Japanese Classics: Someone Is Doing God's Work

[economix]

Originally Posted by Whitey13

I'd be scared if you didn't love it after dropping $30K on an S14!

It?s an S13, but yea, between BBS wheels, custom carbon fiber bucket seats, Nismo Differential, new turbo & all that comes with doing that proper, head work w cams....shit adds up fassssstttt LOL

[Whitey13]

Originally Posted by economix

It?s an S13, but yea, between BBS wheels, custom carbon fiber bucket seats, Nismo Differential, new turbo & all that comes with doing that proper, head work w cams....shit adds up fassssstttt LOL

Nice, nice. Be sure to make time to enjoy it.

[bigs]

LOL at people calling a car a piece of shit because it has a custom exhaust and slightly bent pinch welds.

Different strokes for different folks, but it's pretty clear that some of the people commenting in this thread drive their car to the grocery store then hold a mirror under the car to appreciate how perfect the pinch welds are.

This thread seems a bit toxic based on what type of enthusiast you are tbh. I think using common sense when buying a car is a good start.

Buyer negligence and inexperience seems to be the clear winner here.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by bigs

LOL at people calling a car a piece of shit because it has a custom exhaust and slightly bent pinch welds..

It is when you paid collectors grade money for it and the rear subframe is misaligned.

Originally Posted by bigs

Different strokes for different folks, but it's pretty clear that some of the people commenting in this thread drive their car to the grocery store then hold a mirror under the car to appreciate how perfect the pinch welds are.

When your spending $20,000+ on a S13 / S14 you damn well better be. Instead your getting a flood car with a fresh $500 maco paint job.

Originally Posted by bigs

This thread seems a bit toxic based on what type of enthusiast you are tbh. I think using common sense when buying a car is a good start.

Buyer negligence and inexperience seems to be the clear winner here.

Only toxic if your trying to flip wrecked cars and don't want informed buyers.


JC is the king of that shit. Trying to make it like their sourcing pristine tuner cars and taking HDR to death photos while asking top coin. Only thing is they are junk yard hulks with some turtle wax and creative marketing.

[bigs]

I guess my point is....after reading economix's post - do you really think he spends any extensive amount of time working on his own cars? He uses his new NIsmo diff as an excuse to inspect his subframe "wonkiness." Don't write a review if you haven't even inspected/diagnosed your own car.

Reviews like that should be taken with a big ass grain of salt.

I'm now realizing that this thread is about people who collect these cars, not drive them.

Have you bought a car from them Corbic? If not, your sensationalized opinion literally means nothing. If so, my apologies for your junkyard turtle waxed machine that you spent zero time inspecting before purchasing?

I don't know much about the company, but this thread alone is uninformed cancel culture at its finest haha. All i'm seeing so far is clueless buyers.

If you haven't bought a car from them and you're shitting on them based on the information in this thread, you're BORED. Come on guys.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by bigs

I guess my point is....after reading economix's post - do you really think he spends any extensive amount of time working on his own cars? He uses his new NIsmo diff as an excuse to inspect his subframe "wonkiness." Don't write a review if you haven't even inspected/diagnosed your own car.

Reviews like that should be taken with a big ass grain of salt.

I'm now realizing that this thread is about people who collect these cars, not drive them.

Have you bought a car from them Corbic? If not, your sensationalized opinion literally means nothing. If so, my apologies for your junkyard turtle waxed machine that you spent zero time inspecting before purchasing?

I don't know much about the company, but this thread alone is uninformed cancel culture at its finest haha. All i'm seeing so far is clueless buyers.

If you haven't bought a car from them and you're shitting on them based on the information in this thread, you're BORED. Come on guys.

You sound like you got a car from them lol.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by dizzariot

You sound like you got a car from them lol.

Exactly

Originally Posted by bigs

I guess my point is....after reading economix's post - do you really think he spends any extensive amount of time working on his own cars? He uses his new NIsmo diff as an excuse to inspect his subframe "wonkiness." Don't write a review if you haven't even inspected/diagnosed your own car.

Reviews like that should be taken with a big ass grain of salt.

One review, sure. But dozens? Actual records matching cars they are selling and seeing the auction reports and pre-repair photos and salvage history in Japan?

