I am thinking of buying a nissan skyline gtr-32 and was wondering what I had to make sure had been done to the car in terms of making it completely legal to drive on UK roads. The one I am looking at has been in the UK for some time but is there anything I should look out for? All I have really considered are km/h speedos and headlights being of the correct wattage! When did SVA certificates become necessary on imported cars?
teabelly
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SVA cert is only required to register the car 1st time and DVLA keep the original.As long as the car will pass the MOT that just about makes it UK road legal,rear foglight,emissions and lights dipping the correct way.
A simple converter,depending on the model can be fitted to the speedo to change the KMH to MPH.Other than that just check the car like any other.
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Thanks. That makes things much more straightforward. As it has recent MOTs then I must assume it is pretty much roadlegal :-)
teabelly
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You are a very lucky boy getting a Skyline. :-) It's one of my dream cars. Do you mind telling us how much?
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I'm a very lucky girl indeed :-) I don't know how much yet but I am aiming not to pay more than 8k for it. There are a few floating around on autotrader for 7k and the one I am looking at hasn't been used much recently, needs some tlc and I also know the climate control isn't working so I shall be bargaining hard :-)
teabelly
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Oops! My aplogies for the sex change. :-)
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Before you buy check out the various user groups on the web for information and support. They will give you all the advice you need and tell you what to look out for on your chosen model.
I have bought imported Eunos Roadsters (MX5) and Toyota Estimas and have found the specialist forums and web groups invaluable.
Type "Nissan Skyline UK" into Google and see what pops up.
Bear in mind that spares availability can be a problem for cars not officialy imported but that situation is improving with more specialist dealers importing spares as well as cars.
Remember that you can never know the history of a cheap japanese import and be prepared to pay big money for any failures. Cars like the Skyline and Mitsubishi 3000 GT make peanuts at import auctions as they are so complex and expensive to fix. Sadly there is still no such thing as a free lunch.
On the plus side the cars are generally rust-free due to the milder Japanese climate, we've seen 11 year old cars that look like new underneath, but you may need to invest in additional underseal if that's not already been done.
Don't want to put you off, just remember that the £7-8k you spend to buy will only be the start.
If you are lucky can I have a ride in it ?
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You'll have to queue for rides :-) I know it is not going to be cheap to run but I always look for cars that are going to hold their value over time or at least only depreciate slowly and are likely to be a future classic. I think the car has been in the UK for quite a few years so it has some reasonable history. I would be wary of getting one that had just been imported or buying off the boat unless it was dirt cheap eg 4k.
I have mooched around the gtr owners club site a few times but not had the patience to wade through the mountains of useful info :-)
teabelly
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I now have the car. It was imported in August 1999. The speedo is still in kmh and there is a switch for the foglight which seems to switch on one of the reversing lights! It has passed MOTs like this so the requirements must have been more relaxed then.
On the upside I paid £6500 for it which is a lot less than I was expecting :-)
teabelly
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You'll find that main dealers will be able to obtain spares for you, if not there are loads of Japanese car mags available, the most popular probably being Banzai! People say that Japanese market cars are not as good as UK spec as they wont have the rust proofing etc. I find it hard to believe that any Japanese company skimps on anything given the enviable reputation they have around the world for quality etc.
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I was told the same concerning rust proofing, but on having my import '92 GT-Four inspected prior to purchase I was assured that it was to "UK Spec" it has no rust.
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Over the last 20 years New Zealand has switched from largely European imported cars to Japanese ones. The main reason for this is the very competitive prices on used imports from Japan. There are other factors as well, such as the very good vehicle specifications and the reliability of Japanese cars. There still seems to be some feeling in Britain that European cars are more reliable than Japanese ones. This is not the experience for most New Zealand car owners. In the past, attempts were made to sell European cars such as the Sierra, Mondeo, Vectra and Golf here. The average buyer looked at the price, the specifications and the reliability figures and went across the road to one of the Japanese manufacturers. The snide comments about Japanese imports were commonplace here up to about 20 years ago, but now even the main dealers support them and even import them themselves. There are a huge number of imported Skylines, Galants, RX-7s and other very nice cars here and almost everyone is happy with their choice. Some of these provide performance in the same league as the Sierra Cosworth, at a fraction of the price.
Well done, Teabelly, and I hope you enjoy your Skyline. As the cars get more common, support will increase, and spares will be easier to source. There are already a number of clubs in UK that cater for these and similar cars.
If anyone thinks I don't fully appreciate British engineering, I do have a 1275 MK3 Mini and a Jaguar Vanden Plas H.E. as well as my Suzuki Katana and Mitsubishi Legnum (Galant estate) VR-4.
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The VR-4 was is on my short list when I need a sensible estate car ( along with the volvo t5-r) :-) The galants/legnums don't seem to be very popular over here even though I think they're a bit of a hidden gem.
Is there any truth in the rumour that Japanese cars need different specification lightbulbs to normal UK cars? I heard that if you use normal UK bulbs they fail more often than if you use the proper Japanese bulbs. This may be a quality rather than a specification issue though. It does sound like an urban myth!
teabelly
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Some of the bulbs fixings can be different but they are not hard to source,its just that Halfords might not have them on the shelf.
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Yes, in the Legnum, the headlights are H7 and H1, the front park bulbs the mini bayonets. All the indicators, tail and brake seem to be the all-glass 'wedge' bulbs. The ones I've replaced seem to be going dark inside, so they've lasted long enough to oxidise off some of the filament. The ones I got were by Narva, but good suppliers in the UK should have them. There are 4 tail bulbs and 5 brake lights counting the high-stop one, so plenty of warning to those behind.
Incidentally, anyone else have difficulty with the modern style of clear tail covers over sparkly tail/brake bulbs when the sun is behind? I remember in UK, some of the new Vauxhalls had them and it was a bit of a guessing act to see if the brake lights were on or not, especially when the sun was low and behind me. Cue the odd heart-stopping moment...
PM
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