Japanese Classics: Someone Is Doing God's Work
 

I stumbled upon a post on Instagram of a guy based in Japan that has access to Auction Reports. He had an Instagram Story about Japanese Classics up, and I started a conversation with him a few days ago.

I guess his IG Story gained some traction, and now a ton of customers are asking for their Auction Reports. The dealerships have full access to these reports, mind you, but more often than not try to take advantage of young buyers or say "can't get because Japan, bro" so they can cover their asses.

Most people replying are also sharing their horror stories of cars that they purchased from Japanese Classics, regardless of what their Auction Reports turned up recently.

Anyways, I thought this might be something people could post about. There's a very fine between separating hypebeast from their money for old plastic/metal and full-bore lying about the mileage, damage, and functionality of a car.

Follow team_free_spirit on Instagram for a bunch of other stories, or share yours here. My only motivation is that these cunts are driving up prices in the US and Japan by selling their 'junk cars' for a fucking premium.

https://i.imgur.com/p2cqO81.png

https://i.imgur.com/GV2Y9od.png

https://i.imgur.com/t5teE6X.png

So happy when I saw this. They looked dodgy from the get-go. Hopefully they can redeem themselves.

Have any of the people in the IG post contacted Japanese Classics after the purchase? What did Japanese Classics say?

Before cancel culture kicks in...Looks like a good combination of buyer negligence and dealer ambiguity.

Lot of information missing here to jump to any conclusion.

^^^ Go check the guy's account out. There are multiple stories of people claiming that they did, in fact, reach out to JC and were not assisted.

...this does not change the fact that they do these fancy write-ups that are contrary to the actual condition of the car.

Just sounds like any other low-rent used car dealership to me. Not sure why people are surprised that they’d buy a cheap car, slap fresh paint and wheels on it and sell it for a nice profit - that’s car flipping 101.

Who is trustworthy? I wonder at times. I have been in a car from Duncan. It was overheating the day they bought it, but that ended up actually being a super simple fix. Overall it was a decent shape Pao, not sure what they paid.

Who has the best deals? Fed legal import has decent prices, but they tend to be a little rough in the condition. probably overpriced for the condition they get, but less overpriced than the majority of other places currently. I am just curious what the best deal is. I kind of what to grab a RHD car for drifting while my s14 is down, doesn't have to be clean or anything, but I don't want to spend 15k on a beat up 20 year old car either. Any better prices these days?

we drive pieces of shit, however everybody wants our pieces of shit.
supply/demand 101, soon there will be half of the s chassis in existance and prices for the piece of shit is even going to get uglier.

time for us to fuck up the 350z like we did the 240.

IMO the 86 (FRS/BRZ) is closer to the s-chassis than the bubble z. But that?s just IMO of course.

The supply of enthusiast cars has to run out sooner than later for these dealers in the US, right?

The quality they are bringing over can only get worse and they may already be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

I can't imagine any of them have a 5 year plan at this point.

+1

I think the ZN6 GT86 has been the only car to capture the aura that was lost after the 90's. Just kind of sucks the majority of people do not really mod them well in my in my opinion.

I would say the new supra captures it exterior wise but interior not really.

It's more than 'car-flipping-101' now. Lying about mileage, rust, accidents, and all the other shit. If you consider 'flipping' making a profit on a vehicle you've purchased for less, then I guess I've done it as well. The difference? I'm forthcoming about all of the maintenance and repairs I've made to the car and I don't lie about the history that's there. To equate that to what these importers are doing is super disingenuous to ANYONE that's owned an SChassis and made a few hundred after keeping it for a while and addressing any issues.

If you consider buying a total piece of shit, covering up all problems, and flat-out lying to be 'car-flipping-101' then I don't know what to tell you, man.

*I'm sure you don't, but please don't make excuses for these dudes.

I also had them run the reports on three cars for me:

BN5 S15: Exactly as advertised by the dealer. Pleasantly surprised.

