kakimoto33

Let us know what you are looking for and we can search around all of the good known sources and websites, call specific dealers that we know sell what you are after, start to browse auctions for you, etc. ... basically we are here to help you find a car and make sure it's from a trustworthy seller and/or in expected condition before you buy!

TradeCarView is NOT a good place to find decent cars as most of the dealers listing cars there lie about the car and it’s condition because they know it’s all individual buyers overseas so by the time you know they have lied it will be too late to do anything. We try to counter this by checking all cars in person before buying however most sellers on TradeCarView will not allow us to check the cars which only makes us think that they are being more dishonest. It’s common for sellers here to list rubbish condition cars at low prices but make them appear to be excellent condition, or simply take photos of cars they don’t even own and list them for such a cheap price that someone would buy without asking too much – we have seen many scams like this from dodgy sellers (more than half of them!)

We can certainly help you find a good car in Japan and assist with importing to Australia. Please email me directly at [email protected] with details of what you are after including year range, model or variant, desired mileage, preferred colours, any required features or options, and of course your maximum budget so we can find some examples that you might like?

The V-Spec II does have factory 17" wheels and Brembo brakes, however not many workshops have the compliance evidence for those parts because normal GTR models do not have them and it would have been a normal GTR used to build the evidence package initially. It's not too hard to do the paperwork and have these factory V-Spec II parts added to the compliance evidence once they have a V-Spec II model to comply (which is what is being done in this case) however many prefer to take the quicker and easier route which is to swap parts back to standard GTR spec as per their normal evidence package and get the car through compliance without any additional delays.

Here is the USS auction website but keep in mind it's only basic information and still less than half of the auctions available: https://bzl.cis6200.jp/e/ Username: S16091 ... otherwise check the cars on our website and/or ask us if there is something you wanted to know more about, or a specific model that you are looking for so we can look around on your behalf.

This is true most of the time, but there are some dealers (well more export agents) who buy from auction and put only the standard FOB fee on top that you would be paying if purchased from auction anyway - this effectively saves you the time and hassle of checking dozens of cars to find a good one and then try to buy it cheap. They check out cars and bid low amount all day every day so the ones they get are the better cars at the better prices which are often better than you will normally get from auction ... this is only the case for the "good" agents but obviously these are far outnumbered by the dodgy ones who just want to make huge $$$ Also there are such things as wholesale dealers who offer us cars at below market value and then move them to auction if they aren't sold within a few days. These cars are normally cheap enough that about 75% or more of them will sell for more than the wholesale price if they end up at auction. This is just one more way that you can get a better deal without going to auction. The reason I mention this is that there are a LOT of people out there who just don't want to buy from auctions, either they don't want to make a decision about bidding and budgets within hours of first seeing it with only a few photos on which to base that decision, or just want/need more information than can be obtained from auction cars in a given time ... these people really need to buy from dealers or other agents so they can get more photos and details and take a few days to decide on the purchase, so there are different options for different people depending on with they require to make them comfortable with the process. This would also work if you are not looking for anything too specific, but if you are looking for a less common vehicle or combination of colours & features then you may not find it by restricting yourself to one city or region of Japan by being there in person ... often you can find the car you want more easily, faster and sometimes cheaper by being able to cover ALL auctions and dealers around all regions of Japan at once which can be done just as easily from your computer here in Australia as it can by being in Japan in person.

We have heaps of experience with personal imports so I am happy to give you some advice. The first thing to note is that you are only allowed one "personal import" per person and for that car you will need to provide evidence that you have owned and used the car yourself for at least the past 12 months, this would include registration paperwork, WOF forms, invoices for repairs/service, insurance papers, speeding tickets, etc. ... you will also need to provide evidence that you have been in NZ for the last 12 months at least including all pages of your passport, etc. They are very strict with personal import approvals for people coming from NZ because it's so east to move from there, so it tends to encourage people to try and bend the rules, so expect to be put through the wringer if you don't give them all of the paperwork up front. Becuase you can only bring one car under the personal import laws the other car will have to be imported under normal SEVS compliance laws. The R34 is the only one that is approved for SEVS, so the S14 would be the personal import. For the R34 is would have to be a good clean car without major modifications, it would also have to be very straight without any previous accident repairs at all. Don't expect either car to be cheap for importing because you will still have to allow for shipping costs, import duty, GST, compliance costs and registration ... if you wanted an estimate then please send me full details of the cars by email to [email protected] including year, spec, mileage, transmission, condition, estimated value, etc. and I will try to give you a ballpark figure.

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?

