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             $25,000 dollars the buyer paid for this Hilux Surf, not including title, tax and registration. He didn't haggle, didn't try to deal, just saw it, test drove it, said "yes" and that was that. Didn't even get it listed yet either, but that really isn't surprising anymore. I'm happy about it sure, but it's really highlighting where all this is going. The dude himself unironically and with full conviction said "This is a fantastic deal" when buying it. He's like my wife and I, where this, in our minds, is among the best mix of everything we like about vehicles. Big enough, capable enough, incredibly reliable and being that it's a diesel, actually quite efficient considering. It's even highly coveted now, we took it to our local Cars and Coffee last month and we were genuinely surprised at the amount of people that approached it with reverence. They did that thing where they see it, straight line toward it then slow down the last 4~ feet before they get to it and put their hands behind their back to pock their head in the windows. The number of times "beautiful" was said is surprising. Essentially 100% perfect condition and under 64,000 total km on the clock. Besides it being 25 years old I'm actually struggling to come up with reasons why it isn't worth it. To be clear, it's extremely expensive compared to what we are all used to, but the new bubble-muscle-car era really truly is here. I'm sure in a few months time this will be worth more than it is now, probably significantly. Should be noted that examples like this are quite uncommon which adds to the prestige. Still, that's a lot of money.         Speaking of money, have the Cresta all prepped for sale as well. Already have someone that's been waiting for us to get the title, so perhaps we'll have another sold-before-we-listed-it situation happening. And finally, related to JDM importing and where my wife and I are going: this might be the end of us importing vehicles from Japan. We have two more vehicles that we don't have in our hands yet which we should have next month or so, both Prados, plus we have a few vehicles already that we have to prep for sale so there is more content. The reason why is because we are looking to relocate to Europe, Germany specifically. Kind of difficult to do this when we are no longer in the USA. I personally haven't looked at auctions for around two months. We are planning on heading over to Germany in October to see if we are cool with moving there specifically, and spending a couple months just...seeing what its like and if we connect with it. If that is the case, then we're flying back here, then we'll start the process of moving there. The timeframe means that there really just isn't time to wait for vehicles to show up here with shipping being as it is (unpredictable). I'm aware enough to know that trying to do this same thing, from Japan -> Germany isn't a sustainable business strategy just in market, but we'll also have so much more to deal with that trying to break into the used car market there, with as-of-right-now opaque regulations and requirements, it is a fool's errand. Not speaking the language (yet) and just, naw that isn't going to fly. However, Limerence Motors can still continue to exist, just we'd become exporters instead, taking things in Germany/Europe and exporting them here the the USA. That is a potential angle we can handle, but it will be a big shift because we most certainly have to move much further up market. Rather than an inventory of 25k cars and trucks we'd probably deal with maybe 1 or 2 100k cars. Porsches, fancy Audis, Mercedes, stuff like that. Throw in some Citroens too why not. We'll see what ultimately happens 
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Jul 25, 2021 21:06
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I’ll be sad to see the JDM content dry up, but congrats dude. Germany is dope as hell.
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Jul 25, 2021 21:26
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It's been a wild ride. Thanks for taking us along with you. I'm torn between being sorry to miss more awesome vehicles and being relieved for not having to go through weird economic thoughts about buying those awesome vehicles.
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Jul 25, 2021 22:00
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EVERYWHERE 
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Thank you for making this thread! The wife and I have talked about a move to europe after her grad degree is done. Hope to see other posters continuing their bad/awesome decisions here. I've been looking at auctions again..... 
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Jul 25, 2021 23:10
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The Surf looks fantastic. I saw the fire truck come through if I didn’t have 18 vehicles at the moment that would be a no brainer. I’ve been exploring factory air and such fir these…a base system is less than $1k, above my expertise. Will be sorry to see you leave Kaker but it sounds like a great adventure.
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Jul 25, 2021 23:19
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I'll miss seeing the sweet JDM cars but I hope it goes well for you in Europe!
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Jul 26, 2021 03:47
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That Surf is absolutely beautiful. Next thread should be you documenting your process of moving to another country with the fun paperwork and all.
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Jul 26, 2021 03:51
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Midjack posted:I'll miss seeing the sweet JDM cars but I hope it goes well for you in Europe! Same!
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Jul 26, 2021 03:54
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I hope this thread lives on with other peoples imports! It’s been nice living vicariously. And I’d love a thread about German car exports
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Jul 26, 2021 14:13
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0330 this morning, streets deserted, grey R32 Skyline GTR just puttering along in the left lane. Waved to the dude driving, gave him a thumbs up, and he downshifted without going any faster. What a pleasant growl! Every single time I see one of the things my heart beats just a little bit faster.
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Jul 26, 2021 17:03
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I had my first Subaru, a beautiful little 4600 mile Sambar. Guy I know at my bank happened to see it on the transport truck in town and bought it same day. I am a huge fan of Mitsubishi and Daihatsu and Honda kei trucks but the comfort level is a big step up in the Subaru. Highly recommend. The 4 cylinder is a huge difference and the rear access for maintenance is fantastic. 
