15 Year Old GTR's
 

I started this thread to get some opinions (not for me) but for other people considering buying Nissan Skyline GTR's and importing them under the 15 year exemption.

The reason why I want this discussion is because it costs $15,000-$25,000 to get one of these GTR's into the country and I notice a very HIGH rate of turnover (i.e. for sale) within the first 6 months of ownership.

I want you to voice your opinion on why you think or know this is happening.

I will go first. Personally I believe that people are selling these cars so quickly is not because of insurance problems or because they think they can make a profit. I think the reason these cars get imported and then put up for sale so quickly is because these cars are basically being bought sight unseen (pictures from a JPN-based dealer through a Canadian middle-man is hardly due diligence) and when they arrive the new owners come to realize that even though the cars may not be rusted out they are in horrible mechanical condition, the odometers have been rolled back and there really is a lot of wear on the car. Take for instance a recent example I saw. It looked flawless in the pictures and have several modifications from the spec sheet. However, upon importation to Canada the new owner quickly realized the car was in rough shape. The paint although shiny, was blotchy, clearly not original, poorly done and had plenty of overspray, further to the usual dents and scratches some of the areas of the car were clearly not primed before paint. The wheels which were supposedly new Volks had a fair amount of curb rash. The interior although a very fashionable red carpet was in place was filthy and faded. The seats although Sparco appeared to be at least 10 years old. Finally the piece de resistance was under the hood. The guy was pumped about the modified cams, 2530 twin turbo set up, and other goodies. He said it should be 400 hp easily. No quite. The BOV's spit oil, the cams helped the car idle ridiculously rough in neutral (under 500 rpm) to the point that the car vibrated and rattled and those 2530's had obviously beaten the snot out of the compression in the car because the car dynoed at a rather unimpressive less than stock 250whp. Suffice to say the car was for sale 2 weeks after arriving in Canada.

Now I'm not saying every GTR in Canada is like this, but it seems to me that pretty much every GTR I've been introduced to has been a horrendous headache for the owner because some major parts are decripid...like the Master Cylinder for the brakes (see $2500 part) or the brakes are rotten (see the rotors are warped and flake off). etc.

What are your thoughts? Worth the "investment" for cheap speed or should you save yourself the $20,000 and finance a 350Z for the same power.

might as well buy a car over here like the 350Z u stated( at least you can see the car up front, and see what your actually buying ). also i don't think getting replacement parts for a R32 Skyline is easy in Canada probaly gotta wait weeks to get them.

Heck, I agree I think it's a ridiculous idea unless your a die-hard lover with plenty of cash. Anyway you cut it though it's not worth it to import a 15 year old car for personal use.

Post this up on GTRCanada rather than here... maybe you can get some actual answers from owners (past and present) rather than speculation from people who know nothing about it.