Importing A Jap Spec R35

[EAT26]

Well boys,

I am curious I have been keeping an eye on Yahoo auctions and Prices for the R35 Japan is greatly cheaper than the AUS R35.

Jap R35s complied just going by Import Monster prices are about upto 50grand difference.

My question is why don't alot more people do this? I have seen a Jap spec R35 registered for sale recently so certainly its able to be done and the fact that I have read that the resolution on the screens are much better than the ADM version.

My question I guess since I will be in the postion to buy another car shortly and If I can pick up a R35 for roughly the same price Id be looking for a modded R34 GTR why not?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[xALmoN]

wont you be forever stuck on the 180kmh speed cut because you're not at any track whatsoever? and the gps clearly has no australia map.

[iplen]

IBTL... Believe it or not..

[lidz]

You can only import & road register new gtr's that were made before nissan sold them locally, so thats what an '07 or '08 build with delivery km's. Basically pretty hard to find now plus the newer builds have plenty of improvements.

So yeah the ones you see for sale used were imported ages ago...

Importmonster translates any ad thats on yahoo auctions, that doesn't mean the car is eligble for compliance in australia.

[EAT26]

wont you be forever stuck on the 180kmh speed cut because you're not at any track whatsoever? and the gps clearly has no australia map.

1 would assume youd be able to load new maps up and remap the 180km cut similar to previous GTR models with the 180 limiter.

You can only import & road register new gtr's that were made before nissan sold them locally, so thats what an '07 or '08 build with delivery km's. Basically pretty hard to find now plus the newer builds have plenty of improvements.

So yeah the ones you see for sale used were imported ages ago...

Importmonster translates any ad thats on yahoo auctions, that doesn't mean the car is eligble for compliance in australia.

I saw a JDM Spec for sale on carsales.com.au going 109k. I was only looking on Importmonster as a point of reference.

[N1GTR]

For a race car you'd bring one in for sure

[Beer Baron]

for all intents and purposes you cannot import an R35 to australia for road use so forget it.

I have imported, complied, registered and driven (and since sold) my own Jap Import R35 GTR but that car was ordered in 07, delivered in 08 and imported that same year.

As someone mentioned above R35 GTRs where only even on teh SEVS list as low volume new. meaning any car to be eligible for SEVS (compliance) must be bought new from the dealer in japan, must have less than 200km on the clock and you must have the invoice from the dealer (not from an auction house, private sale etc) to prove it's a NEW car. The chances of you finding a brand new 2008 or 2007 model R35 GTR sitting at a dealer in japan right now for sale with less than 200kms on it are realistically zero. On top of that there was and is only one place in aus that had compliance. Cost of compliance is approx $20,000 and I'm not sure if they will still do it.

Any JDM R35 you see on car sales was imported back then. By my guess there is about 30 of them in aus. You can buy one and save some money.

For the other questions.

No you cannot use the JDM GPS in aus. never. you cannot load new maps etc. it just will not work simple. The 180km/h limiter will be in force too, but it's very easy to remove. HKS make a thing called the VAC (had one on my car) that removes the limiter or even better just buy a COBB AP which removes the limiter and allows other maps etc (also used one of them).

Yes they do have a better resolution screen than aus models. they also have the hardcore full monty launch control which lets you launch at about 4,700rpm. yes a fair bit of stuff is in japanese. There is no real advantage in a JDM car these days. The aus cars are now newer spec with some minor improvements (and some questionable cosmetic changes...).

so no, there is no holy grail cheap R35. if you want a good one you'll need to pay around $130K for a used one or $180K for a new one like everyone else (in aus).

[Iron Chef]

Yeah but bro, you're forgetting that a JDM R35 is....JDM.

[Beer Baron]

I can't deny that. certainly sounds JDM when you hop in in the morning and the on board computer says ohayo gozaimasu and then tells you the date and time in a nice female japanese voice. certainly no aussie spec car does that.....

