I just though't I'd share with you guys.
I got a new addition to the driveway, it's an arctic silver 94 325i that i'm importing from Japan, it'll be here in the next couple weeks.



The photos are from the car lot when it was waiting to be shipped out, so they're not the best photos. It's got 14,595 km's, all the service records etc. and i've got new sport seats waiting for it here. Getting pretty excited.
Comments and opinions welcome!

 

word

 

Nice car man, how much did it cost if you don't mind me asking?

 

looks sick, i know alot of people that imported BMW from Japan

if you dont mind how much was it to crate it over? i know being in BC its cheaper for you because youre close to ports, but i could take the Greyhound or whatever and drive back, it would only be a days drive. i'm gonna be importing a R32 GTR or wait until S15 are available to import

 

Yeah, you can find cars for cheap over there anywhere from 1-5k but the part that sucks is shipping and "dirt tax" basically once you find a car that you like add 2k$ to the price tag after shipping, tax, auction fees, and inspection. I got this one for 5k CAD all said and done. I'll take more pics of it with the max once it gets here.

 

14,595 kms.. isn't that less than 10,000 miles?

 

nice pickup! id kill to get my hands on an japanese EVO IX with RHD FTW lol,just an fyi u mite get some people givin u crap cuz this thread should be in the other car section.

 

Did you find this online?

 

another "I upgraded to a BMW, and not a newer maxipad" thread. (think people are sayin' something about newer maximas?)
$5,000 is hella cheap for a low mileage car, even for Kannuk moneys. that thing is practically brand new.
let us know if has the new car smell, would ya?

 

Are there any special ways to registering these cars? Or is it the same procedure? I wonder if there will be any emissions issues from importing say a r32 and such. I did see a RHD r32 in a parking lot the other day and man that thing looked awsome.

 

Canadians don't have to deal with imported-car safety and emissions inspections.
we have to have companies inspect the car, change stickers, "modify" for safety/emissions, etc. etc. Cost is more than the car and the shipping crate to North America.
There are "off-road" clauses, but that makes it kinda pointless(I want a track **** daily driver, not a track'n'trailer car).

 

yea, 14,595 km's i think that's like 9.200 miles. I prefer the term "broken in" instead of "used". The only requirements for inspection in BC are that you have DOT tires and lights, an a center brake light.

As for registration you have to keep every single slip of paper you get when buying the car and make sure everything matches up.

.... and this thread will be maxima related... when i get photos of this and the maxi together. perhaps a little side by side comparison? Ps i might be selling the headlights since i need new DOT ones for inspection if anyone would need them for a retro.

 

yeah we dont have the emissions and crap, one of my buddies would have failed if we did do that crap because he was powersliding in the snow and crashed, so his whole exhaust broke off and that thing sounded like a monster truck . Importing is easy as long as the vehicle is older than 15 years of the manufacture date. I cant wait until S15, Z33, and R34 are good to go. R33 are available now this year but i dont like them, gained too much weight and i dont like the body.

i know some people who just import cars for a living at home and sell them (one guy by me sells only Skylines and has usually 3 outside of his place) but there is ALOT of cool stuff you can get, some little 3cyl RHD trucks sell for $99, but then you still get shipping raped

 

You are alot more trustworthly than I would be.
Trusting someone in a foreign country to sell you a 16 year old car with less that 10,000 miles on it. It's pretty hard to believe...hell I wouldn't trust some one in the states to sell me a car like that. It may be the truth, but if it sounds too good to be true...you know the rest.

 

If you are serious about the head lights being up for grabs, give me a shout bro.

 

ive never heard any stories myself about bad imported cars, most Skylines here arent even broken in and have less than 125k km and always were well cared for as with all the other imported vehicles. i wouldnt have any doubts myself importing something, Japan loves Canada too for buying their JDM cars. a guy i know that owns a tuning shop in Japan says he loves Canadians

i saw a SICK JDM 240sx by my place on the way home from work tonight too, RHD, what looked like R32 GTR rear taillights, 3" exhaust, etc. dont get why hes driving it in the bad weather though

EDIT- WTF, a guy i know by me has a S15 Spec-R slammed, with a 3" straighpipe and full Origin body kit. LHD, so i thought a LHD model was sold here, but i Wikipedia'd it and they were only sold in Japan, Australia, etc. with a RHD market he must have brought it as a kit car, and if he LHD swapped it i'm gonna kick him in the *****. i'll have to ask him why its LHD

and FTL yesterday i saw a 40yr old woman in a S14 with a roof rack she should be in a Dodge Caravan

 

i was looking here at how much a R33 would be to import, and found this general idea

$9,000 Canadian Purchase Price
$1,500 Shipping from Japan to Vancouver
$500 Shipping for Vancouver to Calgary
$500 Canadian Brokerage Fees (see attached image for more detailed breakdown)
$100 Air Conditioning Excise Tax
$550 - - 6.1% Customs Duty on $9,000 Purchase Price
$607.50 - - 5% GST on above $12,150 total

 

Thats not too bad. I guess being a Canadian is good for something lol.

That being said most of my family lives in Canada.

