Iron Chef

I'm gonna kind of go against what everyone has said a bit here, but the fact is that we import brokers all pretty much do the same job, so from that perspective, the big guys like J-Spec and Prestige are presumably doing a good job or else they wouldn't be in business. I don't really count myself in their league just yet! I did some quick calculations and worked out that only about 40% of the cars I buy actually come to SA owners - the rest are sent all over the country - and the only reason I mention this is because, apart from your own peace of mind, it doesn't really matter where the broker is based. One small point of difference is that I regularly head to Japan to find cars for customers, but most brokers will have agents there that they trust to do the same thing, and I probably 90% of all the cars I buy through one particular company because I trust the buyer's judgment as much as my own. My customers will know that this often means having to wait a long time for the right car to come along! Probably 99% of the cars I buy are bought to order and are never put on the site - the ones on the site are usually stock that agents have in Japan, often as a result of customers pulling out after a car has already been bought. With importing R32 GT-Rs make sure you have a good budget, as they are going up in value over there, and if you're thinking mid-high teens, best off looking locally, rather than risking getting a crappy one overseas, where you can't check it over or test drive it. A case of "better the devil you know"... Oh and thanks for the kind words, guys

Oh, sh*t, too late...umm.... Please note that if two brokers are charging near enough to the same service fee then their landed and complied prices will be the same assuming they are quoting realistic prices with accurate exchange rates, shipping costs and compliance rates ... just to clarify, we under estimate the exchange rate because no banks give you the full wholesale rate advertised, we over alll slightly for shipping and don't list the absolute cheapest compliance price usually so there is a very good chance of it costing slightly less than the estimate as long as rates don't change heaps or any unexpected costs pop up ... also keep in mind that we have many customers looking for these cars who are signed up with deposits in place, so the best deals are always gone before they make it onto the website anyway. With regards to your desired car, a budget of around $25,000 landed and complied should be very simple to get a good V35 these days, you should be able to fairly easily get one for around $20,000 to $24,000 as long as you are not looking for a 2006 model in black with 6 speed manual and Brembo brakes or a limited edition 70th Anniversary model ... the examples you showed above are fairly typical of what you can get from auction these days if you are an active client and bidding on cars, we have had a number around this price but as noted above they are all sold before hitting the mailing list. I would be happy to also show you examples if necessary or actually help you find a car if you are ready to buy? :(

^^Neither are any good for people with allergies... Some yellow R34s can look good...

Ghey...

^^^ Good point.

It goes through a fair few processes before the plate is sent out, they don't just go "yep that one's done" then yell out to a bloke behind them to go make the plate. For obvious reasons, security is a big issue for compliance plates - if you don't believe me, try asking Canberra for another one because you've wrecked the first one lol (note: this did NOT happen to me!)

Yes please!! Cheers Terry, too!

Depends on how long you've known the girl, but I'd trust a girl driving an unfamiliar car more than a bloke. At least they don't normally get in a new car and think they're gonna suddenly possess the skills of Michael Schumacher... 1) My wife can steer 2) She prefers manual to auto 3) She drives every car I own, even if it's just around the block satisfy her curiosity Having said that, I don't like being a passenger with anyone, my wife included. I prefer being in control of my own destiny...

I take it neither of you bothered checking the dates on the original post - holy thread revival, Batman! Interesting to see how prices have come down though...

Ok, I've been doing some research on these elusive creatures, and I'm figuring the collective wisdom of SAU may be able to unearth more info than I've been able to find on the net. What I know so far: 45 built, 12 of which were track cars, 33 registered No ABS, air con, rear wiper, audio, trim in the boot Unpainted CF bonnet N1 motor obviously Does anyone know anything else? Build dates or chassis numbers? What they look like in FAST? If it's posted elsewhere and I can't find it, then please point me there, otherwise, I'm all ears.

I've got a race/rally import through with a Level 2NS before, but that was because that level licence was all that was required to compete in Drift at a national level. That application was also supported with 12 pages of documentary evidence to prove that the person applying was an experienced competitor and was competing in Drift Australia. I'm hearing many claims being made around the traps about some people being "given approval by DoTaRS to import race/rally cars without paperwork", which I find extremely hard to swallow. Put it this way, ask yourself if you'd like it to be your car they got it wrong on...

I seriously hope you're right...

$150K plus on-roads IS $160K...

Looking good mate!! Yes, you need a better camera lol.

A disaster in the making...

The shorter answers :

^^^ And that is precisely the reason why I didn't buy one for myself. I actually had the option of buying one as a test car (now there's a free compliance worth getting!) and worked out that if I sold all my current cars, I could probably swing it, but in the end, I have an extremely expensive car with a 50/50 shot at getting it on-road before Nissan bring out their local ones. Not a risk I was willing to take.

I agree with everything you've said Terry, the problem comes when the seller isn't as scrupulous as you (or me for that matter - I've just spent $2K fixing everything on my JZX100 getting it ready for sale), and the buyer isn't that good at checking cars (or worse, over-confident about it). One of the hardest things for people to get their heads around is that, yes cars available locally are generally more expensive than importing your own, but someone else has tied their money up to bring that car in, and you should pay more to have the luxury of seeing the car and test driving it before you buy. You'd be amazed at the number of people who call me wanting a car, but don't want to pay for it until they've seen it in the metal...I'm not sure who they think will cover all the bills for it in the meantime...

I'm working on making them eligible but it takes time. Still, they will hopefully be able to be complied inside the next 12 months. I very nearly bought that first bronze one for a DA driver. There's an SR20-powered one coming to SA as a track car soon too.

Check the tank size Bear in mind Luke's is AWD too.

Prices are definitely coming down, but only if you want base model or V-Spec, other late models are all holding their value well. 3 million FOB will get you a nice car, that's low $40Ks landed and complied. I spent too much money on customers' cars (lots of top end orders) so I'll have to wait till next time around. I need to make some room in the garage first too! A rough count in Adelaide would suggest there are around 20 here - my Dad has one too lol.

www.ozvr4.com/forums Nice name btw lol

One owner Keyless entry Aftermarket exhaust Turbo timer

This should be in the importing section... You will need to contact DoTaRS (in Canberra) for a replacement compliance plate. Expect to be given the third degree...

It really depends on the supplier in Japan - ones that have high overheads and have to do big numbers to survive often start to panic and end up buying crap just to keep sales up (works in the short term, but burns customers obviously). Auction houses also have the same problems, so what used to be a grade 3.5 is now a 4, and cars can be a 4B and be totally rusted out underneath, so you have to really know your stuff when reading auction sheets. My last trip to Japan, I literally picked up half the number of cars I normally do, and none at all from USS Tokyo on the Thursday, which is the largest auction in Japan. In the end, I'd rather buy no cars than crap ones. There are still good cars around, but you have to pay reasonable money for them. It's the customers who want to throw low bids on everything and try and snag something cheap that often end up waiting much longer than they used to.