Hi, I am new to this forum, I have been silently reading everyone's posts but haven't posted any myself, so I thought I would start here, i am currently looking for a 300ZX, I actually use to own a non-turbo skyline R33 manual, but sold it, there a nice car, but I seemed to have always liked the 300's, so I thought a nice manual in black would be my next choice, I was just asking what people thought of importers like Prestige Motor Sport's / J-spec etc and how much people have ended up spending in the end after importing a car, how long it takes? I am located in Sydney, NSW.
I bought my zed..... 3 years ago and it cost me $21500 for an imported J-spec 2 seater NA. These days they fetch a lot cheaper with the 15 year old rule and all. I havent dealt with J-spec before but Blipman from this forum works there and I've heard good things about them. Cheers
I am importing a zed through J-Spec and Ben (Blipman) is my contact. So far so good and if you wanna import a 15 year old car i would suggest making that decision pretty soon as the 15 year rule is probably not going to be around next year.
Re: I am Ah Ok, excellent thank you for replying, yeh I do actually want something pretty soon, I was just curious about cost for things like compliance etc, I guess registration costs would be based on like buying a new car, any rough idea on how much this usually costs? With the 15 year rule how does this work? all I have heard is, get it under the 15 year rule, but what's the benefit is it cheaper?
Welcome to the forum! Here's my 2 cents worth.... I like to look at and drive what I buy before I buy, so I bought my TT here in Oz. I paid it a fairly high price, but I was specific about what I wanted. (Colour, body, trans, mechanical history, kms, etc) If you want to touch, feel, drive the car for peace of mind before you buy, then you can surely hunt out a bargain here in Oz. However, if you are on a tight budget, you can get a monster of a vehicle for a relatively cheaper price from Japan. The pitfalls are: compliance and reg will add about $2000, you buy based on pics and mechanical reports which you have to trust, you have to hope the car comes as per the pics and that no wharf monkey screws with it, AND you will have to wait for ages (about 4 months) before it gets here (trust me, this will compound all the previously mentioned negatives 10 times over!). Having said that, I am in the process of negotiating a Z from Japan, as some mods that come on these cars would cost in excess of $30000 to have done here. I really suggest giving Blipman a call. So far he has been straight-up with me and well worth dealing with, but I suppose time will tell (subliminal hint to Ben "Where's my %$#@$^ mechanical report!" - just joking. Seriously, give Ben a call, and he will honestly answer questions which will tip you into the import/not import camp - he's good to deal with. Keep us posted on how you go. Good luck with it either way. CheerZ Vincent
Same Situation Hey iLLUSi0N im kinda in the same situation as u. I've been following this fourm silently for a while to find out what the 300zx is really like from an owners perspective. Neway on topic ill be interested to see the responce to ur question as i might have to import myself. How wont the 15yr old rule be around newt year?? I hope it is since im at uni full time and i dont expect to save up at least $15K till this time next yr. Also i dont know if i can trust buying someting for that price without actully seeing it myself and what condition its in. With my luck it would proably be a lemon.
Hmm. Hi Vincent, One of my main concerns was what problems may lie under the hood, without actually looking at it or driving it, you could end up with a dud and just have to live with it, I am sure there's some decents ones out there in oz, but I am the same, I am very picky with what I want. 4 Months is a pretty long wait for an import, ah well just have to start hunting and see what I can find! Thanks for your help!
Re: Same Situation Hey SnaKe, Guess were on the same boat, I found when I was looking around in VIC for Z's there's a lot more than NSW, maybe I could just drive one back from VIC or ship it back, at least if it dun break down half way it should be ok! I think with the 15 yr rule, from what I read the person who implemented it has actually left, so someone else has taken control of the SEVS department (someone correct me if im wrong) and the new person may impose different rules...
