Need information about importing

[Kuma]

Hello,

I am planning to buying a R33 GT-R (AWD necessary for me) and since this is my first ever import, I have some questions.

Just wanted to know:
1. How many KM's are too much for a 1995/1996 R33 GT-R?
2. Is a grade 3.5 too low or is it perfect as long as you get a reliable exporter?
3. What interior grade should you get? (I was thinking of minimum B)
4. Do you need to get DOT headlights/taillights/tires when heading back to your province from the Vancouver port?

Thanks! Really want to get informed before I even think of jumping on it.

[dah_hunter]

In response to 4. No you dont need DOT stuff just to drive through.. you can get a In-Transit Permit from your insurance in ALberta.. or go to any ICBC location with the paperwork for the car and get a Temp Permit.

In Response to 1. This is a personal preference, I personally would rather a car that has just over 100,000Kms and has had the 100,000Kms Maintence done to it in japan. Timing Belt, Water Pumper, tensioners, etc etc. Also it would be a bit cheaper then a car that has lets say 50,000 Kms on it, and that car has 15+ year old parts.

In response to 2. Every car is different and every inspector is different, and different auction houses have different grading for issure.. a Grade 3/C at one auction house might be a grade 4/B at another.. take the pics, and the Translation of the car, and then go with it. your buying a car half way across the world.. its not going to be perfect. Make sure you have budgeted maintenance, and emergency fund as well.

[Kuma]

Thanks a lot, real detailed answer!

I personally wanted a 100,000KM+ because an old engine run frequently tends to be better than an old engine with low KMs but turned on once a week.

What do you guys think about how the car performs in snow? And, how hard is it to get the car from a container (not Ro/Ro) without a broker?

[dah_hunter]

Most container shipping is shared..and you cant clear a shared container with out a broker.. Since there is only one Bill of Lading, for all the cars in there, the Bill of Lading gets made up in the brokers name.. so that the costs can be split up accordingly..

Imagine if you had 4 people wanting to unload there own cars, on there own time lines.. Well thats get Chaotic..

The only way you can clear container yourself is if your the sole person in the container..

RO/RO is the most cost effective way to ship a car.

[Kuma]

I see, thanks for the heads up.

I guess I will shell out the extra $250 for the brokerage fee, assuming that's what the cost outline means about broker.

Are there any important notes that you realized after you imported your first car? Things that went wrong that were hard to rectify or easy to have avoided if spent a bit more time?

Kind of want to know everything, been reading up a lot and even then, I want to know as many problems as possible so I know what to expect.

[dah_hunter]

I have seen it all.. i have been importing/helping people import cars for 10 years now.. (Gah im becoming an old fart)

my best advice, dont be scared, pick a exporter in japan that you like.

and dont cheap out.. Unless your willing to put the elbow grease in. or mabe you will luck out.. prepare for the worst, Cross your toes and hope for the best, and chances are you will be surprised. Also its not like skylines are rare/new they are all over the place so you will have tons of people to ask for advice/get parts from.

:-)

[Kuma]

Haha, everyone's got to get old sometime.

Picked an exporter already, I'm just waiting for the right car to pop up in the auctions. I don't plan on cheaping out too much, I just want to set a budget. At first, I was thinking 1,600,000Y isn't going to get me anything, then I started reading up on it and a lot of people get nice R33s for around 850,000Y.

I'd fancy a purple R33, been my favorite since I've seen it years back. With your comment about being surprised, do you mean that in a positive way or a negative way? Really want to know.

[dah_hunter]

I mean suprised in a good way.. what exporter are you using?

ya you should be able to get a nice R33 GTR for a 1 millio to 1.4 Yen CIF i would think..

[Kuma]

I'm looking at the auctions daily, sometimes hours on end, they end up around 1M Y and the auction sheet looks good too. Nothing is written on it about some hidden stuff.

I'm going to be using Mark from Brave Auto. I heard a lot of good things about him from various forums, couple of my friends have gone through him already, and he was also the only person to reply to my email about my inquiry.

Have you heard any things about Brave Auto and/or Mark?

Now comes the tricky part, insurance. Is there a thread explaining all about insurance? I'm fairly young but this isn't my first car. I normally only get third party only also (even on my 2012 GMC).

[amnash]

What about getting the bc Vin plate riveted in the door jam? Does that get sorted with the provincial inspection?

[Dragon Humper]

What about getting the bc Vin plate riveted in the door jam? Does that get sorted with the provincial inspection?

That went out the door a LONG time ago.

Spend the $250 on a broker with RoRo, worth every penny and the cheapest and least amount of BS way to go. Mark at Brave is great. When you get the temp permit from ICBC (if you go that route) make sure you tell them that you are driving the car straight to your inspection facility or they wont give you the permit (unless they have changed that in the last year).



Jon.

[cooke24]

Aim at purchasing the newest r33 Gtr so 97-98. No point in spending top dollar on an older one. Plus 97 have oem projectors and nicer interiors

[Kuma]

Awesome feedback!

I don't mind which year it is, but I just want the R33. As long as the car is in good quality, I'm good.

I heard Alberta doesn't need DOT Headlights/Taillights for inspection, is that true?

[aaronisonfire]

Spend the $250 on a broker with RoRo, worth every penny and the cheapest and least amount of BS way to go. Mark at Brave is great.

If you go with Mark, he does a shared container with a bunch of other cars. Like Ben said it requires a broker to clear, but that is worth the money hands down. IMO that is the way to go. The shared container is cheaper than arranging your own and people won't be doing whatever to your car like I've heard can happen with RoRo.

When you get the temp permit from ICBC (if you go that route) make sure you tell them that you are driving the car straight to your inspection facility or they wont give you the permit (unless they have changed that in the last year).

You're right. I just did this and told them I was driving it from the warehouse to my home to do the compliance work before taking it to the shop. The place I went to didn't seem to care where I was going but made clear it was just a one way permit with "no long detours". $16 for basic coverage.

[Kuma]

I just hope that when I decide to jump on it (which is in a few months), I don't have to say that I want a car that doesn't have any problems other than a few scratches.