Where did you all find your FTOs?

[Neil]

Hi, just wondering if anyone could recommend any particular dealers in this country? Do we have any irish equivelent of the likes of japco.co.uk ?? (didnt think so!).. but how and where did you all find your FTOs..?
Buynsell? Dealer - if so which one, and would you recommend them? Auction? Import yourself? UK import?? Ebay?!?

Im looking to buy a manual gpx or gr in the next couple of months (after xmas) and im just trying to weigh up what options I have so thought Id ask the experts!

cheers

[Speedyboy]

I got mine in BuyandSell and when I got it It was absolutely spotless and came with all paperwork and proper Irish service history. You can be lucky!

Try and get one with 17' wheels (as you'll probably want them with the big arches on the FTO), a decent stereo, Uprated brake discs and suspension, Things like that cost a bit to do but dont seem to add much to the second hand value of a car.

Basically get a car that someone loved and took good care of!!

[Myfeckin FTO]

Hi, just wondering if anyone could recommend any particular dealers in this country? Do we have any irish equivelent of the likes of japco.co.uk ?? (didnt think so!).. but how and where did you all find your FTOs..?
Buynsell? Dealer - if so which one, and would you recommend them? Auction? Import yourself? UK import?? Ebay?!?

Im looking to buy a manual gpx or gr in the next couple of months (after xmas) and im just trying to weigh up what options I have so thought Id ask the experts!

cheers

You should keep your eye on the forum for any guys selling theirs as they will be far better looked after than the vast majority of FTO's for sale.
Importing yourself is good if you are in no panic and want a fairly clean car - I wouldn't personally buy an FTO that has spent 3-4years pounding the Irish roads. Would more likely start with an import as a base and then allow a couple of grand to get it to where I'd want it e.g. cambelt/Alt/Power steering belt change - new plugs/gaskets - ITG/HKS filter - uprated tyres/brakes/pads - ARB droplinks and bushes and after that any cosmetic additions.

(Going to get my plug in now) I'll be selling my FTO early in the New year - imported in April this year with all the above and far more already done to it since then. I'm hoping to get my greedy mitts on that 99GPvR.

[Mustang]

Neil wrote

but how and where did you all find your FTOs..?

I bought mine privately, and was advertised in the B&S.
You would likely get a cleaner car if you import, but like MfFTO said you'll need to budget for stuff like belts, stereo, alarm, etc.
A car that has already been registered here will likely have at least some of this stuff done, but at the same time will probably have more ware and tear.
I considered importing myself, but for a first buy I'd sooner buy a previously registered car -you can always sell on and import later if you wish.
Keep an eye on the usual websites cbg, B&S, autotrader and to a lesser extent carzone.ie
Take a look at the buyer's guide on this site. Educate yourself as best you can with regard to specs and what to look out for.
There are a lot of rough cars out there! Don't be spoofed by claims of outrageous power outputs, etc. Manual cars are worth more, and manual mivecs command an extra premium as 'everybody' wants one. That said, if the car is rough, not well maintained don't pay silly money just because it's a manual mivec. Some people take the p!ss when it comes to manual mivec pricing.
In a lot of cases, 1.8's are no cheaper to insure than their 2L conterparts. Don't buy a 1.8 on the basis of cheaper insurance unless you are centain you can actually get it!

Mustang

[kevinod]

how and where did you all find your FTOs..?

Hey Neil,

I imported my FTO myself, 95 manual GR. My thinking at the time was that I wanted a manual, and a particular colour, and after looking for a while I hadn't found one. Plus with Jap-nct tests being so stringent & jap roads being good (reputably anyway, never been myself) the car should be in good nick vs the Irish weather + roads.

Bought it initially at the end of February/start of March, but it didn't get shipped until July, and arrived 16th August. A long time to wait for a car!

Without rambling on, here's my pro/con lists:

Pro:
-low mileage
-can be more choosy about what you want, more FTOs in Japan than here!
-should be in pretty good nick
-can be a little cheaper than buying locally
-FTOs already in Ireland are usually already modded, if you want to start from scratch with your own mods etc. it might be harder to find a non-modded car here (you guys agree?)

Cons:
-don't get to inspect the car before you pay for it. ok there are auction grades but there are the chances of surprises when it does arrive still.
-can take a long time to come
-may not get any service history with the car, so you don't know when anything was changed last, oil, belts, spark plugs, etc. etc.
-VRT is a lot, govt tax + customs can be almost as much as the cost of the car + shipping to Dublin
-buying a car locally means you will probably get a few months tax incl in the price (539 I think it was for the year) and a few months NCT, won't get either if you import, so work that into your costs
-rarely come with a decent stereo/gear knob, they're either held onto by the owner or nicked along the way
-you have to pay full cost of car/taxes/etc upfront. I guess you could get a bank loan, but you have car + shipping + customs/taxes etc + road tax + insurance to be paid together
-if the car isn't as you expected to be once it arrives from Japan, unless you're dealing with an importer here, its going to be difficult to get much joy from them, you're not likely to send the car back to japan!


