Auction sites

[C1TPT]

Hi guys,

I'm looking at importing an s15 at the moment and will probably go with torque gt to do it. I was just wondering what auction sites you guys use? I've had a look on jpctrade and uss and there seems to be some really good deals out there! Alot of the s15's on jpctrade seem ridiculously cheap and i cant see any prices on uss.

What are grade 3.5/4 medium millage s15's going for in the auctions at the moment?

Cheers guys!!

Tom

 

[Pazz]

Okkk, where do we begin with this one.

I have never heard of jpctrade, but if its giving you prices its obviously similar to ibcjapan.

USS is one of the most popular sites, it picks up on most of the big auctions.

Out of interest, what did TorqueGT tell you?

In my oppinion you are foolish to buy an S15 in Japan, just look at the interest rate. Either buy one already in the UK or wait.

 

[C1TPT]

I have only just started talking to Torque and tristan has just showed me what is envolved with the process, we havent really spoken about money yet.

looking on ibcjapan there are 2 spec R's both with a starting price of below 400,000 yen.

I'm assuming the market report is what they think it is worth?? if so they very cheap! .... i must be wrong.

http://europe.ibcjapan.co.jp/idirect/results_extended.aspx?pagemode=results

Say i won one of them for £5000, what will be the total i have to pay all in?

Cheers guys

 

[JEZ 8553]

Most decent spec S15 Spec R's sell for about 1-1.5 million yen in the auctions. Less than that and your looking at either high mileage or accident damage grade/low grade. I personally wouldnt consider anything lower than 4 grade as 3-3.5's tend to be quite tatty.

 

[C1TPT]

ok, so those ones in the link are going to go for over 1 million as they are quite low millage and the blue one is grad 4?

Do you know how much it is for everything except the car (roughly)

Cheers

 

[Ozone]

S15 prices have gone through the floor out here.
I thought to sell mine in Japan before I came back as the exchange rate (going form JPN to UK) is very good at the moment.
One company offered me 0.4mil yen for a car that cost my 1.75mil 9 months earlier. The best offer I got was 0.95mil and that wasn't agreed - that was on the basis of it being found to be perfect after an inspection.
So exchange rate is poor but the values are much reduced compared to 6 months ago or earlier.
If you can wait hopefully the exchange rate will recover and the values remain low.
However with the government screwing everything up that day may never come...

 

[C1TPT]

That is exactly what i was banking on!!

The exchange rate is crap at the moment but if the sales of cars in japan have plumeted like they have here then it might level itself out a bit,

High exchange rate - Low car prices!

 

[Pazz]

ibcjapan had some pretty awful cars when I was looking.

Be aware that you are trusting the auction grading systems, which has been well renowed for being inconsistent. Some mark down heavily, some are very lenient.

Be aware also that grade 5 is pretty much impossible for a car as old as an S15. And I have seen 4.5's but they were usually very low mileage and as such attracted some hefty prices.

I use to know a website, similar to autotrader but in japanese, that was very useful for finding what kind of prices S15's were selling for in Japan privately. Seems I have deleted it from my favourites.

 

[Pazz]

Use the search button and read the stories of other people importing S15's. There are many hidden costs. Including ESVA.... but I think the rules are still undecided on that front.

 

[mint]

Grade 5 is New mate so an s15 wont get a 5, If it does its a lie lol.

Em, dude its a very commonly asked question tbh, And i mean there can be alot to take into consideration on importing a car. I cant understand if youv been in touch with Torque your wanting to find out how much it'll be to get it yourself.

The costs are depending on things like the Age for a start - It needs to be 2000 - back, There is no model report in the UK For a 2001 s15.
Mods, If you are importing the car over its better for it to remain relativly standard if not, your going to need to put all that back to OEM for the testing - So costs as such can add up, For example having to locate an OEM Front Bumper or such like.

I Started off importing but when it came to my own car i wanted Torque to sort it - To save the hassle and cut the costs.
Worked out for the better tbh and with the credit case atm.. its not looking good.

 

[Pazz]

Grade 5 is New mate so an s15 wont get a 5, If it does its a lie lol.

I thought you could get Grade "S"??? Which is meant to be new and 5 was "like new"???

Still I understand your point :thumbs:

 

[C1TPT]

I wont be importing it myself, i was just wondering (being impacient really) as i havent had my last email back from Torque yet because its the weekend. As for the ESVA, i was hoping that i wouldnt have to do one (10 year old rule) but i'm not sure on that because its being changed??? Just wanted a rough ball park figure of the main costs really... I think i'll give Torque a ring tomoz

Cheers

 

[JEZ 8553]

Grade 5's aren't a Myth, i saw a few low mileage (less Than 10K) 2000 reg S15's last year when looking. Grade 5 just means showroom condition.

If prices really have dropped that low then that may just offset the poor exchange rate so may still be worthwhile.

A car costing £5K in auction would probably cost around 8.5-10K OTR including ESVA, tax etc. The benefit of the constant dropping exchange rate is that you pay VAT on the value of the car on the current exchange rate that the VAT is paid.

If prices really are cheap id be inclined to look for a 30-50K grade 4/4.5 as this will offer excellent value for money.

In regards to the 10 year rule that would only apply to a car that was made in Jan - May 99 and you had it ESVA'd exactly 10 years after (including the month) so you will be very limited in the range of cars to pick from. I very much doubt the current rolling 10 year rule will be carried on over to the new importing laws in May (in fact they may scrap the current model reports making it impossible) but thats just my opinion (another loophole the government closing to recover even more tax's etc).

If you have no luck with Torque then try Charlie @ http://www.prodriftuk.com/ as he imported mine and i cant recommend him enough.

 

[C1TPT]

Ok thanks for the info mate, looks like its going to be too tricky to get a 10 year old one then oh well i'll see what Torque say then go from there!

Cheers

 

[Matt_S]

Yeh I know of people who have used Prodrift and speak very well of him.

You could always just buy mine and save yaself 4 mths

 

[C1TPT]

lol I would love your one Matt but its just out of my price range unfortunatly

 

[JEZ 8553]

Shame as ive seen Matts and can vouch for the amount of money spent on it :nod:

 

[Pazz]

lol I would love your one Matt but its just out of my price range unfortunatly

Just out of interest, what is your budget?

 

[C1TPT]

Well i'm not really sure yet lol I might be selling my car Wednesday and i've got some money coming in January, so i'll have to add it all up but unfortunatley it wont be in Matt's league! i'll be looking at one that isn't that modified and therefore a bit cheaper, but dont get me wrong if i had the money i would snap Matt's up in a second!

 

[naha_music]

Newbie here with some advice

hello, i just wanted to mention to you that if your seriously looking to have an s15 imported from japan, i might be able to help you out a bit. i'm not an importer, dealer, or anything like that. i'm just a silvia enthusiast living over here in japan. i've been big in the car scene here for awhile now, and although i am not a member of USS Auction here, i regularly attend these auctions as a 'distinguished guest'. the last auction i attended was just last week, were they had approx. 30 spec r's up for auction (i was looking for one myself, but lost my bid) the market is slowing down a bit here, so that means more cars on the lot, with less people showing up at the auctions. there were some awesome deals. anyways, if your interested, let me know and i would be more than happy to find you one. again, i'm not looking to make any money or anything, just one enthusiast wanting to help another.