Waiting For A Car? - The State Of Importing Cars From Japan ATM

[regan]

Prestige recommends Mark Schuman as he supplyies a lot of his cars, so he should chase it up if you used him.

Hi Driftt,

I contacted Mark.S sometime ago and asked him to source a particular vehicle, he told me he only operates via Prestige M.S . He recommended i pay up the BUTT TAX (Brokers FEE).That aint gunna happen!!!!

BTW have a look around the jay auctions Yahoo, e-bay ect, see what the vehicles sell for and where they end up and at what price? ie 1990 Legacy sold e-bay 97.000Y ended up on a Brokers site 270.000Y , a hint: check out the last biders handle!!!!

How much commision do you charge to find and help import a vehicle? and dont you also take responibility for finding compliance? and some people pay $1100AUD and then pay extra when the vehicle is loaded in jay!!!!

So much for :Take the risk out of importing" "dont pay dealer prices" propaganda.

[PHATR32]

yeah i had the same ting happen to me, where mark forgot to mesnion one of the underbody rails was complelty crushed........

[Guest]

yeah i had the same ting happen to me, where mark forgot to mesnion one of the underbody rails was complelty crushed........

It is easy to miss a minor thing like that, yeah right, what would happen if it was to be complyied by a RAW.

[pentae]

mmmgtir: The gist is that one of my cars details/information did not match up to the information the shipping company and customs was provided with. There was a typo on one of the numbers.

Each time kiwi tried to put the car on a boat, Jap customs said "no, this doesnt match up" when it missed the first couple of boats we just assumed that the car was just not making it due to their not being room. It would have been really nice if we'd confirmed why the second time it happened, not the third.

My car was also supplied through Mark S. I have spoken to Mark over the phone since the problem was discovered, he's been very helpful and paid for all the expenses in correcting the mistake. It was nice to hear an Aussie accent talking about my car. He immediately knew about my car and the workshop who inspected the car said that other than wear on the steering wheel and drivers seat, the car is in good condition. I have also had a refund from Prestige due to the excessive delay, so I cant really ask much more than that.

Given the fact that there are very few 15 year-eligable r32 GTRs available fitting the type of car I was looking for, I was prepared to take the risk. The car should be here in a few weeks. As long as theres nothing wrong with the chassis, engine or gearbox, and it looks like it does in the photos i'll be happy and have the car i've always wanted.

I will definately let everyone know what the car is like when it arrives in 4 weeks.

[Baz]

I sent an email to prestige yesterday and haven't recieved anything back. I find it funny how there less helpful once they recieve there money. I normally recieve emails from Geoff fairly promply. I'll wait til Monday though for the email and if it doesn't come, it will be followed up by a nice phone call. I'm becoming very frustrated at my suppliers lack of commitment and delays.

[WHITE R32]

GotBoost trust me i think it happens with every importer because all ive heard is exactly what youve said from basically every agent out there at the moment....... as soon as they get their service fees etc the attention they pay to you and your intrests seems to rapidly decline....

[Guest]

How about this I was sent showing the service you get after you have paid your money and got the car and it turns out being a junker, I have seen one 300Z with a rust hole around the battery nearly big enough for the battery to fall through and was told "mechanical sound"

Xxxxx,

I purchased a 1989 green 5 speed twin turbo Nissan 300zx through your service in June 2004 after paying you $1,100 to find me a car that was in good working order. I took delivery of the vehicle in November. The representation that was made to me via telephone and through emails from you was, and I quote from your website that the car "runs very well."

This would imply that the car's engine was in good working order and was in fact mechanically sound. From the time it was delivered to me and upon getting it licensed it was obvious from driving around that the car had significant mechanical problems.

The car was misfiring, backfiring, blowing excessive smoke, appeared to only be running on five cyclinders and when the engine temperature got up to normal running temperature, warning lights would come on, the car would idle rough and often stall.

I then took the car into a 300zx mechanic who identified that the car had significant mechanical problems including a cracked head gasket, corroded injector wires and a multitude of other problems that rendered the car unroadworthy and undrivable until they were fixed.

The costs I have incurred and receipted to get the car into a roadworthy state have been $4,980.

I therefore believe that you have misrepresented to me two things, firstthat as I paid you a fee, you were to source a car of good working order and secondly that the car you sourced for me was not in good working order and did not run well as you had told me. If I had known the car had a cracked head gasket I would not have even considered buying it.

Sincerely,

Name With Held.

Then the reply.

Hi Xxx,

I'm sorry that you are disappointed with the condition of the vehicle. The supplier of the vehicle stated that it was running well. We have dealt with this supplier for many years, and had they been aware of any faults they would have listed them as they did for the rest of the faults on the description. It was certainly running fine at the time of sale otherwise the supplier never would have bought it into stock in the first place.

So the vehicle was running well at the time of inspection in June 2004 and there was no sign of the problems you have indicated. And as you know the supplier did not test drive the vehicle.

The vehicle was stored for about 3 months pending shipping, and was driven by others on both wharves. Deterioration in mechanical condition may have occurred during that time.

It is odd that you were able to get the vehicle registered if the problems were that severe, as it would not have passed. So I can only assume it was roadworthy and running OK at that time.

As far as the cracked headgasket, this is a serious problem and has probably occurred since you've had it on the road as otherwise it would almost certainly have been picked up earlier.