AJ4 S15: Purchased from some swanky, 'niche' car Japanese dealership (self-described) as a perfect car. They are kind of high on their own farts about how 'niche' they are...gimme a break. I've suspected a panel was resprayed on the passenger's side, and when I got the car it was misfiring and I had to replace the coilpacks. They said it was perfect, the auction sheet listed the suspected respray AND an issue with the motor. 8/10 cunts, but I've had no problems since.

1K4 S13: Bought from a dealership that has a less-than-stellar reputation here, but what they told me about the car and what was on the auction sheet add up: one owner, some repairs to the front end, original paint on the undamaged panels. I guess they're honest, at least.


My point: Out of 3 VINs this guy ran for me, only 1 Japanese seller was not 100% honest about the car. These sellers in the US could STILL ask for a reasonable mark-up for the efforts to import the car and just let the buyers know what issues are present, but they ask batshit crazy mark-ups and then lie. I, for one, would still pay a mark-up on something that was less than perfect if the seller just let me know what to watch out for.

The FRS/ BRZ/ GT86 is probably the closet to the S-Chassis, but IMO came up short in the SR20DET "bolt-on" performance aspect.

Even when the FRS/ BRZ/ GT86 gets to be sub $10K, you're still going to run into the issues of costly FA20/ FA20 turbo builds, or the now $$$ engine swap route.

As for Japanese Classics... I definitely saw the cars getting more and more suspect as the years went on (especially for what they were asking). Part of the reason why I abandoned the idea of getting a JDM 25+ y/o car.

on topic, being a local and have seen and worked on MULTIPLE cars from Japanese classics, stories of them buying auction cars and slapping some paint on them is true. I have painted and fixed rust/body work on multiple cars and the owners themselves swear to god that their JDM tight car is original paint, body etc. I have to some times slap them across the face for them to wake up and see the overspray on the carpet. Also cars that have been in accidents were not disclosed to the buyer. Again, buyer neglect, but lets face it, most of the buyers dont really know what questions to ask and what to look for in a 25 year old car unfortunately.

Semantics, I guess.

I know I'm an 'asshole' here to new, and often times dumb, people but I have never taken advantage of some newbie because they didn't ask the right questions. I guess we're arguing morals at this point.

Buyer:
"Oh hey I'm 17yrs old and buying my firs Japanese car!" Is this a good car?"

*Seller thinks, well he didn't ask if there were any accidents, and it starts and has AC, the floor is covered in rust but I mean, did this kid ask about that specifically?

Seller:
"Oh yeah. This car is totally a good car."


If you go to the dude's IG he talks about how this community has been infiltrated by greedy fucks. If you are a greedy fuck (not saying you, crzsteveo) then you can 100% support parting kids from their cash. I think that if you really thought about it, and if it were you selling said car, you'd disclose the bad information even if the seller didn't ask.

So like, you wanna do business with scammers, as long as they only scam within what they have the means to hide?

I heard stories about them years ago. They polish up auction turds and list them for a premium.

Most buyers don't even see the car in person.

Most buyers see fancy body kit, a list of mods and think they found a Japanese Diamond and don't realize irs a beat to shit drift missile with a respray and buff job.

Yep. I am not against natural inflation or traditional flipping, but the current trend of absolute MAD spending and price gouging, people hiding stuff, etc. has really turned this scene on it's head from what many of us started with.

I miss when drifting and the s-chassis community was mostly about helping each other and community. Now... more people out to do the opposite. So many of these kids take huge loans, wait a year, sell or flip, instagram $$$ pictures, get 1k likes, rinse repeat. It's crazy and has killed the market. Same with what a lot of these importers did with the cars, we destroyed not only our market, but the Japanese one as well. Complete greed. Sucks it has gotten to this point.

Lies.

These shenanigans have gone on for decades. God help you if you had ever been into classic muscle cars.

Craigslist was always a mine field of liars and scammers.

Hell, Fast and Furious is still the most accurate car movie ever - scene full of bullshiting liars pretending to know what their talking about while either steal, spending dad's money or trying to bang your sister while ratting you out...

