Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 40
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

why cant we name the guy ?

If I am out of line doing this then i appologize and mods feel free to deleate this post but i think we should warn people if possible.

I just hope that you guys aren't talking about [names removed - Vijay] because i thought he was great and my car came in exactly the condition stated. I was very happy with his service but if for some reason other people aren't then they should let potential importers aware.

well my mate just recieved his R32 GTR and I quote... "Engine runs well, mechanically sound. Supplier has test driven and reports that everything appears to be working fine." Apparently turbos dont count as part of the engine these days. When it arrived both turbos (or something associated) apparently dont work. No boost whatsoever.. its slower than my girlfriends excel :rofl:

Its the first time ive ever seen a NA GTR tho :D

Unfortunately when you buy your car from a supplier and not a Japanese Car Auction, there is no guarantee on the condition of the car, no auction rating and its a bit more of a gamble because your relying on the word of a car dealer as opposed to a government regulated system.

It seems to me as though most of the people who report problems on the forum have sourced their car from an independant supplier.

My car is one of these, and it was a necessity because there was simply no examples coming up at auction that matched what I wanted (something as close as possible to stock standard and tidy)

My car was sourced from the supplier mentioned a few times above, and I was basically told that even though the car has been said to be "mechnically sound" by an independant mechanic, which means absolutely bloody nothing afaiac, the condition can only really be based around the pictures of the vehicle. Which look quite good.

The reason my car has taken so long to leave japan is purely because the car was sourced through a supplier and not bought from auction, in my case.

In the meantime i'll keep my fingers crossed that theres nothing seriously wrong with the car :D

well I did broking for 18 months never had any of those issues the only one I had was a car had a completly dead battery that cost $50.

but then again my service was pretty full an comprehensive.

As for rust here is an example of a car I bought by mistake from the north (still kicking my self) the first and only one from there. yes its one of my cars not a customers car.

meggala

meggala2005%20014.jpg

pentae, unless you paid for a proper third party inspection on the car (ie, not the dealer) they are blowing smoke up your ass to suggest that it has been inspected by a mechanic for you. if that is the case you would have his name and the report he did on the car, if that's the case saying "the condition can only really be based around the pictures of the vehicle" is not really true, the report would tell you much more. photos can be very hard to judge which is why you should try and organise an inspection.

these guys (broker+jap dealers/suppliers) are not out to rip you off, but they are only going take as much care as they think is neccessary to satisfy someone and have the car sold.

the delay with your car is another matter alltogether and is nothing to do with buying a car through a dealer as opposed to buying at auction.

My GTR was an 89 december build, had import approval in the first week of december and left on the next available boat with the carrier of my choice. the B/L was surrendered in Tokyo the next day and emailed to me the day after that. for the money we have paid that is how the service should be. plus no problems with my car at all. only issue was it didn't have a cat and the front lip was slightly damage in transit. engine has been rebuilt and is in A1 condition, drivline is all fine. oh actually there was one problem which was the slave was suspected of leaking, turns out it wasn't but I replaced it anyway (cost $70 and took me 10 minutes to change).

anyway guys, don't dwell on any mistakes. your cars will all work out ok in the end. as long as you actually receive the car you will no be too badly out of pocket. Enjoy them :(

I bought my car back in november 04 and just got it complied and road registered end of feb. Apart from having delays with getting it on a boat, when my importer in sydney received the car, pretty much all tyres needed changing, and it had underbody damage which meant that it could not be complied until the appropriate repairs were made on the chassis... i got off easy [$250 to fix]... I was told the damage was most likely caused by a forklift...

This is the description i got [with 8 photos] before i bought the car:

1995 Nissan Skyline GTS-T Type M White

White, F5, 77,000kms.

18"Linea sport alloys, Blitz big bore exhaust, A/M suspension (originals in boot), Apexi turbo timer, A/M gear shift.

Interior in tip top condition.

The front bumper has a crack otherwise the exterior is also in very good condition.

A minor accident repair (RHF panel replaced) but repair is good/unseen.

This car drives well and the wheels look terrific.

Purchased through 'Japan Auto Direct'...

Fortunately, aside from a few minor idling issues, the car runs fine and looks great.

why cant we name the guy ?

If I am out of line doing this then i appologize and mods feel free to deleate this post but i think we should warn people if possible.

I just hope that you guys aren't talking about [name removed] because i thought he was great and my car came in exactly the condition stated.  I was very happy with his service but if for some reason other people aren't then they should let potential importers aware.

Geoff I had no issue with at all. Offered a great service, I got plenty of cars emailed to me every day in a nice neat package to bid on at auction. Any questions I asked he answered promply and if it was serious enough he rang me. I definately enjoyed the service and wouldn't mind using him again in the future.

