Buying a Z straight from Japan...can it be done?
 

So I was at the dealership last Sunday just looking at the Z's while it was closed to avoid the salesmen harassing me, When a older guy came by and started talking to me about the Z and the GT-R and talked about how the dealers in Utah wont move on price, and he mentioned that he was going to be getting a GT-R from a shipping company that will travel to Japan by boat and buy it and ship it back on the boat and will be paying $74k vs $92K. I didnt really take him that serious at the time and asked what company is this? and he said there name and thought well I will Google it later, turns out I couldnt find the company. Maybe he is telling a tale, But it got me thinking though, is this something that can be done? Its got to be cheaper to do so if there is a good contact, I dont know any or have any Japanese friends, tried to find a dealer in Japan and didnt get to far, I know that the steering is on opposite side and wondering if the vehicles are readily available in the America version to sell? or only to Nissan USA? wondering if anyone has thought about this option or knows more about this? ...hey, Its just a idea:icon14:

Well I don't know if the same rules apply but I wanted to take a car from here to Greece and when I asked they said the car needed to be paid in full and then I had to wait for 6 months then I can ship it there. So maybe you can buy it there and ship it here but question is do you need to pay it off and wait 6 months?. 30k base 370z in us 62k base 370z in Greece.

Gl with the buy hope it works out for you

You can get it out of state if they won't move.... Why get a non us spec out of the country...

My plan is to buy one after summer, I have several links to dealers out of state that I have saved for cars I am eying, Still saving a bit more so that my monthly payment is lower, I was just curious if anyone had any knowledge or thought about doing this..just kinda throwing it out there, I know that I will be buying out of state, out of the country is a whole other story lol, just seeing what others know is all

The steering wheel on the wrong side isn't the "us spec" problem your need to worrie about. Bottom line is that the VINs in Japan are different than the VINs is the US. Inorder to register the car you would need a company the is certified by the DOT to bring the car to US specs. Things like type of glass, head and taillights, to even structural standards can be different. It helps that the car is sold in the US less would need to be done, but a lot still needs to be changed. Whatever you save pricewise buying the car in japan you will spend more on import and conversion charges. It's not worth it for a car that is already sold in the US. I'd only consider it on a car not sold in the US like an R34 GTR.

Was the company motorex? When I was in japan they were the only importers of GTRs. I heard they had some legal problems but I not sure.

You cannot just arbitrarily bring vehicles into the United States. There is substantial paperwork and vehicle conformity mandates before, and if it will be allowed out of port on US shores. If you went gray market the authorities eventually will catch up to you, and likely impound the vehicle.

Good info Lemers, doesn't look like a feasible option, I would think if the vehicles that are US ready would have US VINS, but idk, I thought there would be some inspections, but shipping and other stuff, Just thought I would see what people know...Company name he told me was " Rondover " but I found nothing on them..he said that they buy good from the Pines and Japan and also sell goods here to those countries and on occasion will bring back vehicles ...nice Z btw...the same one I want

Yeah SoCal I looked at that, But I wasnt planning on getting multiple cars to sell them, Just thought about seeing a option on getting a Z for a steal .I read a bit about the Gray market, but hard to find any info on new cars, lots of sites to buy used cars and numerous sites for Skylines ect

You have to realize that Nissan keeps a worldwide database of their vehicles. How will you get it serviced in the US regarding any warranty, recalls, TSBs, unless you are willing to come out of pocket or find a third-party to service it? US Nissan dealerships' will likely not wish to touch it as it will not be in their database as a North American model.

I fell your pain with the dealers in Utah. I just picked mine up last week in Pheonix. Got it from Midway Nissan. They paid for the airfare and I got it for Invoice. Just check out of state and you'll find a good deal.

Congrats on your ride Anarky, ran across a post somewhere and saw that you were getting one in Arizona, Same car I want lol, 10 or 11...what was the price before TTL? if you don't mind..and also, you paid TT in Arizona right? so they give you some kind of paper that allows you to register here? is that correct?

True, SoCal, good points, I am curious what they would retail for in Japan before taking all the other steps to have it state certified ect, My plan is getting one down the road towards the end of the year

Just to let you know. I picked up my truck in Texas without paying ttl. I brought it to SC and registered it there and paid ttl. It should work for you too if you but out of state.

A lot of guys here in So-Cali know Motorex. Unfortunately, it's a much bigger mess than it seems.

http://www.timeattackforums.com/foru...l-motorex.html

^ Worth the read. The whole situation felt like a damn 1 hour movie at least.

i need pictures with these names, it gets mighty confusing.

nontheless very interesting story. be cool to see this on a show like 48 hours or something!