I do. Buy wrecked car at auction/fb/tow yard/craigslist/etc that hasn't been reported to insurance -> fix damage -> sell at shady car lot in sketchy part of town for "too good to be true" price so people don't ask too many questions. I suppose having my shop next door to shops that do these things I am more privy to these practices than the average car shopper, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to knock on a quarter panel and know it's caked with filler. Used car dealers are sketchy 69% of the time. Best way to make profit.

I'm not making excuses, I'm just saying things be how they do. Sucks that they do, but the story checks out.

Selling private party is a different story. Not at all what I was talking about. :dead:

I don't consider it a lie, you have been around for a bit too.

15 years ago, the large majority of drift guys and s-chassis owners were good dudes. That's my argument, not muscle or the general "car scene", but as it relates to this bubble we are in.

There is always crappy people, then too. But generally speaking, I think the percentages have flipped mightily today. I tend not to trust anyone in this scene at first pass anymore, and 15 years ago I would have had no issues with it %99 of the time.

Just my .02 of course. Not really a measurable way to prove or disprove that.

Exactly.

Some helpful videos for people as these cars move into the collectors market.

https://youtu.be/WpOFRRsEv34

https://youtu.be/OQ9tdAv2E8o

Classic Japanese is basically the Gateway Classic Cars of the JDM Imports.

No, it's valid. 15 years ago you were also younger, dumber and there wasn't as much money to be made, so things seemed more innocent.

I do remember the mass influx of bandwagon jumpers, drift missiles, ratchet spec and drift-tax that was going on back in 2008.

My reference to Muscle Cars is that we're experiencing what that community had to deal with in the 90's and 00's.

Back in thr 80's a classic piece of iron was dirt cheap and easy to grab from some Granny in original condition. Suddenly Mid-life hit the boomers and Barret Jackson became a thing.

Prices skyrocketed and those fun trade-meets became a vipers pit as prices as everyone thought they where sitting on a retirement fund. eBay only expanded the buyer pool as everyone tried to cash in further driving prices.

We're also cursed since JDM cars have significantly lower production numbers, thinner sheet metal (rust) and higher plastic content (crack, rot). The market is a lot smaller and we won't be seeing huge companies jumping into to start making repops of every imaginable part.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f8f7ee32ad.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...90c730cfc9.jpg

Some serious BS.

Every used car dealer/auction site provides some sort of carfax or autocheck for free these days.

The fact that they will provide the auction sheet when asked certainly doesn't make them altruistic, its the absolute bare minimum they should be doing.

I'm talking with this guy still. For the record, he didn't give me free services or anything. I paid for three auction reports. Before I paid, he ran a cursory check to see if there was even a record to pay for.

Japanese Classics is reporting his IG posts in an effort to shut him up. When this guy can post a screenshot of the sniff-my-own-farts-novel description that JC puts on all the cars SIDE-BY-SIDE with the auction sheet that directly counters their claims, I fail to see how JC has a pot to piss in.

Please share your stories here as well. The $25 he charges for an auction report is money well spent, and he really believes in what he's doing to help out the community.

Ive also been noticing lately a lot of the more desirable RWD jdm cars are coming with no carpet. Is that a sign of an abandoned car or flood car? (specifically from JC)

Yup, shit boxes with moldy carpet. Juster tear it out and those idiot Yankees will thing it's a real Toegay Mountain Racer!

I'd wager 9 out of 10 importers do this as well...or don't perform due diligence to make sure it's not being done to them. Imported cars are very sketchy and it's all luck of the draw. Unless you're personally inspecting the cars yourself in Japan you never really know what's gonna show up, even with an auction sheet.

Also, pretty convenient for that dude to be dickhard about JC, one of the most popular US importers, when he sells JDM CarFax reports lol. I understand he's spreading the word to assist people who lack critical thinking skills but it's also self serving.

I purchased a 1994 180SX from Japanese Classics last year... I'm 50/50 on how I feel. I did get the price I wanted, however, upon picking it up and getting to inspect it, I could tell it was damaged at one point (likely in a light accident).

