This will open old wounds, but I'm still fascinated as to why forum members are hanging onto the idea that somehow, UK cars are better than JAP imports.

 

Essentially they are the same but there is the understanding that JAP imports are -

 

Expensive to insure - True, but by how much? I was quoted £429 ish for my import and £390 ish for the same UK Car - (don't cry guys, I'm REALLY OLD!!!)

 

Need an autobox cooler - True (maybe) £200 one off payment

 

Have a FULL SEVICE HISTORY - True, but hardly any cars are still in the Nissan Service system, where you can rely on the book stamps. 300s are usually owned by enthusiasts who either DIY it or send them to the specialists like Zedworld, C&s or ZTECH. Even though these people are the best for these cars, the fact is they are still operating outside the Nissan world. (Just let it be known, I think these guys are MUCH better Zed mechanics than the over priced dimwits at Nissan} Full service history on 13 year old cars have little or no authority..you need to buy a car this old on it's condition as it is NOW.

 

So what else do UK cars have over the JAP imports. A few technical changes that make a significant change to the performance? I think not. Access to more 2nd hand spares? Most bits and pieces are interchangable. What then?

 

When newbies buy a Zed, the best thing they can do is take along a good forum member. There are plenty of people (Kirbz, Duffer, SRAE etc etc) who know SO much about the Zed. Newbies should buy cars on condition, not under the mistaken belief that UK cars are the DBs!

 

I am fully aware that people trying to sell UK cars are going to NOT like this thread. Sorry! You are welcome to email me with threats and violence :o :o

 

Chris Davies

 

chris@easystreetmusic.co.uk

This will open old wounds, but I'm still fascinated as to why forum members are hanging onto the idea that somehow, UK cars are better than JAP imports.

 

Essentially they are the same but there is the understanding that JAP imports are -

 

Expensive to insure - True, but by how much? I was quoted £429 ish for my import and £390 ish for the same UK Car - (don't cry guys, I'm REALLY OLD!!!)

 

Need an autobox cooler - True (maybe) £200 one off payment

 

Have a FULL SEVICE HISTORY - True, but hardly any cars are still in the Nissan Service system, where you can rely on the book stamps. 300s are usually owned by enthusiasts who either DIY it or send them to the specialists like Zedworld, C&s or ZTECH. Even though these people are the best for these cars, the fact is they are still operating outside the Nissan world. (Just let it be known, I think these guys are MUCH better Zed mechanics than the over priced dimwits at Nissan} Full service history on 13 year old cars have little or no authority..you need to buy a car this old on it's condition as it is NOW.

 

So what else do UK cars have over the JAP imports. A few technical changes that make a significant change to the performance? I think not. Access to more 2nd hand spares? Most bits and pieces are interchangable. What then?

 

When newbies buy a Zed, the best thing they can do is take along a good forum member. There are plenty of people (Kirbz, Duffer, SRAE etc etc) who know SO much about the Zed. Newbies should buy cars on condition, not under the mistaken belief that UK cars are the DBs!

 

I am fully aware that people trying to sell UK cars are going to NOT like this thread. Sorry! You are welcome to email me with threats and violence :o :o

 

Chris Davies

 

chris@easystreetmusic.co.uk

 

I agree with what your saying. BUT, it's easier to find out the history of a uk car by phoning one of the many companys that check for outstanding hpi or clocking etc. I used a hpi checking company before I bought my zed and found out there was still money owed on it to a lending company, not by the previous owner but the owner before that! Sorted it all out with him before I bought the car, but it could have been a nasty situation if I had not done the hpi check.

Also I notice that J spec imports all have around 55000 miles on the clock, even 14 year old ones! It looks very dodgy, I think most j spec's have been clocked. This is all my opinion, I sure someone will correct me. :)

dont forget that the JDM has some bonus features over the UK: (generally) less rust than the UK counterpart, lovely Z badge instead of Nissan cheeseburger, folding mirrors. I think all in all the pro's and cons outweigh eachother and make the UK and JDM equals :bow:

Having recently bought a UK car thinking it to be a safer bet, I would probably go for an import if I had my chance again. The amount of damage that the UK weather and salted roads has done to the underneath and sills of the car I bought will cost much much more than the saving I made on the insurance. There again it was fairly cheap. With all cars (import or not), you get what you pay for - thats the main thing to bear in mind in my opinion.

Apart from the free rust the UK car has 30% bigger radiator, bigger engine oil cooler and transmission oil coolers and a rear axle (diff) oil cooler. Theoretically all these are needed for continuous flat out running, as if you ever could, and so the JDM one cant, as if they every could that is. Also apparently a different program on the HICAS operation.

Mines ok then it has a UK spec Rad, Mocal Upgraded oil cooler, seperate autobox cooler. Its only costs about 200 quid to get a jspec to this spec.