[Name removed] however my supplier though who apparently outbided me at an auction and then sold the same car to me at a price less than what my bid limit was originally, had my worries from day one. He failed to get my car on the ship at a slower pace than other people who bought skylines on this forum. He also failed to supply me the "Bill of Lading" almost 3 weeks after the car had landed in Australia. The car also had significantly more rust on it than otherwise stated in areas where it couldnt have ocured during transit. Oh yeah and it had 4 bald tyres when it was specifically noted "With good tread". I think he needs to either commit to being a supplier rather than it being a weekend job and being an english teacher during the weekdays. I will not use him ever again in the future and would heavily discourage anyone else to use him either, not due to the condition of my car but rather due to the lack of after sale support which I was disgusted by.

All the other businesses recommended by geoff have been helpful and reasonably well priced so far.

Thats my opinon anyway.

Unfortunately when you buy your car from a supplier and not a Japanese Car Auction, there is no guarantee on the condition of the car, no auction rating and its a bit more of a gamble because your relying on the word of a car dealer as opposed to a government regulated system.

These Supplyiers and even some of the fly by nighter Brokers buy a damaged car and lose the Auction report, put 200,000 to 300,000 for FOB and send plenty of pictures out, it is a known fact, dont ask the seller ask the RAW or Compliance Shop that will be complying the car.

Guys I've just gone through and edited some of the posts that identify some of these individuals, keeping things as per forum rules: "Absolutely no slandering of any business. Negative comments about any business will be removed immediately"

Please keep that in mind in the future. If you wish to discuss names, please PM the person involved.

And by the way, I have had experience with all of the individuals named so I can understand some of the comments.

Vijay

No worries. Will remember for future reference. It's just that, "that individual" has screwed around with 2 other people I know atm as well as myself and he is not a very honest person. Quoting what someone said earlier "He is a car dealer, with no risks involved". You can probably understand my frustration. :P

  • 1 month later...

Ok for an update:

Finally some good news! After nearly 5 months of waiting, My broker in Japan called me this morning to tell me that my car will be on this months boat and arrive second week of June. YAY!!! :D

Now for the clutch issue, a couple weeks ago I was going through some photo's of my cars engine bay in photoshop, I zoomed in closer to the clutch fluid reservoir only to notice that it was less than 1/4 full of clutch fluid! I pointed this out to the supplier. Finally today the supplier tell's me that the clutch is now working abolutely fine with a clutch fluid top up and I do not require a new clutch as recommended prior... very good news for me. :headspin:

All in all, I feel allot better now. It feels like the final straight for the home run.. for the first time I think im going to start counting down the days :D

Cheers,

Lyndon

Hey guys,

I've imported a few cars for my personal use, particularly since the 15 year old rule came and went and been to japan recently. The only reason I imported direct was because I knew the exporter in japan very well, you could say he's almost relative, so there is some sort of 'trust' between us.

Put yourself in the shoes of a car dealer in japan, who has some sort of a deal with an importing company in Australia. You live in a small town, about an hour and a half out from the nearest sea-port. You have a 90 GTR, GTST, 180sx, RX7 bla bla bla, you sell the GTR. Towing the car to the wharfes costs more than driving it there. Driving it there can be fun, especially considering its a GTR. You thrash the tired old car for what its worth (as if the poor thing hasn't been thrashed enough!) Stuff breaks. But it's no longer your problem.

Car dealers in japan really neglect these already neglected cars. That's why, when they EVENTUALLY get to Australia a lot of people complain. They're slack. Either he burnt the clutch himself or it was already burnt and he politely forgot to mention it in the facts. They grab a deposit, then screw you over.

When you think about the amount of competition in the market now, importers aren't making too much money. Just buy local. It saves time and money, and ofcourse, there's the 'try before you buy' factor.

Put yourself in the shoes of a car dealer in japan, who has some sort of a deal with an importing company in Australia. You live in a small town, about an hour and a half out from the nearest sea-port. You have a 90 GTR, GTST, 180sx, RX7 bla bla bla, you sell the GTR. Towing the car to the wharfes costs more than driving it there. Driving it there can be fun, especially considering its a GTR. You thrash the tired old car for what its worth (as if the poor thing hasn't been thrashed enough!) Stuff breaks. But it's no longer your problem

I would say thats more of an exception than a rule...

The japs ar'nt that different to us...at the end of the day selling / Transporting cars is just 'a job', the novelty soon wears off with thrashing cars, even GTRs :D

Plus why would you cane the car and increase the chances of it breaking down or complaints from Suppliers etc.

