Hello to the 240 community.

[dvps15]

First i would like to introduce myself, my name is David Pierini I am the owner and proprietor of JDM wholesalers inc. of Houston Texas. I have found a good source for RB25 and Sr20 full clips etc. I would like to gauge the interest in the Rb25 swap. Since i will be bringing in a lot of Sr20's in the coming year. And not just full clips, i can get you any piece of a slivia or skyline you need for a swap. I know there is a market for the Sr2o, but would you the enthusiast also be interested in skyline clips as well? Before I make the investment in engines and time. Also as an enthusiast I am sick of seeing people being bent over by greedy middlemen. I won’t make any promises before i can deliver actual product. And I will do my best to offer fair prices, all of my engines will be pulled from running cars not accident victims. So you see why I need to gauge interest. So please advise; thanks for your time.

D.

[jojothemonkey]

Hey I will be in Houston next weekend (or some where around there) where are you located?

[Bill Roberts]

Sounds great!

RB's are out there in plenty of 240SX's and the "market" is there at the right price. Personally, I like RB26DET and RB26DETT...but price is pumped up so much that I do not see either in my forecast...and affordability is a good reason for the SR.

I saw 5 to 6 grand on the RB26DETT and I know they cannot possably that much more than an SR....even the demand is not that huge. Demand is price driven and price is demand driven.

I think we all just want a good vaule for our dollars and good information, some form of printout of compression test.

You can establish a trend by videotaping each clip running and I bet this would really catch on. If folks are going to make larger dollars on clips..they need to bring something exclusive to the table.

I have seen folks pay less than 2000 for RB's in the past.

If you can get them to a resonable amount I am sure you will create a market for them and drive the prices down some too...unless the suppliers are jacking up the prices so high. IF you had DETT's for low 3000 dollars, some of the others getting 5, 6 and 7K would have to come back to earth.

They are completely wrecked cars with insurance paid on them...cost on them cannot be that high...but shipping is something to take into consideration.

What prices do you think you could offer?

I know everyone is in it for the buck (no joke) but some seem to be making 2 to 3 grand off of clips. A 240 clip with a KA is worth about 900 bucks actually..tops.

[dvps15]

My office is in Houston but my shop is in Freeport Texas near the bridge harbor yacht club. Do you know where that is? we are about fifty miles away from the Houston metropolitan area. We are an online and phone based business only. No show room / foot traffic. But when my first shipment of cars to be deconstructed comes in, I will do tours for serious prospective buyers. My phone number is 979-297-7371 ask for dave call after midnight central time. Or send me email at davepierini @hotmail.com I am still trying to get this business off the ground level so I can quit my other job! Right now I am thinking of selling most itesm through ebay with supiojr customer support. But the reputation of e bay only sellers is really bad, so I don’t want to start a relationship on that level.

D.

[dvps15]

Yes videotaping, would be a nice touch. I am thinking about allowing people in the Texas/ southwest area to drive the car their engine originates from! The problem with quoting prices now, is that I don’t have an inventory right now. And I am still in the middle of calculating business expenses. Also I am sick of dealing with Californian middlemen, who treat me as inferior because I don’t live in cali! So it will take longer, because I am not operating out of a west coast port. I will be using the port of Houston. But i do plan on selling the parts at the lower end of the market. But i will have an aggressive pricing system based on quality, not demand.

D.

[jojothemonkey]

No i am not to familiar with houston but I may be moving there in the next month. Yeah ebay may not be the best way to start out. Mabey after you build up a good rep with people then it might be a good route to take. Also another forum to try would be 240sx.org but they are also kinda sceptical due to someone ripping several people off. So if you may get quite abit of bs before some one will trust you over there. Video tapeing sounds like a good idea.

[dvps15]

Currently I own an Acura Legend and I am very active on Acura-Legend.com. I know all about the rip off artists that run amok on the Internet. Especially on car forums! That’s why I am out here talking to you guys way before i feel like slapping you with a sales pitch :). I know how irritating it is when an outsider comes an and is like buy my stuff, hey trust me. I am here to open a dialogue! I love the Nissan cars that we’re not allowed to own. I plan on building a r32 gts-t drift car to promote my business. If i ever get off of the ground lol. But I am a huge proponent of the JDM parts movement and away from the crap merchants like APC etc. I always told my self that the import community needed a shop in the Texas area that could get JDM parts that was here for more than making a quick buck. I am here to better the local scene and make some money to put back into my cars!

