Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

hey people...

Just wondering what are people ideas / views on buying locally vs. Importing cars.

Currently looking for an R34, people who have imported one would you help me out with some info, things such as quality of the car from what was desribed to what was delivered , all those sort os little things.. Just let me know about any problems you encountered.

For those who bought 1 locally, was it an easier choice because you were able to see and touch , again some feedback would be greatly appreciated

many thanks in advance buys and girls...

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/120516-r34s-buying-locally-or-import/
Share on other sites

buy one locally. if u import u might save a couple of grand, but being able to get up close n get a good look at it is definately worth it. you can also get it properly checked out if its already here

There are a lot more around locally now than there used to be and the prices are good. Speak to SS8_Gohan for R34 import tips as he has done it. Personally I would buy locally now as there is a good selection.

Local, the dealer i got it from had only just imported himself.

I wanted this one becuase he was a RAWS member and this was his first 34 so it was his test car to get approved to compliance and sell 34's.

It had to be 100% perfect because people come down from canberra and test it over and over to see if everything (including compliance) was done correctly and running right.

IMO, buy local, and make sure the dealer is RAWS approved.

Local, the dealer i got it from had only just imported himself.

I wanted this one becuase he was a RAWS member and this was his first 34 so it was his test car to get approved to compliance and sell 34's.

It had to be 100% perfect because people come down from canberra and test it over and over to see if everything (including compliance) was done correctly and running right.

IMO, buy local, and make sure the dealer is RAWS approved.

Quite right - the first one that is approved by canberra is probably the best one to get.

Importing is good if you want to save money, if you can wait atleast 2 months and if you want to choose from a very very wide selecting of cars, colours etc. But locally is also good in the sense that if you buy one thats already here, you get to test drive it, check it for faults etc. Plus its also good if you cant wait (like i was when i was looking for my car :)) Where are you located? The guys and girls on the forum will be able to help with dealers/importers you can check out.

When going for a dealer, take Merli's list of things to check: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...showtopic=35129

This is what I used when I went looking for the car, and boy did it help heaps (thanks merli!)! But having said that, I would also suggest you talk to the guys at j-spec and allblitz, they know their skylines as well. Perhaps go on one of the cruises or meets and see the cars that have been imported by them.

As for getting the car tested by RACV etc - you have to be careful. Sometimes they dont understand japanese cars. Hence, before you decide to buy or import, test drive a few - listen, feel, see - how the car performs.

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes :P

M

I have imported a car but its a lot easier when the other country speaks the same first language as you and if you can do it all yourself. i.e see it that end, put it on the boat, meet it at customs. By doing this, you minimise the time that anyone else would have the opportunity to tamper with it and also ensure the car is what you want in the first place.

I wouldnt attempt a Japanese import on my own personally though.

I imported myself, its not hard. As long as you read a bit (search on this site and you will find heaps of info) its pretty straight forward. If you use a trusted supplier in Japan you can even cut out using people like J-spec etc and save the 1000$ fee they charge.... Although using people like J-spec may give you much more range.

PM me if you would like info + help.

i was trying ti find a late model white Supra TT in immaculate condition and there arent too many of them going around in Aus. I really didnt wanna import but it would have been my last resort if i couldnt find one in Aus. I was so lucky to come across the car that i wanted. It was in Syd and flew up there in a heartbeat and drove the car back

hey mate, you still keen on getting a 4 door? when we going looking? :)

btw, its about time you got rid of that girly 4 cylinder :D

wasss up... hey mate yea still getting rid of the S15.. its not girly just not as tuff as a 34. hahah

Not looking fro a 4 door now i think. Just gonna get a whitw 2 door instead.

justin0 - hey mate find out some details for me about the 1 for sale .. cheers.. hey did u go to the 666 premier the otehr nite ??? was pritty decent...

thanks to every 1 else for the input.. Leaning more towards locally now i think.. but ill look into importing ...

For sale: S15 ---> pm me for all the glitzy bitz...

I imported my 33 and my 34 myself, it's not that hard at all just a lot of waiting and look at it this way, if you want mods buy it local. You'll have to buy a DEAD stock 34 if you import one, mines for sale at the right price :(

y0 Adz... why r u selling? what's next? got the EVO bug too? :dry:

Toby - 666 vid was pretty good. The footage was a bit old but some real good riding. That wall ride Ruban did at the end was the best thing ever lol.

Not a fan of the BMX scene at the momment, too many try hard newbie riders around.

No worries ill get some more info 4 you, why? are you selling the S15.

haha, thought you'd like the girly call.

you know we are gettin on the booze tonight magguire... i'll ring you later

yea.. u know it... good times..

justin O - yea was rather nice.. yea tehre are a few wanks getting about these days...

