The Nissan Skyline GT-R: A Dream Car Turned Nightmare
The Nissan Skyline GT-R is an all-wheel drive, turbocharged beast that has captivated car enthusiasts around the world. However, for those who have attempted to purchase one of these vehicles, the reality can be a very different story. Buyers are often taken advantage of by scammers who seek to make a quick buck, leaving them with little to no recourse once they lose their money.
In this video, we will set you up for success and explain the dangers of buying an imported JDM car in the US marketplace. The American desire to import cars that were never sold here is a relatively new trend, and it has led to a number of problems.
Following World War II, GIs who had fought in Europe had a strong desire for the nimble sportscars they saw on the continent. These cars, such as Austins, Jags, and MGs, were not manufactured by any American company at that time. To satisfy this demand, buyers would purchase these cars in Europe, have them shipped over to the United States, and then sell them for a profit.
This trend was so strong that it even inspired Chevrolet to develop the Corvette. The popularity of importing European sports cars continued well into the 1960s, with Japanese automakers starting to make an impact on the market. Prior to the gas crisis, the big three US auto producers - General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler - had a secure hold on the US market.
However, when gasoline prices skyrocketed in the early 1970s, Americans began to look for more fuel-efficient options. Japanese automakers were already ahead of the curve in terms of technology, having begun utilizing robotic manufacturing elements and integrating circuits, microprocessors, and microcontrollers into their cars in the 1970s.
This led to a significant increase in passenger car exports from Japan to the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The growth was staggering, with exports rising by over 18 times between 1965 and 1975. This surge was further fueled by the second gas crisis of the 1970s, which included gas rationing throughout the country.
As a result, Japanese automakers found themselves with an entirely new audience in the United States. The popularity of these cars continued to grow throughout the 1980s and 1990s, thanks in part to cultural forces such as video games, anime, and magazines that introduced car enthusiasts to a wide range of Japanese cars.
The term JDM - short for Japanese Domestic Market - is often misunderstood by enthusiasts who assume that it refers only to vehicles produced specifically for the Japanese market. However, this is not necessarily true. JDM simply means that the car was sold in Japan, and it could have been built anywhere else in the world. The exclusivity of certain models, however, has driven a significant interest in imported cars.
For those who are interested in purchasing a genuine JDM vehicle, getting one can be extremely difficult. Many collectors are willing to pay top dollar for these cars, but they are often scarce and hard to find. As a result, buyers must be cautious when dealing with sellers, as scammers are always looking to take advantage of unsuspecting enthusiasts.
In the next section, we will explore the dangers of buying an imported JDM car in the US marketplace and provide tips for success.
WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(car engine roaring)- It's hard to say something newabout the Nissan Skyline GT-R.This all-wheel drive,turbocharged beast is a dream carfor people all over theworld, but the reality isbuying one of these can turnthat dream into a nightmare.Hidden rust, blownengines, swapped odometers,the US marketplace for imported JDM carsis in serious trouble.Buyers are being takenadvantage of by two face sellerslooking to make a quick buck.And the worst part isonce you lose your moneythere's often nothing you can do about it.In this video, I wannaset you up for successand explain the dangers while I do it.The American urge to import carsthat were never sold here is thing new.In the year's following World War II,GIs who had fought inEurope had a real hankeringfor the nimble sportscars they saw in country.Austins, Jags, MGs, noAmerican manufacturermade anything like these.So buyers found cars in Europe,bought them for cheap,and had them shipped over.This trend was so strong,it actually inspired Chevyto develop the Corvette,but that's a story for a different video.Let's fast forward a bit.Japanese automakers had a hard timeattracting American buyers.Prior to the gas crisis, thebig three US auto producers,GM, Ford and Chrysler, had asecure hold in the US market.That started to change whengas prices skyrocketed.When Americans saw thatJapanese automakershad more fuel efficient technologyavailable in their cars,that's what they wanted, notthe gas guzzling full sizeofferings Detroit wascurrently cranking out.Japanese auto manufacturerswere