Thoughts on South African cars

andy19422

Active Forum User
I always see people talking about importing cars from the US but never from South Africa and wondered why. I would have thought the bodies would be as good if not better than those from the US, the shipping cost is about the same and they are right hand drive.
 
People do import classic cars from SA but there were far more cars sold in the US. I knew someone who had an Australian 240Z.
 
As Rob says, they tend to rarely come up and be expensive when they do
 
I think it's very model/marque specific to be honest. A couple years ago my dad purchased a 1968 Fiat 124 Coupe AC which was from SA, UK models were very thin on the ground and a SA version made perfect sense due to the climate and being RHD. I am sure he could have got one from Europe but then it would have been LHD, whilst that wouldn't have been an issue as he's driven many LHD cars a RHD car just seemed an easier option.
 
Supplies from SA are limited, and not necessarily without issue. Chrisvega on here can relate the eye-watering amount of surgery that was needed to his SA import 240Z that was seemingly rust free and straight (it had a horribly repaired and hidden bang up the arse that required complete replacement of the rear panel).

Australian ones have got very pricey, and Japanese ones have been that way for some time. People opt for US imports as they are relatively plentiful and cheaper project cars can still be had to use as a blank slate for restoration, RHD conversion, etc.
 
This guy has been going for a while however I have no experience of the quality of his cars, one of a few zeds.
 
This one claims to be fully restored
 
all that glitters is not gold..

S30 are very thin on ground in SA. Most Alfa''s also more or less exported and i would say most SA sellers are now pricing their cars using UK/ US as benchmark - ie for export.

Lots of substandard repairs and poor paint Also cars from coastal areas carry rust.

Chris can probably write a whole book on SA imports :) 😀
 
I don't think he will turn out to be a messer....https://www.speedhunters.com/2019/03/the-datsun-nissan-heritage-museum-youve-never-heard-of/
That post from 2019 says he’d never consider selling any of them.. but seems 5 years on he’s changed his mind. I guess now he thinks there hit a decent value?
 
Been looking at this myself, given the paucity of uk cars & came across this video on YouTube - albeit about Alfa's (which were actually assembled there in their time) but it makes some good points.


I think buying from abroad without first hand knowledge of the car and buyer is a risky proposition.. if it looks too good to be true it probably is....
 
This guy has been going for a while however I have no experience of the quality of his cars, one of a few zeds.
I looked at this. While searching for a 240
I've got a few pics of it also
 
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