceable..

your war is not lost yet my friend.. hopefully in about 6 months time you'll laugh about this whole situation while you visit your broker friend. in prison. that you've driven your dream GTR to visit him in and tell him all the fun you've had along the way.

[batman67]

Mr Eps I like your philosophy, I really do hope I get to visit his headstone, I mean visit him in prison in my dream GTR, how cool would that be, but I reckon my wife would kill me if I spent that much on a car.

We service the police bikes & I was talking to them on Friday, they said to prepare a statement with all details & they will go after him for fraud.

The reason I can't get in touch with him is because he has moved house (I am guessing everything is in his girlfriends name)he has turned off his mobile, won't reply to emails & I supposed he is avoiding me.

[Beer Baron]

well the fact that you have bought a car through him before successfully gives me some hope. it's quite possible that he is not an out and out scammer but a bloke who has fked up and is too stupid to just own up and start dealing with the mess.

in this case it's very easy to see why you went with him even more so considering he has successfully imported a car for you before.

[Iron Chef]

well the fact that you have bought a car through him before successfully gives me some hope. it's quite possible that he is not an out and out scammer but a bloke who has fked up and is too stupid to just own up and start dealing with the mess.

in this case it's very easy to see why you went with him even more so considering he has successfully imported a car for you before.

....or too poor....

Agree on the last point too.

[Beer Baron]

yeah it could be as simple as he didn't account for a currency exchange fluctuation that meant he was short a measly $100 or so on making a wire transfer and with no money of his own to cover the difference was too dumb to own up and explain the problem instead just hid in a corner hoping it would all go away. or he spent a few hundred of your money on beer and pokies and didn't want to own up and didn't have any money to put it back. who knows. people do stupid shit sometimes and are often scared of just owning up and dealing with it.

[batman67]

Oh you are both so correct. Ben has definatley Fcked up & yes he is too scared or too stupid to make contact with me.

I have sent him quite a few emails & SMS's that say c'mon mate I know whats happened let's sort it out together, I need your help. Thoses sorts of messages. But with no luck, Oh & I don't think he has any money. But Ben is the aussie connection that has my 5k, it's the bloody Mashamoto guy that has my 12.5 & I've pleaded with Ben to talk to him & get me my money & I've had no reply to that either

[batman67]

I've almost got enough posts up to PM you guys.

[Iron Chef]

Well if you reply to this then you should be fine! lol

[xALmoN]

don't pm man, let us know how this is going.

[Iron Chef]

I reckon a name-and-shame for Mashamoto on GTROC in the UK might get things moving a bit...

[batman67]

It's funny, the more I thought about this last night the more I started to think that maybe, just maybe Ben has been screwed over as well. Is he in hiding because he is not getting any contact from Mashamoto? Unfotunately when I told my wife this scenario last night her response was 'I don't care Ben has screwed us & he needs to be held responsible' Arrrh wives, gotta love em

[Beer Baron]

yes it sounds to me that it's quite possible the culprit here is mashamoto. not saying the aussie broker is entirely blameless but it's possible he's found out about mashamoto's problems and is now hiding under a rock. the sad part is, as best I can tell their part in this is absolutely un-necessary. there is nothing to stop this broker from having bought the car on your behalf direct from the japanese exporter. it would have almost certainly saved some money too.

BTW, having looked at the car I would advise pushing for money back and NOT pushing ahead with the purchase if possible.

[batman67]

I agree BB,

I really would prefer my money back & I reckon Ben is hiding under a rock, hopefully not too far away.

IBC told me on friday the car would have cost me $12500aud landed at Port Kembla, so yes I would have saved a few thousand dollars.

[Mr Eps]

you should now be able to PM just so you know

[Mr Eps]

not going to start a new thread cos i dont want to open world war 3.. so i'm just going to post in here because my experience has also turned into a total horror story.

monday - had my two soarers dropped off. was told the white one had a dead battery, tow truck driver wheeled it off truck and left it on the street with window down. turned out someone in the trucking company had crossed the connections trying to charge the battery. this arked the battery and blew the main fuse.

i had a dead car sitting in the street with the window down. unregistered.

thanks a lot.

but here's the big corker. the compliance shop who charged me full price to do the compliance work have done NONE of the following tasks - i re-iterate. NOTHING in this list has been done.

oil change

oil filter change

brake fluid change

brake PAD change

child restraints were NOT fitted

mirror glass was NOT changed out to flat glass

catallytic convertors were NOT changed out

headlights were NOT changed out

rear license plate light bulbs weren't even installed.

the worst part is that they provided me with papers saying it's all done..

there are many other "little" things that i'll get to later..

but as SAU binds me from naming and shaming businesses - this is all i can divulge.

my dad just tried to get HIS car registered and the federal compliance officers noticed this all. they have digital pictures and everything is documented.

the federal compliance guys say they will be liasing with federal transport to have a bit of a chat and take further action against this RAWS.

this is not a joke - i cannot beleive THIS has happened to ME.

what a week.

and - again i'm sorry for "pushing the boundaries" of what's kosher here. but i think it's right that i voice my stories for others to learn from.

edit: again:

this means all they did was put stickers on the car and charge me full price.

they didn't even stamp my VIN on the chassis and remove the old one. they didn't do a bloody thing. this will cause repercussions.

Edited October 21, 2010 by Mr Eps

[Chris Rogers]

rowan,

take a piccie of the plate you have , present the papers you have - then present a RWC cert stating the faults. send all of that attn to dotars someone will NOT be happy at the end of it.

[Chris Rogers]

just re read that - looks like you have nothing to do but wait.

[Mr Eps]

yup. federal compliance guys are already onto that - but i'll be taking my pics and doing it myself just in case they get tied up tomorrow.

i'm going to take MY car to the pits tomorrow and see what comments they have to make on MY car.