Japanese Classics: Someone Is Doing God's Work

[S13project]

Not defending as I have seen the FreeSpirit posts and read much of what has been posted up with auction sheets, listings, and such. I will say I have purchased two cars from them. Flew up there both times on one-way ticket entirely ready to fly my mopey ass back home if I wasn't satisfied.

First purchase was a 91 SIlvia Qs factory manual, with bricks, and an aero bumper. Found a quarter size rust spot on lower rocker near pinch welds below driver door rear corner and some rust behind the passenger side mirror. Also noticed bit of glass on passenger side trunk abyss thing behind wheel well. Asked about each one and "oh we hadn't spotted that" comment each time...as if an auction would have missed that at all. Took for test drive and felt solid, although OE suspension was asking to be laid to rest quite soon. Sat down and talked. Paid $7k and drove 8hrs home. This was 6yrs ago.

Second purchase was 2yrs ago. 1994 R33 sedan with Impul aero (checked and it had the correct markings in the fiberglass) but obviously not an Impul car. Interior seats were redone in purple and black with leather or something damn close. Initially figured I would rip it out anyway so didnt care too much. Checked the car over and knew it was a driver at one point. CST coils that looked as though they had been on the car since 96 and felt like it too. Nice 18x9/18x10 Work Bersaglios with chrome peel. Fenders all rolled flat quite nicely. Those wild seats.......actually extremely well done and super comfy. Exhaust was some cheap crap that fit like crap and had been smacking the bumper for some time and was slowly burning it to over cooked. Luckily just a small area was being effected. Paint was not all same. Sure it was same "color" (maybe), but was painted at different times. Aero color didn't match up too well. Close enough to not be concerned about having it all corrected or resprayed anytime soon. Missing fuse box cover. Really.......could have been so easily dealt with while it was still in Japan and if only there was some importer that could've found one......yea no luck. Overall was settled on buying it so sat down and left content. Later down the road once night fell realized the headlights were a bit funked. Could clearly see road about 5ft from bumper. That was about it. Someone had over rotated the adjuster screws to a point that pulled out and left the headlight to bounce around to it's hearts content. Yay for long night drive.

Short version. Make sure to check the cars over in person and be ready to leave without buying before you even consider going there. It is a used car dealership. They are going to put lipstick on a pig and tell you its Ms Piggy.

Would I be happier if I could trustingly buy the car over the internet and simply have it shipped to me. Very much yes. Is that a reality that will ever come to fruition for any used car dealership. No it is NOT. Nor would I believe it if it did actually happen....ever.

Grains of salt. I am still happy with both cars and still enjoy them. Yes I would consider another car from them. Only after inspecting it in person and taking my sweet ass time. I will give them credit for dealing with me for 6hrs straight each time before signing any paperwork.

[dizzariot]

Nice. Good review, man.

As previously stated (I'm sure) I just hate how they have the snooty write-ups like you're looking at an aged bottle of fine wine versus the Carlo Rossi jug from the local mini-mart. Would this make me buy it sight unseen? Never, but it is super misleading...and done on purpose.

Thanks for sharing!

[S13project]

Yea they definitely run their descriptions through a snobbery filter. Same time 9 other shops are doing same thing so you gotta try and stand out somehow......although I would appreciate it very much if it was by offering a thorough and completely honest inspection write up on each car. Fine make it so the general public sees the snooty write-up and goes Oo and Ah. Then anyone that actually wants to know more can ask for the unbiased inspection (and it be worthy of trust).

Forgot to add that when I bought the R33 sedan I talked with one of their employees over the phone that walked around the car while I looked over previously posted photos. He gave a decent glance inspection and answered all questions I had. Even sent pictures on the spot of any issues he saw that wouldn't have been visible in the standard photos and looked over areas that would be hard to photograph, such as wheel wells and fender lips. Once I arrived to look the car over in person I checked those spots first and he gave a respectable report of what he saw and quality of what he was looking at.

