Help with buying a V35

[james1999]

Help with buying a V35

Hey Guys! So like many i am new to these cars. I have read many of threads on the forums to inform me of the V35 Skylines. I have currently found a 2003 V35 with 83,000kms for $10,000. The car unfortunately has no paperwork. It has a service history of the last 20,000kms the owner has owned the car. Would you guys recommend looking at the car or ruling it out completely due to having no books or service history.

Edited December 4, 2016 by james1999

[camr33]

My car was i ported with 78,000km just over 2 years ago. I purchased directly from an importer who was able to provide me with the de-registration papers to verify the mileage. This was important,  beacuse in Japan they register the car every two years and the km are recorded each time, so you can tell if the mileage at the time of deregistration is consistant with the last time it was registered. I was lucky as well that a workmate had a contact  in the import industry, who was based in Japan, who verified the car had never been in an accident.

Unfortunately  log books are very rare on imports and I dont even have one on mine. I had a sticker on the intake advising the last service was done at 77k kms. I didnt believe this sticker and serviced the engine, transmission and diff. Unfortunately I was wrong, as all the drained fluids were brand new, and I could have saved myself several hundred dollars on servicing costs. It could be that I purchased one of the only honest cars from Japan...

But to be fair, in the first 12 months, I had to replace the air con and power  steering belts, front  and rear brake rotors and pads. In the last 12 months I have replaced the diff bush, lower control arm bushes and swaybar end links. The car came with Tein coilovers- the front split a seal and cost me 800 to fix around 18 months ago. My rears just had the same thing happen, and I am about to send them to Fulcrum in QLDto be repaired. I still need ro replace the radial bushes, which will cost nearly $600 (as you need a 4 wheel alignment as well).

My point is that you are buying a relatively old car, and it is at the age where things start to fail. If the previous owner has fixed a lot of these issues, then go for it. If not, get an independant inspection done. Other common issues are cam sensor failure, faulty airbag codes, worn wheel bearings and power window  modules. If the mileage seems to good to be true, check for worn floor mats, steering wheels, kick plated and door handles etc as telltail signs.

 

Truth  be told, every time you buy an import, you are taking a punt. They are fantastic cars,  very underrated and very reliable. I have pwned other imports, including an R33 and R34 turbo skyline, and V35's are in a league of their own. My advice is to take your time, do your research, and make sure you buy the right car- dont just shop for price. Hope this helps.

[james1999]

11 hours ago, camr33 said:

My car was i ported with 78,000km just over 2 years ago. I purchased directly from an importer who was able to provide me with the de-registration papers to verify the mileage. This was important,  beacuse in Japan they register the car every two years and the km are recorded each time, so you can tell if the mileage at the time of deregistration is consistant with the last time it was registered. I was lucky as well that a workmate had a contact  in the import industry, who was based in Japan, who verified the car had never been in an accident.

Unfortunately  log books are very rare on imports and I dont even have one on mine. I had a sticker on the intake advising the last service was done at 77k kms. I didnt believe this sticker and serviced the engine, transmission and diff. Unfortunately I was wrong, as all the drained fluids were brand new, and I could have saved myself several hundred dollars on servicing costs. It could be that I purchased one of the only honest cars from Japan...

But to be fair, in the first 12 months, I had to replace the air con and power  steering belts, front  and rear brake rotors and pads. In the last 12 months I have replaced the diff bush, lower control arm bushes and swaybar end links. The car came with Tein coilovers- the front split a seal and cost me 800 to fix around 18 months ago. My rears just had the same thing happen, and I am about to send them to Fulcrum in QLDto be repaired. I still need ro replace the radial bushes, which will cost nearly $600 (as you need a 4 wheel alignment as well).

My point is that you are buying a relatively old car, and it is at the age where things start to fail. If the previous owner has fixed a lot of these issues, then go for it. If not, get an independant inspection done. Other common issues are cam sensor failure, faulty airbag codes, worn wheel bearings and power window  modules. If the mileage seems to good to be true, check for worn floor mats, steering wheels, kick plated and door handles etc as telltail signs.

 

Truth  be told, every time you buy an import, you are taking a punt. They are fantastic cars,  very underrated and very reliable. I have pwned other imports, including an R33 and R34 turbo skyline, and V35's are in a league of their own. My advice is to take your time, do your research, and make sure you buy the right car- dont just shop for price. Hope this helps.

Thanks for that! I agree. i will definitely view a number of different cars and wait until something good comes up. Cheers mate! 

[sonicii]

If you are concerned about its 'pre import' history, order a report from one of the companies that can pull the auction records from Japan, that way you can get an idea if it has had the odo wound back, was a repaired write of, etc.  eg http://www.japaneseodometercheck.com/

If you are still interested, get it checked by a mechanic familiar with these cars or 350Zs, tell them it has no service log books and you just want it checked accordingly (compression test, etc).

[james1999]

1 hour ago, sonicii said:

If you are concerned about its 'pre import' history, order a report from one of the companies that can pull the auction records from Japan, that way you can get an idea if it has had the odo wound back, was a repaired write of, etc.  eg http://www.japaneseodometercheck.com/

If you are still interested, get it checked by a mechanic familiar with these cars or 350Zs, tell them it has no service log books and you just want it checked accordingly (compression test, etc).

Cheers! I will definitely follow these steps!