 

theres alot good here, i might move to Japan because i know someone who has a shop there but it would be hard to leave here and i might not.

apparently they may get rid of the 15 year rule and make vehicles available right away to import to us, it would be cool but i think 15 years is more than fair because the vehicles should stay and be used in Japan for a while first. cutting it to just 10 years would be a good move too but i think making them available right away might hurt the friendship we have with Japan

besides, most of the good cars are available for import already we just need R34, R35, S15, Z33, and Z34 to be good to go

 

Yea, I have a connection in Japan who actually went and checked out the car in person before I bought it, has all service records etc. I'd be wary too of just buying something without having a look at it. kind of like ebay.I was curious and checked for maximas and other cars too, the maximas are called nissan/datsun laurels over there IIRC.

for anyone interested, here's a good website that give you a fair idea of what is available from over there and approx. price range:
http://www.tradecarview.com/used_car...995&fd=Nissan+

 

i asked the guy i know about Maximas and he said they failed there, i think maybe its because of size. i asked if he has seen a 3rd gen ever and he said he rarely does

now that i'm bored i'm looking at the import site again i would give both of my nuts for this

http://www.tradecarview.com/used_car...yline/2813700/

 

nice, but not worth $31,000, plus s&h

 

5spd, 39k KM and clean i would hit it for that price, older Skylines go for alot and the only ones ive seen in North America are ones that someones grandfather has parked for 20 years or whatever and theyre rusty and stuff.

i would hit a 180sx up for a late night and weekend drift car, the guy who has the imported S15 by me has someone staying for a bit with a LHD 180sx and theyre nice, pretty cheap too

http://www.tradecarview.com/used_car...180sx/2331029/

 

i guess you can say that. BMW's are so much fun.

Garf: you got an awesome deal for that beauty. great car too. now get an E46 M3 motor and tranny for it.

 

haha, thanks.
Yea, I guess this thread is turning into one of those lame "I'm selling my max and getting a different car" threads. The max is up for sale now, the BMW is just so fun and practical.



And my favourite shot:

 

 

That is a spectacular buy

 

I didn't know BMW made cars without leather seats.

Nice deal with low kms, though.

 

My exact thoughts when I saw those new pictures

 

The cloth seats holds in farts better than leather....it's like a filter!

 

I read somewhere that they don't like leather in Japan. I don't like leather or (sunroofs/navigation/wood trim) either. If I bought a new car I'd want to order a base model Camry, Accord, or Altima/Maxima with a V6.

BMW are great but I'm uncomfortable driving a car thats cooler than I am.

 

yep, leather isnt popular in Japan, and yep not sunroofs or wood trim either.

i myself hate leather and especially hate sunroofs

 

If older Skyline could be imported this would be the one!

http://www.tradecarview.com/used_car...yline/3085026/

But, since it probably won't happen I was planning on making the Max look something like that. I already have the taillights and one headlight. But, you're right, those Bimmers look pretty tempting. I would have to go with a E34 535i or 540i sport package manual myself, or a classic E24 M6/635csi and add turbo :-)

 

Did you put your GXE up for sale here?

 

No I didn't actually, it's still kicking around in the driveway, just took it for a drive the other day. It is up for sale locally though.

 

RB26 swapped 4dr Skyline, sick. 2013 those bad boys are good to go, lots of people here are going to buy one. i would want a white one, but still like R32 better

only thing thats gonna suck is if the Mayans are right and the world ends in 2012, i wont get to see Z33, S15, or R34 be imported Y2K was a big dud, 2012 probably will be too

 

LOL! Well, you'll just have to add some James Bond gadgets and make it a speed boat car as well and you'll be good to go.

 

You Canadians got it so lucky. I so will love to have a Skyline as a second car. I'm don't understand the reasons of it not being legal here.

 

apparently theyre trying to slide it through to make no wait limit, so we can import a 2010/2011 car if we want. i think thats too quick, the 15 year rule meant the car had to stay in Japan for at least 15 years which makes sense. i would say cut it to 10 years maybe, but i dont know if theyre wanting to make it no wait just to give importers more business or what. probably wont pass though

 

It's purely a money making law. The 15 year rule is in place to deter people from importing cars, this supposedly generates more business for domestic vehicles. They (the government, funded by the car dealers) are trying to make it harder to import cars from abroad to ensure that they make more money. It's really quite stupid. They are making more paperwork, "stricter" regulations and more "safety" regulations which they say ensure that the vehicles being imported are safe and not a hazard. Which is a load of bull, If the car dives in Japan, it'll drive fine here too (I'm talking cars in fine condition). Like my car also, being in mint condition, (not trying to brag), had to pass DOT inspection : 89$, dirt and soil inspection : 45$, taxes: 571$, as well as parts for DRL's, stupid side reflectors that aren't even on vehicles here anyway etc etc. It's purely a money-driven set of regulations. Anyway, it's worth it since most North American cars are rubbish (from the same era as the ones able to import).

Anyway, as for a comparison between the max and the BMW:
BMW:
192 hp
181 ft/lb torque
weighed in at exactly 1,400 kilos (3080 lbs)
Saloon
I6, 2.5L
bone stock

Maxima:
160 hp (GXE)
some torque
3400 pounds give or take
Saloon
3.0L V6
intake, bushings, suspension

Basically the only thing these two cars have in common are the number of doors. The BMW has far more responsive steering, better power and torque, so much grip, and far less body roll. The trunk space is about equal in the two cars, the back seats, however, are far smaller in the BMW, with the seat adjusted for me (5 foot 11) there's enough legroom in the back for a 5 year old. Overall, the BMW is far smaller than the Maxima, and lower too. This is just based on some spirited driving, mileage on both cars is a large factor and it's kind of like comparing apples and oranges. The Maxima is a sporty family sedan, the 3 series is a sports oriented 4 seater focussing more on performance than comfort. just my $0.02

It's still a lot of fun driving the Maxima, but not fun enough for me to keep it. It has been a really good car to learn on etc. And it should help pay for some rims for the BMW.