D. :)

[Bill Roberts]

Does shipping cost an arm and a leg more going through the panama canal?

It would be killer of you actually had access to a west coast port location directly...and have a trucker bring like 5 clips (maybe as many as 7) at a time. Be even nicer to own that truck!

It has been years but I at one time could get a loaded trailer from LA to New Orleans for 1000 bucks. I use to use piggyback train service. I have no idea what it cost now.

If going through the canal is not that much more..then, you got it made!

[dvps15]

well i have been talking too bax sea freight and its a flat fee. I need to go talk to the local customs agents and hope they dont try to screw me!

D.

[mbmbmb23]

I think you would really win over some customers if you made sure you included all the "goodies" (rims, coilovers, VLSD, seats, etc.) off the donor car the clip came from when possible. When pricing the clips I would try and come up with a rating scale to determine the overall quality of the clip (mileage, condition, etc.)

Too many times I've browsed a clip vendor and I would see 2 very similar clips with similar mileage, with a substantial difference in price ($2,100 vs. $2,900)....but there wasn't an explanation why the big price gap. I think posting your rating scale and the criteria you are basing the price on would give you some instant credibility.

Good luck with the shop.



-m

[dvps15]

I like the idea of rating a system, but selling those other items is a must. I need to make the importation of the entire cars from Japan worth the cost. However, I will sell those items to front clip buyers for a substantial discount. Thanks for the kind words; this is the kind of input I am looking for!

D.

[mbmbmb23]

For shipping from a California port....I wonder how many clips you could safely fit into one of those giant Ryder moving trucks?? You may have to invest in a small forklift, but...I think you could make some things happen without going through some huge freight company. I heard its like $5000 to fill a full cargo container and bring it over. You could definately stack a number of clips in there (be careful stacking Silvia clips if you intend to include the panels).





-m

[bobmeindertsma]

I know that my request might be alittle off handle but here goes.
I have been looking into buying a clip and i have browsed many websites and it seems all suppliers are in the US. Being a Canadian intrest it proves to be more difficult and much more expensive to supply in Canada. Just thought id put it out there!

[mbmbmb23]

If you are importing the entire car, you will be taking up space that 2 clips could fit into, however the customers would be able to hear them run/test drive them.... AND you'd be able to completely strip the cars and sell things that don't normally come with the clips (seats, LSD, skyline rims, etc.)...and as far as Ive seen.....Skyline extras (seats+rims) sell for a pretty penny....and so do those 1996+ 180sx seats with the special stitching (Bride seats?). Also, I think if you put a shipment of Slivia front end conversions together, ...you'd make some nice $$$ ($800-$1200 depending on quality), and you could fit a bunch of them in there.




-m

[Bill Roberts]

Dude, I see it now...he wants to import whole wrecked cars!

Killer idea.

He can chop it from the front seats forward..there is the clip..then he can sell the seats, sell the rear end, the works.

I like it already..You can make that work for you and give better deals on the clips..some of the cars can be fixed up to drivable status...I am sure he may buy some that are good to go. Unfortunantly, salvage title and offroad only but in Florida and Texas, no inspection,. You could actually start seeing nissan sunnys rolling around in that case.


A car carrrier can hold 8

Good idea...

[dvps15]

Good idea about the ryder truck, however at this time, i don’t plan on mass selling clips. I want to sell parts at a more human level. not just heres your clip; money please. That’s why I plan on importing actual working silvias and disassembling them in the USA. And then distributing them, this method guarantees working engines and quality components. you wont have to worry about messed up oil pans and missing components. Unless the shipping company messes up or user error on my part. I want to provide a higher class of service on the enthusiast level, im not doing this to get rich. Well the canada issue is a problem since export duties and a exchange rate issues, I don’t plan on shipping out of the USA. Aren’t there places in the Toronto area?

D.

[Bill Roberts]

You can ship to a number of "holding places" near the canadian boarder and then it is the new owners responsability to import the goods.

Small items will fly...engines and drivesets are another thing.


Your game plan is strong. I certainly want to see you follow through this and it seems zilvia members are welcoming you with open arms...but, other forums may not be so friendly. Their are a lot of folks that do not bring this level of quality to the playing field. They will either have to improve what they are doing or they will need to go out of buisness. We are quite ruthless of sour deals...but good deals...:boink:

[dvps15]

bill, your right on :). I will be selling driveable silvias as well at a later date!