I've been aware of thier issues for at least seven years now. I know a guy out of Texas that got a POS from them and another guy out Michigan with the same problem.

Originally Posted by bigs

I'm now realizing that this thread is about people who collect these cars, not drive them.

I'm so sorry, it must be shocking that when someone spends $18,000 on a 4Runner or nearly $30k for a R33 and are told it's pristine that... Well it is pristine and not a rusted flood car with a Maco paint job.

Originally Posted by bigs

Have you bought a car from them Corbic?

No, because I've already heard the horror stories and don't need to be a victim to realize it sucks to be a victim.

Originally Posted by bigs

If not, your sensationalized opinion literally means nothing. If so, my apologies for your junkyard turtle waxed machine that you spent zero time inspecting before purchasing?

You are talking out of both sides of your mouth there. "they don't rip people off, but shame on you for not catching them before you got ripped off"

Originally Posted by bigs

I don't know much about the company, but this thread alone is uninformed cancel culture at its finest haha. All i'm seeing so far is clueless buyers.

Again, double speak.

If you don't know anything about them - how can you make an opinion about if my opinion is "sensationalized"?

How can you say anyone in here is uninformed if you don't know anything about JC and have never bought a car from them?

You literally have people who've bought cars from them, know people who've bought cars, run history reports, read horror stories and have also imported their own cars.

The only uninformed twat is you so far.

Additionally, your again saying "ohh they only rip off clueless people". Yeah, that's how rip offs work and the point of this thread is to help show the clueless what to look out for.

Sorry you paid $20k for a drift missile bruh.

[dorkidori_s13]

i didnt notice if it was mentioned skimming thru a lot of these posts... but did ownership of the company change hands? i remember that back in the day, Japanese Classics were held pretty high in regards to the quality of cars they imported. The original owner was a dude by the name of Chris. Hell, I even did some shirts for them ages ago. Im guessing a lot of these issues have arisen in the last 2-3 years? Or has this all been going on much longer?

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by dorkidori_s13

i didnt notice if it was mentioned skimming thru a lot of these posts... but did ownership of the company change hands? i remember that back in the day, Japanese Classics were held pretty high in regards to the quality of cars they imported. The original owner was a dude by the name of Chris. Hell, I even did some shirts for them ages ago. Im guessing a lot of these issues have arisen in the last 2-3 years? Or has this all been going on much longer?

I don't know for sure. A friend of mine (a Zilvia user, too) used to know the guy that managed JC. He said the character of the owner was less-than-honest, to put it nicely...


I'd also like to say I love how one of the consistent points of this argument is (lmao old car r old bruh' like none of us are fucking aware.

If anyone is starting their 'defense' with that, I'm not reading it. Set your standards higher.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by dizzariot

I don't know for sure. A friend of mine (a Zilvia user, too) used to know the guy that managed JC. He said the character of the owner was less-than-honest, to put it nicely...





I'd also like to say I love how one of the consistent points of this argument is (lmao old car r old bruh' like none of us are fucking aware.



If anyone is starting their 'defense' with that, I'm not reading it. Set your standards higher.

Yup

Old POS GTR and Supra - lolz

https://youtu.be/-oUC6scUutc

https://youtu.be/-i7x0ZuSbdQ

[inferno s14]

a bunch of men bitching about the conditions of a 25-30 year old car.
a cheap one at that, a japanese cheap one to add.
let me also add it wasn't even a premium car it was a silvia. smh.

i love the car, rusted, beat up, 3 colors one headlight and i will pay premium price.
i know im stupid and could do so much more with my money but i choose not to. in fact i want another one. i made piece with being dumb, but im not gonna beat myself up asking why im paying som much for piece of shit lol

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by inferno s14

a bunch of men bitching about the conditions of a 25-30 year old car.
a cheap one at that, a japanese cheap one to add.
let me also add it wasn't even a premium car it was a silvia. smh.

i love the car, rusted, beat up, 3 colors one headlight and i will pay premium price.
i know im stupid and could do so much more with my money but i choose not to. in fact i want another one. i made piece with being dumb, but im not gonna beat myself up asking why im paying som much for piece of shit lol

Hi

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/

Your attitude is why this community sucks so bad sometimes.

Rather then valuing things you continue to see them as "30 year old junk cheap throw away cars".

