Iron Chef

Spotted HESLO, at Modbury Heights - not sure if you'd rate a Civic Type R with a CF bonnet, but it was me, if you spotted it. I'm pretty sure you'll spot me in my next car lol

^^They can start now, but only as new cars (less than 300km on the odometer) and only until Nissan release them locally. In other words, there are gonna be a lot of people spending a lot of money in the next few months...

lol nah I've heard some of those guys are the worst, especially in the Kansai region...

Until I see a car with a compliance plate and number plates (legitimately) on it, I call BS. Methinks IMG had to make the call back when when the cut-off date came for advertising in Unique Cars, and they decided to go for it, forgetting how slowly Canberra can make things happen when they choose to.

lol, cheers Dave - you're pretty much on the money. Paul, no need to worry about it - the workshop doing your compliance will take it through Regency for you. All you need to worry about it paying the cash. But for everyone else's benefit, Regency will go through every item on the CIN and check that it's been done for first registration. It's not just a "ID-check-and-away-you-go" type thing. They are extremely anal, and cars that sail through registration in other states (Qld especially) often get pinged here. Virtually every interstate workshop I know has a horror story of relying on SA customers to "do the right thing" and remove all after market parts, the customer thinking that "stock standard" just means "road legal", and Regency having a field day on both of their arses.

Make: Mazda Model: 2001 RX-7 Type R Milage: 46000km Transmission: 5 speead manual Colour: Black Location: Adelaide (NSW rego) Complied? Yes RWC supplied? Not applicable for SA Currently registered? Yes Price: $35K or near offer Contact: 0402 904 069 or [email protected] Comments / Modifications: 13B twin turbo rotary (full 280ps version) 5 speed manual 46,000km Black Blitz intake 5Zigen exhaust FEED (Fujita Engineering) bodykit – hideously expensive! Includes: Afflux Version 2 Type R front bar (RRP $1344) Afflux “widebody” front guards +30mm width (RRP $924) Afflux carbon fibre side skirts (RRP $714) Raybrig Xenon foglight conversion kit with tinted perspex covers (RRP $1134) 18x-9.5 SSR GT-2H alloys all round, with Dunlop tyres (255 width) Momo steering wheel with Works Bell detachable boss kit Sony Xplod head unit (Aussie model, gets local radio stations) with USB port Alarm system, fitted locally Aftermarket coilovers Auction grade 4BB Needs paint on the front bar (my fault – too fast through a spoon drain!), but that will be fixed by the time the new owner gets it, otherwise the car is pretty much perfect It’s breaking my heart just a little bit to do this, but when you see my next car, you’ll understand why it has to go. I’ve had this car for 6 months, and it has probably done less than 500km since it arrived – before all you rotary-bashers try and suggest that it’s because it has been in getting fixed, no, it was parked at the back of the shed and because I had to move another two cars just to get to it, it was never the car I jumped in just to go for a fang. I didn’t really have plans to sell, but another car has come up for sale in Japan, and I can’t afford to have them both! This car is in beautiful condition - real head-turner for all the right reasons. It has been serviced since arriving and an mechanical inspection came up clean as a whistle. Currently priced at what it owes me all up so far. More pics and registration details available upon request. Images:

Thanks to the (anonymous) champion who emailed me a heap of gear. List price was 6.1 million yen before taxes!! Ouch! Other interesting info was that there were 45 V Spec N1s built as I mentioned earlier, but also a handful of V Spec II N1s built to order, of which there are suspected to be less than 20 in existence.