I agree totally, local prices have not dropped to match the recent decrease in average sale prices in Japan yet so now would be the worst time ever to buy a V35 locally ... either way another 6 months for local prices to follow suit (probably around $3,000 to $5,000 saving across the board) or buy in Japan and import one. It will always be cheaper to import because you have to consider that all cars being sold here have been imported at some stage and are almost always sold at a profit except for very odd situations, so although importing takes a while compared to buying locally you will always save money as long as you buy the right car. We have heaps of good V35's available all the time and I will be happy to show you a bunch that you might like which are well within your budget if you email me directly at [email protected] with your required specs, your location in Australia, and also make sure you note that you are an SAU member too!

To make things really simple and give a good clear answer, you should expect to spend around $35,000 including GST for the compliance and conversion, there are others charging more but this is about the right price to pay. Add in all the other costs for importing and you will find a car costing around AU$35,000 overseas will end up at just over $80,000 landed and complied in Australia in total, which is still much lower than the $120,000-odd you see them selling for locally. Here is a breakdown of the estimated costs to help you understand where all the money goes along the way: $35,000 .. car cost (3,500,000 yen FOB ... or around US$33,500) $ 1,000 ... importers service fee $ 2,700 ... ocean freight, customs clearance, etc. (allowing for H2 cubic meterage) $ 3,500 ... import duty @ 10% of Japanese FOB price $ 4,125 ... GST @ 10% of FOB price + import duty + ocean freight cost $35,000 .. SEVS compliance --------- $81,325 .. estimated total ‘landed and complied’ cost Here are some examples that were previously sold around this budget if you wanted to get an idea, and needless to say that we can get others if you are seriously interested in buying one in the near future ... click on the thumbnail images for full details: Do keep in mind that you will need to allow for registration and stamp duty on top also of these landed and complied prices, so maybe another $1,500 to $2,500 depending on where you live, etc.

OK, what about $20,000 then (with $2,500 worth of new tyres!) ... you know it's worth way more but I understand that not everyone wants a car as outspoken as this.

Unfortunately there is no central register of accident repairs or servicing in Japan, so for this sort of information you just have to trust the seller. Obviously some cars will come with service books so that's a good start but make sure you trust the seller as some dodgy exporters will buy blank service books and fill them out then wind back the mileage to appear genuine. As a general rule the Japanese are quite honest and a normal Japanese individual seller will tell you honestly about any accident repairs in most cases, the auction houses will be as honest as possible although sometimes mistakes are made, and it's normally the non-Japanese agents who go there to purchase and export cars who are the ones that do dodgy things and misrepresent cars. With all of that said, just buy from a good trusted source and get heaps of additional information and/or photos until you are happy with the condition of the car - don't let anyone pressure you into buying before you are comfortable and ask any questions that you have so all of your doubts are answered and you should be good. If there is a specific car that you are looking at then I might be able to check the information and do a quick history search for you if that would help? .. feel free to private message if you prefer not to make the details public.

What were you trying to find out exactly? (specs or details of the car, build date, accident history, finance owing, etc?) ... some of these things are not possible to find out in the same way as they do in the US, others are quite easy if you have the correct details and/or know how to check?

This car was up at auction on Saturday but failed to sell, it was also listed at a different auction last Wednesday and the Saturday before that too, so it will most likely be back at auction tomorrow or this Saturday if you wanted to look at bidding on it. Whatever you do please do not just go by the auction report because they are so unreliable it's not funny. If you were interested in having someone check out this car in person or wanted to check out other possibly suitable Civic EP3's around Japan then let us know.

We certainly are here and working as hard as ever, unfortunately there are just too many emails coming in every day for us to answer them all quickly ... keep in mind that we always give priority to signed up clients who are actively looking for cars so they will get fast replies and some new enquiries will have to wait. Normally we will try to give priority to SAU members so please email us and advise that you are from SAU to be bumper to the top of the list.

We are checking this car out in person at auction today, please email me at [email protected] if you were interested in getting the details of condition, more photos, etc. and of course bidding on the car?

Sorry I jumped the gun a little there, I just get so upset with people always saying that they had some shocking experience with another broker so therefore we must also be dodgy and it gets to you after a while ... in any case I see where you are coming from and it doesn't apply to us as we don't import any cars for stock or anything, we only help individual customers look for and purchase individual cars so we feel an attachment to each car and it's owner specifically. Anyway, the offer still stands to talk you through shipping options in more detail if you wanted a well experienced opinion from a third party without any other involvement?

I hope that comment was not directed at us because I take great offence to that ... I agree that 'most' import brokers just see your car as a thing being sold to earn them money, but we take great pride in being car enthusiasts first and foremost, and the same can be said for only a couple of other specific brokers out there who actually care about what they are doing. We care greatly about our customers and their cars and love nothing more than hearing that you are happy with your car, seeing photos from previous clients as they do mods to their cars, and meet with clients are various cruises and club events to see them in person. Please keep in mind that as much as you are an individual buyer with you unique requirements and concerns, we are individual brokers/importers too and should not just be lumped together under one category as being 'uncaring and insensitive' just because most are like that or you have found one broker to be like that in the past. If you wanted a more detailed opinion of what we believe would be good options for you regardless of who you are using as a broker then let me know details of your car and specific situation so I can give more targetted advice, otherwise PM me your phone number and I will call you to discuss the options and possibilities in more detail.