already utilizingrobotic manufacturing elements,producing and installingintegrated circuits,microprocessors and micro controllersfor electronic features in the '70s.They were clearly farahead of the big threein terms of tech.Japanese passenger carexports were nearing 20%of Japan's total automobileproduction in the 1960s.The gas crisis wasboosting that even further,encouraging even moreexpansion of brands, modelsand manufacturing capacity.Pair that with the exchangerate of the Japanese Yento the US Dollar at thetime, and it's no surprisethat passenger car exportsin 1975 rose over 18 times,the 100,000 that went out in 1965.This stratosphere growthplus a second gas crisisthat included gas rationingthroughout the countryat the end of the '70s,solidified Japan's successful takeoverof the import market in the US.And as a result, Japaneseautomakers had an an entirelynew audience who are nowinterested in their cars.In the '80s and '90s, culturalforces like video games,anime and magazineswould introduce car nerdsto tons of Japanese cars theyhad never seen on their roads.And like the GIs of yester year,these fans would soonwant to have these carsthat were never sold in the US.Let's start by clearingup a common misconceptionabout the term JDM.There's a commonly held beliefthat JDM equates to aJapanese produced vehiclewhich is not necessarily true.JDM just means Japanese Domestic Market,meaning the car was sold there.A JDM car could have beenbuilt in Africa, Australia,even Italy, then sold in Japan.Heck, many USDM carsare built down in Mexicothese days for example.The popular interest in JDMcars is driven in some partdue to the exclusivity of certain modelsonly produced for salein the Japanese market.A bit of supply and demandtug of war, waring collectorswant the they can'teasily get their hands onand it is truly not easyto get a true JDM vehicle.Yes, you can very easilytype, "Buy JDM import car,"into a search box and findthousands of cars to buyright now, ask me how I know.And yes, you can easily buy them.It's importing them, makingsure they're healthy carsand then making themstreet legal in the US,that's what the tricky park.But let's say you wanna pickup this 1996 Toyota Mark IIon the cheap for $2,191,sounds like a good deal.Sure, it's got some mileage on it,but where else can youget the one and 2JZ enginetucked into a comfortableride with all wheel drive?That sounds awesome.So you have your sight set ona car and you're ready to buy,but you could be setting your upfor a much more expensive dealthan you originally thought.As was the case with KalvinMalli's import disaster.Kalvin is the owner of MalliMotorworks in Seguin, Texas.In his shop he works onall types of JDM ridesfor his customers, it makes him go fast.Last year, he tookdelivery of his dream car,an R32 Skyline GT-R.From the listing online,the car looked pretty good.The paint had been re sprayed.The seller sent Kalvin a videodemonstrating that the car ranand the car had some cool Nismo bitsthat were hard to comeby like a gauge cluster,a shift knob, and some body work.For a JDM fanatic on a budget like Kalvin,this car was perfect, butonce the car landed in the US,it became clear, it wastoo good to be true.The turbos were destroyed,the new paint was coveredup tons of Bondo and rust,and that Nismo shift knob, it was stolen.This was every importcustomer's nightmare.So how did it happen?Whether you buy a JDM carthrough a dealer in Japanor in the States, mostcars that make it herewere sold through a companycalled USS Auto Auctions.There are large auction companywith lots all over Japan.They're one of the mainhubs dealers will shop atto find cars, instead ofhunting down private sellerswith the cars they want.The problems begin with theauction's rating system.Before USS or any otherauction house buys a car,it is evaluated and then givena rating between five and R.Five is the highest rating a car can get.This is like a concourse level car,absolutely no flaws whatsoever.So, a car with four rating isgood and we'll probably haveless than 100,000kilometers on the odometer,that's probably safe.A car with a two isprobably gonna be rough.This is a low grade.R is the worst rating.We're talking about totallyrusted out, non-running carsthat you should definitely avoid.This system seems easyenough but unfortunately,it can be gamed prettyeasily as Kalvin found out.In a lengthy video he posted last year,Kalvin explained a situationin all the problems with the car.I recommend you check itout if you have the time.And if you're planning onbuying an imported car,it's pretty much mandatory.Kalvin explains thatin the listing he saw,his car was rated as a three,but in a previous listing,the car was in much worseshape and given a two.He probably wouldn't have boughtit if he saw that listing.Whoever bought the car thefirst time covered up the issueswith a fresh coat of paint,got the car reevaluatedby the auction houseand then used that ratings