[bluecoupe]

I can tell you that I have bought a swap from a car bought from these guys and the engine needed a complete rebuild but alot of these old engines need them anyway.i expected to build anyway but also had to go +1 mm on piston size due to rust on cylinder wall no.3. Engine was a ca18det in a orange rhd silvia.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[economix]

As typical, you guys turned a decent thread into bickering trash. Don't reference me in your comments please, keep me out of your pissing contest.

I was here to simply provide feedback about my experience, which I can say is clearly more than what most of you offered having none yourself with JC and just spewing hearse or IG post relays. I did not provide my feedback to be ridiculed or judged by a bunch of wanna be better than you super purists. You guys continue to make Zilvia a place I choose not to visit anymore because a simply discussion turns into this sorta shit. Maybe stay on topic? Maybe don't dig at each other? IDK, but as usual, this went to shit fast.

You're welcome to reply and talk more shit, just know I won't. You've made it clear there's no real value in your discussions and therefore you have no power or value to me or anyone else reading to this point. Enjoy your circle jerking.

[Corbic]

https://youtu.be/dvWI0fXX8Co

[bigs]

Originally Posted by dizzariot

bigs, dude, I'm sorry man. If you can ignore this shit after this post, then we gotta agree to disagree. We don't have to hate each other, but I really think you telling me I'm 'sensationalizing' this shit with 'zero context' is uncalled for.

I said that to Corbic, not you.

The part in that screenshot you posted where the guy talks about how he bought the car sight unseen kinda sums up my whole point.

You and Corbic are hyper focused on clueless buyer's reviews, which begs the question...where do the good reviews from informed buyers factor into this?

I understand that not everyone buying these cars has the knowledge or capability to make an informed purchase, but is that grounds to blow this shit out of proportion? There are so many factors that need to be accounted for. I'm seeing a lot of passive reviews from people that didn't take the time to inspect something they are paying "collector" prices for. Translation - I have disposable income, the picture of that car looks nice, and i'll complain about it later once I receive it.

Thanks for your review Economix. Let us know how the shop you send your car to solves your undiagnosed subframe "wonkiness" and bent exhaust

Originally Posted by Corbic

These are real problems with big financial impacts for the kids and an over abundance of caution is always a good thing.

Welcome to 2021 Corbic. These cars aren't for kids anymore. Just accept that you're out of touch. Shit, i'm 30 and I feel out of touch. You guys crack me up.

[foxystyle]

I’ll bite. Its been a while since last posting but in hopes of educating new community members and providing amplifying information to possible buyers, here’s my 2cents.

I have visited JC a few times and attended a meet hosted by JC several years ago.
I was in search of a Honda Acty or similar Kei truck. Being JC had the closest inventory, I made the trip.
The associates were very distant and let me inspect the vehicle alone without much interruption other than offering a test drive. The Acty seemed as advertised, its more difficult to hide discrepancies with these trucks than a s13 for example. There was acceptable levels of rust in common areas, engine idled smoothly, and not much evidence of oil leaking from seals. Either the truck had been recently overhauled or maintenance handled on time. Interior was far from perfect but acceptable for my needs. Test drive lasted around 20 minutes unsupervised, everything functioned fine. IIRC asking was 8k, too high in my opinion for the condition. JC asked 25% upfront to hold the vehicle until banks opened after the holiday weekend. I continued my search elsewhere, this was mid 2018.
About 7 or so months later I made the trip to JC to look at 4 door R32 M type. Once again the staff was friendly and hands off. The body seemed straight, no sounds of bondo or apparent patch work. Paint matched the door jams and trunk and paint peeling due to age. Common rust places were acceptable, RB20 had an ever so slight lifter resonance but typical to a decent engine swap set found stateside. The test drive again was unsupervised and around 20 minutes, gears were fine and did not overheat with AC blowing in traffic. This one was hard to walk away from, but I did not trust the swapped kouki side marker/headlight, freshly painted grill and gtr hood. This halfway “upgrade” raised too many questions that JC could not answer.
On my way out I spotted a white Navan R33 4 door. Again it seemed fine until the associate moved it outside for the test drive. It began to aggressively spill gasoline from the rear right , needless to say I did not test drive. I figured either the fuel lines were rotted or tank had been recently replaced incorrectly. This solidified my decision in not purchasing at JC. Why place a vehicle in a showroom ready status when it’s clearly not? This then raises other concerning questions.
Take what you will from my experience. I am not here to bias anyone from purchasing or otherwise from JC, just adding information to the registrar for those who may be in the market. Do your research, don't be lazy. Its all to easy to ride the cancel culture trend, but in the end its your time and money wasted. 2cents.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by bigs

I said that to Corbic, not you.