The exhaust was pushed up into the lower body and had impact damage.
The pinch welds where you lift the vehicle were beat hard af - not uncommon imho however.
The rear end is either welded or the subframe has some wonkiness to it - I haven't had a chance to really get into that but plan to with a NISMO LSD that I have.
Motor mounts were junk (replaced w Polys)

Other things that bothered me was that it had some home made exhaust on the car. So they advertised an HKS exhaust but it was juuuust the muffler and the pipe itself was carbon steel and pretty much homemade or from 'other' vehicles.

Japanese Classics claims that Virginia State Police 'inspect' the car prior to sales. If this was the case, they did a SHIT ASS JOB. That exhaust mentioned above had just 1 hanger holding it up...and it was an OPEN ENDED TURNBUCKLE (WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK!?!?)

You can see some of the build in my profile...been a while since I updated it and will do so sometime soon.

When dealing with Japanese Classics, I recommend a few things...

1. Ask for more underbody pictures then what they show
2. Give them a price and stick to your guns...they don't wan tot negotiate and I can understand because they flip these constantly so they perceivable have the upperhand. If you obtain your own financing first, this helps with leverage - I got mine Out the door lower than what they were asking for so I was somewhat pleased.
3. Make sure everything is as you expect it and if not, ask them to fix it or bounce. They're not the only ones selling JDM cars.

Now, all that said, I fucking LOVE my car, but I've also put around $18K into it since then, so I've doubled down on my build basically although many of the things I disliked are still present like the pinch welds and exhaust damage - I did swap exhausts but the 'impression' to the underside is still there (oh well).

Lots more work to do for me, but otherwise, i really enjoy it. Shop around some if you're worried, again, they ain't the only ones in the game :)

All the best, everyone.

Sounds like a typical JC Car- former Drift Missile / Wreck that was hauled out of a field and got a new coat of paint and sold for collector grade money.

Disagree. My R32 has spotless pinch welds and frame rails. Your car was a beat missile/wreck. Crushed Pinch Welds would be a "Walk-away" for me. Again, hardly worth the collector grade money JC asks.


See above. Most guys see some car with new paint, body kit and a list of JDM Parts and go "Hella yeah!!". These are all red-flags. This means this car was owned by some Japanese Fuck-Boi who beat the shit out of it and threw it away. Fresh Paint and Body-Kit means Rust, Accidents and Trashed Body.

Missing Carpet and Rear Seats? Race Car or is it a Flood Recovery?

Again, shows the dishonesty of JC. Should have been advertised as "custom exhaust or "pile of shit".

That's because JC is a bunch of lying shit-bags trying to pass off wrecked cars and deflect any blame.

State Police are going to check basic things - headlights, brake lights, turn signals, cracked windshield and Vin Match. They are not doing a pre-purchase inspection.

That's you boys at JC.

Fixed that for you. Plenty of other importers, in fact hundreds of them. It's only going to get worse with the barrel being scrapped clean overseas. JC has had a reputation of dishonesty and peddling junk for 15 years now - they won't be getting better anytime soon.

Won't disagree with most of what you posted. Pinch welds are reasonable to fix so I wasn't too upset, but it did make my 300 mile trip to see it in person a bit irritating.

As for my pricing, I actually didn't get a bad one...beat the massive 2020 hike...I see 'similar' 180SX at JC going for closer to $18K... won't say what I spent, but it's considerably less than what they ask these days.

For my 'next' JDM car, I would certainly look at a few other sellers .... still happy with her however.

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

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

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.

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


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.


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.

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.

Exactly





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.

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.

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.

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"


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.

'Cancel Culture at its finest' is what gets me.

Here's how it looks:

1.) You are a customer of theirs
2.) You are friends of theirs
3.) You have not gone to the dude's IG and seen the posts

Could be one or all of those things. Again, read the dude's IG posts. He is getting the information from a myriad of sources. He has listed multiple cases and multiple probabilities: shitty inspectors in Japan, less-than-honest sellers in Japan, and even bad inspections altogether.