I think we should send the 'Myth Busters' to Japan sort out a lot of these rumours :(:P

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • After 23 years of owning a Skyline, finally had the latch go.  Followed this guide,  works like a dream again. Great Guide 👍
    • Hi all,   I’ve got the biggest lot of problems with my R33 GTS-T   It was a freshly rebuilt 25th anniversary RB25DET (plastic cas, neo cams) probably 6 years ago now   The engine was running so well but I fkd up badly and trusted someone I’d known for 10 years that was well known around Plazmaman for his welding and fab work. I added a lovely photo of some of his previous work. Not sure why my car was worked on by whoever did this shit     I’m normally someone who would never open myself up to something like this, I still can’t believe I did it. Trusting him literally fkd it all up for me. Everything has been a struggle, like it’s almost been 6 years that’s how much I’ve just on and off been trying to work it all out.    All I wanted was a car that danced down low, like full boost from around 3~3500rpm to redline, don’t really care what power it puts down (if it ever does) but I just wanted it to be quick to get on it.    He recommended the turbo to get, I picked Hypergear but he told me to get the front 4” with a T4 and 0.68 rear housing.    I was expecting all these beautiful welds, tidy fab work and paid for it to be ready to go to a tuner when I got it back.    I got a car back that was an absolute mess, I actually couldn’t believe it was my car anymore. I don’t think you could even call what he did welds, they’re disgusting.    So I stripped everything he touched off it and with every bolt I loosened it just got worse and worse.    I covered it and literally built and finished another car in the meantime but now it’s getting to the point where I really want my Skyline back.   Its a struggle because I paid him to do all this shit because I didn’t know how to and now I’ve had to try and figure it all out omg    Please excuse the bird shit horrible welds, I’ve got my show pony car and am so beyond dealing with this car I don’t even really care at this point.    If someone told me about what he did to my car I wouldn’t have believed them but it happened to me. It was unbelievable. He went missing, my car went missing, it came back missing parts, the straight af chassis rails bore the scars of being dragged up a trailer backwards, even the sandwich plate was bent. Everything was leaking and open to whatever fell into it, rounded off/ missing bolts, power steering oil and coolant everywhere, no gaskets, parts stolen off it, even managed to damage the sump pan.   Promised me he’d finish the car, knew what it meant to me, I paid him thousands and thousands just for him to trash it. He told me he was fully licensed and insured, come to find out he’d cancelled his ABN, so obviously no insurance. I had laid up insurance on the car and would’ve been covered but I was scared they would’ve written it off or because the business was no longer trading I’d still be liable.    He was supposed to:  New fully custom mild steam pipe exhaust manifold with turbo location moved from factory position to high forward mount. (I don’t know if it is a mild steam pipe, I’ve got a funny feeling the waste gate isn’t in a very good position and I don’t think the outlets off each cylinder are equal) 4” custom stainless steel dump with external gate (he re-plumbed it) Cut and shut OEM intake manifold with throttle reposition (I ended up doing the throttle reposition) Box in pod filter (left out) New 100cel catalytic converter (pretty sure it’s there but unsure if it’s 100cel) Front mount intercooler piping fabricated to suit (all smashed up and rusty holes where he was supposed to make it look standard where fmic piping passes through. I don’t even think my front bar is going to fit 🙄) Custom 5” intake pipe from pod to turbo (didn’t come with it so had to do something to make it work with the Z32 afm)   Engine: Full cylinder head service & machining  Brand new valves Precision upgraded spring kit Engine block honed New bearings  New piston rings  New ARP conrod bolt kit New ARP head studs Cometic head gasket VRS kit   ATR43SS2 ball bearing turbo 0.68 rear housing  Turbosmart 45mm external wastegate (got delivered to the fab bloke, I’ve got no idea what spring is in it, I’m assuming the one that came pre installed) Walbro 260 fuel pump  Nismo 740cc injectors (tested to 880) Spitfire coil packs GCG FMIC RB25DET manual 5 speed 4:11 rear diff   I’ve got an Apexi Power FC in it atm, I was hoping to just get it to operating temp to make sure everything was okay before towing to a tuner but it’s over-fuelling too much. I don’t think that’s going to happen so i think I’m going to get either a Link G4 or Haltech for it. What do you guys recommend? I can’t work out the power FC so just gonna give up on that one     It’s got an exhaust leak coming from somewhere I can’t see 🙄    The fuel pressure was steady but now it like drops from 40 to 20psi randomly (noticed this yesterday)    I’ll attach pics of the shit he put on my car and the engine bay now as it sits    I really just need some help, I need a tuner in Sydney I can trust, I’d like to be with the car while it’s being tuned if possible, I know it looks terrible but unfortunately I’ve just got to put up with it for now and fix the cosmetic stuff later   Do you guys think the manifolds are going to be okay? Or do I throw the exhaust manifold and try again?   I don’t even think these combinations are going to work tbh   I know everything I fitted was rated to be able to take at least 400kW but most rated higher    If you’ve gotten this far I really really appreciate it 🙏 I don’t mind if you trash me or the car, I made a rookie error and f**k I’ve paid for it. As you’ll see 🙄  
    • From everything I’ve heard you’ll be waiting a long time for  the parts to arrive 
    • Have you looked at the workshop manual?
    • Hmm. I've gotten pretty good outcomes from talking to them about things that I've had go wrong or ideas for improvement. Have had a lot to say about the R32 FUCAs, and they have sent out some replacement parts for those, gratis, on a couple of occasions. Mind you, I have bought a couple hundreds of $ of replacement rod ends for them too!
×
×
  • Create New...