Japanese s30 & skyline vid

Cool vid
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Do they really drive that slow tho
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Haven't got the vid yet but looking through their cars they aren't worth anything! I think the ZG was £8500, I presume its a genuine one?

Might have to go shopping there one day :)
 
Careful!

Originally posted by Russ
Haven't got the vid yet but looking through their cars they aren't worth anything! I think the ZG was £8500, I presume its a genuine one?
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Er, a word of caution for you;

Unless you can read Japanese ( a mixture of Kanji, Katakana and Hiragana 'alphabets' ) then you have a very good chance of getting the wrong end of the stick when you look at a site like that of BIKO WORKS.......

For example, the prices quoted are 'basic' buy prices. There are a fair few extras on top ( usually in Japan these are dependant on the circumstances and needs of the customer ) so don't start thinking you can get one of their cars for the exact price they quote. Also factor in local transport inside Japan, shipping from Japan to UK ( never less than £600 for basic ro-ro ), import duty etc etc, and you have ( of course ) a far higher figure than the BIKO WORKS website price.

Secondly, there are NO genuine Factory ZG models for sale on their site at the moment. There are also NO genuine 432 models for sale on their site at the moment. The cars that look like ZGs, and the car that looks like a 432 ( as well as some of the cars that look like GTRs ) are actually look-alikes. There are a pair of Kanji characters after the "ZG" and "432" descriptions, and these Kanji characters are phonetically pronounced as "shi-yo". Translated into English, this means - in the case of used cars - "look" or "style".

It means that they are NOT real ZGs, GT-Rs and 432 models. By law in Japan they are not allowed to mis-describe what they are selling. REAL factory-built ZGs, GT-Rs and 432s are clearly described as such, and have prices that reflect such. Replicas and lookalikes depend very much on their execution, so have to be judged on a case-by-case basis.

A REAL Factory-built ZG in good condition is going to cost a lot more than the replicas ( try doubling the replica cost as a rough guide ), and a decent condition 432 will usually make more than £20,000 at today's exchange rates. A better one would command more like £25,000 to £28,000 ( and these ones tend to be the one's that are NOT sold by dealers.......).

Check out the prices for the KPGC110 "Ken & Mary" Skylines ( the real ones, that is ) for the way prices of rare cars in Japan are going. Upwards of £30,000 for a half decent one, and rising...........
 
Excellent reply count!

certainly helps to clarify things a bit more than babelfish can!

Obviously I have no idea of the condition of these cars either, but 10,000 (ish) for a good 432 replica still doesn't sound too ridiculous to me. Especially considering the cost to make one in this country (importing a bit at a time etc.) I also think importing is a lot easier than it is made out if you use the right people...

Having said that I'm not exactly in the market for a car at the moment, I think it best to be concentrating on the one I've got for now!
 
Originally posted by 240z
Obviously I have no idea of the condition of these cars either, but 10,000 (ish) for a good 432 replica still doesn't sound too ridiculous to me.
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Usually they are pretty solid underneath. The strict Japanese "shakken" ( equivalent of our MOT ) usually makes sure of that, but you still have to view the cars on a case-by-case basis. Buying sight unseen and uninspected is a recipe for disappointment at the very least. I'd also want to know if it came from a northern or southern area originally; Japan has not generally ever used salt on its roads in winter ( a major factor in the rot of the UK cars ) but some areas are seriously snowy in winter. I usually spend the New Year up in Sapporo, and the snow up there is incredible. Good fun, though.

I'd say that a 'replica' ( in the true sense of the word ) should be as accurate a copy as possible of the original specification of what it is replicating. In the case of the 432 'look' car on the BIKO WORKS site, this is clearly not the case. It does not have the correct ( S20 ) engine, transmission or diff. and seems to consist mainly of a black bonnet on this car ( which was a 432R feature rather than 432 anyway ).

I'd agree that importing an S30-series car from Japan would actually be a nice idea ( at least it would be a decent spec and have the steering wheel on the 'right' side ) but many people over here seem to prefer to spend about £3000 or less on a sh*tbox.

Apart from people like you, that is!
 
True, there are still people attracted to Zeds 'cos they think it's bargain basement fun !
Over here it's worse - they think they can find rust free 240s for less than 3 grand !!!
 
Thanks for the reply Count!

Still looks like an interesting market to look at, I'd like one of the early GTRs (hence my avatar) and guess you can't find them over here.

I think I'll have to find a Japanese friend who I can trust to take with me :) As 240z said, babelfish misses these points :)

Not that I'm in the market for anything this year or the next or probably the next....

That video though, yummy! Just gotta figure out how I can afford them all now :)
 
good point about a replica, I'd obviously spotted the engine, but not the other details..

I used to keep an eye on the yahoo japan auction site for an rb26 engined s30, they used to come up reasonably frequently, but I always thought the language would be too much of a barrier. Both for agreeing a deal and getting the car inspected etc. Also it turned out to be a fair bit more expensive than Australia...

I am still very taken with getting my car to look a bit more 'japanese' though i.e. overfenders, watanabe wheels, mesh grille, mirrors on the wings, when I ever get some 'spare money'.

A couple of things put me off though, drilling my arches, and ending up with a bit of a mish-mash that doesn't look quite right..

about the price, I think there afew people on this board that are finally admitting how much they actually have spent on their cars, which I think goes to show what at least they think the cars are worth to them! :)
 
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