My personal favorite:

"Well bro, it's Japan lmaoooo."

Nah.

If you are in the business of importing cars, you are in the business of knowing shit about the auctions and the paperwork. The fact is that they are saying they can't possibly know the history when they are asked...and yes, dude...they have been asked according to most of the buyers. Due diligence means different things to different people (I guess), but these people are asking and being lied to.

Is it on them for still buying? Yes.
Is JC still lying to customers outright? Yes.

I don't like young, dumb kids either. It's ironic to think I'm in here defending them for being naive, but wrong is wrong no matter how fucking lame your 'prey' is.

I'll spell it out simple: these shitty sellers are taking advantage of young people AND blowing up the market for the rest of us.

Shit sells in Japan long enough, the price of shit will go up.
The price of shit goes up. the price of decent goes up.
The price of decent goes up, the price of super nice cars goes up.
...and then somewhere down the line you have R34 GTRs going for ludicrous prices and everything in between.


If this isn't a concern to anyone that's still fucking around with old Japanese cars, then I don't know what to say. This thread is to tell people to steer clear, get them in the correct mindset, and stop them from buying from cats like this.

Good to know. If they're lying, that's definitely a problem. Should we all take your word for it? Do you know these "most buyers." Get them in here, let's hear their stories.

Corbic, you're all about extremes when you speak. It's either pristine or a piece of shit.

What the hell do you consider to just be....good? I'm failing to see where Japanese Classics advertises their business as a reseller of "extremely rare untouched OEM unicorn cars," and i'm curious why you're setting that bar for them?

I haven't purchased a car from them, and I haven't researched it as much as you have by the looks of it. I'm basing everything off this thread, like many other people will do. It's important to get some real information before everyone hops on the bandwagon you're trying to create through "stories." I think i've established that what makes a car nice is extremely subjective, and you seem to be at one extreme of that spectrum. Start posting some links to these horror stories, so we can come up with our own opinions on the matter.

Economix's review was beyond vague, so how many of the other stories you've heard are along the same vein?

Then who the fuck are you to question me?

?Hey bud, my names Dizzariot and I?m doing a piece for the Zilvia times. Would you be willing to come in for an interview about your Cressida??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

1.) ....dude I have state MULTIPLE TIMES that anyone here can go to the IG page to look up the stories. I'm not going to ask all these dudes to join Zilvia to post. Someone is clearly sharing their stories already.

2.) Go read their novel-length descriptions about each car, man. Tell me they aren't setting their own bar.

3.) To address everything else: please, if you want to actually judge the evidence brought against them, go look at the IG stories and see. You keeping saying this is a 'bandwagon' event or some 'storytime' I'm trying to hold for Zilvia. If you don't wanna look at the stories, then we shouldn't talk about it. It's like you missed the required reading for a class.



If you want to talk about subjective, what do you consider good business? A dealership selling a car and telling you there's rust, engine problems, and generally being 100% transparent is good business to me regardless if the questions are asked before all of that is disclosed. It's also why I've never had shit talked on me for anything I've sold here.

I'm all for playing devil's advocate, but are you really taking the stance that selling shitty cars for a premium is okay if the buyer doesn't ask questions? Or are you just trying to engage in conversation here?

LOL, you found the piece you liked, and completely ignored the rest. Andddd, any kind of conversation with you ends there. Enjoy staring at your pinch welds.

Make a thread about what people should look for when buying a used car then? Don't try to bring down a company with your impossible standards of what makes a car nice in the process. I think that's what you were calling "double speak."

I thought I was getting old...

Quit jumping to extremes. You're writing off their entire inventory as shitty cars. Have you ever been to a used car dealership? I feel like you're taking it personally, because it's a car you're passionate about.

I'd honestly be happy if both of you read what I said and didn't respond. I just want you to stop calling cars pieces of shit for no reason.

'My side' of the argument: Hey here's an IG with more than one story and varying types of chassis, this might be worth noting as a warning to potential buyers."

