I Think I'm Turning Japanese

[EVLE30]

Okay, I apologize for the cheezy 80's musical reference. :p

So some of you may be familiar with this thread that I started a little while ago:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=286857

I'm starting to expand my search and I'm considering importing a low mileage E30 in excellent condition (LHD, not RHD) from Japan. Anyone on here ever done that? Or anyone have thoughts on doing that?

[freeride53]

I really thank sew

[Hick]

I've been in Japan for 3 weeks, through Hiroshima and Tokyo, have not seen a single e30. Not saying they are rare, but just a hunch

[Court M3]

I live in Japan and e30s are in abundance here if you know where to look.

[Hick]

Poop

[defaultName]

I didn't read through your other thread, but what is your budget?

Are you not able to find any good E30's in Canada or USA?

[Court M3]

Poop

Dude if you'd have hit me up last week could have met my buddies here. One has an Alpina B3 engine swap in his e30.

[EVLE30]

I really thank sew

Haha.

I've been in Japan for 3 weeks, through Hiroshima and Tokyo, have not seen a single e30. Not saying they are rare, but just a hunch

My sources tell me they do exist, and in reasonable quantities. But then again, that's just what my sources tell me.

I didn't read through your other thread, but what is your budget?

Are you not able to find any good E30's in Canada or USA?

Well, I'd be willing to spend up to around $7k-$8k, but most of my search so far has been focussed on local market, under $2k "beater cars" that may be not so pretty to look at, but are mechanically sound, as an entry into the world of the E30. I'm finding that the cars in my local market tend to be far rustier and higher in mileage than I would like, relative to sellers' asking prices. From what I've learned, I can get a low mileage (under 80,000 miles) and rust-free E30 in mint condition for around $6,000, all-in, imported from Japan. I haven't really looked much into the US market so far, but I will be investigating import requirements from the US in the near future. The Japan option is just me trying to expand my options, and get some feedback from the wise folks on R3V, as I've never imported a car from Japan before, let alone an E30.

[ADlBOO]

Don't let the low mileage part fool you into thinking the engine has less wear. Seems kind of pointless to import if its for no special reason.

[EVLE30]

Don't let the low mileage part fool you into thinking the engine has less wear. Seems kind of pointless to import if its for no special reason.

Fair enough. And good point. And thank you.

That's the kind of feedback/thoughts/comments I'm looking for...... i.e. pro's and con's of Japanese importation.

[Threehz]

If you can score a minty ride for a good price imported from Japan, go for it.

I would personally look into cars on my continent first, but I'm also not a huge fan of paperwork/dealing with government bullshit. Maybe importing from Japan to Canada is easy though?

I also support looking for a car that is located somewhere you really want to go and driving it home ;)

[coldweatherblue]

I also support looking for a car that is located somewhere you really want to go and driving it home ;)

agreed..

have you tried looking at vancouver CL? I just checked and found several late model 2-door 5speed E30s in decent shape for < $4k.

[EVLE30]

If you can score a minty ride for a good price imported from Japan, go for it.

I would personally look into cars on my continent first, but I'm also not a huge fan of paperwork/dealing with government bullshit. Maybe importing from Japan to Canada is easy though?

I also support looking for a car that is located somewhere you really want to go and driving it home ;)

The importation part would be easy, as everything would be taken care of by the auction/broker and included in the "all-in" cost I mentioned earlier. I would literally have the car show up on driveway.

agreed..

have you tried looking at vancouver CL? I just checked and found several late model 2-door 5speed E30s in decent shape for < $4k.

Thanks for that heads-up/reminder about Craigslist. I've been only using Kijiji and Autotrader for the time being, but it sounds like there are some good offerings in Vancouver through CL. And I take drives from Calgary to Vancouver all the time, just for the fun of the mountain roads. So that's definitely a good option.

I'm not saying that I've given up on North America, I just want to consider Japan as well. But having never imported a car from overseas I'm trying to do a "sanity check" thorugh the forum to see if there are any strong reasons to do it, or not do it.

[evandael]

AFAIK, Japan got a lot of nice MT2 late-models. It may be worth picking up one of those, or a Touring, or something different from what the North American market got.

[defaultName]

AFAIK, Japan got a lot of nice MT2 late-models. It may be worth picking up one of those, or a Touring, or something different from what the North American market got.

This.

There are lots of good cars in North America, you just need to be patient. And if you are willing to look in Canada and USA then I'm sure you'll find something. Even if you buy an E30 from Japan you're still going to need patience because it's going to take time to get here.

Also most Japanese E30's are auto (not sure if you car or not).

What about this car...

http://saskatoon.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1990-BMW-325is-e30-Rebuilt-Engine-All-Original-NEEDS-TO-GO-W0QQAdIdZ485515347

The guy has a thread on r3v.

Don't worry about mileage! The best E30 I've owned had nearly 400,000 kms! And I've owned 2 with 160,000 kms and they were terrible.