When I say surprises, on my FTO
- there were holes drilled in the boot for another spoiler, and then just covered with duct tape
- left front wing had been badly resprayed, needed to be done again
- part of the centre console was this terrible red colour, had to go!!
- jap radio/cassette stereo
- front tyres needed to be replaced
- no gear knob
- front anti roll bar bushes and droplinks needed to be replaced

I have it all sorted out now, but it added a good few quid extra on top of what I paid to just get it to a good standard.

The reason (supposedly) that it took so long to get here from Japan was the number of new cars at the start of the year going from Japan is pretty big, and it can be difficult to get space on a ship to transport the car to Ireland.

I'd recommend you look around locally for a while first, but if you still haven't found what you're after, and you're happy to live with the cons, check out the importing scene. Just remember it costs an awful lot more than the auction price + shipping!!

Kev.

[Neil]

thanks for the tips lads, thats great just what i was looking for...

Myfeckin FTO - can you tell me a bit more about the car you're selling? model/age/milage/colour etc all that usual stuff (as the timing seems just about right for the time im looking to buy- hop€fully anyway...) cheers

[Myfeckin FTO]

Myfeckin FTO - can you tell me a bit more about the car you're selling? model/age/milage/colour etc all that usual stuff (as the timing seems just about right for the time im looking to buy- hop€fully anyway...) cheers

I have a 95 Steel Silver GPX (Mivec) Manual - 60Kmiles.
Car imported in April of this year. As mentioned I'm a fussy git when it comes to cars so I made a few changes.

Serviced in May - Full service + replaced cambelt/alt belt /PS belt and tensioner. Fitted ITG Filter. Replaced standard plugs with 6 Denso iridiums and replaced gasket.Also replaced front droplinks. All done by Paul Nolan in Artane (knows his FTO's).

June - Bodyshop visit to fit and mould Top Mix front splitter and touch-up any scuffs, stonechips etc - painted calipers racing blue - extra rivets on wheel arch liners etc.

July - Replaced rear droplinks and front and rear ARB bushes- Fitted Green Stuff pads. Replaced sh1tty standard battery with an uprated one.

August - Replaced standard GPX exhaust with RSR exhaust bought from Steelroe. Also replaced stepper motor (these can be troublesome).

October - Full Service - inc brake fluid .

Have also fitted other stuff myself over the past few months - Spec as follows -

Standard GPX spec - with Elec sunroof / climate control / elec folding mirrors, remote central locking etc

Top Mix front splitter - ITG filter/RSR exhaust/Denso plugs/poly bushes/Green Stuff pads/clear side repeaters/blue FTO logo and Mitsub badge in place of orig/ Isotta Vallelunga wheel + Gearknob+ Gaiter + Handbrake/ Stainless Steel Dials + Dial surrounds/ Pioneer 12 disc CD + TV + SAT Nav (haven't got the SAT NAV working yet) with Amp/ Drilled Aluminium pedals / Turbo Timer (handy for warming/cooling the car) / FTO stainless aluminated Kick plates / 17" Work Cast Magnesium alloys (v light - less unsprung weight the better.)

Other bits and bobs also done and sorted but the above should cover most of it - If you are looking for an FTO - then take a good look around - test drive if possible and then come and drive mine.

[Mustang]

MfFTO wrote

then take a good look around - test drive if possible and then come and drive mine.

Is that an open invitation Wouldn't mind a bit of test piloting and time wasting myself

Mustang

[Myfeckin FTO]

MfFTO wrote

then take a good look around - test drive if possible and then come and drive mine.

Is that an open invitation Wouldn't mind a bit of test piloting and time wasting myself

Mustang

Would love to see any other FTO's myself as well - We're gonna have to get this meet up and running soon - I think the FTO rolling road meet in Jan/Feb will be a good time to get together. Mustang if you're in Shannon any day or Limerick any evening/weekend send me a PM.

BTW - Limerick seems to have gone mad for modded Jap cars recently - the dock road is like an episode of the Fast & the Furious on any given night particularly at weekends.

[Mustang]

MfFto wrote

Mustang if you're in Shannon any day or Limerick any evening/weekend send me a PM.

