Thinking of getting a import?
Discussion
Right i fancy getting something a little different from the run of mill jap sports cars we get over here. Im looking to import with a company called opjp and i have a budget of around 2-2.3k in YEN, I have come across some cars that i am interest in but are they worth importing?(list below) Im not after anything amazing just something around the 170hp mark that will be reliable and not cost a bomb to fix.
Cars i have come across in my range:
nissan pulsar vzr!
nissan pulsar vzr autech
toyota starlet G (wouldn't buy one here due to chavs)
Toyota celica ss3 (worried about the cost of super strut suspension)
toyota corolla levin ae111 bzg?-bzr?
nissan silvia non turbo s15?(maybe engine swap down the line?)
or am i being stupid?
Cars i have come across in my range:
nissan pulsar vzr!
nissan pulsar vzr autech
toyota starlet G (wouldn't buy one here due to chavs)
Toyota celica ss3 (worried about the cost of super strut suspension)
toyota corolla levin ae111 bzg?-bzr?
nissan silvia non turbo s15?(maybe engine swap down the line?)
or am i being stupid?
Never heard of that importer but there you go. The top two I've heard of in the UK are Torque GT (who did mine) and are in Devon, and JM-Imports up in Newcastle. There are others too but only ever heard good things about these guys, they will be honest if your budget cannot stretch to the car you are after.
I imported a Nissan Skyline R33 GTS-T Spec 1 (1993) and paid about £500-£1,000 more than if I'd waited for the right one to come along in the UK, but I wanted a completely stock one so I would've probably been dead by the time a perfect one of those came up. But I got a choice of colour, condition, mileage, spec, mods etc.
Sign up to JDMauctionwatch, you can view potential cars and gain and understanding of the auction sheets which will tell you what car it is, year, mileage etc, the auction grade, and any bodywork/mechanical issues.
This will of course be in Japanese but you can get these translated if you so wish, or if you are lucky enough to read Japanese then you can do it
The time it takes depends on how rare the car is and your budget, it took 6 months for me. For more detailed info please see this link: http://www.skyline-owners-club.com/forums/showthre...
If you can't get access let me know and I can copy+paste it out for you.
I imported a Nissan Skyline R33 GTS-T Spec 1 (1993) and paid about £500-£1,000 more than if I'd waited for the right one to come along in the UK, but I wanted a completely stock one so I would've probably been dead by the time a perfect one of those came up. But I got a choice of colour, condition, mileage, spec, mods etc.
Sign up to JDMauctionwatch, you can view potential cars and gain and understanding of the auction sheets which will tell you what car it is, year, mileage etc, the auction grade, and any bodywork/mechanical issues.
This will of course be in Japanese but you can get these translated if you so wish, or if you are lucky enough to read Japanese then you can do it
The time it takes depends on how rare the car is and your budget, it took 6 months for me. For more detailed info please see this link: http://www.skyline-owners-club.com/forums/showthre...
If you can't get access let me know and I can copy+paste it out for you.
Edited by TommoAE86 on Wednesday 3rd June 10:45
Not heard of them unfortunately.
I imported my Spec R 15 with TorqueGT, they were fantastic. Even aborted bids when problems were found on closer inspections by their team in Japan. Wouldn't go anywhere else if I was importing another car tbh.
Lots of people import Spec S silvia's, they're cool as and very reliable.
I imported my Spec R 15 with TorqueGT, they were fantastic. Even aborted bids when problems were found on closer inspections by their team in Japan. Wouldn't go anywhere else if I was importing another car tbh.
Lots of people import Spec S silvia's, they're cool as and very reliable.
phillllh said:
Even aborted bids when problems were found on closer inspections by their team in Japan.
Yup I had that too, we aborted one because the engine was rattling as it came into the auction area! Even translated a few R grade ones, but they were big shunts that had been repaired 
Keep in mind it can take months to find the right car, buy it, and ship it over. I bought through Newera a few years ago, and it took nearly 7 months from starting the search to the car being in my garage.
I paid slightly more (£1-2k) than the equivalent would have cost in the UK. There's also a few costs other than the initial purchase price of the car to consider, registering it in the UK for example.
I'd probably only import again if it were a very special car.
I'd highly recommend Newera though, excellent service.
I paid slightly more (£1-2k) than the equivalent would have cost in the UK. There's also a few costs other than the initial purchase price of the car to consider, registering it in the UK for example.
I'd probably only import again if it were a very special car.
I'd highly recommend Newera though, excellent service.
The Toyota corolla levin i would be buying would look like this 
Somthing like that i would be looking. The pulsar looks like:
I think the two are around the 170hp ish mark.
I would think i might be able to swap the engine if i got a s15 at a later date... But because its a s15 they seem to sell for more than the other listed above.
Somthing like that i would be looking. The pulsar looks like:
I think the two are around the 170hp ish mark.
I would think i might be able to swap the engine if i got a s15 at a later date... But because its a s15 they seem to sell for more than the other listed above.
Edited by robinbanksuk on Wednesday 3rd June 18:41
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