Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 4:30 am Post subject: What to look for when finding the dream car?
hey all im right at the start of the research phase.
a few questions i have are.
is there any know issues i should be looking for?
should i get a stock as a rock one or is a couple of mods ok?
does anyone know a sound importer with real prices not baloon prices?
any special model varients that are worth seeking out?
anything else i shoud be looking at?
thanks in advance.
Mike _________________
You can go stock as a rock if you like, however getting one with exhaust, bodykit and rims doesn't necessarily mean its had a hard life.
If you want real prices, look for somebody who is acting more as a 'buying agent' who is assisting YOU in purchasing the car, and where all the prices are transparent. Two that spring to mind who operate like this is Aaron from Rampant (sponsor of this board - user nakedterror website www.rampant.net.au) or Geoff from Prestige Motorsport ( www.prestigemotorsport.com.au ).
This will get you cheaper prices, but you arn't really able to see the car in the flesh before you purchase. If you want to buy a car that you can see here, drive yourself, get a vehicle check, and get a warranty or finance, then you probably want to go to a dealer, but you'll pay
Some other people who have owned the cars for longer are probably more qualified to talk about faults, somebody has already talked about ball-joints here in the technical forum.
Cheers for the speedy reply, i have seen the prestigue site and Geff got a car for one of my mates and the he was very good, i think i will go with him at the end of the day, maybe go to a yard to drive one with roughly the equipment im looking for. Cheers for the heads up on the ball joints, im impressed that out of maybe 4000 parts taken to build the car 2 of them are susspect!!
Mike _________________
Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 283 Location: Cambridge - England
Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:03 pm Post subject:
Lower balljoints and uppers baljoints (or wishbones) are common failures on these cars.
Lower balljonts being cheap enough, uppers will make you cry.
The 2JZ-GTE is also known for valve stem seal failure later in life, best check is to start from cold, any sign of oil burning, the stem seals will need doing. Not immediately, but will only get worse.
Stock doesn't mean it hasn't had a hard life, you need to take every car on it's own merits. A 50'000 mile engine may sound better than a 100'000 miler on paper, but if it's been neglected it's going to be a whole world of pain. _________________
Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 283 Location: Cambridge - England
Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 5:45 am Post subject:
I've always been a bit dubious about fitting second hand suspension parts personally. Just seems alot of hassle if they're then going to fail not long down the road.
We have a yearly vehicle test over here which is controlled by the Goverment called an M.O.T these are items that are included in the test.
Do you guys have anything like that??
I've just replaced bothsides, top and bottom _________________
Here in VIC we don't have annual or even any sort of regular inspections. When a car changes hands, it must be inspected and passed as 'road worthy'. If you keep your car for 30 years, chances are it will never need to get re-inspected.
It is possible if you were pulled over by the police they may instruct you to get re-checked, but this usually happens to people with modded cars that are too low / too modified.
It seems stupid to me that your late model Japanese car could be instruced to be inspected over and over again (if you get constant attention from the police) yet somebody driving a really old car with stuffed suspension, brakes, windscreen, etc. gets left alone
There has been discussion of regular checks for cars of a certain age here, but not in effect yet.
To be perfectly honest, and I may be stepping on a few people's toes here, I would not recommend that you use Prestige Motorsport.
I don't have personal experience with any other places, but I have heard good things about J-Spec Imports. I know a few people that have imported through them with no issues. They seem to have access to the same cars as Prestige Motorsport, they had access to mine, although I got it from Prestige.
Have dealt with Geoff alot and his service is second to none as organised 85% of the things that needed doing.
But what he quotes you with cars arriving in OZ as always add another 3-4k on the FOB price.
Heard horror stories from both J-Spec and PMS but at the end of the day they're just agents who just advertise the car from the auctions over in Japan & in reality its up to the supplier who inspects the car of which you base your intial interest in the car.
Remember onus is up to you if you wish to go ahead and import the car as its your money.
If i were to import again id be using Aaron / Rampant no probs _________________
WA's Most Powerful 6spd Aristo
The Aristo Spare Parts Man
Exactly right Aristoman, they also have not seen the cars in the flesh. All they do is take the footwork out of the process. Like the purchser they will not know the exact condition of the car until it arrives which is why companies such as these take no responsibility for any damage and/or the repair of damage. It is totally at their discression. The best that they can do is trust their buying agent in Japan and hope that the auction report is honest.
I don't know quite what you mean about the second to none service from Geoff, you must have gotten a different Geoff to me. :? From my experience and talking to a bunch of ex-customers, his customer service is "legendary".
To be honest, I would agree with you and go for Rampant. From what I have seen here, Aaron seems like a top bloke and the prices on all his aftermarket stuff are quite good. Seems like he'll look after you.
I agree with the horror stories. I have heard a tonne of them from PM and at least one I can remember from J-Spec. Although, I do know a few people that have gone through both importers before and they both now swear by J-Spec. Still, you could go through PM and it will likely be OK, as it is with many people. Just seems to me there is a bit of a risk there.
Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 4010 Location: Perth, WA
Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 6:07 pm Post subject:
Aaron from rampant seems quite good.. I don't really like jspec or prestige, but each to their own.
I and a few others have gone through Kristian from Iron Chef in SA, and i can tell you flatout, He rocks Handled everything expertly, kept you up to date about everything, all the time. Really, allowed me to do as much or as little as I liked, and handled everything else.
Even made it so I could pick the car from the docks myself as I was fanatical about not letting dodgy docks workers drive it.
Excellent agent. Can't recommend him enough! _________________
1994 Black JZS147 Aristo - RIP. Went swimming
New 1992 Aristo Project
the only issue i found with prestige was the fact that they normally only go auction grading. Ive heard of a few cars, especially rotors that have come over as grade 4 and had blown seals and crap synchro's etc..
The grading system doesnt actually provide any mechanical info, other than what they can see/hear when looking over the car.
I went through J-spec purely because i could get a independant mechanical inspection at my own leisure. Having said that, i bought a lemon, but at least i thought i had the benefit of having a mechanic report
Ben
PS- I'll be going Rampant for my next purchase... mmmm... 98 VVTI 6pseed GZ Supra YUMMY!!!! _________________
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it is all food for thought! thanks heaps for all the info folks, one of my good friends know Kristan i have found out so i might go with him. i like the fact i might be able to go get my car from the doc, i agree with letting as fewer amount of people drive it as possible! di you guys go with a RORO ship or container? _________________
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