Uk spec zeds once had THE place in the market before imports, that position has been protected by owners , the trade , insurance companies and the like for a long time and rightly so.

 

However time has closed the gap on values, technical differences such as coolers etc have become low cost upgrades now, but more importantly the body / chassis condition underneath of long term UK used zeds has now become a real issue.

 

I have recently seen a 1993 and a series two 1994 been broken for spares, both of these cars were undamaged, ran fine but the degree of sill , front panel, chassis, brake pipes and even diff casings corrossion was so high and with prices so low they were scrappers!

 

I do feel for UK owners as it looks like all UK cars will get lumped together as rust buckets when clearly there are some very good examples out ther, however it really is the same way imports have been generalised as been unreliable and less equiped when to be fair most are not.

 

I firmly believe that import cars would have suffered exactly the same fate if they had been used in the UK for as long, and will eventually succum to the corrossion worm, but given as most zeds are now second cars ( in general ) they will most likely not suffer so quickly.

 

Low mileage on import cars can look suspicious but in the main the clocks have not been tampered with, but does that really matter, when buying a 15 year old car even with low mileage it is still going to need parts replacing, anything made of rubber deteriates with time, some times worse than when in use, the propshaft support bearing is a typical example.

 

Really speaking an import now on paper looks the better deal, however there are so many poor quality imports around at used car dealers it often may seem a better bet to stay with a UK spec car for a novice, personaaly I think whatever you buy it needs checking underneath with special attention to be paid to the inner and outer sill area, wheel arches and sill return the rear brake pipes, the front panel below the radiator and the chassis rails where they turn up towards the engine.

 

 

Some examples of import cars I have seen are starting to show corrosion in the wheel arch area, typically though these cars were some of the earlier imports ( 5 or six years ago) and have been used through out the winters here.

 

I have a view that is buy what suits your situation, if you fancy an import which will generally have a few trick bits already fitted but needs some upgrading for UK use then fine, if however you do not want the concerning of upgrading take a punt on a UK spec car but be very carefull about the above points, either way they are great cars.

 

Jeff TT

as to why forum members are hanging onto the idea that somehow, UK cars are better than JAP imports.

errr which forum members do you mean? That's not a view I hold.

 

It's true to say that a UK car is probably easier to insure than a JDM but if you're alive from the neck up and get three quotes for your insurance each year (like you should) that won't be a problem especially if you check the insurance FAQ here.

 

It's also probably true to say that incompetent parts suppliers and garages might claim that JDM Zeds are a problem but again, forum membership should cure that inaccuracy. And yes, Virginia, there are some Nissan Dealers who are first class with Zeds (like Dan Perkins in Slough).

 

Would I prefer a UK Zed to my JDM? errrr possibly if I could find one as good at the same price? Do I regret buying a JDM? No. Do I think I got a better value by buying a JDM instead of a UK? Certainly at the time, the JDM prices were way below UK equivalent. So I'm happy.

 

The difference between a good UK and JDM is far less than the difference between a good clean car and one modded by a Max Power-style grunt.

My Z is a grade 5 import (the highest possible) What I would say after having a few imports is to make sure that fueling has been taken care of as in Japan normal pump fuel is 100 octane, I run a HKS fuel computer on mine and super unleaded all the time, it has been like that since import 4 years ago and is still in Outstanding mechanical and body condition.

 

Agreed Insurers still charge higher premiums for jap spec cars, there are things like smaller brakes, less stringent saftey measures on some imports, no airbags things like that.

 

Overall, my main concern is always fuelling.

I agree with what your saying. BUT, it's easier to find out the history of a uk car by phoning one of the many companys that check for outstanding hpi or clocking etc. I used a hpi checking company before I bought my zed and found out there was still money owed on it to a lending company, not by the previous owner but the owner before that! Sorted it all out with him before I bought the car, but it could have been a nasty situation if I had not done the hpi check.

Also I notice that J spec imports all have around 55000 miles on the clock, even 14 year old ones! It looks very dodgy, I think most j spec's have been clocked. This is all my opinion, I sure someone will correct me. :)

I am not sure where you get your 55,000 miles from, I have access to all of the Japanese auctions and the mileages vary greatly. there are approx 300zx's auctioned each week, many are as low as 10,000 miles whilst some are as high as 100,000 miles. But as in the Uk if you buy one with anything over 60,000 miles it is a fraction of the cost of a low miles one. Maybe you are only looking at the importers who buy the cheap ones? Also the auction houses sell these as genuine mileage, if there is an issue with the mileage being altered or suspicious it is shown as such on the auction sheet. As for HPI etc, when the car comes from Japan it has a Japanese deregistration Document which guarantees it is released from Japan. When registed in the UK an interpol check is also made. All in all you know a lot more about an import than a UK car in my opinion.

