Why are people paying $20k+ for skylines?

kanaric wrote: What's funny is someone linked me to a California dealer selling a GTS-T with more miles than mine that looked exactly the same for $14,000. $10,000 more than what I paid pre-shipping and double my total.

I know you keep banging on about prices of Japanese cars and how everybody should just import themselves a $4k Skyline GTS-T instead of pay $x for another car because said car is "overpriced", but I honestly don't see the issue with the pricing above.

So, let's assume that your car as landed is an exact equivalent of the GTS-T you mentioned above. So that's $8k out of pocket, right. The dealer is in CA, so he has to make the car pass CA smog and also has to get all the paperwork for a CA title done. That's hopefully time, but time is money so the real cost of that is another $1k-$2k. A good dealer will also do at least a basic service on the car because selling E36 M3 is going to cost you your business in the specalist market. The car is going to sit around for a little while, dealer premises cost money, too, so when he sells it, say, about 4-6 months later he's got $11k and a whole bunch of time in it.

Unless you subscribe to the maxim that every dealer should just do the work out of the goodness of their hearts, lose money on every deal and make up for that in volume, I don't begrudge the dealer his $2k-$3k profit.

Why? Because you can decide how you pay for it. You can DIY everything and trade money for time, or you don't have/aren't willing to spend the time, so you spend the money. At the end of the day, it's a trade off everybody has to decide on. To some, the money is more valuable than the time, to others it's the other way around.

Don't forget that importing a car unseen (even with boots on the ground at the other end) also has a bunch of risks - it may not be as described, the handbrake on the car behind it on the ship has failed and it's been banging into your rear bumper for six weeks since leaving Yokohama etc etc etc.

Congrats on getting a nice car for cheap though

Why the hell are there queer laws like this anyway! If it's made, ship it round the world. Damn government, try and squeeze my lemon...

In reply to kanaric:

You should really look at what is required to import a car and make it LEGAL in each state. And know it's damn near impossible to get a USDM car legal in Cali let alone an import.

I think the biggest reason(s) that people overpay for imported skylines is because they have to be imported, so that automatically makes them an exotic. Most people aren't willing to drive or fly to their bordering states to buy a really good, used car, so importing one from a different country is too grassroots for most car guys (and gals).

The sites I have been watching specifically do not have cars available for legal use in California

I've been looking since Mazda605 bought his Delica. It seems more expensive and time consuming than you think. I still want a Hiace Double Cab but I'm not ready to invest that much in a pickup.

yupididit wrote: In reply to kanaric: You should really look at what is required to import a car and make it LEGAL in each state. And know it's damn near impossible to get a USDM car legal in Cali let alone an import.

These cars are not sold as legal in california. They are stock and unsmogable.

iadr wrote: The cars I saw come in were scrap- had had no oil changes in 80-100K Kilometers, had had the dashes cut up for the electronics trick of the month, more than a couple times per car. Same with wiring harnesses. Under hood was either neglected or had aftermarket garbage on it. I repeat: scrap. Teenager owned scrap before they ever got on the boat. And they are RHD. If you would consider a RHD drive car, I can't help you.

The thing is if you are bidding on cars that have an auction sheet it says all these issues on there. You are just getting shipped all the cars and based on that are coming to this conclusion.

I've seen several bad Skylines before I chose to bid on the one I picked. It's true for ANY car this old. However good ones are frequent and common enough and are cheap.

Special ordering parts from Nissan when one was crashed (and the majority of them were crashed in very short order) took 6weeks to 6 months.

Nissan doesn't offer parts for a lot of it's older cars yet we can still get parts from them. Enthusaist sites have parts, it shares parts with other cars, I can order parts from Australia and the UK without issue and have. You are basing everything on only ordering from nissan and people getting their cars fixed at a dealer. Not how enthusiasts here would do things.

So, no there are not a lot of these coming at you from Canada.

Very true. Nobody is buying the Canadian cars because they are trashed.

aussiesmg wrote: The sites I have been watching specifically do not have cars available for legal use in California

That has to do with the way that the CARB rules are setup no? No emission exemption for cars newer than 1975 and if isn't in the database it means it hasn't been tested for a baseline so it's automatically illegal, even with all the emissions equipment intact. EPA is 21 years for emissions exemption. Someone with a better understanding of the glorious hotrodding republic of California could probably explain it better.

I'd love to have one but the MS3 is visible enough. I can't even imagine trying to pass that by CHP if they decide to pull me over for a surprise emissions equipment inspection.

The0retical wrote:

aussiesmg wrote: The sites I have been watching specifically do not have cars available for legal use in California

That has to do with the way that the CARB rules are setup no? No emission exemption for cars newer than 1975 and if isn't in the database it means it hasn't been tested for a baseline so it's automatically illegal, even with all the emissions equipment intact. EPA is 21 years. Someone with a better understanding of the glorious hotrodding republic of California could probably explain it better. I'd love to have one but the MS3 is visible enough. I can't even imagine trying to pass that by CHP if they decide to pull me over for a surprise emissions equipment inspection.

Ya if you are in Cali just forget about these cars. IDK how california is supposed to have a lively car culture when they punish enthusiasts more than any other state.

i like this one, at about 15k before shipping and customs costs. at the point where i go for one, it'll have to be like this and not a boy racer modified hackjob, but one that looks like it was more someone's driver.

http://www.japan-partner.com/Auto/24704/Nissan/SKYLINE/car-for-sale.html

Pacific Coast JDM said: Hi there, Well, the market has been jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean (that is not racist is it?). Surprisingly, I have you to thank for the sudden interest in USA imports since many people read your article on Opposite lock and decided to look me up. I currently have 5 customers from the US that are looking for R32s and two customers just bought one form me last month. Prices certainly are higher then when you bought but if I recall, you bought few months before it was legal to import and so paid less than it would otherwise have cost. The price for what you bought seems to be selling for about 550,000 - 600,000 yen now… though sometimes it goes slightly higher. But there is more to consider, I have seen every R32 that has gone through auction in the last 6 months. They have not been very nice on average.. so what seems like a large markup at $14,000… is even worse than you though since many of those cars are not in good condition. In particular, with rust on them. The market is in such need of these cars that people are buying the crazy bad ones and selling them at big markups. I am wondering if this is going to damage the market perception of these cars… Well, more-so when, not if. Anyways, yes The R32 is selling for a lot whether it be the GTR or the GTS-T. I have noticed that the GTS-t (being more accessible due to the price) has increased in price more than the GTR. That was a surprise for me. If you would like some translations, please let me know. If you would like to bid, then please contact Ken about sending the deposit. One last thing though is that last year we went through a fe changes and one of the things is that I am now asking customers to sign a contract before purchasing. I have attached that to this email for you to look over and we can discuss any questions that you might have about it. If you need anything in the mean time, please let me know.

I inquired about prices of JDM cars since I bought and got this response.

So prices for GTS-T are up about $2000 and GTR is up even less. All other cars are the same.

patgizz wrote: i like this one, at about 15k before shipping and customs costs. at the point where i go for one, it'll have to be like this and not a boy racer modified hackjob, but one that looks like it was more someone's driver. http://www.japan-partner.com/Auto/24704/Nissan/SKYLINE/car-for-sale.html

That one actually seems decent. You can find a few of those in similar condition on auction for just that price at end of bid. Looks like a good buy.

Like that is even still has stock wheels. The GTR wheels are great. Can fit 255/50/16 all around and they are forged so extremely light. IDK why people replace them.