[aphid]

They actually do that? If I were prestigious enough to be an r35 owner I would consider swapping my aspec to the JDM computer just to get that haha

I can't deny that. certainly sounds JDM when you hop in in the morning and the on board computer says ohayo gozaimasu and then tells you the date and time in a nice female japanese voice. certainly no aussie spec car does that.....

[llama_au]

My Cube does that

[PRIMO]

I can't deny that. certainly sounds JDM when you hop in in the morning and the on board computer says ohayo gozaimasu and then tells you the date and time in a nice female japanese voice. certainly no aussie spec car does that.....

My wife says that every morning ..... its the next step after owning a JDM car, it becomes real ....

[Iron Chef]

Mine just says "Oi you forgot your f*cking ETC card AGAIN..." (loose translation)

[Beer Baron]

haha, so does mine (well the evo 6RS does). cardo wa arimasen!

[Beer Baron]

They actually do that? If I were prestigious enough to be an r35 owner I would consider swapping my aspec to the JDM computer just to get that haha

yeah I can't remembe the whole spiel and of course it changes based on day/date etc. but basically ohayo gozaimasu, kinyobi ni.... and so on (and depending on day/date etc).

you sure the cube does the same thing? as chef said many jdm cars with their ETC (toll pass) readers still fitted give you a "no toll card in the slot" message every start up (even my "old" 2000 Evo 6 RS does it). I don't remember any cubes I've driven doing the good morning/afternoon/evening today is XXXXx message though. but it's possible I guess.

[llama_au]

^yes, the JDM Navi unit says hi, tells me that date, etc. and on signifcant days such as Christmas, New Years, etc. it says those few words in English. Unfortunately in my button mashing to turn off the navigation (which obviously doesn't work I'm Aus) I've disabled it's daily speaking to me

[Jimbo Jam]

It is interesting though that it appears according to Beer Baron that you are pretty much stuck with buying the local ones which have come through the Nissan dealerships for the most part, I mean what would be the go with modified ones, i.e. if I had one of the HKS, AMS Alpha 9 or whatever uprade packages on an R35 for example (http://www.gtrblog.com/2010/01/12/tommykaira-gtr-final-images-and-pricing/) then it would not really be a Nissan Dealership car and hence could import and get converted with an engineer certificate to get road legal as you need to do if you build a hot rod or something? Would something like this (Jap r35) not be considered the same as any other exotic car which you can still drive on the road (60's V8 classics that need the fuel additive to run or an 80's Ferrari or something?).

I think the onboard computer stuff (GPS, stuck in Japan, speed limit enforced for race tracks) only matters if you do not get it changed or want the warranty intact, and I am pretty sure you void that as soon as you use the launch control anyway which in my case would happen on the way home from the Nissan dealership

I am not sure you cannot import one as long as you can get it complianced or signed off (and do not care about a GPS which only works if you drive to Japan )

Can anyone elaborate exactly why if someone brought one today and did the basic stuff you have to do on a Silvia or Skyline (tires changed, degas/regas the aircon etc...) you cannot get one complianced? (more than a few workshops can do this sort of work these days?)

[Alkatraz]

Because it is illegal........end of story.

[Amaru]

You won't get import approval for the vehicle for anything but race/rally only.

As above, you cannot do it legally (with the exception of personal import - you live and own one in Japan for at least 12 months then bring it back to Australia with you). Doesn't matter how much dollars worth of bolt ons have been slapped on it, it's still a Nissan R35 GT-R, which is supplied in full volume by Nissan Australia exclusively.

[Jimbo Jam]

ok then, I guess it all just seems strange to me how the rules out here work for import and I still have no understanding as to why essentially the same vehicle is 50k more expensive in Australia then Japan, US etc... even including luxury car tax out here.

Gotta admit it is irritating how much cheaper cars are in the US and how much more lenient they seem to be for registering customs or imports or whatever.