The part in that screenshot you posted where the guy talks about how he bought the car sight unseen kinda sums up my whole point.

You and Corbic are hyper focused on clueless buyer's reviews, which begs the question...where do the good reviews from informed buyers factor into this?

I understand that not everyone buying these cars has the knowledge or capability to make an informed purchase, but is that grounds to blow this shit out of proportion? There are so many factors that need to be accounted for. I'm seeing a lot of passive reviews from people that didn't take the time to inspect something they are paying "collector" prices for. Translation - I have disposable income, the picture of that car looks nice, and i'll complain about it later once I receive it.

Thanks for your review Economix. Let us know how the shop you send your car to solves your undiagnosed subframe "wonkiness" and bent exhaust



Welcome to 2021 Corbic. These cars aren't for kids anymore. Just accept that you're out of touch. Shit, i'm 30 and I feel out of touch. You guys crack me up.

I see your point 100%. I am not blind to the buyer's blurb about purchasing anyway, but again the fluids, the cracks...things that were specifically said to have been taken care of...that's the takeaway.

Originally Posted by foxystyle

Do your research, don't be lazy. Its all to easy to ride the cancel culture trend, but in the end its your time and money wasted. 2cents.

This post helps people do their research. Funny, Honda Acty's are like sub $1000 here, unless you want a classic one.

[bigs]

Originally Posted by foxystyle

Take what you will from my experience. I am not here to bias anyone from purchasing or otherwise from JC, just adding information to the registrar for those who may be in the market. Do your research, don't be lazy. Its all to easy to ride the cancel culture trend, but in the end its your time and money wasted.

Thanks for posting. Good first hand account of dealing with JC.

[Corbic]

[Corbic]

Another great UTG video.

https://youtu.be/I-XYgwI4Zqs

Gas tank issue is very true.

[zero.counter]

Great info in this thread! Info is much appreciated as I was curious about JC

[ABM423x]

its great seeing this because JC is located very close to me , and i have a friend that has purchased several of their vehicles. hasnt had many problems with them, and the quality of each was better than most importers that i have seen

[dizzariot]

So uh, anyone still out here defending this shit? The stuff in my feed has been pretty terrible. I suppose it's my algorithm, but shit....

[Whitey13]

No need to go seeking out drama my man. Use that energy elsewhere.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by Whitey13

No need to go seeking out drama my man. Use that energy elsewhere.

...I really mean this when I say I don't think it's 'drama'.

More people should be talking about it. Since the last time this thread saw some action I've seen a certain YouTuber rise to prominence with his R32 and a bunch of other shops get called out.

I don't think our community protecting each other is dramatic, unless you bought a car from one of these shops *cough*.

[Whitey13]

Dizz, I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt but you talk like you’re using AIM.

If you truly have altruistic intentions then your work should be done here. If anyone read through this thread, they’ve learned they need to do their due diligence when buying a car from an importer (or anyone for that matter) and understand what they’re signing up for.

TL;DR for this thread: Buyer beware and happy hunting.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by Whitey13

Dizz, I?m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt but you talk like you?re using AIM.

If you truly have altruistic intentions then your work should be done here. If anyone read through this thread, they?ve learned they need to do their due diligence when buying a car from an importer (or anyone for that matter) and understand what they?re signing up for.

TL;DR for this thread: Buyer beware and happy hunting.

I have no idea what talking like I'm 'using AIM' is.

You're not wrong. Just wanted to see if anyone made headway or had further firsthand experiences. This thread, if serving as a warning, would have to be bumped from time to time to stay where people can see it.

[Whitey13]

Bro, there's like 6 of us left here. No one new is coming to this forum.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by Whitey13

Bro, there's like 6 of us left here. No one new is coming to this forum.

Bro, just for you I am gonna bump this shit every day. One post per day. I got you, fam.