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Jul 26, 2021 18:10
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Listed wrong but so cool 
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Jul 26, 2021 23:10
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First off, I'll say a big thank you to KakerMix for introducing me to the wild world of Japanese imports! I imported my first vehicle four years ago and have really enjoyed driving interesting vehicles and eventually selling them to people as excited as I am about the whole scene. Thank you for your knowledge and sharing your experience! That being said, since Kaker is going into retirement  I will step up and do what I can to keep this thread alive. Here's my 1994 Hilux Surf I took delivery of this past Saturday.         My delivery driver joked with me saying he changed his mind and he's just going to keep the Surf instead of delivering it. I vacuumed it out and ran it through the carwash, it's so drat clean on the inside. The only issue is the air conditioning doesn't blow cold. The A/C light is green when pushed on the dash and the blower works. I'm going to check the A/C relay behind the glovebox and see if it's working otherwise I might need to recharge the system. There's a R134a sticker under the hood, hoping that's a good sign. I'm afraid it was R-12 and someone converted it. Checking into shocks and springs since the butt is a little saggy, seems like a very common Surf/4Runner problem so no worries about fixing that.
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Aug 2, 2021 18:56
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Good luck Kaker. I have retrofitted a/c on a Miata before, it was a giant pain in the dick and I wouldn't wish that job on my worst enemy
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Aug 2, 2021 23:31
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Here's a link to the A/C thread, not a bad place to check for advice / info! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3970674
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Aug 3, 2021 00:06
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Charles posted:Here's a link to the A/C thread, not a bad place to check for advice / info! Awesome thanks! I checked my relays and they are good and the compressor turns on/spins when the A/C button is pressed on the dashboard. I think my next step is to get the manifold hoses and vacuum pump from Harbor Freight and recharge the refrigerant. Update: Turns out all the hardware was in great shape and it just needed a proper recharge! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3970674&pagenumber=2#post516775220 johnnyonetime fucked around with this message at 23:11 on Aug 6, 2021 |
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Aug 3, 2021 00:35
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I’ve owned third and fourth gen 4Runners (and I loved the hell out of both, especially the 2000) but something about the 1st-2nd having proper tailgates always seemed to be The Right Way to me.
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Aug 3, 2021 13:26
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Very nice Surf. I will try to post more regularly about what I bring in. Mainly just post on IG.
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Aug 3, 2021 13:45
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Really love that dark blue, too!
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Aug 5, 2021 20:24
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johnnyonetime posted:First off, I'll say a big thank you to KakerMix for introducing me to the wild world of Japanese imports! I imported my first vehicle four years ago and have really enjoyed driving interesting vehicles and eventually selling them to people as excited as I am about the whole scene. Thank you for your knowledge and sharing your experience! I see you have imported a few cars now. Do you just buy them/clean/drive and then sell off once you get something new? Are you actively selling the stuff you are buying? There seem to be a lot of Surfs available so I am open to those, but my heart says diesel Prado, or diesel 80 series cruiser are the ones to buy. I would probably be attempting what Kaker has (on a much smaller scale to begin with).
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Aug 5, 2021 22:58
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Somewhat Heroic posted:I see you have imported a few cars now. Do you just buy them/clean/drive and then sell off once you get something new? Are you actively selling the stuff you are buying? There seem to be a lot of Surfs available so I am open to those, but my heart says diesel Prado, or diesel 80 series cruiser are the ones to buy. I would probably be attempting what Kaker has (on a much smaller scale to begin with). Well at the beginning I was importing them strictly for personal use and delight, but a guy offered to buy my first car after I had it cleaned up and mechanically sorted. So I rolled that profit into the next car and my friends and family got quite a kick out of this unusual hobby and suggested I try and make a small business out of it. I drug my feet for a long while but still very much enjoyed driving the cars and talking JDM to interested people. However in the past 12 months I’ve incorporated into an LLC, secured a line of credit, obtained a customs bond, partnered with a delivery driver and purchased three vehicles. I’ve got pending sales on two and always on the hunt for more. I still work my day job but I am interested in slowly increasing my volume of imports/sales. I don’t know if it will ever be my primary job but I sure wouldn’t mind if that happened. Currently I am investigating all the hoops to jump through to become a dealer but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Kaker is a huge inspiration to me and I owe him at least a case or two of good beer for all he has shared in the thread with us! I have met a multitude of interesting people, had many amazing road trips and learned way more about the inner workings of these automobiles than I ever imagined. It’s one of the few things that brings me little stress and constant enjoyment.