So any future buyers. Do your homework on what to look for on a particular car. Ask as many questions as possible, because if they get frustrated or short with you that's immediate sign to walk away. Ask for auction reports/sheets (I was not aware of this previously and got lucky). Check the car over in person if at all possible, or get a friend to do so, or ask for them to provide a quality video of the car on a lift to see underside, hear idle from engine top exhaust, and check the tire well (if spare tire ask it to be removed for visual inspection). If they have any issues with any of that, leave.

[dizzariot]

...this thread too. I love how everyone is on that Team FreeSpirit train. Let's keep it up. Expose shady practices!

[dizzariot]

So an undoubtedly illegal S15 supposedly sold for $70k...





1. Car is illegal.

2. The seller was most likely implicated in the recent roundup of illegal cars.

3. There is no way someone would pay a premium on a car that hasn't been blacklisted YET when a fat chunk of cars were just blacklisted...

[Corbic]

Does he say he got $70k? Maybe he took $30k and ran for the hills.

[DJDANGER24]

He got what he could and ran. I hope no one paid a premium for that car, but....they probably did.

[dorkidori_s13]

Originally Posted by DJDANGER24

He got what he could and ran. I hope no one paid a premium for that car, but....they probably did.

hey just remember... a few Nissan SR20s always pull a premium a week before race wars

[tuzzio]

I wouldn't be surprised. I know someone from CT who sold their S15 last year for $45K, and it wasn't even nice. Visible rust on the quarters, etc. People are wild.

[dorkidori_s13]

S15s are gonna be damn near as expensive as R34s as there were only 34.000 made... and roughly 15k of them were Spec-Rs... aaaaaand only 4000-5000 were Spec-R Aeros. i think there were only 2000-3000 Autech S15s made.

and lets not talk about Variettas please... they are just god awful!

[dizzariot]

I still think that there is no way in hell the SpecR will fetch over $60k. It just simply isn't in the same league as the other cars that fetch more.

This guy has a history of lying, and most social media personalities loudly broadcast sale prices to simply drive the market up.

I had two SpecRs. I sold one for a small profit and the one I have now is valued at double what I paid for it...but I do not think for one second I will see $60k for it.

[Whitey13]

Bro, no one said it sold for $70k. Stop being so gullible. Everything wrong with the world today is people repeating garbage they see on social media.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by Whitey13

Bro, no one said it sold for $70k. Stop being so gullible. Everything wrong with the world today is people repeating garbage they see on social media.

Dude, please get off my dick.

If you can't read the words 'supposedly' and then the part where I said there's 'no way in hell' that it sold for that...well then maybe you just wanted to get your blood pumping on Zilvia.

The point here is that this cunt is PURPOSELY being misleading. Now, to what end? Who knows. With that recent batch of blacklisted cars it would be pretty ballsy to keep publicly posting other illegal cars AND try to push these false values, but people keep following these pages and handing over their money.

Everything wrong with the world today is people not possessing even the most basic levels of reading comprehension.

[Whitey13]

My point is you take the bait by repeating what they put out in the ether and people will see it and believe it. You don?t believe it but too many people do.

I agree the amount of purposefully misleading people in this rhd car circle jerk is astronomical. It?s like an off brand bring a trailer. Defining a car by its price like ?the $70k S15? like they do is incredibly cringeworthy. Who does that. It?s truly like they?re gaslighting the entire market.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by Whitey13

My point is you take the bait by repeating what they put out in the ether and people will see it and believe it. You don?t believe it but too many people do.

I agree the amount of purposefully misleading people in this rhd car circle jerk is astronomical. It?s like an off brand bring a trailer. Defining a car by its price like ?the $70k S15? like they do is incredibly cringeworthy. Who does that. It?s truly like they?re gaslighting the entire market.

Well (even more so now that the forums is back up) I can admit there are far less 'new' users on this forum but the whole point is to put shit here that IS ridiculous and explain why. If someone Google searches something and it bring them here at least they can sees us explaining how lame it is.

It's not taking bait. This screenshot that I uploaded via imgur in no way plays into his algorithm or gets him any further traction. Even though I'd like to believe people will read this, we're off the grid on Zilvia.