If you're picky like me, then look locally. However, do give Ben a.... call as he will set you straight and not try and convince you to import if its not best for you. He's been really good to deal with so far, and I have appraoched him a few times over the past year. Another factor to consider is your budget and if you want mods. For instance, this car would cost you more here in Aus than importing....300zx with mods If you want to buy a 'complete package' like this, then importing is by far your cheapest option, 'cause to have it done aftermarket here, would cost you fairly big bucks. Again, good luck with it. CheerZ Vincent
Re: If you're picky like me, then look locally. However, do give Ben a.... Hi Vincent, Just tried that link seems to have some sort of problem with it? "Your email message has been idle and this link has become inactive. To access the link, close this window and return to your Message. Then click the browser's Refresh button or close your message and reopen it." Would you be able to supply a contact number or email of Ben so I can contact him? Thank You.
I have been informed by Ben at J-Spec that it looks very likely that the 15 year rule may be cancelled preventing you from importing 15 year old cars as early as Jan 2005. This is obviously speculation and you can never be 100% sure but the people in the business seem to think it is going to happen
Cut & paste this - this Z is sweet (even thoguh I'm not a fan of yellow). http://www.j-spec.com.au/list/index.php?ID=1180 Edited by Blipman to make the link work, I have no idea what the hell you were trying to link there Vincent
Re: Ben's contact details - go to your members tab, then type 'Blipman'... you'll get his number, address, blood type, etc. CheerZ Vincent
I imported through prestige motorsport > > > and they were excellent. Geoff will help with everything, and I would have no hesitation in buying again.(If only I could afford it, Im ready for my second zed!) Importing is obviously a risk, but if you pay a little more than the average, i think you get a better quality zed. I paid alot for my zed as far as imports go, but i wanted the quality. If you want to import do it, and dont let anyone talk you out of it!
Re: I imported through prestige motorsport Thanks for your imput brent0n. I think i would take the risk and import a zed if, by this time next year, the 15yr old rule is still in operation. Also i would gladly pay a little more if the zed i import was good quality and exactly the type of zed i want (2+2 manual TT). If i buy from here, atleast i can tell what the quality of the zed is before i buy but it would most likly mean another 6-12 months of saving.
Just imported my Zed --- Used J-Spec. Speak to Ben aka Blipman. I highly recommend them. They can get a mechanical inspection if required. The auction inspcetions seem pretty good though. As for costs go to there website and use there calculator. www.j-spec.com.au Compliance will be around the $1000 mark but probably around $400 cheaper if a 2 seater as the rear seat belts are expensive. (This is in SA). Importing can take some time as you are dealing with government departments. It took around 3 weeks to arrive from Japan. Once landed I had the car in my possesion in under 24 hours BUT if there is quarrintine/customs issues it may be a week or so. Then you need to get the car complianced and ready for a raodworthy inspection. This part took me around 5 weeks as I failed my first inpection and then had to wait 2 weeks before getting another booking Any questions PM me. CHEERS MICK
Just remember ---- When importing you dont pay a lump some upfront. First you pay for the car FOB. Once the car arrives then you pay for shipping and taxes. Then it's up to you when you get the car ready for rego. CHEERS MICK
I saw this Z on Prestige for alot more than the price on this site. It's exactly the same but Prestige were asking $39,900. Another thing i noticed was that it was posted on Prestige on 04 May 2003 and J-Spec says "the auction is due to finish on Wednesday 13th October 2004" and were asking only "around $20,500 to $22,100 landed". Does anyone know why there is such a large difference in price?? To see it on Prestige site, look under the sold vehicles and change the Model to '300zx Twin Turbo HEAVILY MODIFIED'
15 year rule questions. From what i've read about the 15 year rule, i interpreted it as we cannot import a car that is less than 15 years old if it was sold as new here. Does this mean a Twin Turbo of any year is 'allowed' to be imported? as it was never officially sold here by Nissan? I'm asking because all the ones i have seen on prestige motorsport are '89. Also does this import rule just apply to Japanese imports? or those from any country? because there are some cheap examples of various cars i have seen on the net that are in NZ, just wondering if its possible to import from there if the car was officially sold here recently (eg. 1999/2000 honda s2000, a few thousand cheaper - not that i can afford one either way but just for arguments sake). Or can we import an import from NZ (eg. 91-93 TT Z32). Was just curious about this. Thankz