D.

[bobmeindertsma]

Not sure about toronto?
ill have to look into it alittle further.
If you have any Canadian contacts or place i could look
that would help me.

[Bill Roberts]

Getting legal registration on those cars will be a pain in the a$$ and insurance...forget it.

They will need to be sold as some form of kit car or experimental. Some states will not allow a non DOT car on the road at all...but for the track...Ohhh La la..

Where I live, I could drive a friggin go cart down the road and no one would care.

[dvps15]

Once I have the business and expenses in order I will be doing a test run. And I will definitely let you guys at zilvia net have the first crack at the parts. I plan on having pics etc, of me driving that silvia off the boat! :cool:. But I have a long way to go, but the business plan right now seems pretty solid. Can anyone in Canada, help this guy out. Since I have no idea about the Canadian import scene.

D.

[Nissan240SX]

I have been looking into the swaps for a while now. It will still be a few years before I am actually able to afford the swap do to going to school. Hopefully you will be off the ground with your business and going strong. I hope this goes through. Man what a killer idea.

[dvps15]

;) i said driveable not legal! for the show only track only people put there. Im not motorex, and i wont... charge people like them either.

D.

[Bill Roberts]

I can almost bet that I could get street legal status for a silvia if the car is 20 years old. In Florida, all cars over 20 get antique status andthe rules change. Since a silivia is basically a 240SX in every way except the drivetrain and the right hand drive, I think it will fly. I have seen plenty of fairlady Z's running around..OLD AND NEW...with Florida liscense plates.

Someone with the right connections, a vin number could be issued without all the horse$hit of wrecking them and getting a dot pass.


$$$$$ talk. I see European cars running around here all the time...real ones.

I even saw a relatively new citron(sp) not long ago. FL plate on it.

[dvps15]

Yeah that’s true, with the similarity clause in the DOT rules, running a slivia in the usa is much easier than any kind of skyline. In Texas with kit car insurance you can practically drive anything!

D.

[Bill Roberts]

What do you think about this.

Motorex has done the testing. We know the skyline is safe.

Getting the emissions right...its been done. It can be done anytime.

They have a monopoly (against fair trade laws last time I checked to have a monopoly)

Once the car has been tested, it is tested. What is to keep someone from referring to their testing (with written permission and honorarium (illegal too I think..payola)) to get the sky legal?

I don't know much about that at all...but I feel someone sometime will convert the entire 4 wheel drive with HICAS system and sky tranny and all...to a 240 before my life is over.

Face it...we all love Skylines. 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds.

Go to Japan and you can score a nice r33 for 12G. Here 30G

I am missing something...what else does it take...and how can motorex run a monopoly?

If the car is certifyed safe...then the test is complete.

Someone get the leak sewed up where they can run a monopoly like that?

Just curious..not trying to stir something up..

[dvps15]

Well, I think they have a gentleman’s agreement right now with the import car business community. Because I m pretty sure that if a company wanted to access the DOT records and the file on motorex they could use the same info however. I went to the DOT website and I am pretty sure that Motorex has a period of exclusivity. I should check to see how long that period is. I mean they should be rewarded for their investment, I know crash testing the skyline wasn’t cheap. However a nice r33 here is more like 40+K and the r34 is crazy priced. i think they need to lower the price a little, but if they make a profit. Then its up to us to create an alternative. In order for them to be a monopoly they must first be in a competitive market. And right now they have no direct competition. If they actively went out of their way to stop the creation of a similar business then they would be a monopoly.

D.

[Bill Roberts]

My take is...


Exclusivity is a way to to stop the creation of a similar business.

That was my point.

[dvps15]

true, but have you seen their prices... lately. I think they went up!

http://www.motorex.net/m_uspricing.html

D.

[Bill Roberts]

Wow.

Grab the market, be exclusive and recoup your investments and the drive the prices up to the point where their is no business.

See it all the time.

American factorys shutting down all the time. Hard to compete with the World economic standards with all the certain rules in place and middleman grabbers and Government snipe programs taxing everything that exsist.


IF you want a sky, you have to pay sky high...and little do they realize that it will come crashing down one day...ride it while they can.

When you buy a pack of cigarettes, you are paying for the tax stamp...then they charge you sales tax (illegal double taxation).