nirvash

hi, im new to the forum (already introduced myself)

i live in south africa, cape town and am in love with the FD3S RX7 and want to import one from japan to south africa. i know in america (most of you) this isnt legal, but it is for mestoked

so to begin, when importing the car, there is no way i can physically test/drive/see the car myself besides pictures, which means finding the right one etc and the normal testing rules wont apply here.

basically the condition of the engine doesnt really matter to me (i plan on either rebuilding, or re fitting an imported one(easily found here) or doing something completely different)
but i want the body,suspension,interior basically the rest of the car to be good condition

i wanted to ask if anyone has imported one, and what they went through and how they went about it
also if anyone has any advice on this subject.

the site where i have been viewing the potential new cars is www.tradecarview.com if anyone wants to have a look (some nice cars there).

also, since the car wasnt sold in my country, how hard do you think it would be for me to get parts for repairs etc. not really talking about after market stuff, as that is easy enough, im talking more about spares/replacement parts etc

is there any way to make sure i pick the right car?!?as before mentioned engine mechanical condition is not so much a problem.my budget in between 5k - 10k

any help and info would be much appreciated

thanks
Andreas

nirvash

one more question, slightly of topic...

would you say somone would need a really good understanding of a piston internal combustion engine before leaning the workings of a rotary, or can you dive right in and start learing?

p.s i have at the least basic-to moderate knowledge of piston engines

Alex_n/a

iTrader: (1)

i don't think you can make it with 10k

a good fd normally OVER 10k
a cheap one under 10k (rare to find that price)
plus you need container for around 1k
shipping
handling fees

you want to talk to member japan2la he can pretty much answer all your questions concerns

good luck fd's are beautiful cars

watch video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BCgl2uumlI

nirvash

thanks man, sent him a message.

watched that vid before, but thanks though anyway.

ILoveJDM

iTrader: (7)

you can buy jdm fd's landed in canada below 10k CDN in decent-good condition all day long. just saying its not "rare" to find one under 10

Alex_n/a

iTrader: (1)

true my bad i forget the world is big all i know i haven't seen to many fd where i live even below 15k i saw one for 12k once but someone said it was salvage not repaired right engine bad and dirty interior and 15k usd price is the average around here

MaxBoostTurbo

If you are shopping for cars in japan and dont have access to auction sites you can check out www.goo-net.com which is one of the biggest online car trader sites here. There is an english box top right so you dont have to worry about translating. I've seen great ones go for less than 6k granted they are 1995 and below. I have seen Spirit R's as low as 17k USD. Parts going to SA wont be bad just the shipping might get you sometimes depending on any import tariffs/VAT your country may have.

nirvash

@alex_na, they are quite abit cheaper from japan and importing etc, its just the shipping/taxes duties etc that adds up, i just wish i could find out in relation what an average price is for a decent one from japan.

@maxboostTurbo, thanks, will check it out

keep the info coming everyone, any additional info help is needed and will be appreciated

nirvash

hi guys, been reading mixed reviews and so on about different car import websites etc

and i just wanted to ask if anyone knows any proven reputable places/sites, obviously buying a car over the internet is risky business in its own right, but if anyone knows of sites that sell/export japanese cars and are legit and well known and actually deliver what is promised i would really appreciate it if you could let me know about them.

thanks