V36 Sedan Thoughts?

[camr33]

Hi all,

after a few years of searching and convincing my wife, she has let me invest in a new toy.

After initially budgeting for a good, clean V35 coupe, I have decided to spend a little bit extra and go for a 2007 V36 350gt sedan. I have decided to go for the practicality of a sedan, and not listen to the selfish part of me that wanted a 2 door.

The car is the 5 speed auto, Type S.

After the initial test drive, I was quite impressed by how it drove. The boys at Fabcar in Perth have offered me a good trade-in price on my old wheels, and I am seriously considering the purchase.

See below for a few pics of the vehicle in question.

I have scoured the forums, and spent a lot of time on Google looking for the ins and outs of owning one, but good info seems hard to come by.

Just looking for some feedback on people that have owned them-

Are there any warning signs I need to look out for?

Is the servicing straight forward?

How do they fare as a daily?

Any feedback would be appreciated!

[PN-Mad]

Thoughts?

Check the mileage is genuine through one of the jap odometer checking services. Wear on the steering wheel suggests it's not minty fresh even though they are claiming 95,000kms.

And the beige interior is a massive turn off. About as exciting as a nanas bloomers. Bad for resale, and dates horridly.

[sonicii]

I would be very carefully checking out the history of the car before considering buying an import from a dealer.. make sure the KM are correct and it wasn't imported as a grade R and repaired. There are way to many dodgy imports sold by dealers. If you have the time to wait.. have a reputable importer find and import one for you!

[Nightcrawler]

Yeah I have to agree - the cream/willow interior combination is completely pukeworthy. Go sit in a black interior one and it is like night and day.

And yes, that steering wheel wear is very concerning - my V35 has 150,000km on it and the steering wheel has nowhere near that sort of wear. Japanese are famous for wearing rings that do screw up steering wheels, so it may be that.

But DEFINITELY do an odo check - there are guys around who can change a car's odo with a laptop in 5 minutes. Be careful.

Ask the dealer for the auction/dereg papers. If they won't show you or provide them they are liars and cannot be trusted. EVERY car that leaves Japan has to have dereg papers with km listed, regardless of what the dealer tells you.

[Nightcrawler]

Yeah I have to agree - the cream/willow interior combination is completely pukeworthy. Go sit in a black interior one and it is like night and day.

And yes, that steering wheel wear is very concerning - my V35 has 150,000km on it and the steering wheel has nowhere near that sort of wear. Japanese are famous for wearing rings that do screw up steering wheels, so it may be that.

But DEFINITELY get an odo check done - there are guys around who can change a car's odo with a laptop in 5 minutes. Be careful.

Ask the dealer for the auction/dereg papers. If they won't show you or provide them they are liars and cannot be trusted. EVERY car that leaves Japan has to have dereg papers with km listed, regardless of what the dealer tells you.

[colin.ssc]

I would import the car through Iron Chef or Prestige Motorsports (I personally used Prestige). I am sure that Fabcar is charging a premium and you are better off importing it from Japan. You funds will go a longer way or even get you a type SP or 370GT. Patience is a virtue. PM me if you want to see a SP in Perth =)

[camr33]

Thanks for the responses guys.

To be fair though, I don't mind the cream interior!

Like I said though, I had to stretch the budget to afford this one, otherwise I would have gone for a V35.

The interior is tidy, and there are no major signs of wear inside, other than the steering wheel. There are a few scuff marks around the drivers door handle, and a bit of curb rash on the wheels (though I plan to change the rims anyway). The price is several thousand cheaper than any other they had in stock, though admittedly, they have approx 1/2 the Kms.

The guy I spoke to said they have the import papers, so I will be sure to have a look. I have a few mates that deal with fabcar quite regularly, and they are quite reputable in perth. I am also being given an extended warranty as part of the sale.

It drove straight, and shifted smoothly. The engine bay and interior give the impression that it has been a well maintained car, though I have learned that looks can be deceiving.

[PN-Mad]

Examine the extended warranty.

It's a good selling point for people who think it's a factory style warranty, but often it won't go 10% to the actual cost of the fix.

I told my dealer to exclude it, and remove the price of it off the car.

[Sikahalv]

Hey Camr33 I suggest you steer clear of this one...

Whilst there are not many V36 Sedans for sale in Australia (compared to V35 Coupes or Sedans) there are better examples available for sale.

Also, I do recommend using online Japanese Odometer Checking services such as:

Japanese History Check

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Japanese-History-Check/557835010998928

or

Japanese Odomoter Check

https://www.facebook.com/Japanese.Odometercheck

PS: If you're even remotely interested in the idea of importing a car for yourself from Japan to Australia, feel free to check out my blog at www.v35skyline.com

It should help you out

[Zveruga]

And the beige interior is a massive turn off. About as exciting as a nanas bloomers. Bad for resale, and dates horridly.

I would disagree here, I spent extra time on auctions to get a good car with the beige interior. As far as resale goes, I'm selling my car atm and have already seen quite a few blokes who are looking for the beige interior specifically and all them saying it's quite rare. So it depends.

[camr33]

I spoke to the dealer today, and the import papers are available for inspection. They also have the Jap de-reg papers too.

[nickcorr]

I would disagree here, I spent extra time on auctions to get a good car with the beige interior. As far as resale goes, I'm selling my car atm and have already seen quite a few blokes who are looking for the beige interior specifically and all them saying it's quite rare. So it depends.

If you want a rare interior, try looking for the tan leather seats with the fake wood trim... Spent a year looking for that in a good car, so gave up and went with my nice black trimmed 370GT...

And for the beige... after 5 years of staring at the beige interior of my M35 Stagea AR-X (only comes in beige sorry about that sir!) not a day passes when I miss that view...

How back to the point, buy the best V36 you can. If you want a good car in beige maybe look at a Type P as well, seems to be quite a few of them in beige, and many have the 18's of the S and SP already fitted, also less likely to have been flogged.. You are only really going to miss the flappy paddles, and they can be reto fitted if you reall want.

[PN-Mad]

Rare.

For a reason.

Only a small percentage of the market want a beige interior. I've had one in the past(Lexus is200) and vowed to myself never to have another.

Good luck with sale.

[Hertz Donut]

I have a beige interior in my PNM35. It is not family-friendly.

[camr33]

After doing a bit of thinking, I have decided to opt for a freshly imported V35 coupe from another provider. While I think the V36 was competitively priced, it isn't perfect. I want a car that I can be proud of, and gets looks for the right reasons.

Thanks for the input guys

[Yo-Yo]

congrats on the purchase mate

[NISMO]

If you want a rare interior, try looking for the tan leather seats with the fake wood trim... Spent a year looking for that in a good car, so gave up and went with my nice black trimmed 370GT...

And for the beige... after 5 years of staring at the beige interior of my M35 Stagea AR-X (only comes in beige sorry about that sir!) not a day passes when I miss that view...

How back to the point, buy the best V36 you can. If you want a good car in beige maybe look at a Type P as well, seems to be quite a few of them in beige, and many have the 18's of the S and SP already fitted, also less likely to have been flogged.. You are only really going to miss the flappy paddles, and they can be reto fitted if you reall want.

Best and rarest V36 interior, by far is the 50th and 55th anniversary cars

[colin.ssc]

After doing a bit of thinking, I have decided to opt for a freshly imported V35 coupe from another provider. While I think the V36 was competitively priced, it isn't perfect. I want a car that I can be proud of, and gets looks for the right reasons.

Thanks for the input guys

Whats wrong with the V36? I am proud of my car and get looks for the right reasons

[camr33]

Nothing wrong with v36's mate, the car itself was not the best example