Hi there,

I'm considering importing an EVO7 GTA from Japan to Australia as my first car and have a few questions.
1. Does anyone know any trustworthy and honest importer that has experience in evos and importing and complying to Australia?
2. What are signs of an evo which should be avoided? i.e. lifter noise in the motor
3. How much should a realistic budget look like? (if not in AUD, please put your currency so I can convert it)
Thanks

 

1. As far as exporting, most companies are going to be reasonably trustworthy and have some experience with exporting to Australia, as that is a decent size market for exporters here. I would reach out to multiple companies and ask for quotes, take note of which ones are most responsive to you and communicate well, and make your decision off of that. However, most exporters will never go and see the car you are buying from them in person, and will only go off the auction grade - if an exporter says they do this, I would be very skeptical. There are large car auction houses all over Japan, and most exporters are based out of a single shop in one city, so odds are they would have to travel to see a vehicle in person. If you want an exporter who will go and see the car in person and knows enough about the type of car to be able to detect problems, you are probably going to be paying an extreme premium or maybe limiting the selection of cars available to you.
2. The auction grades are generally a pretty good guide to the condition of the vehicle, but not perfect. If you want a car that is going to be relatively trouble free, you want to go with at least a 4 and avoid anything lower. Personally, a 3.5 is as low as I would ever go as a 3.5 will be showing some kind of problem or problems and the auction house probably does not have any ability to assess how expensive or difficult they will be to fix. If the auction house thinks there is a serious problem (3 or lower) or is an R title, I would avoid.
3. I can't comment on budgeting as I know the least about the GT-A, but look through auction websites for GT-As that are graded a 4 or above and expect to go from there. Be aware that the early 7s are starting to become eligible for import to the US, so their prices are probably inflated but will only be getting higher.

If I can ask, why would you want a GT-A? I don't know a ton about the GT-A but I don't think people were very fond of the W5A51 transmission. I would say that even if you want only an auto, the 10 MR would be a vastly better choice based on what I know, and will probably be cheaper or be able to be found in better condition.