Yeah, but cost more than stock lol

Quoting myself for truth lol

Props to J-Spec for getting it all sorted - another good reason why it's useful to use a broker rather than importing on your own

Updated info... - Only came in white - Unpainted carbon fibre bonnet - No rear wiper - No rear fog lamp - No remote control keys - No vanity mirrors (oh no!!) - No stereo or antenna - Thinner front window glass?? (No UV Cut stuff) - No courtesy light in the door, just a reflector - Door mirrors painted black, not body colour - No electric rear view mirrors - Centre console lid and handbrake handle different somehow - not leather - No aircon

So which one is quicker? lol

lol I thought you were having a crack at me for a second, Nigel!! I learnt very quickly that, while some workshops appear very cheap on paper initially, there are plenty of ways they can hit your customers up for extra cash - the ones I regularly send cars to often charge more than others, but a price is a price, and at least you know exactly what you're up for in 95% of cases. The ones that seem cheap often end up being way more expensive by the end of the job.

Agreed on the last bit. I'd be curious to hear it.

Andy, they come from the factory with Xenons, same as virtually every R34, but because they're not auto-leveling and don't have a washer function, they don't meet ADRs and are removed during compliance. The easiest way to tell is point the car near a wall and watch what they do when you turn them on - Xenons will light up a bit like a street light - take a few seconds to reach full brightness. JI34GT - that knob is to adjust the height of the beam, nothing else.

My comments? I think you got shafted. If what you're saying is correct, then that's a bloody disgrace. Those who know me will know I'm generally very supportive of workshops, but when they pull stunts like this, they never get my business.

Too much fuel. Simple.

In the case of the R34s (and S15s same deal) is the strong market (from drifters) for manual RWD turbocharged vehicles keeping prices up. The high demand at auctions comes from the local market, but also from other countries right around the world. Cars depreciate in Japan of course, but some are always better than others, and they're usually the ones we Aussies like the most . As has already been mentioned, some R34 GT-R owners have held steadfastly on to their cars for nearly 10 years waiting (and saving) for the R35 to come out, and so, despite the cavernous gap in price, many actually have made the jump up to the R35. Having said that, I've heard a couple of interesting observations from locals (in Japan, that is) that they thought the R35 was a little too clever for its own good, and that there may be reliability concerns if they wanted to start tuning them, particularly with the gearbox, aside from the obvious warranty issues associated with mods. It's these guys who are selling their base model GT-Rs and throwing their cash at top-end R34 GT-Rs (and either pocketing the extra cash, or throwing substantial amounts at their new purchases) instead of buying R35s. A lot of it will come down to what tuners are able to achieve with R35s, and what owners think of the long-term R35 ownership experience. Meh, then again, I could be totally incorrect, but it makes sense in my mind.

What would I know? The reason the top end stuff will hold its value is that there are plenty of smart cookies starting to throw money at late model R34 GT-Rs, because they're the very last of the RB-powered cars, and things like immaculate V-Spec Nurs will be worth a pretty penny as collectible classics. Their prices may dip a little in the short term, but anyone dreaming about saving $35K to buy a low-km V-Spec Nur in a few years' time will probably be disappointed. It always makes me chuckle when people automatically assume that all cars' values in Japan plummet like a stone. A case in point - I bought a manual 1998 R34 coupe with 32,000km on the clock for 1.3 million FOB, nothing worth noting apart from the fact that I bought it back in September of 2000....my point is that this figure would still be the right sort of money for that same car today - they really haven't depreciated at all. The only reason some cars have become cheaper to import is because the exchange rate is stronger, not because they're any cheaper in Japan.

In fairness, you guys only get one boat a month, and the cut off dates are pretty early. It's not uncommon to miss boats to Freo. Looking at your dates, the explanation you've been given makes sense.

A customer's car - side skirts are 40mm off the ground. Copped a few scrapes along the way, but still went on the boat...

Ok, they DID have ABS after all, and for the trivia buffs, the options section of the model code (last 5 digits of the 18 digit code) reads --1--

Drove it back from Queensland - now THAT's commitment. I'm just glad you made it back without hitting a 'roo. Did you go across the Hay plain??

Under 18 months. Was always gonna be the case, even if only one car hit the roads under the 18 month window.

Prices will continue to fall for the cheap/crappy ones, as the kms travelled increase, but stuff at the top end won't change too much. What used to be a $5K gap between good and bad is fast becoming a $20K gap.