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I'm in Orlando and keeping an eye on this thread. I'm not very mechanically inclined and my condo won't allow car repairs in their lot, so I need something that will run off the boat, or something that I can pay to have serviced here. As a child of the 80s/90s, I grew up with Gran Turismo and while I'm not interested in the rad Jimny's and van life stuff, the RX-7s/GTRs/AZ-1s and otherwise unavailable to America sports cars are on my list of things to look out for. Or, odd little things like the Be-1, Pao and even the British Minis that they seem to have over there. I like to keep my cars stock and I'm not looking to track them or anything, I just want something that will run without too much trouble. However, I don't have the patience to deal with auctions, so I'm tempted to purchase from the OnePrice sales on the JCD page. I'm also tempted to possibly purchase direct from one of the Japanese importers to avoid the paperwork hassle. I know I'd pay a premium, but I'm ok with that. KakerMix - are you familiar with AB Auto Imports in Orlando? They seem to have a few different options available on their site that are available to see on appointment, but nothing really unique and from what the cars look like, they cater to a crowd that likes to cram their cars with aftermarket parts. From what I've gathered ITT and reading their sites, some of the bigger names like Japanese Classics and Duncan Imports buy them, ship them and sell them without doing a thing to them to preserve the "untouched" nature of the cars. I see this as more of a "we don't want to pay for anything wrong with it, so why do even the smallest amount of maintenance when some idiot will buy it for the name alone at 5x our cost". But I want to work with someone who does what you guys seem to do - identify any issues that need fixed over there and have it done before shipping out where parts are readily available and the mechanics are familiar with the cars. Do any of the importers treat their cars like this, or do they all do the "sell them as we get them" approach? For someone like me who doesn't have the tools/space/ability/availability to do maintenance or repairs, if an import you purchase needs servicing, can you just roll up to the local Nissan/Honda/Mazda/etc dealer and have them service the car?
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May 31, 2019 22:35
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Thanks everybody for the info, maybe I’ll take a stab at it with help from the thread. I’ve made some awful car buying decisions in the past because I don’t know what to look for, so I’m afraid of making the same mistake now without the easy availability of a repair place. KakerMix: PM’ed back, thanks!
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Jun 1, 2019 13:26
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KakerMix posted:
This is one of the ones on my list  e: a Cosmo, not that particular one
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Jun 7, 2019 13:33
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I DID NOT BUY THIS 
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Someone help this poor guy, or get an Acty really cheap, it’s up to you  I think I really made a mistake with my current vehicle. Would it be smart to sell it for a sedan? quote:Hey, guys.
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Nov 22, 2019 15:14
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KakerMix posted:
I want that so bad
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Nov 22, 2019 18:42
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Motronic posted:Holy poo poo I want that. I dont know what I'd use it for, but Ill fond something. What are the largest mud terrains it will clear? Y’know, I’ve yet to see a top gear episode where they’ve rigged a vehicle to drive from the top of an extended bucket. Maybe there’s a thought!
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Dec 18, 2019 03:02
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Yeah, French Canadian’s posts are what has me almost willing to ask if I could pay the goons in here a service charge to just deal with this poo poo when I find something I want
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Feb 7, 2020 20:36
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Saw a Figaro for the first time in Orlando today. Isn’t that a Duncan import specialty? Unless they imported it themselves, I imagine they got it from Duncan.
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Feb 17, 2020 17:52
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everdave posted:When’s the last time you saw a grade FIVE 1991? I saw that yesterday as I was looking through. The grade 5 caught my eye. Congrats to you and your new buyer!
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Dec 23, 2020 13:09
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KakerMix posted:Sold our Blizzard today, means now the oldest vehicle we have for sale is our Suzuki Wagon R, which is finally all buttoned up and put back together and WILL be going up for sale soon Congrats! I liked the soarer, but the AT lost my interest. There’s a few styles I like, that being one of them, but an auto trans is not something I want. Like I really like the eunos cosmos and some of the Nissan glorias, but I don’t want it with an AT and that’s all those came with. If you or anyone else finds a nice 1st gen Subaru alcyone (American Subaru xt), with the pop up lights and a 5sp, please alert the thread. A friend had one of those and I’m on the lookout for one.
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Dec 30, 2020 03:47
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KakerMix posted:I've seen maybe one or two in the last year, both have sold for around 8k USD. I don't know what you have in your head for pricing but if you think it's cool, someone else does as well. Yeah, that’s the one I’m talking about. $8k + all the import paperwork/shipping is definitely doable for one in good condition.
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Dec 30, 2020 04:03
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KakerMix posted:Oh no I mean 8k at auction. Tack on another ~3500 or so at least for it to be in the US and legal, depending on where you are geographically. If you aren't on a coast the expect more because it is not cheap to overland a car. Yeah, sorry, $8k+$3500 is definitely doable for one in good condition. I’m just NE of you in Orlando, FL. Duncan has one for ~13k, but I think you’ve said they pretty much just shine it up once it’s off the boat and don’t make sure it’s mechanically sound before they sell it, so that makes me a bit hesitant.
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Dec 30, 2020 04:20
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That Pajero is 
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Jan 20, 2021 04:49
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Tyro posted:Congratulations! While life circumstances haven't let me go through the auction purchase process myself I've been following the thread for years and vicariously enjoying all the updates (from you and the other posters). Thanks for sharing the journey with us.  Congrats! I assume from your post you didn’t incur any damage from Ian, so that’s great too, glad to hear it’s gone so well.
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Oct 13, 2022 11:56
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KakerMix posted:
I retract my statement, but I’m still glad you’re safe and didn’t sustain catastrophic damage!
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Oct 14, 2022 12:20
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) lost its grip on the ground and tumbled over giving our gazebo a sick 5 foot corner lift, giving our shed (and our water system as we are on well) a little tap, yanking our electrical out of our roof of our house and meter, knocking down the power pole it was attached to (apologies to our neighbors and their power going out as well), and doing a number on various points in our fence. We were without power and water for just a tick over 8 solid days, but it wasn't too bad as our neighborhood had a few generators and large portable batteries going, with extension cords looped over everyone's yards. Thankfully my wife's father being higher up in a large construction firm here in town we were able to immediately take care of the tree, our electrical at our house (even though we had to wait for the power company to reset the pole), demolition of the no longer useful structures and our well guy to come out and reattach various pipes, before a vast majority of the people around us were able to even just clear their trees. Extremely, fabulously fortunate. Finally this weekend our insurance adjuster is actually showing up. Good thing we took lots of pictures and have a full set of invoices and are able to absorb the financial cost even without insurance.
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Does anyone else think importing has become more popular? Or at least buying from importers? In my neighborhood alone (Orlando, FL), there’s a Nissan figaro, a house with 2 kei trucks and an original mini cooper, another with 2 of the older, smaller G-wagens and a celica that looks like a GT-Four. We passed an R32 skyline here the other day. These have all popped up in the last couple years. I do see kei trucks on the road here too, but I’m not sure if they’re that person above or someone else.
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Apr 14, 2023 12:20
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