Gt4 Importers

[recoil]

Hi all,

I currently own a Paseo which is up for sale (on eGay) and I'm about to enter the GT4 world. I'm looking for around an M reg with as few miles as possible. Preferably a Jap import in white.

What are the best Jap import websites I can have a peek at? I'm looking to buy one within the next month.

Mucho thanks in advance :)

[recoil]

Hi all,

I currently own a Paseo which is up for sale (on eGay) and I'm about to enter the GT4 world. I'm looking for around an M reg with as few miles as possible. Preferably a Jap import in white.

What are the best Jap import websites I can have a peek at? I'm looking to buy one within the next month.

Mucho thanks in advance :)

Very helpful, thanks ;)

[Rob_A]

My personal advice would be, don't get a fresh import.

Personal preference, but you are taking a much bigger risk with a fresh import. It seems that a hell of a lot of people will get thier fresh imports, things will go wrong with them, they will spend a lot of money replacing the fig 8's, clutch, diff mounts etc. Then they will sell the car a year down the line for less than they paid, and the next person along get's a perfect car for a bargain price.

Bear in mind the timing belt/fig 8's can need replaced at around 60k, so you need to weigh up...is it worth having one with an alleged (lots of clocking going on, so beware!) mileage slightly less than this? and have 6 months to a year of driving before you need to spend lots of money on it...or is it better to get one with 10-15k more on the clock (70k total), which has had them done?

Again, I would go with the former, as these engines are good for 150k in a lot of cases.

I got my 205 after looking around a fair bit, some fresh imports, some old ones, some uk cars. Eventually I settled on an M reg one that had been imported just over a year ago, the owner had spent over 3k on replacement parts and mods, and then I picked it up for 1k less than he initially bought it for....now to me, that seems like good practice :)

In the end, it's up to you, if you have your heart set on a fresh import, that is what you are going to get, but have a good think about it first, it is a minefield.

Hope some of this has helped, sorry for rambling :)

[daktari]

Sound advice Rob. And sounds like you got yourself a bargain as well.

[recoil]

Yeah, good point you make there. I don't want to have to spend loads on it as soon as it arrives! I've actually been having a look on gt4oc.com and there's a very nice one on there going for £4250. Think that looks like a proper bargain. Only thing is I'm not a member and the guy hasn't put his phone number on there :( As soon as my money comes through I'm going to hunt down a mint one then will post some pictures up.

Just got the Paseo MOT'd today ready to sell on the weekend and all it needed was wipers and a couple of bulbs (it's been sat for 6 months). Very happy indeed, just hope the Celica will be just as good.

[Rob_A]

That is the risk you take when you buy an import, so if you arn't prepared to Shell out money straight away I suggest that you consider one that has more chance of being a good car. You don't need to pay up to join the OC, although once you get a GT4 it is highly recommended you do, I bought mine off an OC member, and didnt actually join properly untill I bought it :)

Join up, message him and get yourself a good four. The OC is one of the best places to get yourself a four, and most of the time you will get yourself one that has been looked after very well :)

I actually went over my budget when I bought mine, but I knew that it was worth it as it was a good four which had had a lot of work done on it, and where I could have got a cheaper one, I would have ended up spending money on it. I'm still hoping my gamble paid off, guess we will see in a couple of months time :)

I guess the moral of that last paragraph is, don't buy a four purely on the sale price, make sure you look at the work that has been carried out on it, and judge how much it will need spent on it soon.

[Fizz]

Rob is spot on with his advice..

I stay away from fresh imports... once it arrives.. the first owner usually spends time and monies to fix the niggles and then once they are done its better off buiying at that point.

I just got mine on a L plate which has been in the country for 3 years with the same owner who has changed the timing belt... added a new cat 1 alarm.. brake pads and lower arm suspension.. also put on a lovely zorst at an expense...

I then paid silly monies to buy it.. :)

[Sketchy]

As everyone has said, don't just judge a car by it's mileage and how shiney it is. You need to look at it's history if any and consider what is going to need changing in the near to middle future...

Also don't take anyone's word for it that something has been done, any good well looked after car will come with a forests worth of receipts and bills.

And don't forget the smaller items like dizzy cap, ht leads, spark plugs and fuel, air & oil filters. That little lot will still set you back between £100-200, but not a lot when you think that good fuel supply and spark are key to a well performing engine.

[recoil]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm interested in a few cars on gt4oc.com and they all seem tidy enough so hopefully I should be the proud owner of one within the next few weeks :)