Importing A R33 Gtr

[Ninjabread Man]

Hey guys,

I just bought a stock standard R33 GTR from the USS auction in Japan.

I got it for 594000 JPY which is equivalent to $15000 NZD landed.

The car is GRADE 4 has done 124000 kms and has only had 1 owner in Japan.

My questions are:

1) Is that high mileage for a GTR?

2) I heard that around the 120000 kms mark, you have to rebuild the bottom end bearings?

3) What are some known issues with the R33 GTR?

I have attached some pictures of the actual car.

Edited May 1, 2010 by Ninjabread Man

[pistol-pete]

high mileage? sound like it was simply used as a daily driver, at least you know theyre genuine.

btw well done getting a series 3

Edited May 1, 2010 by pistol-pete

[Ninjabread Man]

high mileage? sound like it was simply used as a daily driver, at least you know theyre genuine.

Sweet so it sounds like it was a good deal?

I think it's a series 1? It's a 1995 model..

Edited May 1, 2010 by Ninjabread Man

[pistol-pete]

yeah seems so, mines got 25k more kms than yours and its going strong (might need new turbos soon though)

it looked like a series 3 because of the xenons and black front lip but i guess they were options on the earlier ones too

[Count Grantleyish]

It's series 1, no xenons and deeper front lip.

Good buy, mileage is nothing cos it's a 15 year old car after all... Hell, I've seen GTR with '40,000km' with numerous wear and tears.

Log books?

[Ninjabread Man]

It's series 1, no xenons and deeper front lip.

Good buy, mileage is nothing cos it's a 15 year old car after all... Hell, I've seen GTR with '40,000km' with numerous wear and tears.

Log books?

Unsure about the log books, will email the agent tomorrow.

Is there any problems with the R33 GTR's that I should know about?

I know that they have leaky boot problems as I have a R33 GTS25t myself and it had this issue.

Would it be as or if not more reliable then my GTS25t?

[Count Grantleyish]

I have 33 GT-R and I use it as my daily driver, I haven't got any issues apart from broke a intercooler piping clamp (was told it's pretty common) when I was driving in twisties.

You have a grade 4 car, shouldn't have any issues and do a 100,000km service on it to be safe. Just overfill the oil to the hump on dipstick if you're doing trackdays, do a search on this forum for more info.

I don't have leaky boot on my GTR though but my old GTS25t had and it was coming out of taillights.

As for reliablity, if maintained well it'll be reliable just like GTS25t really.

[Ninjabread Man]

I have 33 GT-R and I use it as my daily driver, I haven't got any issues apart from broke a intercooler piping clamp (was told it's pretty common) when I was driving in twisties.

You have a grade 4 car, shouldn't have any issues and do a 100,000km service on it to be safe. Just overfill the oil to the hump on dipstick if you're doing trackdays, do a search on this forum for more info.

I don't have leaky boot on my GTR though but my old GTS25t had and it was coming out of taillights.

As for reliablity, if maintained well it'll be reliable just like GTS25t really.

Sweet thanks for the info.

How many KM's has your GTR done?

I'm pretty stoked that I got this for $15000 NZD landed and complied as the ones here in NZ go for around $24000 to $26000.

[Count Grantleyish]

Sweet thanks for the info.

How many KM's has your GTR done?

I'm pretty stoked that I got this for $15000 NZD landed and complied as the ones here in NZ go for around $24000 to $26000.

My GTR has done 95,000 but that is on Nismo Combination Meter though.

$15k NZD is $11,783 AUD!, yes I'd be stoked with the price!

And didn't NZ decide to stop import of cars that are older than 1996 or thereabouts?

[Ninjabread Man]

And didn't NZ decide to stop import of cars that are older than 1996 or thereabouts?

Yeah but there is a new Special Interest Vehicle law.

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/factshee...t-vehicles.html

The R33 GTR meets all of the following criteria:

# The vehicle's make and model has been (or was) manufactured in annual volumes of 20,000 units or less.

# The vehicle is, and was manufactured as, a two-door coupe or a convertible.

# The vehicle is, and was manufactured as, a high-performance vehicle.

The only issue of getting a car under a SIV permit is "A special interest vehicle cannot be sold or leased within four years of its registration in New Zealand."

[Count Grantleyish]

So the oldest you're aloud to import is 1996?

My parents were over there early this year and they saw too many old cars there, the amusing thing was they rented a 1996 Toyota Corolla!

So you could still import anything else there?

[AzN]

So the oldest you're aloud to import is 1996?

My parents were over there early this year and they saw too many old cars there, the amusing thing was they rented a 1996 Toyota Corolla!

So you could still import anything else there?

No you can't import cars under 2001 now.

Fortunately, every GTR (R32, R33 and R34) meet the SIV law criteria and can be imported

[Count Grantleyish]

No you can't import cars under 2001 now.

Fortunately, every GTR (R32, R33 and R34) meet the SIV law criteria and can be imported

Ah what about GTST/GT-Ts?

Also I once looked trademe, one seller noted that it's illegal to import 32 GTR to NZ without firewall modification, is this is the case?

OP, sorry for off topic, but I'm curious about how importation to NZ works.

[AzN]

Ah what about GTST/GT-Ts?

Also I once looked trademe, one seller noted that it's illegal to import 32 GTR to NZ without firewall modification, is this is the case?

OP, sorry for off topic, but I'm curious about how importation to NZ works.

I'm not sure if GTST / GT-T's would comply as I don't know the production figures of them.

Anyway, you can't sell the car for four years so if you get bored with the GTST / GT-T and you want a GTR, then bad luck.

You can register a 1989 BNR32 under a classics car law which means that it doesn't have to meet frontal impact and emission standards. 1990 and over will have to meet emissions so the only way to import 1990 and above GTR's, is with a SIV permit.

[Count Grantleyish]

Raymond,

Thanks for anwering my questions and explaining how importation process works 'across the ditch'

4 years is a long time to own a car (longest I've owned was 28 months), thank god I live here in Australia...

Cheers

Grant

[God_speed]

Congrats mate. Some great roads in NZ to test it out on

As Grant said get a 100K service done and make sure the cooland and brake fluid are changed too. The coolant had gone bad on two of the GTRs we've bought that were imported straight from Japan.

Mine's done 105,000km now (bought it in Oct 05 with 45,000) and it's still tight as a drum, but being mostly stock it's a fairly un-stressed motor.

[LKC]

sweet car mate. sounds like a great buy

[Ninjabread Man]

Picked her up.

My GTS25t at the back looks sad haha.

[Brandon]

Congratz!

[rapturem3]

looking good. what model year is it? mileage should be fine..

do a compression test to see if the engine is healthy, otherwise a rebuild might be in the near future