'bigs side' of the argument: I've read none of these stories and I'd prefer if you did not try to engage me about my opinions...in the chat section...on Zilvia.


This: Dude the older I get, yes...I am more concerned about the general state of the 'chassis community' I am a part of. I also get more and more fed up with shitty people that have proliferated when they should have never been allowed to get to where they are now. Alas, and for the thousandth time, he is not just posting about SChassis cars.

Corbic is going harder in the paint than I am, but if you're really so flustered you don't want to discuss (or even look the evidence up) then maybe posting here isn't the best move.

For the record, no one here should take this thread as the sole point of information. I listed the source, and his sources are direct customers. I'm not going to annotate every case, but the guy that runs that page is not doggedly going after just Japanese Classics because he gets stories from other sources as well. He is (was, after being threatened) trying to list all possibilities. In the case of JC, the customers confronting them are lied to and blocked even when asking simple questions.

You know, stuff you would know if you looked into it before posting here. kind of like how I did for a week before making a post about it.

Make up your own mind, please.

Why are you so eager to accept mediocrity? When you go to Apple Bees and they forget the fries do you just shrug and go "well, it's Apple Bees, should have known better"?.


I already posted two excellent videos by Tony showing how to review a classic car and red flag warnings.


Red flags on JDM cars is body kits, new paint, damaged dashes (dash covers) and piss poor fitment wheels.


Didn't realize honesty was an impossible standard. Why are you shilling for a company you admit you've never worked with, have no experience with and have never researched?


Have you ever been to a used car dealer? Have you ever realized some dealers are absolute scum and should not be trusted even if they have a good car once and a while?

This is nothing new. Every town has that one dealer you avoid. It's not just they flip the worst cars but also because they have awful customer service. In this very thread the dude said they shrugged and said "well Virginia police inspected it, not our problem" - which is horse shit.

Within the classic car community we have Gateway Classic Cars who is king of flipping garbage at extreme prices. They always fall back on either the car being a consignment or "old restoration". Garbage being spray can rebuilds, bondo specials and barely functioning being excused by "hot cam" and crap.


Again, you admit to having no experience, no research. How can you possibly say that? I'm just calling a spade a spade.

I can sit there and go over each of their cars pointing out all sorts of concerns. They are known to other importers as a joke and a scam.

Stop white knighting for those clowns.

https://youtu.be/g5_pNlBP0ys

My own experience with Japanese Classics is that they do not answer questions in writing and ignore requests for hi-res photos. Happened to me twice now with them - last month and a number of years ago. So they have been consistent with me (consistently poor)! Both times I walked away. On the recent attempt, I sent a follow-up email requesting some additional info/pics immediately after talking to Ian on the phone, and received no reply.

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?

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".

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.

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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

Good information, thanks for sharing.

Thank you for actually responding to what I said. Respect, and good points.

Done talking to you I think. It's like talking to a brick wall that was built with the finest concrete available.

You're a collector, and you're failing to realize that these cars are great machines for certain motorsports that people enjoy. You need to realize that people actually DRIVE these cars. In your mind - Anyone that takes their car to a track or does ANY modification is turning it into a piece of shit, when in reality they're bettering their driving skill and enjoying their car. You're so detached from the reality of driving and enjoying the car you own. You need to realize that some people enjoy operating their machine as much as they enjoy looking at perfect pinch welds. The fact that it happens to be an old car that is going up in value doesn't erase the enjoyment people get from using them. OPEN YOUR MIND MAN. Most people would be stoked to own Economix's "piece of shit" because they could fix it in a weekend, and enjoy the car. The alternative is looking at their bent exhaust and worn subframe bushings and kicking rocks at their ruined car.

I realize you're going to glance over everything I just said to find a section that has nothing to do with what I'm saying, so don't bother responding unless you're going to entertain the fact that you're completely ignoring the fact that not everyone buying these cars is a collector...and JC is not advertising them as collector cars. You're sensationalizing things man, recognize it and deal with it.