increaseto trick Kalvin into thinkinghe was getting a better car than he was.The rating system gets even more confusingwhen you learn that car isinvolved in very minor accidentsor just how body modificationsare automatically given an R rating.There could be a brand newcar with an aftermarket winggetting a lower rating than Kalvin's R32.There are also some JDMbuyer groups out therethat suspect foul playsaying that shady dealersare greasing the palms toget higher ratings for cars.Granted, I don't have any proof of that,so take that with a big grain of salt.It's so nebulous how can yoube sure of an R-rated carif you're not exactly surewhy got that ratings in the first place?So how can you protect yourselffrom getting ripped off?Luckily, there are someresources out therefor perspective buyers.Since most VIN checking websites in Japanare inaccessible to American buyers,outfits like Team Free Spirithave stepped in to fill the gap.They'll look into a car'shistory, including auctions,and might even see a car inperson to make sure it's legit.Their service is how Kalvin found outhis car earned that two rating.If you're not planning ongoing to Japan yourselfto check out a car, Ihighly highly recommendyou hire someone like Team Free Spirit.The problem of dealer selling crap carshas become so widespread that entire formshave become dedicatedto fighting them off.There's a group on Facebook called,"I got screwed by shady JDM dealers,"which feature a plenty of horror stories,similar to what Kalvin went through.There's also a bunch ofpositive stories as well.The group has plenty of ownerswho can give honest insightsinto dealers they've done in business withand the moderation team is super solid.I'm not gonna callanybody out on this videobut that page has noproblem letting people knowwhich dealers are legitand which are (beep).I wouldn't buy a JDM importwithout first consulting this group.So if you're consideringbuying from a dealerin the near future,do yourself a service and join this page.I apologize to the mods in advancefor blowing up your group, I'm sorry.Okay, so once you've vetted thecar, you now have to buy it.And that's probably theeasiest this process gets,but there are sometimesconversion rates to deal with.The importer we spoke to about this saidthat this is where a lot ofpeople stop and rethink, why?Because suddenly there'slists of importers,customs documents, delivery, inspection,and registration fees.You don't just drive it off a lot.And he has even seen somefake custom papers in the pastthat people try to hand off,but, I'm not gonna be all doom and gloom.Once you bought the car, founda reputable import serviceand had it imported and deliveredfor about twice the costof the vehicle itself,then you can get it on the road.And that means dealing with your local DMVor shortcut like AAA, thatcan sometimes handle it.If you get a no at yourregistration office,it's probably because they haven't seenthese documents before, youcan try a different one.It will also depend onwhich state you're inas to how difficult itis to get the place,also how expensive.Sometimes it's really worththe call around first here,find an office in your statethat's aware of how to do it.But after you do though,you can get those plateson your brand new ride,it'll all be worth it.What it all comes down tojust like any other car,is doing your homework.After talking with the importer,it feels like a lot of hassleand it can take weeks or monthsto get through the process.And that's where your midnightimpulse purchase of an importmight start to feel alittle less exciting.But that's how you keep yourself safe.There are shady people outthere who have no problemexploiting your nostalgia and enthusiasmfor these cars in pursuit of profit.They game the auction grading system,making bad cars look appealing.Red tape and corruption existson both sides of the pond.And big changes areneeded to achieve a systemthat buyers can truly trust.But in the meantime, do your researchand be willing to walk away.There are good peopleand good cars out there,you just have to ask around to find them.- Are you tired ofseeing so many junk cars,then buy this shirt and wear it every dayso junk car owners know we buy junk cars.Hi, I'm junk car Jimmy, Iwant you to gimme a call.Look at this car junk, huh.Now that's junk, yeah,best I can do is 50 bucks.So get it at donutmedia.com today.I'm junk car Jimmy,and we'll pay you a lot ofmoney for that junk car,depending on the year, though.Nothing too new, nothing tooold, it's gotta be just right.- Thanks for watchingWheelHouse this week,this was a fun one.Big thanks to KalvinMalli for chatting with mebefore this video, I'm gonnaleave a link to his videoand channel down in the description.He seems like a really cool dude.He's a small business ownerjust trying to get his dream card going.So, go support his channel,follow Donut on allsocial media @donutmedia.Follow me @nolanjsykes,be kind see you next time.
