Anyone own one on here? its top on my list for a summer car next year. Any importers here that can give me tips on what to look for at auction on them as well?
I would try to find something close to stock around 120,000km. It's hard to tell if a car was driven hard or not so just assume that the one you are getting went to the track a couple times. So expect some of the suspension bushings to be worn a bit. I got a Integra Type R and the clutch went around 160,000km. Recaro seat bolster sag is really common on the bottom of these seats. I imagine that these cars would be pretty good on fuel too. It's really fun to rev these motors really high.
Thanks for the tips. Is there any specific things to look for that are a definite deal breaker on these cars? also last I contacted William at JDM Connection he reckoned these cars would be around the $9000 range is that accurate?
I would imagine so. I see 4 in the last 3 month (grades 3.5-4.5) 440-gr4 390-gr3.5 474-gr4 727-gr4 X 1000 yen of course.
I'm surprised how high they sell for, I got my teggy for a bit cheaper. I forgot to mention that steering wheel wear is a bit common on these, some are worse then others. $9000 range, I imagine that would be in total with shipping and other costs. Also keep in mind that most aftermarket exhaust's for these cars are pretty loud, the spoon and mugen one aren't too loud, but cars with those parts will likely cost more. (But if the previous owner put mugen and spoon bits on their car that means they likely cared, or appreciated the car more) I would recommend looking through the auctions often to see whats available, and also look at what previously sold. Also if you had any questions big or small, you can either post them here, or ask William. I heard William has a pretty good reputation with his exports, and people are pretty happy with him.
Here's the link for JDM connections website: http://auc.jdmconnection.ca/ I usually use pacific coast's auction tool found here: http://auction.pacificcoastjdm.com/
Hey, that's the same one I use. Haha. You can log in as a guest for free or you can make an account. Happy searching. I have not yet driven an EK9 but I LOVE the DC2. There is a reason why they are almost twice that of a WRX with about 25% less power. Don't get me wrong. The WRX is an awesome car. The DC2 is just an amazing car. If you don't like front wheel drive cars very much, try driving one once. It is so well made, refined, communicative, light weight, and performs very well at 7/10s and higher. I imagine that the Civic is all those things in a lighter chassis and a smaller engine. Colin Chapman would be proud... And I suppose would also cry cause the Hondas don't break. Not like every Lotus on the planet.
Thanks Derek. there's a few on your auction site that interest me. I am a noob though so I don't lnow anything about the process of getting a car here.
So this thread caught my interest and i browsed through a few local ads. It seems that even examples with >130k are going for like $13-14k. Would similarly used cars go for less in Japan?
They are more expensive than the DC2 but could be had for about $6600 - $9550 for a decent condition one. The process in simple point form terms - Send deposit to exporter Select cars you are interested in Exporter translates auction sheets Select bidding price for cars you like Win the auction Get set of pictures from exporter Wait for the next boat Receive contact from import broker and pay for customs and duty (optionally, you can do this part yourself) Pick up vehicle (optionally, you can have the vehicle sent to you) Take car into a mechanic that can do "Out of Province" inspections Fix and change what he tells you to to comply (I can give advice on what that would entail but usually headlights, Daytime running lights, and in some cases markers and tires) Pass inspection and take vehicle to your insurance broker to register it Pay for the tax of registering a used vehicle and insurance All done Of course this over simplifies quite a bit but that is the basics. Whatever you don't understand or need more info on, I can help with. Many of my customers are first time buyers and can do the process without too much troubles.
Thanks a lot Derek. I'm interested in 99 spec models so ill be contacting you soon for one hopefully.
What province are you located in Zac ? There's a lot of difference in the end steps from province-province.
luckily for the EK9, the headlights are the same so if you needed them to be "DOT" then it's a easy swap from the wreckers or someone parting a car out. Also look up the Type RX as well if you're getting a 99, they are a bit better equipped.