I'm not advocating for JC, just trying to get some actual facts going if people are going to start a thread like this. Tired of people blindly taking people's words as absolute truth when there is zero context for some of these accusations. I'd be right along side you guys, but this thread is no grounds to come anywhere near a conclusion.

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.

One thing I'd like to point out: no one is bashing anyone for buying a track car. Now we're arguing what sort of condition JC in particular seems to be advertising. Brother, they are not advertising cars as-is.

Dude you thanked me for responding to you, now can you please look at the evidence on IG? I really think that with ALL the points you're brining up, you haven't looked anything up...and you wouldn't be disagreeing so much if you saw some of this stuff. You also don't address whether you have or not. Again, it's required reading for this thread...and once more it is not just SChassics cars. Hell, there's a story about a Landcruiser that should clear things up.

EDIT:

Fuck it. I'll show you:
https://i.imgur.com/hMnyirC.png

https://i.imgur.com/nusTnlC.png

EDIT EDIT:

Here's the actual description from a 180SX in question. You can look up the bullshit on this one, too. Please note the constant reiteration that the car is all original for being 28yrs old, and the plausible deniability that they miraculously did not know the mileage as it was listed at the auction.

There's no arguing that Nissan's S chassis is one of the most versatile platforms out there. This also explains why we get requests every day for them. With its lightweight body and potent turbocharged two-liter engine, it makes for a killer combination. We try to bring in a wide variety, from bone stock to over the top. Our most recent '93 one happens to fall a bit closer to the stock than not category. For instance, the exterior has been kept pretty much all OEM since these have such an iconic look, to begin with. Super Black (KH3) is always a classic choice and looks great. Overall the paint is in good shape with only your typical little blemishes that anything 28 years old is bound to amass. The same can be said about the bodywork though you're always going to find some small door dings and things of the sort. The previous owner did swap out the wheels for something a bit more exciting than the ones Nissan opted for. A set of 17" split-spoke wheels wrapped in fresh rubber gives it a bit more aggressive tone without getting too crazy.

Much like the bodywork, the interior has been kept largely all stock. Overall it has been kept up with well, however, there are a few typical flaws that you would expect to find in a 28-year-old car. The dash for instance does have the typical S-chassis cracks hence the dash mat. The driver's seat has been upgraded to a far more supportive Bride Brix that still retains the adjustability of the stock one so you can still find a comfortable driving position. The passenger seat has also been upgraded to a more supportive S14 seat which looks right at home. Both seats are stain free which is nice, however, the driver's seat does suffer from the typical bolster breakdown from getting in and out. The back seats look great which is typical since most don't want to cram back there in the first place. The 3 spoke Nardi wheel with matching Lonza shift knob are is a nice touch that really does look right at home in these. Otherwise, the rest of the stock interior has all of the basic amenities of the time. Power windows, power mirrors, automatic climate control, and all present and functioning as you'd expect.

Pop the hood and you'll find the iconic redtop SR20DET. The Aluminum 2.0 liter has become an icon, and not only in the S Chassis world. Unlike all of the USDM models that have to undergo a transplant, the JDM spec vehicles came from the factory with the proper motor choice. There's no wonder why the larger KA is routinely ditched in favor of this lightweight powerhouse. With a quick turn of the key, the four-cylinder jumps to life and is surprisingly quiet through the stock exhaust. The turbo spools quickly and has no trouble pulling to that 7.5K redline without thinking twice. The 5-speed shifts with ease and the clutch is very forgiving for those inevitable traffic jams you'll run into on your way to work. The stock gearbox is nicely gated and provides a very crisp engagement. The stock suspension has no issue with handling all those "well-maintained" taxpayer roads. Of course, since the S13 was sold here stateside there's no shortage of available options if you want to put on a good set of coilovers and dial the car down a bit. While the mileage on the cluster reads 146K miles that mileage was not verified which leads us to believe the cluster was swapped at some point in time. Based on how strong the motor feels and the overall condition the mileage is of little concern in our book. All of the routine service work has been performed to make sure the car is running in tip-top shape. We replaced the front main seal along with the serpentine belts and water pump while in there. We also replaced the front right lower control arm as well just for good measure. Nissan hit a home run with this platform and consequently built it for nearly a decade. With easy-to-find parts and wide aftermarket support, this Nissan would be an ideal daily driver or a new project to wrench on. Its lines have never gone out of style, the motor has become a legend, and the drive backs it all up; the S13 truly has stood the test of time as a proper Japanese Classic.

