opinions on dealing with JNS (newb questions)

[ped]

sup' guys

just registered on this forum yesterday, so spread the love
I've always wanted an 86 but never really had the chance to actually get one .. untill now. Right now i'm driving my 93' 240sx but i'm thinking of donating it to my sister since she'll get her g2 soon ( great beginer car ) RWD Bahaahhahaha
but nevertheless i've been stalking these forums for the last 3 weeks trying to learn EVERYTHING there is to know about these nifty corollas.

From various posts and people's websites i've concluded that you simple can't buy this car and drive it, most of you guys seem to have gone through hell ... restoring you cars.
couple of days ago i noticed this post with a really interesting link

----> http://driveit.clickspace.com/linkTo...000121/1188805

hypothetically if you had the money to buy a car from JNS wouldn't it end up costing about the same as restoring it ? even if it was more, i assume you'd be getting alot of the hard to get JDM parts with it...and that would make up for the price difference(at least i think so)

In one perspective i could see why people wouldn't want to import their cars because they love working on them as a hobby, but this couldn't save u alot of time and possible money ?

Basically i just need some opinions about this service JNS is offering, let me remind u again that i'm new to this forum and i could have possible overlooked something... THATS WHY I'M POSTING

btw for the record i can't spell <--- finished highschool
Just an idea .. what u guys think ...
thanks Ped

[REN69]

First of all take into account that the car is RHD, it will be a big experience when you drive it down here.

Secondly, with the car coming straight from Japan, there will probably be barely ANY rust, possibly NONE. So I think that would be a good deal for $5000.

As for insurance, not sure how much it would cost you... but you would sure pay a premium for the car being a little more costly to replace than a US/CDN model.

[wunderboy]

I think the police in Toronto would be fine'n the hell outa your ass if you had a RHD import on the street, they'd prob get you for the lower impact bumpers too... not to mention a few others I cant think of, but am sure they'd try to nabb ya with!

It would be nice to have, but not if your a younger guy, and I would miss work'n on her every other weekend...

[Voodoo.Priest]

Damn! Thats's one clean Levin. I didn't know that there was animporter that would bother bringing a car like that over here. Other wise I would have just paid $5,000 for a Tueno instead of spending $2,500 buying the car then spending another $7,500 bringing it back to absolute mint shape.

But then again I would have missed out on a lot of experiance working on my car wich in turn my prove to be worth it in the end.

But ya, if the car is as mint as it is in the photo then go for it. You will save a few thousand on repairs and in turn you can put that into mods or at least a nicer sterio then the dying stock system.


And just out of curiosity were you the guy I was talking to at Darknights? Cuz some guy aproched me and actually knew that you couldent just hop in a AE86 and it automaticly become some sort of magical drift machine. LOL! I still can't beilive I got 3 offers for my rusty roku while some guys trying to sell their souped up cars got none.

[ped]

wunderboy ----> i don't think a RHD car would be a legal problem because i see RHD cars on the road from time to time... (i'm on the road alot cause of work) and besides if you read JNS's importing information on the website they state :

" ...Vehicles manufactured for the Japanese market are built with the JDM specification, which is Right Hand Drive. You do not require a special driver's licence nor special registration to own or drive a Right Hand Drive vehicle in Canada."

of course i'll actually look into it myself but for now since i'm slightly interested i'll take their word for it ...

yeah the bumpers are something of a concern to me... alot of you guys talk about specific bumpers and how they won't pass ontatio safety inspections... i guess getting around that would require to get one from somewhere here.

Thanks for your input though
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Voodoo.Priest ----> Nope sorry, i dont' think i'm the guy you talked to at Darknights... i try to stay away from those events...
btw only drifting i ever attempted was in december ... lots of snow... and in a big empty parking lot.
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Ren69 ----> yes insurance might be difficult, but i was thinking how do they actually know it's from Japan ? since they don't actually look at your car .... maybe it's the Vin numbers ... could the vin's here and there be the same ? ( i could be totally wrong with this one )

Thanks guys

[Deep]

They were all made in JDMland, so the VIN's wouldn't be any different. One problem may be registering the car, you'd need to get it certified and saftied right? Who was the car previously registered to? I'm sure JNS can answer those questions for you.

btw, that Levin was sold to some dude in Japan. I'm not sure if it landed here and was sent back or if it never left the island.

