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Cad

scientia potentia est
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in 2018 they were.

I'm looking at Japanese used cars and Japanese imports | Goo-net Exchange Find Japanese used vehicles now for the cost (they stopped the R34 GT-R in 2002, so 2027 import date) and they are, depending on what model you want, anywhere from 100-300k US Dollars for a 2002 model, in japan, right now.


They started up the R35 line in 2007 but those aren't really as popular, but I guess you could start buying up R35s and wait til 2032 to resell them?
Why wouldn't I buy 2002 models for 2027 import?
 

Sylas

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Why wouldn't I buy 2002 models for 2027 import?
not sure if trolling but if not, then obviously the japanese resellers have caught on and have already baked in the pending import legality into the price. Doubt that 300k car is going to sell for 600k in the US.
 

Cad

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ibut for example you could buy a 95 Skyline for 15-20k in Japan in 2018 (23 years old) but the moment 2020 hit and you could legally import it they shot up to 40k in Japan, and 50k here stateside.
I was just going off of what you were saying, if you're backing off that and now saying it's priced in, then it invalidates what you said earlier, thats fine. Seemed like a good business opportunity if not.
 

Lambourne

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Sometimes it's just luck. I sold an RX-7 like a year before *that* movie showed up and they all got snapped up and destroyed by clowns. Could have easily 5x my money off of that one. Generally though, you make money trading cars, not hoarding them.

I think it's better to buy something to enjoy rather than expect to make money off. Buy near the bottom of the depreciation curve you get some fun out of it and you won't lose too much to depreciation. I still need to own a V12 car at some point and have been eyeing Ferrari 456's and DB9's for a while. Prices on them have been mostly flat for a few years now. There's definitely a market split between cars that just sit around in storage and for cars that people actually drive. You see cars with like 12k on them and also cars with 100k+.
 
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Kobayashi

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Sometimes it's just luck. I sold an RX-7 like a year before *that* movie showed up and they all got snapped up and destroyed by clowns. Could have easily 5x my money off of that one. Generally though, you make money trading cars, not hoarding them.

I think it's better to buy something to enjoy rather than expect to make money off. Buy near the bottom of the depreciation curve you get some fun out of it and you won't lose too much to depreciation. I still need to own a V12 car at some point and have been eyeing Ferrari 456's and DB9's for a while. Prices on them have been mostly flat for a few years now. There's definitely a market split between cars that just sit around in storage and for cars that people actually drive. You see cars with like 12k on them and also cars with 100k+.
How about a W12? You can pick up one of these babies for 20kish or less right now!

And then spend 20kish on repairs most likely...

 
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Lambourne

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How about a W12? You can pick up one of these babies for 20kish or less right now!

And then spend 20kish on repairs most likely...


Was never a real fan of the VR series engines (I've driven the 5 and 6 cylinder version), I think it's complicated for what it is. I do like the design of some of the Bentleys it is in.

I think engine tech peaked in the 90s when they were both advanced enough to never break and give great driveability but not so advanced that you start getting into direct injection/cylinder deactivation types of CO2 optimized compromises. Also prefer stick shift or torque converter automatic, I've driven a newer Vantage with the Sportshift robotized manual and I think that transmission ruined an otherwise fantastic car.

So far, Ferrari 456 or DB9/DB7 seems to fit the bill. E31 850i maybe but I've already owned just about every BMW from that generation. I'm a fairly competent DIY mechanic as long as it doesn't involve bodywork so higher miles in and of itself isn't really a problem for me.
 

Sylas

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I was just going off of what you were saying, if you're backing off that and now saying it's priced in, then it invalidates what you said earlier, thats fine. Seemed like a good business opportunity if not.
Im not backing off shit, it used to be a good opportunity 7-10 years ago, it's not anymore. You can still double your investment by choosing less popular cars but you are limited by volume/demand.

For example I owned a 1997 Honda integra type r when I was in okinawa, it was 2k when I bought it back in 2014. It was 2k when the marine prior to me bought it in 2011. It was probably 2k when the air force guy bought it in 2008. I ended up giving it away to my buddy when I left in 2017, but could have sold it for 2k easily. That was at 20 years, still too far out from export date to really matter. My buddy turned it over 3 years out, and the guy after him i imagine probably brought it back stateside (i have no idea). That car is 22k today.
 

Sludig

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1) Buy hundreds of old tiny trucks
2) ...
3) Profit!
See a shit ton of them for sale in Oklahoma fb marketplace. Think it's one of the states it's easy to tag them vs a few states where it's impossible even if legally imported.
 

Loser Araysar

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I got a 2010 Hyundai Tucson with a 100k miles that i took to the dealer last week because tranny juice was leaking and changing gears barely made the car go forward or reverse (even when revved high)

Turns out there were some hoses that were leaking. They replaced those and filled it up with more tranny juice but the tranny is still slipping and having problems. Dealership calls me today, says I need to replace it, cost for that is $3400, in addition to the other $800 I'm already on the hook for. I bought it for $7K during covid and got a good deal, below is the current KBB value on it

1747078258471.png


What to do?

Sell it to someone for $1K as non-functioning car and go buy another used car? Or spend the additional $3400 to fix the tranny?