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Aug 6, 2021 02:21
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Hey we aren't dead yet. Pictured: 1989 Land Cruiser with it's cousin, a 1988 Hilux. As far as I can easily tell, they have the same paint colors, and almost the same accessory colors, the most pronounced difference being the gold on the Cruiser which drills down to the inlay color on the rear wheel caps. Gold on the Cruiser, red (as you can see) on the Hilux. Five brand new white-lettered-out KO2s on the BJ73, now just a few little details and a detail and she'll be done. Hilux had it's front floors patch paneled and repaired properly. I don't have pictures of the repaired floors, tomorrow I'll get a picture of the before and after on that. I've been informed that our white 1994 Prado is ready to be picked up, and our 96 second-gen should be here in September. That will be the last import take in, after that we're just selling off the rest of our inventory and winding everything down.
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Aug 8, 2021 05:28
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posted this in the yt finds thread but belongs here especially https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjeiUqOu7gU hour of cedrics, glorias and crowns warning: very 90s, very japanese
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Aug 8, 2021 07:00
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 Under 6~ hours to sell the Cresta after listing it. 22k, guy paid asking.
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Aug 12, 2021 02:48
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Going by their logic then they should ban all 90's cars because none of them meet current safety standards, like not even close. I mean to be fair - modern cars are dangerous on Maine roads because it's basically off-roading.
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Aug 12, 2021 04:45
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KakerMix posted:
Man, I would have liked that. Also would have liked to be able to afford it (not saying it's overpriced!)
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Aug 13, 2021 16:52
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Got back the 88 Hilux from the body shop that turned the floors from this: Driver's side (note you can see the front tire through the floor)  Passenger side To this:  Driver's side  Passenger side Then I took a picture of the truck:  We also got the crane truck back from Karr Automotive in Ft. Myers so I took it's interior apart for an exploratory check for hidden rust and to deep, deep clean:        Not a spec of hidden rust   The interior cleaned up exceptionally well   Tried out the crane  Brought it to Cars and Coffee  Will be taking the wheels off tomorrow, pulling the rubber off, stripping the paint, bead blasting (if needed) and painting the wheels white, and will be putting (you guessed it) KO2s white letters out. Wash, polish and wax then it will be listed to hopefully bring in a big fat stack of money because this goofy crane stuck on it, plus it's a rad blue Hilux.
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Aug 23, 2021 02:09
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Finally got to hang out at my cabin again this summer after like a 1.5 year absence due to covid 19, which meant that I got to drive around the L300 ACTIVE WORLD Delica again that I imported long ago in this thread. Car is still so cool man. Half the holiday is made by just me being able to cruise around in that thing. Really makes me want to import another one for my own use here in the city, except they're drat hella lot more expensive now.
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Aug 30, 2021 06:09
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I have an A five Works being picked up at port tomorrow…going to put in an effort to get joy out of it it’s a beauty. I have a white one coming in September
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Aug 30, 2021 06:53
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   New tires, refinished wheels, a whole heap of service (fluids of all kinds including diffs, transmission, clutch etc) chassis lube, crane refresh, and new rear lenses. Now comes the polish and wax (after I wash it yet again  ) then sit back and collect the check.Look at the difference 
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Sep 1, 2021 21:57
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That is absolutely amazing
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Sep 2, 2021 02:23
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DoubleT2172 posted:That is absolutely amazing 
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Sep 2, 2021 16:29
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I really like that truck.
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Sep 3, 2021 21:08
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        88 Hilux is listed. Our 96 Land Cruiser Prado that's been in limbo for months has finally been customs cleared, should have that this week or next. Just in time too as we have a little over two weeks before our 5~ week Germany trip. Likewise this will also be the last vehicle we will have delivered.
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Sep 16, 2021 07:35
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Goddamn that Hilux is perfect.
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Sep 16, 2021 16:42
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*Very* nice!
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Sep 16, 2021 17:42
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IOwnCalculus posted:Goddamn that Hilux is perfect.
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Sep 16, 2021 18:44
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      Finally have the 96 J95 in our hands and have IMMEDIATELY put new tires on it since Costco had them in stock already! Otherwise it's dirty and not-cleaned yet as the new tires and an oil change are all I've managed to do. We like the first gens a lot, I've said many times that they are our favorite. Now though, it's the second gens. Everything about them is better, faster, more comfortable, more torque, engineered interior space makes a lot more sense. This one is a four door, but is maybe a foot and a half longer than our two door short wheelbase one. The main difference in these second gens is they all are full-time AWD, the handling is heavier as a result. The plus side is it is impossible to break the rear wheels loose when you are just trying to turn a corner. They also all come with center diff lock, which can be activated via the transfer case lever in either H or L.
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Sep 20, 2021 01:45
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KakerMix posted:
I suspect you have temporarily disrupted their purchasing department in a way that won't become apparent to them for a while. They'll end up with 3-4 extra sets of BFGs that they cannot move.
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Sep 23, 2021 01:50
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My first post in this thread was from over four years ago but guess what (cross-post from my LX 470 thread)quote:I found something GREEN and very enticing. Many thanks to Kaker for the thread, the private messages answered and all. Ferremit has replied in my thread to say it is worthwhile to replace the thermostat since those can fail in the closed position and overheat to crack the cylinder head. I will be ordering those in along with some filters and probably drive belts.
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Sep 23, 2021 23:06
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