Carizma

[V-meister]

Has anyone bought a car from (or know of) Carizma by any chance, in Victoria? If so, any comments on them?

PM me if you prefer.

Thanks guys.

[Talej]

If you are in VIC try http://www.importcars.com.au/

I got both my cars through John and he is very helpful even after you've got your car. Although I haven't used Carizma I have only heard good things about them.

[Timmy G]

I think V saw a particular car on the Carizma stock list which fit the bill.

He lives in Sydney.. so he was tossing up going down there to check it out.

[Guest 500Nm]

Hi everone.... was going to ask the same question about Carizma, but I've done a search and I think your answers are pretty convincing....

Just got rid of my 94 Prelude, now having a Ford Escape (gotta love that torque)..... but I'm letting my gf use it.

Now I'm thinking of a second car for the house.... and I'm thinking of either a 2001 Prelude or a R33 GTST...

Was (still am) quite nervouse about the quality of the cars, and the after-sales technical service....

I guess I just have to get a Rating 4.0 or 4.5, from Carizma (reputable, you guys tell me), and wish for the best..?

Anyone had any bad stories with Carizma ?

Thanks all...

(I used the hondaprelude.com forum everyday. now they are closed.. This forum looks even better, and as far as I can see, all the members are pretty mature too)

[Champinco]

ok.

here it goes. i hope i dont offend anyone who knows anyone from carizma or actually works there. but i have pretty damn good evidence that carizma are dodgy as. word of mouth around my area travels pretty fast, and my good mate knows someone who use to work there, so ill take his advice over anyones. if you choose not to believe me then do so. bear that in mind i have heard many things about them:

->steal parts off other cars to put on theirs

->parts off their cars are illegitamate

->cars not working properly (one of their cars was for sale (no engine?)

->and perhaps the most frightening....following a person home after they sold a car from there!

Now as i said u might not want to believe me but also my-ex friend knew em as well and he said they are dogdy as well.

Rumours are false but wat if these rumours were true??? i mean i wouldnt want to take the benefit of the doubt either. Ide stay away...i mean i went down there a couple of times to check some cars out (when i was looking for my skyline) and one guy who talked to me was mega nice but the place lacks credibility. plus their cars are overpriced.

either way good luck.

[Guest 500Nm]

Holy Crap...!! (not that crap is holy, or being holy is crap, HEY I just made it up just then, I'm gooooood)

Thanks for the advice....

Yah, all my friends who had a Skyline (only 3 of them) have reported various problems. They bought from somewhere-else..

So it kinds of makes me very very nervous getting an import.

But driving a Skyline is one of the things on my "10 things to do in my lifetime" list....

But I'm sure there are thousands of happy Skyliners out there as well....

I'm going out now... prob go look at some Gen 5 Preludes (I know, all show - no go)....

It's a great site though... I'm gonna stay for the long haul...

[Champinco]

500Nm...just because carizma are dogdy doenst mean u should quit all together buying a skyline. Skylines are brilliant cars and there are heaps of good ones out there. u just have to take ur time looking for one, and eventually u will find one with min problems, at a good price and maximum hapiness. it took me about 5 months to find my car..and i think that still too quick.

either way good luck.

[Guest 500Nm]

Yeah.... I know I'll nvr be satisfied till I drive a Skyline... They're not called King of Cars for nothing....

Will see what happens....thx.

[predator]

carizma is very overpriced if you ask me.. back when i was looking a, 94 gts-t or the like (with the nice rims and kit) at Carizma was going for around $25k. I bought mine with a stack of mods for a few $k less than that. Everything else was a good $5k more than you could get elsewhere. They did generally have nice cars that had been cleaned up (at least visually), but nothing that couldn't be found if you look carefully.

500Nm.. my advice is to buy privately from a user on here, even the trading post if you can get somebody who knows their skylines and good turbo mechanic to come with you. Usually the SAU sold ones are just sold because of financial reasons or upgrade reasons, rather than problem reasons and they're nice cars.. Dave has a very nice black GTS-T in Melb he has been trying to sell for quite a few months with a few mods for ~$20k. There is a white 33 gts-t fairly stock i know somebody else is selling you can speak to as well.