Apparently these Tucsons have well known tranny problems.

 

BrutulTM

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Fix it. Even if you still want to get another car, you can increase the value of it by 4-6k by spending $3k or you can keep driving it knowing it has a brand new transmission and the engine will probably last at least another 100k if not 200k. It's almost never a smart idea to sell a car that's broke down unless the repair cost is more than the repaired car is worth. I don't know why people knee-jerk want a new car rather than paying a repair bill but tons of people would rather pay $15k for another car in order to avoid a $3k repair bill. Probably because they can finance the 15k and they would actually have to come up with the $3k now.
 
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Loser Araysar

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Fix it. Even if you still want to get another car, you can increase the value of it by 4-6k by spending $3k or you can keep driving it knowing it has a brand new transmission and the engine will probably last at least another 100k if not 200k. It's almost never a smart idea to sell a car that's broke down unless the repair cost is more than the repaired car is worth. I don't know why people knee-jerk want a new car rather than paying a repair bill but tons of people would rather pay $15k for another car in order to avoid a $3k repair bill. Probably because they can finance the 15k and they would actually have to come up with the $3k now.

The last thing I want is to buy another car, but I am wary of sinking $3400 into a 15 year old car. At this point other hoses might start failing amongst other things and it could turn into an even bigger headache.

The $3400 bill is not a big issue, I just want to be more long-term thinking and make the best use of $3400 instead of finding myself dealing with other repairs in the next 1-3 years and being handcuffed with a sunk cost dilemma because I just threw $3400 at this car. I'd probably replace it with a used Civic, Corolla or CR-V
 

Control

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The last thing I want is to buy another car, but I am wary of sinking $3400 into a 15 year old car. At this point other hoses might start failing amongst other things and it could turn into an even bigger headache.

The $3400 bill is not a big issue, I just want to be more long-term thinking and make the best use of $3400 instead of finding myself dealing with other repairs in the next 1-3 years and being handcuffed with a sunk cost dilemma because I just threw $3400 at this car. I'd probably replace it with a used Civic, Corolla or CR-V
If you don't want to drive a 15yr old car, then upgrade. If you're ok driving it, then get it fixed. Even if you had to get a new engine too, you'd end up with a car with a basically new drivetrain for 10k or less. If you just want reliable transportation, you're not gonna a better deal than that by changing cars.
 

mkopec

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So an update on the 2002 ford Taurus I spoke of before. The one with no spark? The kid literally downloaded the entire engine wire schematic and went through the whole thing, testing everything, redoing grounds...etc... That was last summer. He had his buddy come with a proper diagnosing computer and still could not find WTF was wrong. So in a last ditch effort we could only surmise the only thing left wrong with the thing was the computer. So we ordered one from some web site, $250 with 2 new keys matched to it, installed it this spring and what do you know, the car is running now. Was about to junk this thing.

So in all we put about $1000 into it plus the cost of the actual car from a family member for $400. And now the kid has his car.
 
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Burns

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I got a 2010 Hyundai Tucson with a 100k miles that i took to the dealer last week because tranny juice was leaking and changing gears barely made the car go forward or reverse (even when revved high)

Turns out there were some hoses that were leaking. They replaced those and filled it up with more tranny juice but the tranny is still slipping and having problems. Dealership calls me today, says I need to replace it, cost for that is $3400, in addition to the other $800 I'm already on the hook for. I bought it for $7K during covid and got a good deal, below is the current KBB value on it

View attachment 586080

What to do?

Sell it to someone for $1K as non-functioning car and go buy another used car? Or spend the additional $3400 to fix the tranny?

Apparently these Tucsons have well known tranny problems.

First mistake was taking it to a stealership. They are probably charging at least 30% more than an independent shop. If you live in a big city you can usually find reputable shop recommendations on enthusiasts sites, although I don't know how big the Hyundai community is. If it's a decent vehicle for off-roading, there will be places where people are talking about them though. Outside of that, you can look at the local/regional reddit page for something like "Hyundai repair."

I don't know shit about Hyundai but 100k miles for an Asian car sounds pretty low for any other major mechanical. I might take the chance on it lasting until 200k w/o having another large bill but I would spend some time researching it before making that call. Again, by looking for enthusiast sites with people talking about the vehicles and how they are performing.
 

Lanx

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I don't know shit about Hyundai but 100k miles for an Asian car sounds pretty low for any other major mechanical. I might take the chance on it lasting until 200k w/o having another large bill but I would spend some time researching it before making that call. Again, by looking for enthusiast sites with people talking about the vehicles and how they are performing.
my subbie crapped out 96k, known cvt issue warranty was extended to 100k so i was literally super lucky, if it was gonna fail, that was the time. it was 3500 covered under warranty, i'm pretty much thinking i have another 100k (which i won't reach cuz even when we both use this car, last year i didn't even make 2k miles driven, i log all my self diy stuff)
 

mkopec

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CVTs are a bane to any gas engine car. Every company that uses them has had or still has problems with them. I would stay away from any car that has a CVT.
 
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Lanx

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CVTs are a bane to any gas engine car. Every company that uses them has had or still has problems with them. I would stay away from any car that has a CVT.
i had changed the cvt fluid at 70k-ish too, cvt just suck