Given that the vehicle passed through roadworthy, and was obviously running fine at that time, you can imagine that there is no way that the supplier could have determined the problems you have indicated, and therefore to allege misrepresentation is misplaced.

Regards

Xxxxx,

[lwells]

Hmmm.. I have to say I didn't have that problem with Geoff: he stayed communicative throughout. Because he is obviously busy, I found it best to just send very short emails with direct (but polite) questions. Long rambling emails = long delay

Also, don't forget that sometimes picking up the phone is a good thing: people are able to ignore emails in a way they can't when you actually call them.

Finally -- to state the obvious -- try not to fly off the handle. If you are angry, try to remain calm when you explain your frustrations: let your words explain, not your tone or volume. People tend to get very defensive if you are loud and aggressive (not that I am saying you are!)

Lucien.

[BenA31]

I'm glad to report that my Ceffy has made it onto the boat Heroic Ace which will be landing around the 3rd of April.

[pentae]

skypy12: You like boobies dont you?

[BenA31]

:wassup: lol not at all...... :cooldance

[PSI_GTSII]

Well I have just laid my $1100 down and am about to start the whole process of Importing an R32 GTR

Waiting dos'nt bother me to much as the car wont be a daily driver, I also understand the risks of buying a car at auction...this is why it is so much cheaper to do than buying the same thing locally.

Basically I am just on the BNR32 mailing list atm I recieve emails from Japanese Yahoo online auctions and from Local various jap auctions....

1. Is this all I have to choose from? will anyone ring me personally telling me of something coming up? as no one has ever asked me specifically what I want in a GTR (ie stock body, mod motor OK, in gray or Silver etc)

2. How many of you guys bought a vehicle from current stock.....Japanese Auction...or Yahoo Japan online auctions?

3. Hopefully I will see something come up early next week....if I do, do I then get to speak to someone direct as to vehicle condition etc etc...?

cheers

[WHITE R32]

these are the sort of questions you should be asking your import agent ( who you gave the $1100 to)

[Guest]

Well I have just laid my $1100 down and am about to start the whole process of Importing an R32 GTR

Waiting dos'nt bother me to much as the car wont be a daily driver, I also understand the risks of buying a car at auction...this is why it is so much cheaper to do than buying the same thing locally.

Basically I am just on the BNR32 mailing list atm I recieve emails from Japanese Yahoo online auctions and from Local various jap auctions....

1. Is this all I have to choose from? will anyone ring me personally telling me of something coming up? as no one has ever asked me specifically what I want in a GTR (ie stock body, mod motor OK, in gray or Silver etc)

2. How many of you guys bought a vehicle from current stock.....Japanese Auction...or Yahoo Japan online auctions?

3. Hopefully I will see something come up early next week....if I do, do I then get to speak to someone direct as to vehicle condition etc etc...?

cheers

Well you have a few days to buy one if it is a pre approved import approval car they are charging twice what they paid for and they have been sitting around a long time.

They will spam out ever shitter with a GTR badge on as you will hear about some that just came in this month.

Current stock are cars that have come up at auction and they haven't told anybody so they can buy them cheap and flog off with a premium.

Yahoo is usually cars that would get much at the auctions as you can inspect the car.

The auctions are just as much a risk if not better as you aren't buying sight un-seen or buying off another dealer in Japan who will tell you what you want to hear.

You usually don't get to speak to the seller as you might ask questions he doesn't want to answer, you will get cut and pasted photos and "seller reports mechanically sound" or "good condition for it's age".

If you aren't expecting to pay big dollars cross your fingers you wont be spending $6,000 plus when the car arrives.

Did you read this as you are cutting it close to get one from the auctions.

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/sh...ead.php?t=63817

[pentae]

Hmm thats a bit biased. I saw an *unbelievably* tidy r32 GTR on j-spec's mailing list last week that put all other r32's i've seen to shame. It was only $16.5k and I think it was the best buy i've seen in about 6 months.

So take everything you read on forums with a grain of salt unless its the persons first hand experience, and all questions you have should be directed to your import agent.

[Guest]

How about the EVO 7 in somebodys stock that was spammed out at 1.85 yen it had a mark up of 300,000 yen for FOB from it's sell price at the auction and you are told dont pay dealer margins or mark up's.

GTR's after 100,000 klm are be prepared for a rebuild simple, if you never rebuild it good luck to you but dont expect to get a car that they assume what the klm's are and think she will be right.

As I was told "OLD LADY'S DONT DRIVE GTR'S IN JAPAN" just remeber that.

[zymotic]

u paint a bleak picture DRIFTT, how do we avoid this crap? can we?

[PSI_GTSII]

I am hoping I can pick a car up tonight / tomorow morning thru a Jap auction house...as I do not fancy the idea of buying something off Yahoo.

If it blows up it blows up...thats the risk I took buying a car from a Jap auction...Like the '6 million dollar man' (Younger people might not remember that show!)....I will rebuild it faster and stronger

[Guest]

u paint a bleak picture DRIFTT, how do we avoid this crap? can we?

Just be care full, listen to what others say amd do the research.

[Tyler Durden]

A well known shop told me (wiped the smile off my face) that 5 of the 8 89 GTRs they have had in needed rebuilds. Sobering but you have to be prepared for it.