Will do, I'm in Shannon most (all) of the time, surprised we've never met on the road here ..It's not that big!

the dock road is like an episode of the Fast & the Furious on any given night particularly at weekends.

I saw a red GTO there last week. One of the petrol stations (statoil/ shell?) always seem to have a 'cruise' going on around the side/back of the place everytime I pass by in the evenings!

Mustang

[CJ]

We're gonna have to get this meet up and running soon - I think the FTO rolling road meet in Jan/Feb will be a good time to get together

Agreed, the past few meets havn't lived up to expectation all that much, we'll keep an eye on Daves progress with the hairdryer and use that an an excuse to get together. In the mean time, I'm open to suggestions, the IMOC meet on Jan the 22nd would be another good reason to get out and about.

CJ

[Neil]

Hey Kev, what company did you use when you were in importing the car? and what price did it come to at the end when you'd cleaned it all up (the respray etc)? did it work out worth it all in the end?

[kevinod]

Hey Kev, what company did you use when you were in importing the car? and what price did it come to at the end when you'd cleaned it all up (the respray etc)? did it work out worth it all in the end?

Hey Neil,

I got onto an exporter in Japan myself, New Gandhara Trading, but to be honest I wouldn't recommend them, for the following reasons:
- they rarely contacted me without me contacting them first
- the car they bought they would have had a chance to inspect, could have got another car without the various problems I mentioned before
- the car was bought in Feb/start of March and they didn't get it shipped until July. I know there are lot of new cars leaving in the start of the year but that was ridiculous.

Locally I got onto one of the companies who look after imported cars on the docks, €60, but they made sure the car was safe and locked up and all while I was waiting for customs to get sorted out.

The car + shipping came to about 3200, VAT, Customs and VRT on top almost doubled that, replaced few bits and pieces, new front tyres, radio/cd changer, etc. etc. If I don't count road tax/insurance/NCT, I think it came to something like 7450, which ended up being pretty expensive. Mainly down to all the things I wasn't expecting to have to sort out. Paint job on its own (left side and back) came to €750 which was the big cost, 2 front tyres €90 each, new boot/centre console trim around radio & gear stick, and replacing a sheared bolt another 200-odd... all built up.

That includes, apart from the paint job, doing all the work myself which saved a few quid in mechanics fees.

To be honest, I like having done stuff with the car, learned a lot while doing it, but still paid out a lot more than I expected...

If you do get a better importer/exporter and/or be more careful with details, including getting detailed pics of all sides of the car and the inside before you accept it you should be fine though. Pics I got were http://www.blackpurpleorchestra.com/images/FTOF.jpg and http://www.blackpurpleorchestra.com/images/FTOR.jpg which hid all the dodgy bits (apart from different wheels front and back) and didn't show me the inside.

Kev.

(edited pic links)

[Mustang]

I got onto an exporter in Japan myself, New Gandhara Trading, but to be honest I wouldn't

Is this the crowd you are referring to ? http://www.gmjcars.com/
As regards the shipping Kev I think you were just unlucky with the timing, used car importers were all experiencing huge delays at the time.

If are going to import using this route, I guess you are taking a leap of faith so to speak, and you can only base your decision on the reputation of the exporter or recommendations from others who have used the service. Once you've sent the money to Japan there is not much come back I would think. At least if you went through an import agency (such as japnuts) they are unlikely to sell you a lemon as they have to deal with you locally, also I expect you get to view the car before paying in full.

Mustang

[kevinod]

I got onto an exporter in Japan myself, New Gandhara Trading, but to be honest I wouldn't

Is this the crowd you are referring to ? http://www.gmjcars.com/
As regards the shipping Kev I think you were just unlucky with the timing, used car importers were all experiencing huge delays at the time.

...

Mustang

Thats them alright.

The shipping, possibly so, but over 6 months waiting for the car to get on a ship, surely they could have got it on a ship sooner. All along they kept making all kinds of promises about it being on the next shipment in a few weeks too, it took me demanding my money back after giving them a few 'last' chances before they got the finger out and sorted it out. If I hadn't the car could still be there!

You don't want a car to be left sitting idle somewhere for too long, battery will die, tyres go flat, could get damp mechanically + inside, etc. etc.

Anyway, got here eventually and I'm a happy camper spinning around in my FTO!!

Kev.

[Myfeckin FTO]

My mate bought his Paj Evo from a Jap Auction site in December and its already well on its way - its arriving in Dublin on Jan 20th - so I guess a lot of it is down to who you use though I'd say you'd want to keep on top of the relevant importer regardless in all stages of the process from viewing and inspecting the car to the shipment of the car (direct preferably).