Chucky // VIC

[Guest]

hey all, i've been reading a fair bit on the forums for a while now and have finally decided to register...

at the moment I have a 180sx that im selling to buy a legnum, im quite particular about the car I want and have been shopping around for a while, not sure whether i should give up looking for a legnum locally or just import one through a broker... maybe some of you that have imported a car directly from japan could advise me on this...

 

[montgomery]

I got mine through tokyo prestige.
I found the car at the auctions etc , the game me info on the car , and when i was happy i told them the amount i wanted to pay.

everything after that they take care of untill you receive the car.

then all you have to do is get a roady and register the bugger!

 

[cyber_scriber]

Hi Chucky.

Whether you buy locally or through an importer is largely a question of timing. That is, do you need the Legnum immediately, or can you wait a few months for it?

The good thing about buying the car locally is that you get immediate gratification. You can literally have the car tomorrow.

The importing process takes a bit longer as you go through the auction, shipping and compliancing process. My own importing process will take about 3 months from the time I first expressed interest in getting a Galant, until the time I'm behind the wheel.

Trevor has written up a great guide on the various ways that you can get behind the wheel of a Galant / Legnum, with pros and cons for each way. Check it out here:

http://ozvr4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1602

You mention that you're quite particular about the car that you want. If this is the case, then importing is usually the better option because you have access to a wider variety of cars with greater variances in specification. If you are after rare specs such as manual, leather / Recaros, sunroof etc, then importing is definitely the go. I might also mention that importing is almost always cheaper than buying from a dealer.

What exact specifications are you after in your Legnum. There are a couple of late model, manual Legnums for sale here:

2002 Legnum + black + manual + 47,000 klm on the clock + $17k:
http://www.allimports.com.au/view/de...=19&car_id=235

2000 Legnum + silver + manual + 68,000 klm on the clock + $16k:
http://www.allimports.com.au/view/de...d=19&car_id=47

Good luck and let us know how you go!

 

[Guest]

hey, thanks for the advice!

im not too fussed about how long it takes, i'm in the process of selling the 180sx anyway and would prefer not to have three cars (including my daily) at the same time (doubling on insurance, rego and room to park the cars)

i'm after a 2000+ model legnum, manual and with a sunroof, low kms and fairly stock - thats if im to import one, if im to buy one locally im not too fussed about the kms but has to be manual and with a sunroof...

i've been looking at available stock on a few importers websites (ironchef, tokyo prestige, prestige motorsport, jspec, kamakazi motors, etc) but havent found many, if any that are suitable... well none that havent been sold yet anyway lol

thanks for the link to that article, i just had a good read... but to be honest, it didnt really convince me one way or another, my main fear is importing something that is a lemon or that has rust on it, has had a hard hit, etc...

i have seen many cars that have been imported by jspec and other importers and they look the goods, but what happens if i import one thats a dud, im not saying its the brokers fault because it isnt, its the risk i have to take which i guess is what im weighing up....

 

[cyber_scriber]

Chucky.

Given that you've got time on your side, I would definitely recommend that you use an importer.

The late model, manual, sunroofed, low kilometres and stock Legnum is not common, but is not impossible to find. I'm glad you didn't add leather or Recaros and black colour in the mix because that would be closer to impossible!.

The reason why you have not seen the above combination on the importers' websites is because they specifically find the car for their clients and those cars do not appear on their websites - they end up directly in the clients' hands.

Your concerns around buying a lemon or one that has been in a smash are dealt with by the quality of the importer you use and the agent in Japan that they use. Good importers will have agents inspecting the cars in person. They will have looked at hundreds of cars and can spot a lemon from a mile away.

Remember, the import broker is your agent and it's in their best interests to look after your interests. They are not car dealers looking to make as much profit as they can by flogging off whatever is in their yard. Most importers will charge a flat fee of around $1K for their services, irrespective of how long it takes them to find your car.

I have used Kristian at Iron Chef and he is very knowledgeable around the cars and the import process. In fact, I understand that he used to own a Galant himself! Kristian is a highly regarded importer and a good bloke. I have no hesitation in recommending him. The only thing I would say is that if you go through Kristian, make sure you know when the car gets put on a boat

Make sure you have fun in the 180sx before you let it go. Having owned an S15, I'm going to miss the RWD fun when I get my Galant

 

[Tom]

I reckon Bruce has pretty much said everything haha..

So, I'll stick to a welcome

Welcome!

I found my car on Carsales, it was brought in a couple of weeks earlier by the bloke I bought it off, he is an import broker, and had all these other imports sitting around hehe.. So I was lucky to find one that fit exactly what I wanted, straight off the get-go! He held it for a month while I sold my Liberty too, once that was gone, I was driving home my Galant

Waiting 3 months to import something wasn't something I was too keen on, so I guess I was pretty lucky there..

But since you won't be left without a car I say the import process would be the way to go! Can find yourself exactly what you want!

There is always going to be risk in the quality of vehicles that get imported, but find yourself a trusty agent and you should be right as rain

 

[Guest]

I think i've pretty much made up my mind... just got a few questions to ask a few brokers but i think i'm going to run with Iron Chef, he seems to have a proven track record on here (not that any of the others don't but I'm only going with one broker...)

 

[BuzzPuppy]

That's how I got my Super VR-4 and was a bit of a convoluted story (not on any part from Iron Chef however!). Welcome to the forums mate