Also with that said it depends on your car too ... if you are importing an absolutely unusually mint condition car or something rare as anything then it could well be worth paying the extra for a container regardless.

All shipping methods have their risks so there are advantages and disadvantages for all of them. Regarding Kiwi Car Carriers, they are just as risky as anyone else for shipping so I don't think there is any additional risk ... however their 'free included insurance' isn't worth anything and only tends to give people an inflated sense of security until some problems cause them to lodge a claim on the insurance, then people get seriously annoyed with the lack of service and outright rude attitude of the insurance department (myself included with a previous car I imported) ... it's the unhappy people who feel ripped off by the promise of simple insurance coverage who speak the loudest about Kiwi being the worst carrier, compared to people who incur shipping damage with other carriers and just accept it as they had no cover. So basically there is little or no difference between any carriers, it's just that you hear more bad things from people about Kiwi compared to other shipping lines so it's easy to believe that they are the worst, and thus rumours and hearsay continue. If you ship with Kiwi then just forget about the insurance they offer and get a seperate policy elsewhere if you are worried about it, otherwise just pretend that you have no insurance and you will be just as well off as with any other carrier. Personally I would not ship by container considering the additional cost unless the car was seriously modified and had lots of easily removable parts for the thieves out there. When choosing from RORO carriers it's more a case of who has space soonest for the car rather than who is better or worse, and I often end up going with Kiwi myself again because they are the easiest to deal with and have more ships heading this way each month. In your case there may be other reasons to use Kiwi specifically or reasons to not use them, this is something that only your broker can advise on as they are the only ones that know your situation exactly, so although you can gather other peoples opinions here you should still talk with your broker about your specific situation.

Well it seems that others have already answered your questions while our server was down, but please feel free to ask if you have any other questions at all.

In your case I would suggest just asking around at the events you attend, there is likely to be people there who have the correct level licence and might be happy to help you out for a few hundred dollars for themselves which is still less than the deposit you would have to pay a compliance workshop to even get import approval that way.

Errrr.. actually I would not want to give anyone the impression that you will get a race/rally (or drift) import approval without a level 3 (national level) CAMS licence ... other than what you are saying I personally can't recall hearing of anyone ever getting approval with only a level 2 licence even for drifting. On the other hand I have heard of dozens who were rejected specifically because they don't have a level 3 licence regardless of other details provided. By my understanding DOTARS want to know that you are active in motorsport and dedicated, going to the time, effort and expense of getting a level 3 licence shows this but everyone knows that you can get a level 2 licence and enter a couple of drift events to get basic motorsport evidence within a month or two and for a cost of less than $200 ... I doubt DOTARS would approve a race import on this basis unless you had a massive amount of drift experience and could show that you were actively drifting in a national series, etc. Race imports are supposed to be for large national level events, not club events or occasional use, so you would have to prove well that it's more that just a hobby. Anyone that has any doubts should call DOTARS on 1800 815 272 to be shot down before getting excited at the possibility of being able to import a modified car for drifting. On the issue of importing a modified car under the SEVS compliance laws for using for race only, you just can't do it without being hassled by DOTARS down the track, so I would strongly suggest against trying it. One idea would be to import a heavily modified car and strip off all the parts, then crush the body and hand back the tags to the compliance workshop - they may still want payment from you as it will use one of their approvals for nothing, but you can discuss the option with some workshops and see what they say. Otherwise have the car stripped in Japan and shipped as parts. This requires major stripping and shipping the body in a seperate container to the rest of the car, so will cost thousands more than normal import plus the time and effort needed to try and put it back together in Australia. Probably the best option is to just find someone with a level 3 licence and the necessary motorsport history who hasn't imported a race car within the past 12 months and ask them to get import approval for you - there are literally 1000's of guys out there in other motorsport categories who have no intention of ever importing a car for race use, so you can most likely get someone to help out for a small fee which although bending the rules still keeps it legal and easy.

This is only the case for normal compliance cars which are imported and not presented for compliance within 12 months ... vehicles imported as the initial test car and other special exemptions apply as long as DOTARS are aware of the situation. Most workshop will ask for the car to be moved directly to them from the ports anyway, but if you make arrangements for the car to be moved elsewhere first then you should let the workshop know as they could get annoyed if they have a plate set aside for you and have your approval cancelled otherwise. Personally I would suggest only importing a car once you have the funds to get it complied because you can't do anything with it anyway, and car prices are always dropping so if you can't afford compliance for another 6 months then you might get a cheaper car at the time.

Looking for offers around $22,000 now for a quick sale ... anyone interested please call me on the number listed above for more information or to arrange a viewing.