I love all those cars, but what's keeping me from any of them is skyrocketing prices I understand supply & demand blah blah, but for the prices they are going for, I can get something a lot newer. Now it's up to the fan boys to sell them back and forth for silly prices. The R32 is a perfect example. sub $10k in Japan and $30k in the US? Yeah, nah. I'll just get a newer one. LOL. It's a shame, the FD, NSX, and another ITR were on my short list of cars to eventually own. Also, that's why I'm holding on to my Evo. I know I'd regret it (again) if I sold it and want another. No way would I pay what they are going for now. Hell no.

 

that's the crazy part those cars are worth jack **** in japan but $$$$ here

 

I don't mind the DCT... its not a torque converter... I don't care how good a torque converter auto is, its still a torque converter

 

$10k buys you an absolute heap of an R32 GT-R in Japan. Example:
https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w322606856
https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t656023809 (blown engine)
https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g345738426 (blown engine)

You can't use the outright speed of a supercar anymore, and when all you need to do is mash the gas to go fast, you get bored, hence why people flock to the classic driver's cars. People pay for drama these days.

 

Totally agree, paddles can be a ton of fun on the street and very convenient on the track. As long as it doesn't have a torque converter I'm happy!

 

considering the 2 blown engine cars are just like 2k less than the one with a working engine, there's prolly other stuff wrong with it... not to mention none of the links you posted are actually 10k, the cheapest one is 11.5k.

the cars that cost 30k in the US are in good condition, plus you gotta pay to get the car over here, you gotta pay someone in Japan to deal with exporting a car on that side, tariffs once its here, clean up the car once its here, storage till it sells... I mean they are making money on it but not nearly as much as "buy it for 10k there and sell it for 30k here" implies, and they're definitely more than 10k in Japan.

 

The paint fade and rust are really bad signs. Neglected R32s have a tendency to rust, so yeah, that's around $18,000 landed for a car that needs a full restoration. Since we can't count on Japanese sports cars on being really cheap value anymore, the Corvette is a screaming deal if performance and useability are all you want. If you want to row gears, the Evo is still a decent place to be.

 

That's in today's inflated market. Look back to prices about two years before they were legal to export here. Even though they were legal to export to places like Canada, etc, the prices still weren't as retarded as they are today. Add to that the fact that all the good ones have been scooped up, since the US is so far behind.. so we get all the leftover, crappy cars, I just can't pull the trigger. The U.S. has these laws to get us to buy locally and it works.

 

Buy a car like a Corvette and what can be hard on it are the dealer mechanic test drives. A test drive is often necessary for both diagnosis and to assure the work performed fixed the problem. The trouble is, take in you new Corvette and chances are the test drive will be the extended version. To avoid this, DIY is necessary. So, the first thing I'd be interested in if considering this car, is the ease of service. I'd hate to learn after buying the car that anything more than minor maintenance requires dropping the engine.

 

Barney - You make a good point. I own a mid engine vehicle and its a nightmare to work on. Even something as simple as an oil change is a 2 hour ordeal. Need to change the alternator? Well thats a 4 hour deal. I am not sure how the Vette is going to be, but I cant access anything from under the car. Everything has to happen from the top side.

 

I recall it being mentioned during the launch that it would be standard dry sump. I'm not too sure how that factors into the maintenance but its an NA Chevy smallblock V8. Should be pretty easy to work on.

Found this bit

"Lee also confirmed that the C8 doesn't require any routine engine-out services—often an expensive bugaboo with mid-engined cars—and that the spark plugs and other ignition components, along with the accessory belts that are tucked up next to the passenger compartment at the front of the engine, can be accessed with the engine in place."

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a2...c8-lt2-engine/

 

I guess the next round of questions would be how about the popular cam, headers, and heads upgrade? Can that be done with the engine in place? Those mods really add a lot of power to the small block Chevy engines.

 

mod path: E85, Supercharger, Cam, Exhaust, Life Insurance.

 

the way I drive my cars, whatever the tech does on a test drive is nothing in comparison... and thats pretty much the stupidest excuse to not buy a car, by that logic you should only ever drive ****boxes or boring ****, cause heaven forbid some tech floors it for 2 seconds. I'm not saying its right for techs to drive customer cars like that, but 99 times out of a 100, its blown way out of proportion...

 

simple supply and demand... prices get a bump when they become legal to import to Canada, and again a bigger bump when they become legal to import to the US. If you owned a used car lot in Japan, you'd be capitalizing on this too...