The radivo section was good.. but yea was alot of footage from glasses.. but still was something 2 do for a bit.... selling the S15 becasue im sick of the lack of room .. tall guy u see.. 34's are a touch bigger inside...

plus the sound of an RB is nicer than an SR

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Update 3: Hi all It's been a while. Quite a lot of things happened in the meantime, among other things the car is (almost) back together and ready to be started again. Things that I fixed or changed: Full turbo removal, fitting back the OEM turbo oil hardlines. Had to do quite a bit of research and parts shopping to get every last piece that I need and make it work with the GT2860 turbos, but it does work and is not hard to do. Proves that the previous owner(s) just did not want to. While I was there I set the preload for the wastegates to 0,9bar to hopefully make it easier for the tuner to hit the 370hp I need for the legal inspections that will follow later on. Boost can always go up if necessary. Fitted a AN10 line from the catch can to the intake hose to make the catchcan and hopefully the cam covers a slight vacuum to have less restrictive oil returns from the head and not have mud build up as harshly in the lines and catch can. Removed the entire front interior just shy of the dashboard itself to clean up some of the absolutely horrendous wiring, (hopefully) fix the bumpy tacho and put in LED bulbs while I was there. Also put in bulbs where there was none before, like the airbag one. I also used that chance to remove the LED rpm gauge on the steering column, which was also wired in absolute horror show fashion. Moved the 4in1 Prosport gauge from sitting in front of the OEM oil pressure gauge to the center console vents, I used a 3D printed vent piece to hold that gauge there. The HKB steering wheel boss was likely on incorrectly as I sometimes noticed the indicator reset being uneven for left vs. right. In the meantime also installed an airbag delete resistor, as one should. Installed Cube Speed premium short shifter. Feels pretty nice, hope it'll work great too when I actually get to drive. Also put on a fancy Dragon Ball shift knob, cause why not. My buddy was kind enough to weld the rust hole in the back, it was basically rusted through in the lowermost corner of the passenger side trunk area where the wheel arch, trunk panel and rear quarter all meet. Obviously there is still a lot of crustiness in various areas but as long as it's not rusted out I'll just treat and isolate the corrosion and pretend it's not there. Also had to put down a new ground wire for the rear subframe as the original one was BARELY there. Probably a bit controversial depending on who you ask about this... but I ended up just covering the crack in the side of the engine block, the one above the oil feed, with JB Weld. I used a generous amount and roughed up the whole area with a Dremel before, so I hope this will hold the coolant where it should be for the foreseeable future. Did a cam cover gasket job as the half moons were a bit leaky, and there too one could see the people who worked on this car before me were absolute tools. The same half moons were probably used like 3 times without even cleaning the old RTV off. Dremeled out the inside of the flange where the turbine housing mates onto the exhaust manifolds so the diameter matches, as the OEM exhaust manifolds are even narrower than the turbine housings as we all know. Even if this doesn't do much, I had them out anyways, so can't harm. Ideally one would port-match both the turbo and the manifold to the gasket size but I really didn't feel up to disassembling the turbine housings. Wrapped turbo outlet dumps in heat wrap band. Will do the frontpipe again as well as now the oil leak which promted me to tear apart half the engine in the first place is hopefully fixed. Fitted an ATI super damper to get rid of the worn old harmonic balancer. Surely one of the easiest and most worth to do mods. But torquing that ARP bolt to spec was a bitch without being able to lock the flywheel. Did some minor adjustments in the ECU tables to change some things I didn't like, like the launch control that was ALWAYS active. Treated rusty spots and surface corrosion on places I could get to and on many spots under the car, not pretty or ideal but good enough for now. Removed the N1 rear spats and the carbon surrounding for the tailpipe to put them back on with new adhesive as the old one was lifting in many spots, not pretty. Took out the passenger rear lamp housing... what do you know. Amateur work screwed me again here as they were glued in hard and removing it took a lot of force, so I broke one of the housing bolts off. And when removing the adhesive from the chassis the paint came right off too. Thankfully all the damaged area won't be visible later, but whoever did the very limited bodywork on this car needs to have their limbs chopped off piece by piece.   Quite a list if I do say so myself, but a lot of time was spent just discovering new shit that is wrong with the car and finding a solution or parts to fix it. My last problem that I now have the headache of dealing with is that the exhaust studs on the turbo outlets are M10x1.25 threaded, but the previous owner already put on regular M10 nuts so the threads are... weird. I only found this out the hard way. So now I will just try if I can in any way fit the front pipe regardless, if not I'll have to redo the studs with the turbos installed. Lesson learned for the future: Redo ALL studs you put your hands on, especially if they are old and the previous owners were inept maniacs. Thanks for reading if you did, will update when the engine runs again. Hope nothing breaks or leaks and I can do a test drive.
    • No those pads are DBA too  but they have colors too. I look at the and imo the green "street" are the best.
    • I’m not sure what happened I told them about sonic tunes free OTS tune and the next the I know .. I was booted..   To funny 
    • Yea - I mean I've seen my fuel pump which is decades old and uh, while I'm not saying this with real knowledge... but I sure get the ick at using anything in the fuel system that produced the state of that pump. Many years ago I went through multiple pumps (and strainers) before I dropped the tank to clean it out with extreme violence. I'm talking the car would do maybe 50km before coming to a halt, which resulted in me cleaning out the filter with some brake cleaner and going on my way. None of my stuff ever looked like what came out of your fuel tank. I don't think I'd be happy with it unless every single component was replaced (or at least checked/cleaned/confirmed to be clean here).
    • I'm not going to recommend an EBC pad. I don't like them. Just about anything else would suit me better. I've been using Intima pads for a while now.
×
×
  • Create New...