This Time I Really Will Be Getting A Stagea!

[DumpTruck]

Hi Guys,

I had a few posts up on here awhile back asking about Stageas and I was pretty set on getting a pnm35 Stagea but other factors got in the way of me getting one and now here I am again but actually in the position to afford one this time around.

Last time that I posted the general consensus was that Northshore Prestiegue and Nagoya were good shops to deal with, and importing one myself from Iron Chef would work out the cheapest.

Im about to put my current car on the market and once that clears I will start shopping for pnm35 Stagea.

My budget will be 20k, the cheaper the better. If anyone could shed abit of light on what to look out for and where to go that would be much appreciated.

[PN-Mad]

Buy on condition, not the kms on the dash

Avoid snow cars if possible

Check normal used car stuff

Import if you want a specific set of options and can wait

Brakes, bearings, bushes, gearbox fluid colour, does it burn oil,

Smoker car or not

Etc

[DumpTruck]

Thanks VQ35DE.

I am abit suspect on alot of imports having clocks wound back, im not too fazed on extras, id probably prefer the pov spec version without leather to save abit of coin but I am concerned that replacing the seats could be expensive later down the line.

Anything to look out for with the pnm35s around the 100k mark or so on? THey seem pretty robust, and theres a host of DIY info on SAU

[iamhe77]

20k? Man, you can import a PNM35 with all the bells and whistles for that.

Whilst Northshore do the best compliance (check their install of anchor points compared to everyone else), I would import via Kris @ Iron Chef again without hesitation (even though Northshore refused to comply my PNM35 *hrmph*).

100,000kms? Why look for some with such "high" mileage?

Alex pretty much answered your question though. 100,000kms is not really a number you need to worry about with PM35's unless they have not been maintained properly.

[DumpTruck]

I wont be buying one with 100ks, just looking for things that will go wrong in the future such as turbos with the m35 versions.

And whilst the budget is 20k i would rather buy at around the 15k mark and leave some money aside for fuel and repairs etc.

I could go the import route but I dont really want to wait that long for the car to arrive in Aus. I guess it depends on how long my is200 takes to sell, hopefully there is a quick turnaround

[M35woah]

There is nothing wrong with buying a car with higher KMs... Hell you might even get a car cheaper because higher kms look at things like Alex said, consumables! Don't think the dealer/compliance people replaced when it came in, they won't, unless it's extremely obvious that it's worn or broken.

One thing to check is to see if the CD changer works, these things are getting old and the laser's in them are failing due to age, also alarm check if that works otherwise most people rip em out.

My PNM35 has over 140k on it and two other people on the forum have driven it and find it fine.

[capturedcreation]

Definitely worth having a talk to Kristian @ Iron Chef. I got my C34 through him and it was heaps better than what I could have gotten through a dealer. It is worth the wait

[DumpTruck]

How long is the import waiting time?

3 - 6 months?

[Kazal]

It depends on the process DumpTruck.

I am about a week away from driving away in my M35. I got it through J-Spec and could not be happier with the result.
So far, it has been 10 weeks since I first paid the broker fee and started the hunting process for the right car. That took only 10 days (And seriously, haven't seen another one as good in the 8 weeks since!!). It is currently being complianced and RWC.... just waiting for the call so I know if it needs anything -else- done before it's all mine.

Expect about 12 week turnaround and be happy with anything less is my suggestion.

*This is my first ever import.

[capturedcreation]

What Kazal said sounds about right. From memory my process took about 4 months from paying the broker fee to collecting my car, all depending on how strict you are in what you are after and what comes up in the auctions.