Bought my Z about a 3 months ago after looking at about 30(some UK and some JDM)

finally bought a JDM because all of the UK cars were rotten underneath.And as far as proveable service history I'd rather my car had no history at all than pay a premium for a UK car that has been serviced by the bunch of muppets also known as NISSAN MAIN DEALERS.

...UK car that has been serviced by the bunch of muppets also known as NISSAN MAIN DEALERS.

 

They're not all muppets. Yes, many are (as posted here) but there are some good ones. EG Dan Perkins in Slough who have a couple of experienced Z mechanics - they've looked after mine since 1999 and I won't let anyone else service.

 

I am very happy with some of the Z specialists here and have used them to do planned maintenance, big jobs and will do so again.

There are pros and cons for each argument, but at the end of the day a good ZX is a truly great car be it Uk spec or import.

 

It's true there are very few good UK cars left, many lost to accidents and the tin moth but they still do exist. Equally there are many rough imports, especially the latest lot coming over now filling the Autotrader pages at £3000. And they do all seem to have "56000 miles" :confused: I suspect they are clocked by the dealers once they arrive, rather than in Japan though.

 

The important thing is to buy a good ZX whatever version you go for. Me? I wouldn't mind if it were UK or import, as long as it was sound and I liked it.

 

But if there were 2 A1 condition, similar mileage etc, Zeds side by side for sale, identical but for 1 being a UK and 1 being an import; I'd chose the UK spec.

 

Richard :D

If you go for an import, be sure to get the deregistration doc's and

the auction sheet, these will have the mileage on them. Clocking

is pretty rare in japan, considered a no-no. It's the unscrupulous

uk dealers who clock them. Having the documents will verify the

mileage for you. http://www.seafordcars.wanadoo.co.uk/skylines/html/about_us/jap_auctions.htm shows how to read a jap auction sheet.

My biggest problem with imports, is the amount of second user car places that import complete trash as mentioned, they polish it up and try and sell it for a huge mark up. If you look on autotrader and the like, you can see huge amounts of imported trash under 4k mark and even many above. They were sold to these companies cheap for a reason, and basically I would never trust any of em!

 

I would never buy an import car myself, unless imported by the main stealer and all history was accounted for. I like to know where my cars have been, and who have had them.

 

Corrosion shouldn't be a problem if the UK car has been looked after, cleaned off (arches when they wash / wax it etc) and undersealed in some way each year, if you go and buy a UK Z that has rust, and hasn't been looked after underneath then tuff shit, you should have checked. Same if your Z rusts to bits underneath, you should have taken better care of it!

 

IMHO, UK spec cars are better because cheaper insurance (and yes most mainstream companies will not even touch an import), you have no idea how long Jap cars (autos in specific) have been thrashed with lower spec oil cooling. Jap cars have smaller rims (if your going stock v stock) and if your not going for stock, then it's fair to say most japs who modify rag the absolute shit out of their car. I think they have a much bigger street racing culture than us and track racing culture. Import Z's are also hard to find with a nice leather interior, most come with the horrible tweed (sorry tweed owners! but it's true!), and again if it is stock, you have to foot the bill of a UK bumper, or have a fookin aweful fog light hanging somewhere off of it (only a minor thing I know, but how I despise bolted on fog lights!!!!!!)

 

A friend of mine bought a modified import Z with lowish mileage, the autobox went pop in two weeks of ownership.

 

This isn't to say there arnt good imports around, many people in this club have good imports, but to find one amongst the mess out there can be a bit of a mine field for the first time Z buyer.

 

I would say 1 in 10 jap cars on the market (not through the club) is probably a goodun and probably around 1 in 4 UK cars is a goodun.

its not really specific to z's, the whole drama was dreamt up to sell more UK cars instead of importing nearly identical cheaper versions from overseas, simple as that :)

 

I went UK because I was had no chance in hell of gettig insured on an import, i would have no problem driving or owning an import however

Well I bought an import and so far it's been fine. Had a couple of problems which the dealer has sorted out. The car's pretty much stock apart from a turbo timer and after market rims (which have had to be replaced by the dealer and if you've read any of my other threads you'll know why) and in generally good nick.

 

On the fog light front the rear foglight has been fitted inside the centre panel at the back between the two main lighting clusters rather than being attached below the bumper - yep, I hate bolt on fog lights too. I'm guessing this isn't normal but it probably should be because for starters it means that you actually have one as required, and it looks a lot better than the alternatives (bolt-ons).

 

OTOH I did pay 6k so I'm expecting it to be spot on in most respects. If not :smash: :smash: :smash: that's what the warranty's for.