Buying A R34 Gtr M-Spec

[j-2007]

First off, hello to all. This is my first post here... being a Supra owner for 5 years until it was recently stolen from me. I've decided to give the R34 GTR a good kick in the butt and let's see how it will turn out.

Recently I've come across this specimen on carsales and my initial impression is that it's too cheap for such a low km M-spec in that colour and condition!

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Nissan-Skyline-2002/SSE-AD-2993241/?Cr=0&sdmvc=1

However, after a few background check... I'm not going to say it's dodgy or anything, but I've hit a brick wall and would appreciate any advice from you guys on what to do next.

Let me list what I have come up with so far:

1. I have not personally inspected the car as of yet. I'm from Melbourne but will be heading up sometime next week.

2. Based on the conversation with the seller, the owner could not extend his VISA and his buddy (the seller) is helping him out unloading the vehicle. Which doesn't add up to the sale comment.

3. Based on RAWS, car was complied on the 12 August 2014 (2 months ago) by BARREV PTY LTD, address: 7A 61-63 Parramatta Road, Five Docks, NSW 2046, Owner: Andrew Constantin, VIN: 6U9000BNR34403996. From searching on this forums, it's come to my attention Parramatta Road is quite notorious for its shady dealers but this company is not mentioned anyway that I can found.

Not sure if this is relevant anymore or even if it's the same company. Phone number on RAWS links back to Auto Terminal QLD. A quick search of that name came up with this from 6 years ago: http://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/218683-autoterminal-qld/. Feedback seems to lean towards the positive.

4. The seller has been quite open with any information I have asked and have provided the export certificate (See attached). Now this is where it gets interesting. It has clearly gone through what people call a "refreshing" as the two mileage recorded are a week apartment and just before the car was exported. The agent on the export certificate is F.C. Autosource http://www.fcautosource.com/. I have emailed them a few days ago asking for any background info they can dig up on the history of this car and they are looking into it for me. No response so far.

5. I have requested a possible auction sheet from Japanese History Check a week ago, and have not received my preliminary check email back. (They are usually really quick in this regards so not sure why the no response). Perhaps there is no auction sheet as the seller claims the owner bought the car directly from an agent?

So my questions for you guys are:

1. Any comments and feedback on the information I have provided? The companies involved? The car if anyone has gone and checked it prior? Feel free to PM me.

2. Is there anything else I can do at this stage to obtain further information on the history of the car?

I'm pretty confident the mileage is not genuine which doesn't concern me as much as finding out the history of the car. Well... as long as it doesn't have 200000 km like this post here http://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/413303-beware-r34-gtr-for-sale-in-sydney/page-19 by J_R32 #362 which is roughly the same time this vehicle was sold and according to comments that follow, its a M-Spec in a rare colour.

Recently I had a look at this immaculate local Supra which ticked all the boxes but a quick auction sheet request revealed that despite it had a very low genuine km, it was a complete wreck. We are not even talking about it been just in an accident, we are talking about it possibly rolling down a mountain side as the A pillar and other chassis parts were cut and welded back together during repair. How it was complied in Australia is beyond me.

3. Could anyone recommend a R34 GTR specialist workshop in Sydney that has extensive knowledge of the car. I know there are a lot of threads about this already but I would like to have a workshop or person who knows every nitty gritty aspect of the car and will be able to identify certain things that normal workshops will just glean over... even these well know ones if you know what I mean...

Any help is appreciated!

Edited October 18, 2014 by j-2007

[Ange_34]

Heya,

I almost got burnt with a car in Sydney that had photo shopped auction papers showing 90,000 less kms that were actually on the car. I have heard of dodgy operators around the Paramatta Road area, not mentioning any names.I obtained an original copy of the papers through an importer source whick showed the massive differences. I do think, (not100% though) that Japanese History check is no longer?? Dont quote me though, I think that the newest place (perhaps even run by the same guys) is Japanese Odometer Check.. They are contactable directly via facebook messenger. I got them to check the history of my current car. Hope this helps.

[djvoodoo]

It's good to see someone who has done their homework!!

