951 on its way!

[gorfllub]

Well folks, I wasnt out of the P-car game for long. Found me a 951 in Japan.

Dark blue, 32,000KM Nice (looking!) condition.

Not a 911, but more HP than my SC!

I can't wait for it to get here. Should be here early to mid august!

WooHoo!

[61sktnbug]

congrats!

[Oracle]

Any pictures??
How did you find that car ?
Please write some story about the process..

Good luck!
-Jasper

[gorfllub]

Heh. Went by SGI yesterday. Saw my 911 sitting there. Kinda makes me all teary-eyed

[gorfllub]

I should have pics by tomorrow or tuesday.

I found a broker over in Japan. He actually used to live here, and his parents own a repair shop here in town. He is an authorized dealer over there. So he hooks me up with access to the dealer-only auctions in Japan. We look over some cars, pick ones I think looks good.

Then he checks the auction data for problems, and we weed a few out. The ones that are remaining, he goes and looks at. Then we weed a few more out based on what he sees. After that we decide on what to bid.

This is the 3rd car I bid on. 1st was a 90 BMW 850I low miles. Got outbid. 2nd was an 89 944 NA. Perfect. original. 29,000KM. Got outbid. 3rd this 951. Nice shape, although the interior is not quite as nice as the NA. Got it for a good deal though.

After bidding on the car, there are lots of costs/fees involved to get it to canada.

The broker charges 90,000JPY (Approx $1K CDN). His fee includes:
- finding cars
- checking cars
- buying the cars and paying the auction fees
- All de-registration and export documentation
- shipping to the boat and loading.
(After buying the car, this above process can take up to 2 weeks)

Then there is the boat costs, roughly another $1000.
10-14 days later its in Vancouver.

Then at customs:
3-7 days.
$500ish brokerage fee.
7% GST
6.1% duty.

Then, load it onto a train or truck (Roughly another $500) for a 7-10 day ride out to Saskatoon.

Then when its here, it gets a safety inspection. (Roughly $100)
Then any repairs must be made before licnesing if required. (This car shouldnt need much, I budget $1K for inspection and repairs)

Then , in SK, they will collect PST when the car is licensed.

Even with all the fees, I should come out with a low-milage car that should cost me roughly 25% less than the asking price os any of the other turbo's out here with 100,000+ Km on them!

And if this works out, I will search for cars for friends and whatnot.... Take a small commision....

[Rod.911S]

Good one! -- when's does it arrive?

[gorfllub]

Should be mid August Rod.

If things go well that is. I think there is a boat the end of next week. If it doesnt make that boat, it will be septemberish.

[Christien]

Just out of curiousity, oustide of the fun stuff (shopping, looking and bidding) how much time did this entire process cost you? From working out details with the broker, to setting up shipping, dealing with Canada customs, etc? I'm considering importing for my next car, just trying to get an idea how much "hassle" is involved.

Congrats on the new purchase, BTW.

Chris

[gorfllub]

Well, I havent hit the hassle point yet. So far its been smooth, but the car is still in Japan. I expect a headache at Canada Customs.

So far I have:
Shopped, looked, bid and won.

So far I have not:
- Wired funds to Japan
- Had the car shipped to dock
- Loaded car onto boat from dock.
- Transport Car to BC
-Unload car into customs
- Complete required customers paperwork.
- Paid Duty
- Paid GST
- Had car shipped to Sask, Etc.

So Far, I probably have about 15 hours all tolled put in this. Majority of which was searching for the car itself. 2nd most amount of time was trying to find an exporter in Japan that I thought I could trust. I have spent about 3 hours on the phone with Japan. Nice thing is, he calls me, so no phone bill. Crappy thing is, they are 15 hours ahead. This means most of the events occur whilst I sleep. There is only a short communication window each day, unless you are the guy who stays up till 4 am. (I certainly am not)

It is a gamble of sorts. Its odd buying a car basically sight unseen, and with no test drive or PPI. Although the broker in Japan can go look at the car, they cannot "inspect" it. All they can really do is start it..... If it comes in good shape, I got a good deal. If it comes in rough shape, I still have a lot of money to spend before I am at the price of one of these here.

Honestly, if it works out at all, I think I will turn it into a business.

Tomorrow, I wire funds to Japan. Then I basically wait I guess.....

[gorfllub]

Well, headache #1 has arrived. There was an error on the Auction Sheet, and the car decodes as an 86, not an 89 like orignally though.

Another error, Mileage is in Miles, Not KM.

My broker claims all responsibilty though, and is not sticking me with the car. He is just going to re-auction it if I dont want it. (At his loss)

I definately appreciate his taking responsibility for the incident. He is emailing pics tonight. I may still keep the car, as the price was more than fair, and I am sure I could unload it quite easily over here.

I will keep you guys updated when photo's arrive.

Till then, I am searching again!

[gorfllub]

Pics.... looks good other than a bit dirty and the goofy switch on the dash.

[Rod.911S]

Nice looker -- hope it works out.
BTW, if it arrives in August, you could pick it up in Van and go to the Porsche meet in Whistler Aug 26-28 and then drive back. I plan to leave S'toon Aug 20 and return Aug 31. See ya there?

Rod.

[gorfllub]

Would be nice. But I have eaten up all my holidays this year.

[61sktnbug]

Originally posted by Rod.911S
Nice looker -- hope it works out.
BTW, if it arrives in August, you could pick it up in Van and go to the Porsche meet in Whistler Aug 26-28 and then drive back. I plan to leave S'toon Aug 20 and return Aug 31. See ya there?

Rod.

porsche meet in whistler ? tell me more ( sorry to go off topic jer ,)

[Jeff Alton]

No sunroof, cool. There is an 88 for sale here right now that also is from Japan without a sunroof! Pricey pair of Fuchs on the back of that car!

Jeff

[Rod.911S]

Steve,
It's a PCA weekend meet at Whistler:

http://www.whistlerweekend.org/

I'm booked for the AX. Guess I'd better get me some more seat time!

Rod.

[zehnd]

Did you find out what the fancy switch was for?

Looks good. Can't wait to see it.

One other question. Why does it have US spec rear bumper?

Why not a Euro bumper? yummy

[gorfllub]

Well, the VIN indicates a car for the US market. So I guess that would explain that.

The switch, my pal in Japan says, is wired to something as a power shut off. Its like the PO parked it for extended periods of time, and this killed the power to something, as to not kill the battery while parked.

Must have some sort of draw, maybe the stereo. Doesnt concern me much, as wiring is my Forte'

Still no word on the next boat.... I should know more tonight....

[AndrewM28]

gorfllub,

If its any comfort to you, up to last year, I used to travel to Japan quite often and most of the cars I have seen are in good shape. One of my contacts there had an older Mazda but the car was in awesome shape. It was some sort of requirement imposed that they keep the cars in good mechanical order. The Japanese loves the Porsches ! (so does everyone else I guess)

Would you happen to have the website where these cars are autioned off ? My friend showed me Japanese car classified website once and there was tons of Porsches for sale. It was in Japanese and I forgot the URL.

[gorfllub]

Well, there are tons and tons, but a decent one is japanusedcar.net