Help needed Hi, I am new in this club and am very interested in purchasing 300z. I was hoping if someone can give some hints as to what to look for when buying this car? I'd appreciate. thanks.
Hi Tauras, Welcome>>> Have a look at the "Tech" section under "information" you will find 3 articles on buying a Zed: 1) 300ZX Reliability 2) How to look for body damage 3) Checking actual year of manufacture Also, check the classified section for examples of Zeds for sales. You might also want to research importing directly from Japan yourself (you have very little time left if you want to do this under the old scheme - with SEVS due to come in 13 May 2003). Also, spend some time reading through the forum to get a feel for the Zed. Go out and test drive several of them, as well as Supras, RX7's etc. so you get a feel for the difference and the pros and cons of each (you'll come back to the Zed - trust me on this one!!! ) And there are usually members who would be willing to come out and have a look at a Zed for sale with you to give you a second opinion etc... Most of all good luck and welcome...
If your interested in importing, let me know I love the Zed and Im currently working in exporting from Japan. when the new system comes in, the Zed must be standard (no aftermarket parts) when it arrives on the dock.But there are still alot of good zeds here
Houndz, a question for you...>>> So the Z has to be stock on the dock right? Is it legal then for the exporter, such as yourself, to remove all the aftermarket parts, fit stock ones and then send the car, but send the parts to the customer via mail to reattach once the vehicle has been complied? I know there was a thing about the aftermarket parts having to be certified destroyed but Im guessing that only applies to the car when it lands on the docks. If the exporter removes them all first then it wouldnt be a problem. I think half the attraction of importing, apart from the chance of a low K engine, is that a lot of them have some very attractive fruit on the cars. The money you pay wouldnt even cover the cost of the mods, not for every car but definately now and again. It would be a shame to miss out on all these parts since youve paid for them already if you bought the car at auction.
You can do that however the labour to change parts in Japan would be expensive, plus sourcing stock parts may be difficult/expensive (not sure on that one, what do you say Ben?). Then, when the parts arrive in the container next to the car, you will have to pay import duty (15%) and GST (10%) on what the customs blokes reckon they are worth. Does that sound right Mr. J-pan?Ben
I thought about that...>>> And the thing about getting stock parts, well thats true but I dont think there is anyway of getting around that just yet with the new system. However you have to pay import duties and GST on your car based on its sale price when it lands on the docks anyways, not on what the customs guys think it should be worth. So all the exporter does is removes the aftermarket parts, then removes the market price of the parts off of the total value of the car. That has to be legal because you are paying for the car as a package, hence if parts are removed it has a lower value. So now when your container comes over, you should be paying GST and import on the value of the car which is less, and parts, and the sum total of the two should be equal to what you would of paid anyway.What do you think?
A comment >>> regarding customs and sell price. Customs WILL apply a different value if they feel it is warranted. If a "deal" is done with a seller overseas and then a low value is declared supported by an invoice, they CAN and WILL investigate and apply duty on what they believe to be an appropriate value. More than 1 car has been sent to government auction for false declaration of value; but its ususlly cars with an intrinsic value higher than that of Z32's anyway.
