Japanese car specialists in Newcastle

[Baryonyx]

Afternoon,

Does anyone know of any Japanese car specialists in Newcastle? Ideally any experienced with older Nissans (ie. Skylines and Pulsars etc etc), but really anyone with some skill with a spanner? The only one I can think of at present was the bloke who used to run the garage on Byker Bank/Ouseburn Valley which is now the Hotel Du Vin.

Any help appreciated!

[ED209]

I think we covertly met the other day Baronyx? happy days, spotty dog and all that!

[xh11rdy]

try Jm-imports in cramlington. seems to have a good rep on the gtr forum

http://www.jm-imports.co.uk/index.html

[Baryonyx]

I've looked at them before, they might suffice as a local speciliast. They seem to have done a load of imports, they must be on the Nelson industrial estate.

[marky911]

I see you're selling the MR2. That was short-lived, did you not get on with it?

Not being arsey but 1 months MOT will put nearly everyone off. People will think it needs loads of work.
If it doesn't I'd be thinking "Why hasn't the seller spent £30 on a fresh MOT?"

Good luck though.

With regards to Jap specialists, I'm sure you already know of my mate Chris at GTS Chris.com based in Bedlington/Cramlington, but it depends on how much you're happy to spend.

[Baryonyx]

marky911 said:

I see you're selling the MR2. That was short-lived, did you not get on with it?

Not being arsey but 1 months MOT will put nearly everyone off. People will think it needs loads of work.
If it doesn't I'd be thinking "Why hasn't the seller spent £30 on a fresh MOT?"

Good luck though.

With regards to Jap specialists, I'm sure you already know of my mate Chris at GTS Chris.com based in Bedlington/Cramlington, but it depends on how much you're happy to spend.

I did get on with the MR2, though I am a right car swapper and always looking for a new toy. The main issue was me saying to my bosses that if the snow or poor weather came I'd be stuck at home, which they weren't very happy with. I'd keep the MR2 as a second car for dry days if I had the space and cash, but I don't. That and there are a few nice cars for sale at the moment (some through work) that have caught my eye. Really, it's come down to having another year's NCB to play with. The MR2 Turbo has always been very reasonable to insure despite being a group 20 import, though this new NCB lets me look at some things that have previously been priced out of reach like Imprezas, Evos, Pulsar GTIR's and the like (basically things that insurers hate). The MR2 has definitely been my car of the year though, far more exciting to drive than the MX5 I started the year with, and nearly as comfortable and as practical as my S60! Overall, it's been great fun, though I have had a few slow drives when the frost has been bad, particularly when coming home from work at 3AM when the roads are ungritted. In those circumstances, I'd like an AWD car to be able to pootle along in without constantly monitoring the back end for movement.

I've got someone coming to look at the MR2 with the intention of using it as a track car, to keep his super-tuned Skyline in good nick. I think that would suit it perfectly, I'd quite like to get it on track and drive it like a racecar, but there are none near me. If the MR2 doesn't sell prior to MOT expiry I'll probably just take it to Chris at GTS Chris and get it re-mot'ed and taxed and continue advertising it, maybe for a bit more to reflect the tax and ticket. It all depends really, if I buy a new car in the meantime and it doesn't sell I might ebay it with no reserve just to clear some space on my drive and switch my insurance to that. The market seems pretty slow at the moment, not many cars for sale at all, not many new ones coming up each day. I'll just have to wait and see.

[marky911]

Ah right, fair enough.

Definitely worth spending an hour getting it MOT'd. It inspires much more confidence for buyers.

Chris doesn't do MOT's but can get one done. Personally I'd just pop into Autominster, Coopies Ind. Estate, Morpeth. Good lads there and very sensible with regards to what is acceptable.

Good luck with the sale.

[Baryonyx]

I've renewed my insurance on it now, and the MOT has another month until expiry, as the car is my day to day car for getting to work and back I'll end up getting it re-tested in due course simply to keep it on the road as I am using it, I'll still probably continue with my efforts to sell it. I really need something with four seats, the wife has relented to let me buy one more car as she bought a new one last year (she doesn't like the fact I keep turning up with different cars!).

As I say, there are a few nice cars for sale at work at the moment, some of which probably won't hang around too long, so I might revise the price on my MR2 at the end of today, just to recover some of the cash I've put into it and get some space to keep another car. The real issue is insurance, as I'll need to transfer my MR2 insurance to a new car. With my NCB I can get a half decent deal for most things, without it the prices I'm charged are obscene so running a second car is really out of the question for now.