what do you guys reckon about imports??

[Greekos]

hey i was just wondering what you guys reckoned about imports. im talking about skylines and other high performance imports that actually are quite decent cars. reason being is that i might buy one in the not to distant future. the only thing that is holding me back is my commodore.

[Low_VX_Taxi]

hey i was just wondering what you guys reckoned about imports. im talking about skylines and other high performance imports that actually are quite decent cars. reason being is that i might buy one in the not to distant future. the only thing that is holding me back is my commodore.

Love imports... BUT! would always buy Aussie (or at least Aus spec not JDM) for two main reasons:

1)Parts. Try going to your local wrecker to buy a new boot for an r34 and you will be paying double the amount of a Aus car.

2)History. With most Aus cars (second hand) they come with a service history plus you can check to see if it was originally a wreck thats been put back together, most JDM imported to Aus come with no history prior to arrival to Aus, there was a case I heard of a few years ago of an import that the front passenger door wouldnt open, guy took it to a smash repairer and found that the car had been repaired from a serious accident and in Aus wouldve been an unrepairable write-off. Car was failed for rego and considered unroadworthy....

Up to u but honestly for the same price as a nice JDM import buy a same age SS commo and mod it!

[Billo55]

Yeah they are okay...If you are looking for something like a skyline you are better of looking around in Aus rather than looking at imports. Mostly cos you can actually see service history and **** like that (well not always but more than from importing it). I'm going to be buying a TT300zx soonish when i save the money and i'll be looking here before going to an importer.

[Shounak]

A lot of rubbish gets imported. The ex-drift cars etc, you have to find a reputable importer with a good history before jumping into what seems like a good deal.

You have to be prepared for the fact that you might get a car that is made up of a number of different written off cars and has been nicely assembled for the blind import buyer.

That said, you can get some very fast + decent cars on the cheap by importing. I know people who have got some very fast 300ZX's imported with no problem. High risk, but potentially high return (good car cheap).

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

I'm all for imports, especially since I want to import a '72 Mach 1 Mustang from Mexico.

[*VOLATILE*]

I used to own an 94 MR2. Was a bloody great ride stock but I got bored of that and started modifying it heavily. Got it bored from 2.0L to 2.2L, custom exhaust, higher end turbo, forged internals.

The only problem with doing all that was that I was living in poverty for about 6 months. Money is really the issue with imports.

[AttaBoy]

Maybe the safest way is to actually visit the country where the car is.

Then make your decision. May sounds a bit extreme but my gym instructor did this a year ago imported his Toyota Supra (Turbo, I think) from japan. He had no problems at all.

But insurance is a killa!!!

[Grennan]

If i were to buy an import, i wouldnt actually import it i would look closer to home to buy it. More often than not the product you get imported from overseas is a peice of crap and hasnt been looked after. I dont know how many imports that do come out here come out in really bad shape but the people who i have talked to had nothing but issues with their cars.

Obviously the way to combat this is to actually visit the country, see the car and make sure the car you buy is the one that youve inspected.

[sleek_vp]

nah, i love commodores to much to even think about buying another brand of car but I was thinking of maybe buying a landcruiser ute for some 4-b-ing and something not holden but to me its a real hard desicion and I might get a vs ute instead (that'l be 3 commos for me!)

[Grennan]

Im the same i doubt ill ever buy out of the Holden Family, but if i were to get an import id look at a Supra. The rest of them **** me off.

[AttaBoy]

As I said before visit the country and see the car in flesh.

If i were you i wouldn't bother going through all the crap getting the car here. Just look locally and see what you find.

[HoldenMan7]

I dont really like imports, if i was to buy a perforamce car, i would get a SS or a clubsport, i would love a clubsport lol

[Greekos]

Thanks for the comments, i think the best way to go would be to get a local import and keep the commy so i get the best of both worlds, oh well have to put it off for a while, good news is the market is flooded with them an they'll only get cheaper lol

[STEALTHY™]

What model specifically are you looking for?

Keep in mind, buying a performance car, chances are someone has already thrashed it out

I was hoping to buy a Cefiro a while back, but ended up just buying another 2 commodores

[quick308]

i was thinken of gettin a import myself. but after hearin this i might be a bit more careful. im not getting rid of tha vh. but i need another ride because it is not a daily driver. the vp exec i had is written off. i was thinken maybe a supra or a subaru non turbo. im borrowin my bros car atm cause he is over seas but will be back soon.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

What's a local import? Is it local? Is it an import? It can't be both.

[Emackulation]

Its really hard to tell what you getting man as people have stated, If you are willing to risk allot of money on it then go right ahead, but buying in Australia is a better option, so have a look around whats for sale and do allot of research unless your probably gonna get stung.

[Low_VX_Taxi]

What's a local import? Is it local? Is it an import? It can't be both.

Hard to explain.....basically its usually in regards to Skylines,Supras,200sx,180sx etc there are two different types of "imports" (basically something thats from Japan but not built here in Aus), they are ADM and JDM.

ADM=Australian Domestic Market

JDM=Japanese Domestic Market


ADM is cars that are specifically designed for Aus, generally theres a different ECU/tuning as we have different emmision laws and fuel (not sure how on the fuel juss what I was told). JDM are usually considered better as they have more features (power windows, elect windows climate control etc). Also JDM cars are often referred to as "Jap Spec" imports...

Realisticly JDM are imports and ADM are not but because they are both "Jap" cars they fall into the import category~

~hope that helps

[Shounak]

Two main types of imports.

Grey Imports + Parallel Imports.

Grey imports are brought into the country privately and sold privately, ie. it's not sponsored by the maker of the car. A good example would be 300ZX's, they were never imported by Nissan and sold in a Nissan dealership. They were brought in my importers, without the nod from Nissan.

Parallel imports are cars brought in my the Manufacturer and sold in the dealerships like other cars. The Hummer is a good example. It's not made in Australia, but is sold in official Hummer dealerships in Australia, with the manufacturers warranty and nod of approval. These cars meet all of the relevant ADR's and go through rigorous testing before they are allowed to be sold in dealerships.

As for a local import. I would assume it means a car that has been privately imported and is just like any other second hand car. It means you don't have to actually import and compliance the damn thing yourself. An imported car purchased in the local market.

The beauty of imports is that you can get a bloody quick car on the cheap. Why else would you take all of those risks? It can work out really well, but also really badly. Do your research and ring a few importers. Even jump on the "riceboy" forums and get some information from them.

You could get a car that would whip a lot of the cars here, for a fraction of the price.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

I was stating a fact, not asking a question...lol. I work in a dealership, and most of our cars are manufactured in Japan, they are not imports, local imports or any other type of import. They are specifically manufactured for Australia, they are in essence, an Australian car. They just happen to be manufactured overseas.

There are cars that are imported and sold by car yards, these are imports as they never came into Australia with the same spec. Although this practice has ceased. You can still import a car privately and own it.