[Whitey13]

I've mentioned it before, but I don't see any way these businesses are sustainable. How will they still be around in 5 years?

I also don't know the seller of the S15 you posted, but judging by the scenery, they're part of the Connecticut clan.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by Whitey13

I've mentioned it before, but I don't see any way these businesses are sustainable. How will they still be around in 5 years?

I also don't know the seller of the S15 you posted, but judging by the scenery, they're part of the Connecticut clan.

Dude the other thing I was gonna post was Top Rank selling a 34 GTT for 5.5mil yen. They will do what they've always done: ratfuck the market on the halo cars then work their way down the product line until base models are also 5.5mil yen.

This dude (based of what I've been told) is a broker for mainly illegal car sales.

[dazed]

Toprank is no better than any of the others. They sold an AH3 BNR32 to a service member stationed overseas a couple years ago. He had a shop in Washington (U.P. Garage) go through the car and do a post-purchase inspection. They discovered it had been t-boned at one point, like baaaad. Really bad. It had been 'fixed', but the damage was still noticeably quite extensive. The poor dude paid a premium for it, and there was no mention of any accident history, and it was marketed as a low-mileage clean example. I don't think there's anyway Toprank didn't know. That, and Sean Morris seems to have a massive ego and thinks he's gods gift to the Skyline community. Just my armchair internet opinion.

[Whitey13]

Interesting, if true. Especially since he's former military himself.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by Whitey13

Interesting, if true. Especially since he's former military himself.

And what? Just because you served doesn't make you a good person.

RHD Specialties owner is a Vet as well. Not a lot of love for them.

[Persona]

Originally Posted by dazed

Toprank is no better than any of the others. They sold an AH3 BNR32 to a service member stationed overseas a couple years ago. He had a shop in Washington (U.P. Garage) go through the car and do a post-purchase inspection. They discovered it had been t-boned at one point, like baaaad. Really bad. It had been 'fixed', but the damage was still noticeably quite extensive. The poor dude paid a premium for it, and there was no mention of any accident history, and it was marketed as a low-mileage clean example. I don't think there's anyway Toprank didn't know. That, and Sean Morris seems to have a massive ego and thinks he's gods gift to the Skyline community. Just my armchair internet opinion.

Thanks - totally with you! Toprank title hopped a car to my buddy and it took 6 months and getting a lawyer involved until they finally helped fix and put the proper paperwork in place so he could title/register it.

They treated him like total crap once the check was in their hands and took advantage of him being military and having to work with them remotely.

[dazed]

https://upgarageusa.com/a/blog/hks-v-cam-23

You can scroll down for some of the damage.

[Whitey13]

Jesus that thing was clapped.

Is there more to this story? Did TopRank do anything to make it right? It says he bought another R32, where did he get that from?

[RalliartRsX]

So did JimmyO buy that black one for 70k?

[tuzzio]

Originally Posted by RalliartRsX

So did JimmyO buy that black one for 70k?

2 different cars. Jimmy bought the black one a few months back from a friend in NJ, and he had the TE's sitting around.

[reesejon]

Thank you for this thread, I was interested in this theme, sooo I think, that saved me from trouble.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by Whitey13

No x2.

Ignorant to think that I suppose, but disappointing nonetheless.

Yeah man. If you hear someone tell you they 'help service members' you need to get some second opinions lol.

Also, Whitey13 and I can debate shit without neg-rep'ing each other, but apparently someone got offended:

You're always getting butthurt over nothing

Sounds like someone got butthurt. If you actually read, you can see that our 'harsh language' was not taken personally.

People neg-rep'ing on this thread bought cars from a shitty importer. Gotta be.

[Whitey13]

No hard feelings here my dude

[Corbic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsbk_exNIgM

The sellers video had sooooo many damn red flags.

[Whitey13]

Originally Posted by Corbic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsbk_exNIgM

The sellers video had sooooo many damn red flags.

Who was the seller in this case?

Did he pay under market value? I couldn't watch the whole thing. In addition to all the red flags in the seller video, if your prices is too good to be true...