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I agree on both sides of the story, I lived in Japan for 6 years and I had a R32GTR. My friends all had GTR's as well. I'm looking at buying one locally only because I think the pricing is quite good here now, and I can check the car out myself. Japan has a lot of good R32GTR's but as said above you'll have to pay for them.

I speak and read Japanese and I regularly check the car sales online sites in Japan such as goo-net and car sensor; there are a few R32's for sales now up to the $40-50,000 mark. Now if they are paying that much for a good one what kind of condition do you think one that costs $15,000 is in? You can get good ones, but for the cheap prices everyone here seems to think.

Also check the the auctions, when a good one comes through the starting bid will always be over 2,000,000 yen ($20,000). Also be aware that most, from experience about 60-70% of R32 GTR's will have accident repairs from little stuff to half cuts. I spoke to my friend in Japan the other day to check a VSpec Vin for me and although the vin was a Vspec he said to watch out for niko ichi, sanko ichi, which means 2 car to 1, or 3 car to one.

Lastly, despite what KIRAS says, you can't always get a clean GTR from Japan, I've seen a lot of bodgy cars over there and for sale same as here. Either way, do your homework, have confidence in the car you want to buy and if it meets you price range, get it.

Lets put it this way, original k's under 100,000, no accident repairs, usual mods eg exhaust, chip, suspension, good paint, clean interior etc set aside about $25,000. That goes for OZ or Japan.

I agree on both sides of the story, I lived in Japan for 6 years and I had a R32GTR. My friends all had GTR's as well. I'm looking at buying one locally only because I think the pricing is quite good here now, and I can check the car out myself. Japan has a lot of good R32GTR's but as said above you'll have to pay for them.

I speak and read Japanese and I regularly check the car sales online sites in Japan such as goo-net and car sensor; there are a few R32's for sales now up to the $40-50,000 mark. Now if they are paying that much for a good one what kind of condition do you think one that costs $15,000 is in? You can get good ones, but for the cheap prices everyone here seems to think.

Also check the the auctions, when a good one comes through the starting bid will always be over 2,000,000 yen ($20,000). Also be aware that most, from experience about 60-70% of R32 GTR's will have accident repairs from little stuff to half cuts. I spoke to my friend in Japan the other day to check a VSpec Vin for me and although the vin was a Vspec he said to watch out for niko ichi, sanko ichi, which means 2 car to 1, or 3 car to one.

Lastly, despite what KIRAS says, you can't always get a clean GTR from Japan, I've seen a lot of bodgy cars over there and for sale same as here. Either way, do your homework, have confidence in the car you want to buy and if it meets you price range, get it.

Lets put it this way, original k's under 100,000, no accident repairs, usual mods eg exhaust, chip, suspension, good paint, clean interior etc set aside about $25,000. That goes for OZ or Japan.

Hi,

good post; how much credance can be put on the Japanese vehicle grading system ie: 1-5 [exterior] and A-D [interior]?. the highest priced GTR32 I saw during my search was JY 3,000000; that was a 4.5, A, with genuine 9k klm.

vehicle grading is only for auctions for starters (so private cars and dealer cars wont have one). and basically by anyone smart it's only used as a guide to decide which cars are even worth looking at in person. never bid on or buy a car based only on the auction grading. any auction car needs a physical inspection. I have looked at cars in person that were 4 or 4.5 graded and they were rubbish. and I have seen some 4s that were awesome. a lot of stuff gets missed though. they don't bother too much with engine condition, underbody condition, brakes, suspension etc.

Yeah as beer baron says, its good for a start but you still need someone to check the car for you. If you have someone you can trust to look at a car for you over in Japan then go for it, otherwise be patient and find one locally because I'm sure there are some good ones here. Just looking at how many there are for sale here I don't think it would be hard to find a good 93-94 GTR with about 80-100k kms with books :thumbsup:

i just got my car fresh from japan 2 months ago and i'm so happy with it. the price is reasonable although the k's is slightly higher, but the condition is perfect!! even the worker at the workshop keep told me that he'd never seen a good condition r32 gtr before, in stock condition of coz. i recon that its better to get a car from a good importer and they will do everything for you :cheers:

vehicle grading is only for auctions for starters (so private cars and dealer cars wont have one). and basically by anyone smart it's only used as a guide to decide which cars are even worth looking at in person. never bid on or buy a car based only on the auction grading. any auction car needs a physical inspection. I have looked at cars in person that were 4 or 4.5 graded and they were rubbish. and I have seen some 4s that were awesome. a lot of stuff gets missed though. they don't bother too much with engine condition, underbody condition, brakes, suspension etc.

thanks for that, I have a GTR arriving [brisbane] on the 22nd Mar which I basically sourced using the grading system, and an agent to follow up and do an inspection. I believe i am getting a good car because I went to japan to talk to the agent and gave clear instructions; but I also know that there may be a few surprises when I actually eyeball the car . when the car clears customs etc, I will post [incl photos] all of the 'surprises', both good and bad, to give others' an idea of the pitfalls/advantages I encountered importing this way.

this has been an interesting topic; thanks to all those experienced in the 'art' of importing who have contributed, I for one have learnt plenty here.

  • 4 weeks later...
There you go..............Don't listen to the guy who worked in that industry....the guy who has dealt with customs and quarantine and the australian registration authorities....And as for all cars from Japan being top nick...the last GTR we imported was so rusted its not even good for a race car/drift pig.....

But hey dont listen to me

this guy ^^ right

there are 80% shit gtr or any sport cars in japan so don't just go but one that is the cheapest you can find.

sometimes with the report at auction says 4b doesn't mean it is.

ALWAYS HAVE SOMEONE CHECK THE CAR OUT FOR YOU and make sure they do it out of your interest and not just wanting to make an easy 1k out of you.

Plus if you ask a broker to buy a gtr32 with 12k then you can't expect them to find you a car that worth 20k. doesn't matter how good he or she is.

Remember- doesn't matter where you buy what you pay is what you get.

  • 1 month later...

Hey guys,

Im new at Skylinesaustralia...

Im from Sydney and am currently in Sapporo for one year.

My friend and I both are thinking of buying cars here, driving it around for a bit and bringing them back to Australia. I was hoping to get an r32gtr and my friend a series8 rx7

Does anyone know any good importers who can help us out?

Cheers guys

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