[YsGuy]

I was told it costs an arm and a leg to import cars from Japan, so a lot of the time hey are cut in half and shipped seperately for some reason. At $4750, I'd be sure to ask a crap load of questions before buying it.

[Lafora]

if i were you, i would wait till next summer for your car purchase. keep your 240 in pristine condition, then sell it next summer.

if what i'm seeing holds course, the money you get from a 240 sale can prolly get your sister an EF civic and yourself either a AE86 or if you're lucky a miata.

[mr_sinister]

there was a guy who used to go to auto-x's in the TO area with a RHD subaru imprezza, so it is possible to register and drive a RHD car in ontario..

the other thing to consider is that fixing up an ae86 isn't just about rust. Ask around and you'll find that rust is just one potential problem. Maintenance includes everything from brakes, to engine work, to tranny problems, etc etc etc..

don't assume that just becasue it's from japan and looking all pretty that'll it'll be trouble free.

[REN69]

There's a dood up here that drives an old RHD Rolls Royce... W o W ! ! can you say rich??

[Nick]

what' wrong with your 240? i'd think that would be funner than an ae85

giving it to your sister, pfft why not sell it $$

[ped]

For those of you who care, i got an e-mail respone from JSN today... asked the guy a few questions ...:

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-- Warranty
In order to keep our operating costs as lean as possible and to offer our customers the best possible prices, we're not able to offer warranties on the used vehicles we import. Buying a JDM car puts you into the "car enthusiast" category, so there will be a little work on your part to find that mechanic shop you can trust, and one that has a good mechanic who works on Japanese or import cars.

In order to provide warranty sales, we would be forced to increase the prices of the used vehicles we sell. To give you an idea of such costs, a similar company in the U.S. offers Nissan Skylines to the U.S. market. They currently offer the R32's for $18,000 to $30,000 USD, which translates into about $24,350 to $40,600 CAD. Our indications is that the average Canadian car enthusiast is not willing to pay the higher price tag even if a warranty was attached, especially when a brand new Infiniti G35 can be purchased for just over $40,000 CAD.

Not having a warranty is not all bad news. Used vehicles in Japan are in much better condition than the same aged vehicles in North America due to the environment and limited speeds in Japan. The average 15 year old vehicle in Japan will have around 100,000 km on the odometer, which translates to about a 5 year old vehicle in North America. So these cars still have a lot of life left in them.

-- Quality of Imported Cars
In order to make sure that we import high quality cars, when we select a car through our broker or auction house, we only select vehicles that have been rated a 4 or higher out of 5. The broker and auction houses we deal with have a good and consistent method of rating used vehicles for export purposes, so we can consistently obtain vehicles of excellent quality.

-- Registration and Inspection
RHD does not cause a problem with inspection, registration, nor insurance. The out-of-province inspection requires the vehicle to meet provincial safety standards. Some provinces or cities require the vehicle to meet certain emission standards, too. Keep in mind that Japan has high emission standards, and each vehicle must pass an inspection every 2 years in Japan.

-- Parts
We have been able to acquire parts through local dealerships. We were able to provide them with a part number, and then they faxed the request to their office in Japan. The parts were here within a few weeks. We can assist in acquiring new or used parts from Japan if you want.
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personally i don't feel right not being able to get a warrenty on the car, it's kinda like you buy it before you even get a change to see it in real life... if you don't like it your stuck with it

and the whole deal about skylines costing as much as a G35 is completely retarted. If you want to buy a skyline cause your a nissan enthusiast you buy a skyline... if your a g35 enthusiast you buy a G35...

personalyl i'd take the Skyline over the G35 ... there are 2 many of those around anyways...

" Not having a warranty is not all bad news : -uhhhh most of the time it is....


opinions ?