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. If you are gonna refute the shit I just posted, then I don't have much else to say to you.


Dude...you have been referenced. If you are talking to me, please see my other thread about OEM+ cars. If you are talking to Corbic, he is one user commenting here and if you're too frail to continue a discussion when ONE person is mean to you, then please, enjoy the Facebook Groups. Most of the other users generally agree that these importers are selling snake oil.

EDIT:

To make my stance abundantly clear, thank you for sharing your post. I am not turning my nose up at you, if you're happy I don't care, man...really.

Exactly.

Not sure why people are getting so defensive. Biggs needs to get out his notepad and go do some research to find out what's up. Nobody is being "sensational". These are real problems with big financial impacts for the kids and an over abundance of caution is always a good thing.

No Idea what the S14 kid is crying about. Nobody's attacked him, but just highlighted how JC did him dirty.

That might be part of the problem here, people lack some of that base line experience so they have incredibly low expectations.

$25k for an imported car is a lot of money and should be buying you a premium, outstanding condition car. Period.

We got two sellers out there.

One selling a mint car for $25k and making $800 profit.

The other is selling a salvage car for $25k and making $15,000 profit.

Regardless of your intentions - drift missile, daily, humidity control museum piece - don't get take and pay accordingly.

If you just want a missile project, several guys can help get you one at $8-11k, same car other companies would try and sell for $22k.

This is the type of tone he is referencing. He clearly articulated his thoughts and he is called frail in response. This is a reflection on you, not him. You likely don't realize you're doing it, but many people here are so focused on maintaining the hard-nosed Zilvia reputation that it discourages people from commenting. There is a reason you see the same 5 people commenting on every thread.

Naw, it's a reflection on him.

Nobody was mean, called him names or making fun of him. So for him to be offended, that comes from the inside.

You can't control what other people say, do or think. But you can control how you feel and react.

I don't see any hostility at all in this thread. A difference of opinion, sure. But no one is being rude and using the wrong pronouns.

This is what happens when people are allowed to freely converse instead of being forced to immediately conform to the same group think "fact checked" correct opinion.

My man, this medium isn't your strong suit. I know you've contributed a lot, and you have a lot to contribute, but you don't do well with people disagreeing with you. You guys were making great points but then your comments grow hard to read because it feels like you're ranting, even if the facts are in your favor.

Exactly and this right here is my problem with them.... JC is clearly positioning themselves as best in class/top of the food chain. All their vehicles appear to be professionally detailed, photographed, and come across as being described at a very detailed and honest level. And of course with premium pricing to match their supposedly premium product.

I think we can all agree that whatever their business model is, there's no way it's sustainable.

Dude...I just reread the thread, and I don't even know why this cat is upset.

...and these are the two 'worst' comments regarding economix. No one cares that Zilvia is 'hard-nosed'. We care that we can air things out without being banned.


RDOG gets it.

...and I hope that anyone reading this is looking at the customer's stories and judging for themselves.

Key takeaways:

1. No, it isn't just Schassis.
2. Look at how JC (in particular) writes a fucking novel about their cars like they are some private collector on BaT.
3. No one cares if you are buying a 'collector' car or a track car...the point is they are selling cars that have hidden rust, accident history, and engine issues while marketing them as 'survivor' cars with no issues.
4. They are documented as directly lying about condition.
5. If you do not do the required research, discussion here will be difficult.

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 :ughd:

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’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.

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.



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

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

Another great UTG video.

https://youtu.be/I-XYgwI4Zqs

Gas tank issue is very true.

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

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