When you can speak to the owner and know they have taken care of it, and they can tell you what they have done to it, then its gold.

You can also import privately if you are prepared to wait a bit and prepared for a bit of risk - but you can get a good deal and get more specific in what you want. http://www.j-spec.com.au or http://www.upimports.com.au in melbourne both have good reps at private imports.

Avoid the dealers, they are dodgy from the getgo.. and they charge you a few $k more than what you can pick up through other means - and there is always the risk you get a lemon.

Wait a couple of months and you can probably buy my little beasty - 0 problems whatsoever, heap of nice mods for low 20's.

[hippy]

well all car sales places are dodgy ... no doubt about it ... they are no dodgier than the next place ... u just expect it from any car dealers whatever car it is ... they say anything to get ur business ... keep that in mind when buying a car ... so its up to you to do your research and choose carefully ... do not let the car salesman sell you the car ... let the car sell itself!!!

thats my only word of advice

[Guest 500Nm]

Thanks guys... I'm gonna sit back, and read the threads in this forum.... get my Skyline knowledge up first....

Whatever the case, give yourselfs a pat on the back, you guys have a great car..!! no doubt.

[Evil]

Originally posted by Champinco

ok.

here it goes. i hope i dont offend anyone who knows anyone from carizma or actually works there. but i have pretty damn good evidence that carizma are dodgy as. word of mouth around my area travels pretty fast, and my good mate knows someone who use to work there, so ill take his advice over anyones. if you choose not to believe me then do so. bear that in mind i have heard many things about them:

->steal parts off other cars to put on theirs

->parts off their cars are illegitamate

->cars not working properly (one of their cars was for sale (no engine?)

->and perhaps the most frightening....following a person home after they sold a car from there!

Now as i said u might not want to believe me but also my-ex friend knew em as well and he said they are dogdy as well.  

Rumours are false but wat if these rumours were true??? i mean i wouldnt want to take the benefit of the doubt either.  Ide stay away...i mean i went down there a couple of times to check some cars out (when i was looking for my skyline) and one guy who talked to me was mega nice but the place lacks credibility. plus their cars are overpriced.  

either way good luck.

Champinco, I got my Skyline from Carizma and I couldn't be happier. I have had my car for over 6 months and have had no problems. I have not been followed home either. You said you know someone who used to work there... of course they might say something to dampen the credability of the place (heck I could do that about some of the places I used to work at). And you are right rumors are false. Carizma have been around for 9 years, that was good enough for me, there are not too many import dealers that have been around that long. Additionally, I have never been to a car dealer (new or used) that have been totally honest (most of them are dodgy imho). And as for the cars being over priced, well list prices are but you need to bargain anyway I got a good deal on mine. Maybe I was lucky, I don't know... but if I was getting another import I would probably go back. V-meister just shop around you'll find the right car, you need to be careful no matter where you get one from...

[Assassin]

I brought my R34 GTT from Carizma too...and I'm really happy too...nothing dodge about them...They look after me really well, even months after they sold me the car, if i needed anything they'll still look after ya...my R34 was in great condition too. I think they're pretty good.

[Evil]

Originally posted by Assassin

I brought my R34 GTT from Carizma too...and I'm really happy too...nothing dodge about them...They look after me really well, even months after they sold me the car, if i needed anything they'll still look after ya...my R34 was in great condition too.  I think they're pretty good.

Couldn't agree more. They still look after me too...

[pasey25]

I'm reading this thread with interest. Carizma have a GTS-t that I'm quite impressed with but is still around 1000-1500 more than I think its worth (after negotiation)

the bonnet on the car has been sprayed(they haven't mentioned it but I can see it), but I've had a REALLY good look at the car and there is no accident damage apparent.

[aybee]

i also know a guy who used to work at carizma and he told me that they overcharge for importing a car for you. he said that they buy a car really cheap from auction then tell you that they paid more for it. he said they sometimes added up to 7k onto the price. that sounds pretty bad. he didnt say anything about the quality or what they have in stock, etc, just about the private imports.

[SillyFlyFresh]

LOL

about 5 years ago my best mate imported cars from japan i use to go to carizma to buy compliance kits for all our cars

yes there vehcile prices are to expensive