From what you have said, best wait for the report from JOC and FC auto. That said, a few things seem sketchy,

The fact that it was only complied 2 months ago, and a 'friend of a friend' (the seller) is essentially selling the vehicle on behalf of someone else.

29K on the clock, while not unheard of, is def very low milage, and I would expect an M spec with that milegae to sell a bit higher. Lets face it, there are 2009 R35's that already have 50K's + on the clock now..

Then again, could be a bargain and u might be a lucky buyer

[GTR-N1]

Well said Dave!

[mxfly]

A dodgy story about his friends visa and then mentioning a new car was bought in that ad is not a good start.

[j-2007]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the quick response. I've just got a response from JHC right after posting this. They were having issue with communication due to the recent typhoon. Let's just say I won't be making a trip north anytime soon...

Let me just leave this quote here from my initial post:

"I'm pretty confident the mileage is not genuine which doesn't concern me as much as finding out the history of the car. Well... as long as it doesn't have 200000 km like this post here http://www.sau.com.a...-sydney/page-19 by J_R32 #362 which is roughly the same time this vehicle was sold and according to comments that follow, its a M-Spec in a rare colour."

It really opens your eyes on the import situation down here in Australia and unfortunately a lot of people are either oblivious to the issue or chose to ignore it.

If anyone wants to see the auction sheet out of curiosity, feel free to PM me. The import industry here in Australia is out of control...

Edited October 18, 2014 by j-2007

[niZmO_Man]

Offer him $20k

[dodgyimports]

Post up the auction sheet!

The above export certificate is an excellent example of a "refresh", which seems to be the technique some are using to get around JOC's de-reg checks.

It was very interesting to hear that JOC's random checks on SAG's stock for A Current Affair only found 2 of 10 discrepancies, leads one to wonder how many of the 8 remaining might have been "refreshed".

Edited October 18, 2014 by dodgyimports

[Equinox]

I don't want to drag anyone's name through the mud but would the exporter have to have known about this "refresh"?

[j-2007]

Dodgyimports I will post this in the "beware r34 gtr..." soon. I've confronted the seller in regards to the fake mileage and will give him a chance to respond first. For all we know he could have been a victim despite his story. Hopefully he will confront his importer and also update his carsales ad to reflect the new finding.

It's a shame really because the refresh technique is not something well known by the general populace or even most people on forums like this. They see a certificate with a few numbers and automatically think it's legit.

Equinox, the mileage would definitely have been tempered by the exporter and the fact that FC Autosource is clearly on the export certificate point all evidence to them. Has anyone heard of them? Hopefully our brokers down here in Aus aren't affliated with them or use their service...

[pol1on1]

Stay away from that one.....

You ever know what will happen, you might have to sell you pride n joy and issues like this attached to the car not good..

Could be even a stolen car.....?

Good luck with buying a R34 GT-R

[Equinox]

It's clearly not stolen because the history flows back to Japan and the car with the same VIN has gone through the auctions.

[1R26DETT]

Thanks, you just saved me a trip up there from Melbourne as well. I was in the process of doing my homework on the car, as it seemed too good to be true.

[Iron Chef]

Dodgyimports I will post this in the "beware r34 gtr..." soon. I've confronted the seller in regards to the fake mileage and will give him a chance to respond first. For all we know he could have been a victim despite his story. Hopefully he will confront his importer and also update his carsales ad to reflect the new finding.

It's a shame really because the refresh technique is not something well known by the general populace or even most people on forums like this. They see a certificate with a few numbers and automatically think it's legit.

Equinox, the mileage would definitely have been tempered by the exporter and the fact that FC Autosource is clearly on the export certificate point all evidence to them. Has anyone heard of them? Hopefully our brokers down here in Aus aren't affliated with them or use their service...

A lot of agents use FC Autosource in Japan to buy their cars, and we're one of them. They buy cars in a whole variety of price ranges, including a grade 5A R32 GT-R V-Spec II 17,000km and another grade 5A Nur with under 10,000km on it, both for our customers. They also sell a lot of rare exotics to Europe. They also buy high km stuff because it's popular with dealers here, but if you go on their site, you'll see the original kms are always advertised in the sold section. Many of their cars are also wholesaled within Japan. Don't be too quick to blame them.

http://fcautosource.com